Cucumber
Writer/Director
Written by Russel T. Davies, who also wrote Queer as Folk. Cucumber, Banana and Tofu follow Queer as Folk as a spiritual sequel. Davies himself is gay. The programmes explore the world now for the LGBTQ community, as opposed to exploring the world for the LGBTQ community in the 1990s in Queer as Folk. Davies explores the difference and the similarities of the two time period. He said ‘I wanted stories about younger gay men as well because there aren’t many young gay stories, young gay male stories, included in Cucumber and I was very aware that there are a lot of gay voices apart from mine out there. Banana gave us a chance to get other voices in, to get women writing women, to get transsexual voices in there, to get directors my age to be looking at gay life in a completely different way as well.’ The programme explores a very series topic, but with such good humour. The programmes are all interlinked with each other, but each one focuses on a different area of the LGBTQ community. We see some of the same characters in both, for example, a minor character in Cucumber might be picked up as a major character in Banana. It's so cleverly written.
Setting
Canal Street in Manchester. Set in the same place as Queer as Folk. Canal Street is Manchester's gay village. Men used to start coming down to Canal Street in the 1920s, a few hostels there would protect the men. The birth of Manchester's gay village came when a club put up a glass window, meaning that everyone could see what was happening inside and thus the hiding began to cease. Canal Street is now a place where the LGBTQ can be safe and welcomed.
Characters
- Henry Best: Gay. Played by a straight actor, Vincent Franklin. The programme focuses on middle-aged Henry after his breakup with Lance Sullivan who were together for 9 years but whom he never had sex with. The series follows him dealing with the break up and the quest to lose his virginity. Henry is terrified of sex, which raises the question of is he simply too scared or is he perhaps asexual? The programme never really explores this option. He has several sexual attractions to men, including Freddie. After Lance's death, he moves back into their old home with many of his LGBTQ friends, calling themselves the 'LGBT+ Collective'. Henry admits in the last episode that he has never fully come to terms with his sexuality, but he hopes that one day he will.
- Lance Sullivan: Gay. Henry's boyfriend of 9 years. He is very patient and loving towards Henry, considering Henry refuses to have sex with him. After their breakup, Lance pursues the interest of a heterosexual man, Daniel. He continues to pursue it, even though Daniel is very insistent upon his somewhat questionable heterosexuality. He ends up being killed by Daniel due to Daniel's confusion about his sexuality and resulting aggression and temper.
- Daniel: Heterosexual. With whom Lance wants a rebound with. He is an overly heterosexual man, but it always seems like it is just a front, like he is trying to convince not only everyone else that he is straight, but also himself. Daniel makes a lot of homophobic jokes, but at the same time there is a lot of flirtation with Lance. He seems very confused about his sexuality. Desperately trying to fit into sexual binaries even though deep down he doesn't. He exercises macho aggression. His confusion with his sexuality and his anger eventually gets the better of him and leads to the murder of Lance.
- Freddie Baxter: 25. Sleeps with both men and women, but mostly men. He is an arrogant character. Very sexually active. Freddie lives in the same apartment that Henry moves into after splitting with Lance. He teases Henry, maintaining that they will never sleep together, but at the same time implying that they could hypothetically sleep together in the future - Henry's fantasy. We learn that he had sex with one of his teachers, who has a wife and children.
- Dean Monroe: Gay. 19. Lives with Freddie, whom he has a huge crush on. Dean invites Henry to live with them in their apartment after he and Lance break up.
- Adam Whitaker: 15. Bi-curious. He is the son of Henry's sister. He and Henry make money through filming homo-erotica videos starring Adam and his friend.