Friday, February 20, 2015

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - Episode 5 Recap/Review (And Screwdriver)

The timing for these episodes this week couldn't be at a worse time. Following the Live episodes of EastEnders 30th anniversary (blog on that tomorrow), I had to Plus 1 the two main shows but while neither were the show at their best, they were still watchable though.


Cucumber: Feeling 'Nervous' anyone? Well, this week, Henry's pesudo-porn/vlogging empire came to a thankful end of sorts - first through Adam and his mates realising that Henry was surplus to requirements and secondly, due to Cleo reading Henry the riot act about children, sex and constantly having to think in one of the most beautifully written speeches I've ever seen any television show. I'm glad this plot line was wrapped up pretty fast and also in a way that didn't come across as overly moralistic while at the same time not entirely making light of the situation as well.

In terms of other plots - hardly much else really happened this week. We got to meet Freddie's parents, who realistically weren't delighted with the idea of Henry living with their son and then we had a nice bonding session between Henry and Freddie where the former realised that he wanted Lance back after all. A good thing, considering that Leigh turned out to be somewhat racist but sadly, Lance is too fixated on Daniel to consider taking Henry back.

The low point of nearly every episode so far has been Lance fawning over Daniel. While it's not an unrealistic story, it's a fucking depressing one with Daniel just being unpleasant and nutty in each episode. The whole wanking thing as well should've been a wake up call for Lance but sadly, it wasn't. No offence to James Murray but the sooner Daniel buggers off, the better far as I'm concerned.


Banana: A somewhere in between kind of episode for me. It's one that's not quite as good as either Scotty or Helen's, is probably on a par with Violet and Sian and marginally better than Dean's. On the plus side, Luke Newberry, everyone.

The guy's build up a nice fanbase courtesy of the now cancelled In The Flesh and here he plays a slightly snobbish free spirited guy named Josh. A guy who is both fixated on Freddie and desperate to get his best friend, Sophie (Chloe Harris) to call off her wedding, which she does predictably at the last minute of the story.

It's not a bad episode as such but like it's parent show, it's had to come from a massive turning point episode and it doesn't really feel that big though. Still, it's nice to see Newberry on more television though and I did like the banter with him and Harris throughout the episode.


Tofu: Ah, an episode about Teenage Lust. Various cast and crew and usual suspects discuss at lengths their first times, their crushes as well as their consumption of porn. I found it interesting that people like Jake Bass were talking about the younger female fans they've generated and how even porn stars too have succumbed to being shipped by the Tumblr generation as well. Other than that, this wasn't the most riveting installment we've had.


Screwdriver: Out of all things that aired last night in relation to this franchise (is that the right word to use here?), this was undoubtedly the highlight of the bunch. A wonderful 15 minute treat which saw both Cleo and Adam sitting in a pub as the former grills the latter on how much porn he's actually seen, when he started watching and what can be done in relation to impressionable children watching it as well. You know that bit earlier in this blog where I said the Cleo/Henry scene in Cucumber was one of the most beautifully written scenes? Yeah, well this whole fifteen minute scene surpasses it with Julie Hesmondhalgh just firing on all cylinders as the Screwdriver and various other sexual acts and attitudes towards sexuality are discussed in a frightening frank and brutal way. This is literally the best fifteen minutes of anything I've seen in recent times and easily the best thing that Russell T. Davies has penned for any of his new shows as well. You'll be amazed by it.

Next week, can Henry win Lance back from Daniel? Oh and we meet Amy.

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