I am a teenage boy, so I should be able to speak with some authority on this subject. I can tell you, for example, that Skins is probably the least realistic portrayal of teenage life ever–if you didn’t know any better then, watching it, you might believe that teenagers actually lead exciting, or anything other than totally mundane, lives. Not true.
So what TV shows get it right? Allow me to present my Top 5 fictional teenage boys on TV:
5) Josh Ashworth from Hollyoaks
I chose Josh Ashworth over any of the other Hollyoaks characters because he was responsible for my all-time favourite Hollyoaks moment when he hit Mike Barnes over the head with a brick. Sadly no-one put it up on YouTube, so I can’t show you just how amazing it was. Maybe you can close your eyes and imagine it.
4) Glyn Wise from Big Brother 7
This one’s clearly a cheat, because Glyn is almost certainly a real person. I feel that I can count him though because, as with a lot of Big Brother characters, he just seemed too gormless to be true. BB7 was the last one that I bothered watching, and if it hadn’t featured Glyn then I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t have stuck with it.
3) Seth Cohen from The OC
For a very long time The OC was my favourite show on TV, and I know I’m not the only one who felt that way. As the show progressed Seth Cohen became increasingly annoying, but in the early seasons he was the ultimate loveable geek. Check out the compilations of his one-liners on YouTube to remind yourself why.
2) Sean Harding from The Rotters’ Club
I don’t know if many folk will remember The Rotters’ Club, which is kind of understandable as it was a 3-part miniseries. But it would also be a great shame, because it was fantastic. The highlight had to be Sean Harding who, in spite of not being a main character, really stole the show.
1) Will McKenzie from The Inbetweeners
The Inbetweeners is probably my favourite show so far this year. Will was the main character, narrator, and general middle-class stereotype. Embarrassingly, I found myself really relating to him, and various friends have compared me to him on more than one occasion. So he kind of had to take the number one spot.
