bob the moo My exposure to the work of Russell T Davies has been quite limited, as I never watched a lot of his stuff from years past. I watched Cucumber out of interest, as it did seem like a large 'event', although I did not watch the supporting shows of Banana or Tofu (I think the former followed minor characters and the latter was more of a discussion show around the issues). Set within the Manchester gay community, we follow older Henry as a series of moments see him and his long-term partner breaking up, and him living with a small group of much, much younger (and adventurous) gay men.From the start the show has a lot of energy, with plenty of colorful characters, excessive language, dialogue, and of course full-frontal male nudity. To some this will be enough to put them off whereas if the show had straight characters and female nudity, they would not be. I was unsure how I felt about this element of the show for some time – was it the fact that I saw this as 'alternative' the issue that meant the sexual material seemed like an issue? For me personally it was not, but for sure the show's obsession with sex was a barrier in and of itself. Perhaps it is my distance from this community that meant it felt over-the-top and a little tiresome in its constant sexual energy, however it remains that it did feel this way.It is a shame because there are some real people in here, and the show is really driven by Franklin's performance as Henry. Too often he is thrown around in the sea of sex, with its fast edits, its boundless energy, and polished presentation. However at times the script gives him space to be a person within this world, and in those moments his performances works really well. It is a shame that the same was not said for the others and too many just felt like easy caricatures without any fleshing out. Even those characters which have more to work with, they still don't really manage to fight their way through the energy and bustle to make a mark.It is a shame, because I did also quite enjoy elements of the energy, sex, and sense of lifestyle. However it does feel like these elements were always first and foremost on the agenda, and it always seems like the characters and moments of genuine feeling just came about for the purpose of having a frame for all of the main material, not the other way round.

a-svozil This show is widely criticized for its stereotypical portrayal of gay characters as over-sexed, immature, sleazy and shallow. I could not agree more - the main character (as well as almost everyone on the show) is unlikeable for exactly those reasons. Nevertheless, I feel that the show (just like any other morality tale, which Cucumber basically is) uses its anti-hero to convey a message that is, in its core, a warning. What we see throughout the show, are characters who are unable to truly bond and in a desperate calling for closeness (or is it regaining lost youth, at least for some?) chase after random sex. This chase usually leads them to pathetic begging or self-commodification which, in this fictional universe, is seen as something inescapable and "normal"( like in the subplot with the video- mogul nephew). In effect, their hunger to be loved (via sexual intercourse) leads one of the characters to his death, the other to a existence of vacuous survival and endless desire. The plight of the elder generation is mirrored in the story lines of the young (in Cucumber as well as in its spin- off, Banana), who don't even consider forming any kind of durable bond, let alone expressing any kind of basic human concern (as personified in the truly repulsive character of walking "emptiness behind a pretty face" Freddie.) What I see as emblematic scene of the show is when the protagonist suggests creating a 60'-style commune, only to be met with incomprehension and laughter. The sense of togetherness that once prevailed within the gay culture has been dismantled (is it because of the embracement by the majority culture?),the social interactions take place within a strictly competitive market. Or is it a battleground?All of this might be lost on some due to the strong comic nature of the show, but to me, the light over-tone of the whole thing only makes the tragedy more approachable to general audience.

Aaron Dodo Why do we watch drama? Why do we watch movies, read books, listen to news? And why is it that the imaginary lives of distant people not even remotely related to us often bring us into deep thoughts or emotions?Because that is what we do. We extract and we associate. We learn. Because truth, the universal truth, MUST ring true wherever you look.And sometimes, because we're so adapted to our mundane life, it takes a story slightly outside of our comfort zone to illustrate these universal truth to us. Make no mistake, Cucumber is sarcastic and intense. It puts on a satiric or even comedic voice, but it should be immediately obvious to the audience that there is an incredible intensity behind it. Some people may be confused, thinking "a suicide is not funny" --- Exactly. It is not. It is not supposed to be. The suicide should make you feel uncomfortable, should make you question Henry's choices, and should make you question MORE than just Henry's choices. That's what satires are supposed to do, it should make us think and think BIGGER than what's shown on the screen. Seeing flashing moments between Henry burying himself in his own daily worries and fantasies, and the problem that others are facing, should shake us: it's not just him, it's all of us, so buried in the thoughts of picking up our children and saving 50 cents on the next grocery purchase that we don't bother to look up into the world. Then you should stop and wonder: can we change that? And then, some of you will be more optimistic, others may come to the sad conclusion that no, not all the time. The mundane WILL drown out the worldly voices as many of us have noticed in our own lives, and it doesn't matter how much you fight it, it's bound to happen at least occasionally. And THAT, is a powerful message, one that transcends simple do and don'ts and illustrates reality. It's a very sad message. So don't be confused, if you feel uncomfortable watching that part of the episode, it means you've picked up the right feeling that they're trying to send out. Throughout the whole series, there's a lot of very dark messages. For those who try to bound these messages to only gay men or gay men of a certain age, make no mistakes, what was described in the show can apply to anyone and everyone. Like the show said, we make roads, we make grids, and as long as we are confined in certain grids we are safe --- but anyone who ventures out of that grid either voluntarily or not, will find that it is you versus the wild. These gay men on the show just illustrates this point better, because they're often closer to the side curb than your typical happily married straight couples, hence they have a greater chance of venturing outside of the norm and discover the nature that we are not supposed to discover. The idea of "possibility", the illusion of a "dream", the enormous social pressure that many of us have already molded our lives for, and the fragile mind that cannot grasp at a few themes at any given moment, these are problems that are in EVERYONE's life. Or they will be. So, I disagree with some other reviewers that this show illustrates the dark side of gay life --- it illustrates the darker side of what humans typically praise, period. Lust. Envy. It's everywhere. And it's here to stay.

Prismark10 Russell T Davies returns to the world of adult television and more specifically drama about gay life after some years spent writing for Time Lords, Time Agents and former companions of Time Lords.Cucumber has so far received mixed reviews about middle aged gay life in Manchester and underwhelmed in the ratings. Viewers were unsure whether it was a comedy, drama, satirical or just bittersweet. However RTD for episode 6 had a trick up his sleeve and certainly has hit the right notes and of course time travel is involved!The opening scenes sees Lance (Cyril Nri) in the supermarket and the screen is emblazoned with the words 'Lance Edward Sullivan: 1966 -­ 2015.'Surely not and we have been here before. Series 2 Doctor Who had Rose Tyler stating at the beginning of the penultimate episode: 'This is the story of how I died.'We have flashbacks to the beginning of Lance's life from the moment of birth and as he grows up accompanied by the sounds of the Eurythmics and later Annie Lennox, because things move on. You see a teenage Lance trying to get a rid off a copy of Playgirl obviously feeling guilty about liking pictures of male flesh. As he goes to University he has a girlfriend which leaves him unfulfilled. He finds his true self when he meets teenager. However coming out to his dad means Christmas's at a friends house as his dad refuses have him and his boyfriend in the house until that one year he pops up alone. His dad those thaw eventually inviting Lance and his latest boyfriend in one Christmas.Lance is a fun loving, party going guy. He is in marketing, moves to Manchester and eventually meets Henry, the love of his life which as we find in this series eventually becomes messy due to commitment issues by Henry. Here we see Henry declaring his love to Lance which Lance rebuffs and goes off with the handsome but unsuitable and unpredictable Daniel (the confused straight guy). Despite a ghostly warning to leave him and head a different road Lance just finds Daniel too handsome to abandon him. Daniel is overcome with guilt of having gay thoughts after he ejaculates leading to the fatal blow.This episode was directed by Alice Troughton (a series 4 Doctor Who director) and reminds me much of another Series 4 story, Turn Left and I am sure we have the same sound effects used in that episode when we had flashbacks of Donna's alternate time-line. Whereas Donna did correct her wrong turn no such luck for Lance.In terms of RTD's writing style despite one show being a family science fiction show dealing with Daleks destroying the universe and the other an adult drama dealing with the sexual frustrations of middle aged gay men, you cannot help noticing the same beats in the writing, the change of genres makes no difference in quality.Davies did mention in an interview that despite changes in law which now allows gay marriage for example, he still wanted to deal with the issue that it is still dangerous living a life of a gay person in Britain.