Not watched the shows yet, but so far the reviews are very positive:

 

'Gloriously, triumphantly, explicitly gay and the television event of the week'

Three interconnected shows from Russell T Davies that are dead funny and very, very human

The Guardian

 

'A hugely watchable and funny human drama with a novel use for Boney M'

Russell T Davies has created the heir to Queer as Folk and it's marvellous

Mirror.co.uk

 

'Terrifically entertaining'

Russell T Davies’s hilarious, in-your-face new gay drama had a rare energy and grit

Telegraph.co.uk

 

Russell T Davies is on top form in this slice of gay life with universal appeal

The Independent

 

'Russell T Davies’ Cucumber is a raucously funny relationship drama that highlights how narrow the rest of TV’s representation is...'

Den of Geek

Very excited to see this. About time they did another show about gay people~

Wasn't quite sure what to make of Cucumber. Maybe I'll warm into the show with further episodes, it is only the beginning after all! I preferred 'Banana'.

Wasn't quite sure what to make of Cucumber. Maybe I'll warm into the show with further episodes, it is only the beginning after all! I preferred 'Banana'.

 

Watching Cucumber now it's really making me cringe I want to turn it off :unsure:

'Cucumber' - tone all wrong for me. didn't feel any real emotion in any of it, and the Kylie-soundtracked scene was just too absurd, pushed way too far. 'Banana' is better, has a tighter focus and seems more self-aware of the character's foibles. (also more Freddie Fox, whose attitude gives LIFE)

'Cucumber' - tone all wrong for me. didn't feel any real emotion in any of it, and the Kylie-soundtracked scene was just too absurd, pushed way too far. 'Banana' is better, has a tighter focus and seems more self-aware of the character's foibles. (also more Freddie Fox, whose attitude gives LIFE)

 

I agree, the main characters are all pretty unlikeable but then again a lot of gays in Manchester are. Then again as said before it is only the first episode will see how it goes from here. It's weird seeing all the Manchester scenes though, it literally showed the whole of my walk to work at one point :lol: also the club View made me laugh, one of the few clubs which rightly lets lots of straights in.

I've been reflecting on 'Cucumber'. Yes, that whole part about his work colleague "stealing his work", escalating to him having committed some plagiarism-based crime, was frankly bizarre and didn't seem to contribute anything to the proceedings at all. I wasn't particularly keen on the "boyfriend + threesome partner get arrested" part either, that was very over the top. The Ryan Reynolds monologue was a bit uncomfortable to watch too. :o

 

It all just felt a bit silly, but not in an amusing way. Like I said, I'll definitely keep with it... I trust that it'll go somewhere. Not a great first impression though.

Cucumber really missed the mark. All the critics were invited to Cucumber launch at the top of the beautiful shard, were showered in free booze and VIP service - treated like royalty apparently. I wonder if that helped with the glowing reviews a little :P Either that or they watched a totally different show - everyone I spoke to hated it!

 

It's a great shame because TV really needs more LGBT characters. The first 10 minutes were especially awful. That scene in the cab office was terribly written and cringe.

 

After that it got marginally and inoffensively better, but nothing 'great'. I'll, of course give it a few more episodes before writing it off completely.

 

I've yet to watch Banana - some people have said that it was a lot better!

Edited January 23, 201510 yr by Joe.

too much gay stuff...or?

Absolutely, but also:

 

Watching Cucumber now it's really making me cringe I want to turn it off :unsure:

 

'Cucumber' - tone all wrong for me. didn't feel any real emotion in any of it, and the Kylie-soundtracked scene was just too absurd, pushed way too far.

 

the main characters are all pretty unlikeable

 

It all just felt a bit silly, but not in an amusing way. Not a great first impression

 

Cucumber really missed the mark.

Yes, the cab office scene was terrible as was the scene with the vain idiot in the diving suit. Thankfully, it improved after that although it all seemed rather disjointed.

For what it's worth I actually quite enjoyed Cucumber but the Ryan Reynolds scene made me really glad I was watching it on my own rather than with my mother in the room. It strikes me as something that you have to watch all the way through to fully appreciate.

 

Contrary to popular opinion I really couldn't stand the lead in the first episode of Banana so that wasn't as enjoyable for me. Have yet to see (or brave if the rumours are true) Tofu.

Tofu was amazing.

 

Banana was brilliant but could have been an hour long rather than 30 mins.

 

Cucumber was okay, I just don't think it managed to find it's place in that first episode.

I really enjoyed Banana. It was much better. It complimented Cucumber quite nicely too.

 

Dean is clearly the best character so far.

I didn't see Tofu, did I miss out? It didn't sound like essential viewing in the same vein as Cucumber and Banana. I seem to be in the severe minority, I absolutely loved Cucumber. It seems outrageous and I can't wait to see how the story unfolds, I'm sure there'll be more to come of the plagiarism storyline, so I don't think it'll be as pointless as it seem.

 

It linked in with Banana really well, so I'm glad I watched that too! I'll definitely be continuing with this series. :D Shame it's ratings were below 1m. :(

Just caught up. 'Cucumber' was a bit too strange and over-the-top (although that was to be expected from RTD). Couldn't help but love the 'Your Disco Needs You' section though :kink:

 

'Banana' was miles better - the story seems very interesting and the characters are far more likeable (Freddie :wub:). That subtle reference to Doctor Who as well though with H.C. Clements being a company *.*

I watched Cucumeber on 4od and It just didnt hit the mark like I wanted it too. Just too cringe in some places like the cab office scene or the two guys getting arrested thought there was a better way to conclude that episode. Will it again to see if it will be better

 

However Banana was miles better, better stories, likeable characters (Dean and Freddie) cant wait to see more.

 

Havent watched Tofu, what was it like? and what was it about?

God parts of the first episode of Cucumber were absolutely LOATHESOME. Far too overly stylised and contrived for most of it, even in comparison with Queer As Folk (where the outrageous moments were at least believable and in character - Aiden Gillen ploughing a car through a homophobe's dealership etc) - would a neighbour ever be so outright rude and brazen as to confront someone about something embarrassing in front of their boyfriend whilst doing so in a totally non-aggressive manner? Would a gaggle of gays catch someone on Grindr and then have a discussion about their cumshot videos halfway across a bar? Would a conversation be silenced for a bizarre sub-Drama freshers' monologue about Ryan Reynolds getting off on himself? (which was both cringeworthy and utterly unbelievable - why would really dreadful fan fic monologues ever be something that commanded that kind of attention?)

 

I'll probably carry on watching - enough of it rang true and showed potential that I could imagine it getting better now the central conceit is out of the way, though I can tell it's going to be one where the ensemble carries it because good christ that central character is unlikeable. Ten minutes into Banana and it already feels much more relaxed and enjoyable.

Tonight's episode was a definite improvement.

I thought there were moments of good TV in the new episode but there were, again, moments that REALLY missed the mark. Freddie's wanking monologue was really awful. Some of the acting could be better, too. I think the guy playing Lance just isn't good enough, and the guy playing Daniel is also one of the weakest. - So the Daniel/Lance flirtations are coming off really awkward - and not in the way they wanted it to be. Dean is probably the most interesting character for me.

 

Banana, once again was a lot more focused and fluid. Letitia Wright was fantastic as Scotty. I looked it up and the director of 'Banana' is quite a bit younger than RTD (director of Cucumber), and I think that's why Cucumber isn't quite translating, I know there are LGBT members of many ages, but Cucumber's ideas and humour are coming across rather dated.

Edited January 30, 201510 yr by Joe.

Scotty is one weird bitch.