Cucumber (2015) User Reviews (13)

The state of gay life 2015

[albertusjohannesmaria · 9/10 · 2 August 2015]

A friend advised me to watch this series because it was supposed to be about my life. As a gay man in my early fifties I was kind of unsure if I wanted to see this, a story about a man my age dealing with my issues. Well, I just finished the last episode and I must admit that I highly enjoyed "Cucumber".

Best part of Cucumber is the great script, mostly funny, sometimes dramatic. In my opinion all important themes of gay life for a middle aged man are presented. Also the uneasy thing of the division of roles in male gay relationships and sex, who's the top and who's the bottom? Who gives and who receives? Who penetrates and who is being penetrated? Decades ago this wasn't an issue at all. I had long term relationships and I never discussed that with my boyfriends. We were happy being together. Nowadays gays want to know if you're a top or bottom. The same clarity as between a man and a woman? If you can't or wont define yourself you're going to miss sexual opportunities. In porn movies roles are defined, and so it should be in our lives. Whether or not straight rules are the same for gay sex, it's a fact that this old fashioned view on sex is now mainstream in the gay community. The tragedy about all this is that it has been scientifically proved that most gay man are in fact bottoms. So everybody is looking for a top and two bottoms don't even think about falling in love or being sexual. Oh well, everybody has to do what they must do, but I don't believe in this division.

Cucumber has many more great themes, but this was the most striking for me.

Cucumber is compared with that other gay series called "Looking". Looking was nicely shot and superbly styled but Cucumber dives much deeper and seriously in taboos like gay male sexual intercourse, loneliness, age gaps, career and work, narcissism, bi-curious youth, race and social media.

Second Chances...

[dcscribe8860 · 8/10 · 15 April 2015]

Back during the long-anticipated, yet ultimately disappointing (for me) debut of RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE, Season 7, CUCUMBER AND BANANA were given a sneak preview that my DVR programming had also picked up. I was tremendously underwhelmed by the RPDR debut, and was sorely tempted because of that experience, to delete everything, including the preview. However, because I try not to make snap judgments about the first episodes of shows, I decided to go ahead and give C&B a shot. Maybe I shouldn't have. I found it too loud, frenetic, stereotypical bordering on the insulting and maybe even homophobic, with unlikable characters that I could find nothing in common with. And THAT was just CUCUMBER. Don't even get me started on how I felt about the follow up of BANANA. This was sometime back in March, if I recall correctly.

SO...fast forward to NOW. When my partner asked about watching something for the evening, I suggested that I had taped the 'official' premiere of C&B. I had described it to him before, and not in a very complimentary way, so I was surprised that he agreed to watch it with me. I did qualify beforehand, that if it stunk to high heaven, we could always bail out and watch something else.

Wonder of wonders...we watched both parts, he for the first time and I for the second, and we both actually ENJOYED it (in spite of the ridiculous censoring of certain visuals and dialogue that were very easy to see and/or lip-read what was going on.)

So, what changed for me this time around? What made me give C&B a second chance?

TIME, for one thing. Not being a Doctor Who fan (though I was crazy about TORCHWOOD), I was still somewhat familiar with Russell T. Davies writing style from that and also the original version of QUEER AS FOLK. And here's the thing. Viewers need to recognize that like any other popular nighttime entertainment, C&B presents a stylized, heightened version of what we know to be real life: people, situations, consequences.

Straight people know not to look to television or film for saintly, pristine, accurate depictions of the IDEAL life they imagine they have, or would like to have. Why should the situation be any different for gay men, be they middle-aged or young, living in Manchester? Real life IS complicated, messy, absurd. People make complicated, messy, absurd decisions from motivations that are likewise.

I've had TIME, as I mentioned before, to reflect on all of this. I don't believe that gay men think any more or less of sex than straight guys do. Same with actually engaging in it.

Part of the reason why I didn't respond well to Henry and Lance and their colleagues, was because I wasn't ready to acknowledge the more truthful components of their relationship and the interaction with their mates, co-workers, etc., that resonated sympathetically with what my partner and I go through. RTD has done a brilliant job with that part. And with BANANA, the 'flip side of the album', so to speak, it was easier to identify some of the traits of people I knew when I was in my early teens to twenties, with the exploits of Freddie and mostly, Dean...not to mention a few of those same qualities I saw in myself at that age.

The reviewers that charge these shows with some kind of blatant irresponsibility should take a couple of deep breaths and reexamine their extreme reactions to what they've been watching. Is it the writing or acting they're responding to? Because in my not-so-humble opinion, both are pretty much above reproach. Or is it a nerve being struck with some of the more truthful aspects of the characters and situations being presented?

Personally, I don't need or want a show that paints all gay men as some kind of sexually, morally and fiscally responsible saints, who all have adopted kids or beautifully blended families, with the neat little white picket fenced house, the minivan, the two great jobs, the fully loving and supportive families. Please. We know some of that exists, but if that's all you want to show me, SHOOT ME NOW.

REAL DRAMA COMES FROM REAL LIFE. And vice versa. Gay men think about sex a lot. MEN think about sex a lot. PERIOD. And sometimes, actually more than that, it can affect what decisions they make and what actions they take. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes not so much. A quote I heard recently perfectly sums up what is at the core of C&B. And that is taking into account the Three Most Important Keys To Living A Successful Life: TIMING, ADJUSTMENT and CONSISTENCY. The ongoing, engaging scenarios that will continue to unfold in these two shows, will be a lesson on how the characters apply those three principles to their own situations. Or not. And how well they do with the outcomes.

Subversive critic of internalizing stereotypes within "gay culture"

[a-svozil · 7/10 · 10 June 2015]

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.

This Show Holds Up an Unpleasant Mirror to the Reality of Gay Life

[VicGranata · 10/10 · 19 September 2015]

Anyone who vilifies this show because they feel it paints a "stereotypical" or "negative" portrait of what gay men are like are either painfully naive or living in denial. This show is not only frighteningly accurate but smartly written, beautifully shot, superbly acted and stylishly edited.

As a 47 year old gay man, I found this (unlike many other gay-themed TV series) to, at long last, finally depict characters with which I am familiar and with whom I identify on many levels.

It's both raw and honest and yet tempers the darker aspects of gay life with humor and respect.

As much as we would like to be perceived as no different than our straight counterparts, the reality is we are different. And for good or ill, most of us gay folk do indeed behave in the manner that is depicted in this show. It was refreshing to not see our lifestyle sugar coated.

In our fight for equality, too often we try to pretend that things are not what they appear. But they are. They always have been, and they always will be. Gay men are, after all, men. And men have a single-mindedness when it comes to behavior and desire. If this show was about straight guys, we'd all say, "Well yeah. Men behave like that." But because it's specifically about gay men, so many would like to say "gay men don't really behave like that." But we do. That is the harsh reality we need to accept.

I've been out since I was 20 years old. In the 27 years of being an out (and proud) gay man, I have seen and encountered all of these characters in my life and still, to this day, see and encounter them. Stop cry-babying that this show perpetuates negative stereotypes. If you don't like what you see in this show, then don't watch the show. But you will see no different in the real world. This is gay life. We love, we lose, we win, we make mistakes and we have sex... a lot of it if we're lucky. And when we're not having sex, we're looking for it. Not because we're gay. But because we're guys. Cucumber depicts what men do and how men behave when those men happen to be gay -- the joy, the misery, the heartache, the loss, the triumphs, the failures, the sex and the never-ending quest for it.

That is the reality of the world we live in. Sorry if you find that harsh. That's what happens when a mirror is held up and you don't like what you see. I personally had no problem with what I saw when I watched this show. I make no apologies for who I am and what I do. I'm far from a minority of one in that respect.

The problem is not with what this show portrays. The problem is that the portrayal is accurate. And that problem is, quite frankly, our problem and no one else's.

Learn to live with it.

Packed and Loaded

[aarondodo · 10/10 · 2 March 2015]

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.

The moments where real people come through are unfortunately lost in a constantly sea of energy that didn't work for me

[bob the moo · 18 December 2015]

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.

Very nice

[shenu-57770 · 9/10 · 15 April 2019]

I loved this series. The only thing that was not convincing is that in the series Henry is 46 years old. Come on!!! No 46 year old man that takes good care of himself looks that old. Henry looks more like 56 than 46.

R.T.D. at his best

[chrispowers1976 · 9/10 · 14 April 2022]

I 'box-set-blitzed' this drama when it first came out and absolutely loved it, then did the same with it's companion piece, Banana. This time around, seven years later, I watched it as intended: one episode of Cucumber, one episode of Banana and found that I enjoyed it even more. Apart from the odd old IPhone model it hasn't dated and still hits hard even if you know what's coming. Davies at this point understood humans completely, (a gift that seems to have faded into 'woke cliché' territory in more recent dramas like Years and Years and It's a Sin). The acting is superb, especially Cyril Nri who gives an outstanding performance. (The one exception is Julie Hesomndhalgh who basically plays her own self righteous, patronising self with her own accent; which is completely different from her on-screen brother's). Vincent Franklin is also excellent, swapping emotional drama for comedy and back again at exactly the right moment. If you haven't seen Cucumber then I'd definitely recommend it.

Turn Left

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 1 March 2015]

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.

Attention-grabbing but sleazy and embarrassing

[Foux_du_Fafa · 5/10 · 13 March 2015]

I really don't know what to think of "Cucumber". It's certainly gripping but it also left me rather uncomfortable and wondering what I was doing to myself. To give you a bit of context: I'm from the Manchester area and it took me until my early-to-mid 20s to buck up the courage to come out. In the past few years since then, I've encountered a variety of gay people. Some are scene- obsessed, others don't have anything to do with the scene. Some are intelligent, some are stupid. Some seek alternative lifestyles, some don't. Some are quite conservative regarding sex and relationships, others far from. The fact is that sexual orientation does not necessarily define one's lifestyle or personal beliefs, nor should anyone try to beg to differ.

Though not as sleazy as the earlier "Queer as Folk", "Cucumber" portrays a stereotypical world of gay people (particularly gay men) who are narcissists, sex-addicts and general sleaze-balls. True, these people exist, and perhaps it's good to see gay people who are broke and on the fringes of society instead of fabulous, perfect- bodied and super-successful people who live in penthouses in LA or Manhattan. For someone who doesn't want to be shoved in a category and only interact with people of my own sexual orientation, it's quite frankly insulting. I understand that it's meant to be an over- the-top comedy-drama series and that it shouldn't be taken as realistic, but the fact of the matter is that some less informed people may watch it and come to see it as how gay people act and live. Feel free to make up your own mind on the programme, but just be warned.

This comedy is as dark as it gets

[Hobbes1013 · 8 May 2018]

The main character, Henry, is as unapologetic as it gets. He couldn't care less about what others think of him, and doesn't crave approval at all. At least, that's what he projects and how he'd describe himself. The whole series is like that. Daring and totally unafraid to be offensive (and this will be very offensive to some) Cucumber is an extraordinarily raw and honest look at gay sexuality in an over-sexualized world. A world where the bad one and the victim aren't necessarily who you think, at first. A very worthwhile journey.

Self-loathing characters in a world devoid of love

[nothingisforbidden · 2/10 · 3 March 2015]

My husband bailed on this show ten minutes in, but I (always eager for gay stories on the screen) decided to watch the whole thing. It has been an exasperating, unpleasant, and unrewarding experience. The technical aspects and the actors are competent, but the tone is all over the place. The writing is too insipid and the character too shallow for this to work as drama. It's much too unfunny to be a comedy, even a black comedy. Nor does it work as satire; there are no moments of glittering insight. It's really a horror show, I suppose, wrenching us from one unpleasant encounter to another, climaxing with the very ugly murder in episode 6.

Trying to explain this "horror show" to my husband, he put his finger on the problem. "Where's the love?" he asked. And there you have it. There is no love in this show. The two older characters, together for 8 years, clearly do not love each other, or themselves for that matter. In the mean-spirited world of "Cucumber" there is no love at all. No love of each other. No love of parents for children, or children for parents. No love of one's work. No love of the place one lives. No love of oneself. No love of sex, either, though this show pretends to be all about sex. No love of the writer for his characters, only contempt.

I find it very strange that Russell T. Davies, a TV creator so successful he can surely do whatever he wants, should choose to put this particular vision on the screen. Is he really so cynical and bitter that he sees not even a glimpse of love in the "gay world" he inhabits? I remember an interview he gave when the original "Queer as Folk" was creating a buzz, and I was taken aback at how unhappy he seemed, especially for a young writer achieving international success. That unhappiness is manifest in every scene of "Cucumber."

I happened to watch this series after binge-watching "TransParent" from Amazon, which blew me away with its razor-sharp observations, quirky humor, and deliciously uncomfortable but all-too-familiar moments. I was hoping "Cucumber" would be that good. Alas, no such luck.

Goes all over the place!

[qui_j · 5/10 · 4 September 2020]

This is no "Queer as Folk", which had an actual story based around a set of main characters, who continuously evolved with the seasons. Of course, that ended abruptly in the UK and the US version became a bigger hit. Cucumber tried to do that but seemingly got hijacked along the way. There are many subplots, some of which come to fruition, others just fizzle out or are never mentioned again. The editing leaves much to be desired with scenes just stuck together in some random order. The dialog and sexual scenes are quite raw, and the depicted behavior of the Manchester scene does explain why this was/is a hard hit area for STIs etc. After a while, one does get bored with the story as it does not seem to follow a smooth trajectory. The final episode is a rush to bring the story arc to the end. It was OK, but not great....and could have been so much better!