Cucumber - US Remake For ABC With New Title

Well, it only took Showtime a year and a half to do their own version of Queer As Folk, so are we surprised that Cucumber too would be getting a US remix?

Produced by Shonda Rhimes company, Shondaland, the US version of Cucumber will now have the title of Adult Behavior and will be showrun by Allan Heinberg and air on ABC. Heinberg will be familiar to people in recent times as the writer of the current Wonder Woman movie but he's also the man responsible for The Catch and has written for shows such as Looking and Sex And The City to boot.

Adult Behavior, is described as “a sexy, multi-generational, comedic drama” and is based on the British gay comedy series Cucumber and Banana, which US viewers were able to see on Logo back in 2015. The show will be executive produced by Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers along with Russell T Davies, the creator of the UK version of both shows.

While I'm wary of US remakes and with this show being on a network, there will be a limit to how much we can see, sex wise (though How To Get Away With Murder certainly pushes the boundaries), I'm cautiously optimistic for this show and I bet we'll see a few Shondaland alumni heading up some of the cast too and ABC do have a solid history with LGBT themed shows.

Press Release: http://tvline.com/2017/06/21/adult-behavior-abc-pilot-shonda-rhimes-allan-heinberg/

I'll post more details about Adult Behavior when it becomes available.

LGBT TV 2015: Highs/Lows/Missed Opportunities

Okay, this might not be an entirely definitive list. There are probably some omissions, due to me either not getting round to seeing certain programmes or simply forgetting stuff but without further ado, here's a look at some of the most prominent of LGBT programmes - either for the excellent representation, terrible representation or simply being a missed opportunity.

Starting this off on a good note ....

The Best

Sense8 (Netflix)

There were so many things this excellent summer series had going in it's favour from the makers of both The Matrix and Babylon 5. Some of the most notable was the diversity in it's casting, the fact that it was filmed in eight different countries (which really did translate onscreen) and of course, the fact that a good portion of the cast were LGBT. In the first season we saw the relationship between transgendered hacktivist Nomi (Jamie Clayton) and free spirited Amanita (Freema Agyeman) as well as semi-closeted actor Lito (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) and the rather lovely Hernando (Alfonso Herrera). Both relationships were treated with utter sensitivity throughout the captivating series.

How To Get Away With Murder (ABC/Universal)

If only every second season can be good as this show. I feared that How To Get Away With Murder might have suffered from the cursed sophomore slump but has managed to actually subvert it so far. Not only that but Season 2 is seriously becoming close to edging out Season 1 in terms of craziness too. More importantly, the show's handling of Oliver's (Conrad Ricamora) HIV and his relationship with Connor (Jack Falahee) has developed so wonderfully onscreen. Watching this show, you do have to wonder why can't all LGBT writers get it as right as Peter Nowalk is currently doing.

Empire (FOX/E4)

Has there ever has been a show that has risen so spectacularly? In less than a couple of episodes, Empire went from a surprising rated well mid season series on FOX to becoming literally the most talked about network drama in the last five years and it's easy to see why. It's a modern musical equivalent to Dallas, has been more of a singing monster hit than the ended Glee and upped the soap antics with the Lyon family and the record company. More to the point (and excluding the blip we had with the Skye Summers plot), Jamal Lyon has become one of the most fascinating gay characters on television with Jussie Smollett proving to be a commanding presence and soulful singer.

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu (Ch4/E4/4OD/Logo)

16 years ago, Russell T/ Davies gave UK viewers Queer As Folk on Channel 4 and it certainly changed the landscape of television. In 2015, he went one step further with three interconnecting shows, all airing on connecting channels and while the shows in question might have divided some viewers, they did however provoke discussion. Not only that - they also examined what it meant to be LGBT in the present day, the division between young and older members of the community, the dangers of revenge porn, unrequited love, growing apart from family and friends as well as the ending of a long term relationship. Basically, these shows fucking rocked.

London Spy (BBC2/BBCAmerica)

Recently finished up on one channel and awaiting airing on another, I did a series overview of this five part spy series from writer Tom Robb Smith and starring Ben Whishaw, but covering myself again - there were moments that frustrated me, but the moments that didn't outweighed things. The love story between Danny (Whishaw) and Alistair/Alex (Edward Holcroft) was interesting and tragic but the friendship between Danny and Scottie (Jim Broadbent) and the ongoing quest to find out who killed Alex certainly kept the show watchable at all times.

The Pretty Good/Rather Great

Looking (HBO/SkyAtlantic)

The bad thing about this show was the moment it got it's groove in it's much improved second season, it was also the same moment that HBO decided to call time on the series. While a movie scheduled for 2016 will tie up any loose ends, it's a shame that apart from that, audiences won't get to see any more of Agustin (Frankie J. Alverez) and Eddie's (Daniel Franzese) relationship, which was the best thing about the second season. Far more interesting than seeing Dom and Ritchie just hanging around or the somewhat tedium surrounding Patrick (Jonathan Groff) and Kevin (Russell Tovey). Hopefully the movie should end things on a good note though.

Orange Is The New Black (Netflix)

To be honest, the third season of Netflix's most famous of shows wasn't it's best one but it was still an extremely watchable one as Piper/Alex (Taylor Schilling/Laura Prepon) reunited, got back together and then broke up over the 13 episodes while Ruby Rose made a memorable debut as the intriguing enough Stella. There was also a delving into transphobia with Sophia (Laverne Cox) towards the end of the season and the growing friendship between Big Boo (Lea DeLaria) and Tiffany (Taryn Manning) was pretty affecting.

Glee (FOX/Sky1)

One of three of Ryan Murphy's shows to make this list and while the show's final season wasn't capable of avoiding the odd stinker (mainly the Sue focused ones), it did have Kurt/Blaine broken up and then married (when the latter wasn't briefly with Karofsky) as well as Santana/Brittany. Not to mention the final episode showed us the gang's futures and Beiste's transition was dealt with a good amount of sensitivity, even if it could've been tackled earlier in the show's run.

Boy Meets Girl (BBC2)

BBC2's sweet natured comedy focusing on transgender woman Judy (Rebecca Root) meeting and starting a relationship with younger man, Leo (Harry Hepple) was one of the surprise hits of the last few months and within six episodes we got to see the relationship develop naturally with both Root and Hepple playing off each other extremely well. I do hope a second series is imminent.

Atlantis (BBC1/BBCAmerica)

A surprising addition to this list but a worthy one. Atlantis might have been a show with some of the laziest writing known to man at times and it's cancellation might have definitely been brought on itself but one thing it managed to get right in the second half of it's second season was the blossoming relationship between Pythagoras (Robert Emms) and Icarus (Joseph Timms). It's a shame we only got about five episodes of the two of them together but at least the show ventured where it's predecessor Merlin could never go though.

The Bad

Quantico (ABC)

You had one character (Simon as played by Tate Ellington) pretending to be gay for reasons too convoluted to entertain while the other character, Elias (Rick Cosnett) seemed to suffer various degrees of character assassination and ineptitude within the first half of this show's debut year. Bad form, show.

Scream Queens (FOX/E4)

It's a shame that for his first post Glee project and sticking with FOX, that Ryan Murphy had to resort to one of the most regressive tropes going. While the comedy/horror series could be entertaining at times, it was riddled with problems (not actually being scary, nastiness of main characters, humour trying too hair, pacing etc) and one of them being the irritating plot of Nick Jonas's Boone pretending to be gay. It's 2015 for flip sake. How can any writer think that sort of storytelling is even interesting to watch in the slightest? On the other hand, it's depiction with Chanel 3/Sadie Swenson (Billie Lourd) was marginally better.

American Horror Story: Hotel (FX/FOXUK)

Okay, not gonna lie - I do prefer Hotel that tiny bit more to Freak Show and while there's been a healthy dose of LGBT characters, the actual quality in them hasn't been something to write a glowing letter home about either. Let's be honest, they're either murderous (Lady Gaga's the Countess), revenge obsessed (Angela Bassett's Ramona Royale), not very bright (Cheyenne Jackson's Will Drake) or their relationships have been too brief to really care about (Denis O'Hare's Liz Taylor with Finn Wittrock's Tristan Duffy). Basically we're in desperate need for another Lana Winters, aren't we?

The Wasted Potential

Constantine (NBC/Amazon Prime)

I caught this series months after it's cancellation and mostly in preparation for Matt Ryan reprising his role in Arrow's fourth season (yay Nyssa/Curtis/alive Sara). Constantine as a series itself was actually pretty enjoyable for the most part but the show's decision to literally ignore the character's bisexuality (something which the latest comics have been more proud of depicting) infuriated me to no end and highlighted a horrible pattern with David S. Goyer as well (DaVinci's Demons, anyone?). Not to mention some of Daniel Cerone's comments on the issue were similarly annoying as well as patronising. It's kind of a shame the show only lasted a season but the writers decision not to have John as an openly bisexual character was met with deserved criticism. I can only hope the more the character pops up in the Arrow universe, the more the writers for those shows will go where Goyer/Cerone failed to go with the character.

Now that's my look at some of the highs and lows of LGBT TV in 2015. What are yours?

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - Episode 8 Recap/Review

It's the final countdown for all three shows and I've really not wanted any of these to end but the way all of them concluded worked for me. So here's a final (probably) look at ....

Cucumber: Well, this was a good way of ending things. The first third of this episode had the perfect ideal of Henry, Freddie, Dean and nearly every guest character in the show and it's spin-off living in Lance's house for a few weeks/month as The Collective. It seemed totally idyllic but as Cleo rightfully pointed out, it wasn't going to last and slowly we began to see it break apart until there was only Henry, Freddie and Cliff left and that's when things went to shit.

I can't really say I blame Freddie for bolting out of there, though I'm not entirely sure if he was right about Henry grooming him into the next Lance. However his absence then resulted in time moving forward quite a bit. Seriously, we went from two weeks to six months (where Daniel finally got sent down for Lance's murder for 13 years) to six years when out of nowhere, Henry and Freddie ended up bumping into each other.

The reunion between Freddie and Henry was the highlight of the episode. I love that this show went from Freddie being barely able to tolerate Henry to actually having the both of them develop an understanding and respect for each other without either of them becoming a couple. The scene in the cafe was RTD at his best, in terms of writing and characterisation.

I like that we got a bit of an update on each of the supporting characters (Adam and Cleo getting partners, Scotty getting help with her mum, Dean hanging around with gangsters and Tomasz becoming something of a right wing nut) along with learning what Henry and Freddie got up to in the last six years. The last scene where Henry asked a certain question was a great note to end the whole series on as well.

Banana: Keeping with the endings this week, the spin-off put the focus on Sian's mother and her cleaning empire, which a raised of question in relation to the people that assisted her as well, in particular a Nigerian girl named Zara.

While Vanessa was portrayed as a sympathetic and likeable character, it did take her a while to fully realise that JonJo was a bad man who needed to be stopped and given that Vanessa has previously killed, I liked that this episode ended with the strong implication that JonJo would only enjoy one more cup of tea as Zara's escape attempts didn't exactly pan out.

As a final episode, it was a strong one. It was insightful too when Vanessa started talking about the things she had seen in her job (they were cleaning out the loft Henry, Freddie and Dean lived in), her relationship with Claire and being a part of that silent army of people - something which struck a bit of chord. Oh and that little musical moment was just a lovely touch to boot.

Tofu: Now this was a very, very filthy episode he says with a chuckle. It was also an apt one to end on given the usual contributors discussing their own first discoveries of sex. Julie Hesmondhalgh rightfully pointed out that younger people are only taught the negative sides of sex while Lucy and Tanya discussed some of their more kinkier clients while Michael mentioned having a threesome with a mother and daughter. As with the main two shows, this was an excellent way of ending this delightful webseries.

Also can I just say that for the last eight weeks that we have all been fortunate to have these three series? I want to seriously thank both Russell T. Davies and Benjamin Cook as well as the extremely talented cast and crew and various contributors throughout all three shows. All of them should be extremely proud of these amazing programs as should Channel 4, E4 and 4OD.

Cucumber and Banana will be released on DVD from March 16th.

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - Episode 7 Recap/Review

After the brutal death of Lance last week and the quirky introduction of Amy also last week, it seems that both the parent show and spin-off have changed it up a little bit for their penultimate episodes.

Cucumber: Well, Lance died in the previous episode as we all know and his funeral and fallout from his death was tackled head on in this episode. We had the horrible realisation of Daniel not actually wanting to take responsibility for murdering Lance as well as both Henry and Marie clashing over money and the house, although in that case, I actually do think both of them raised valid enough points to support their own stances. I still mostly sided with Henry though.

More importantly there was also Henry trying to cope with Lance's death. He seemed determined not to cry but broke down a few times in this episode and despite Freddie's protestations of not actually caring, several times in this episode he actually reached out to Henry, even offering to have sex with him at one point. The fact that Henry actually turned him down was fantastic though. If this had been somewhere in the first three episodes, he would've jumped at the chance to have had sex with Freddie but here he realised it wasn't a bright idea.

Speaking of Henry and Freddie - I really loved that along with Dean, a genuine friendship has actually been forged with the three of them and having the three of them first pursue the elusive Welsh hottie Aiden (more on him in a bit), only for the three of them to have a series of honest conversations in the car about their hangs up and foibles was superb in terms of writing and acting.

The last quarter with the trio losing their home and having to move back to Henry and Lance's place with most of the apartment block (see if you can spot the various guest characters over both series here) was like something out of Shameless - when the show was good that is. A great way of ending this episode but weirdly, it sort of felt like a way of ending the series but we still have one more episode to go.

Banana: Now, this was a bit of brutal episode. I think at some point or another we've all been in the unfortunate position of Frank - falling for a guy like Aiden, being a little bit silly in our pursuit and ultimately getting crushed by the guy and Frank certainly got that when Aiden made it clear in no uncertain terms that a relationship between the two of them was never, ever going to happen.

I'm not going to criticise Aiden (Dino Fetscher) for the fact that he didn't want to take things further with Frank (Alex Frost) than the threesome that both of them took part in the night before and maybe sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind but at the same time, I think the fact that Aiden acted like Frank was beneath him was something that particularly stung though. Not unrealistic but thoroughly unpleasant to watch as Frank's fantasy of a relationship with the hunky carer went up in flames pretty fast.

Both Fetscher and Frost were great in their respective roles and with the nice little tie into the parent show, I get the feeling that we'll probably be seeing at least one of these two guys again next week. Other than that, this episode was a little painful to watch. A brilliant episode but certainly a tough one though.

Tofu: The funniest episode of this webseries to date. The idea of getting some OAPS and that fit cocky bloke from the second episode to act out scenarios from both Tinder and Grindr (with Blendr getting a brief mention as well) was nothing short of hilarious. It's times like this, I'm actually glad I tend to watch this show on my own. I also loved hearing the various contributors talking about their own online experiences and ones their friends have had too. Again, I love the approach of discussion - no demonizing but an honest appraisal of the pros and cons of relying on these apps to either hook up or for more than that.

Next week, it's the finales for all three shows.

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - Episode 6 Recap/Review

Well, last night's episodes were a mixture of some quirky loveliness with one show and utter trauma with another. For those of you've seen this week's episodes, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

Cucumber: Lance Edward Sullivan - 1966 - 2015. And all of a sudden, this episode opened up like Six Feet Under and I suddenly became very worried and with good reason. This was the episode where Lance was going to do and given that his entire life story from being born, losing his mother, coming to terms with his sexuality, reconnecting with his family and getting back to the present day, his doom couldn't be more spelled out for him.

Watching this episode was an hour of pure dread from start to finish but before you think that's me being negative, it's actually not. Yes, I knew that Lance was a dead man and sadly while being killed at the hands of a self loathing and despicable Daniel wasn't a shock to me, this was also the show at it's most engrossing, traumatic and insightful yet. I'd even go as far as to say that this could be the best thing Russell T. Davies ever written as well.

With allusions to the Doctor Who episode, Turn Left, a character dressed like Daenerys from Game Of Thrones, the previously mentioned Six Feet Under reference and the appearance of Hazel from Queer As Folk, Davies admitted he wanted to write an episode where a death felt like a death and he certainly accomplished that goal with this hour of television. Lance's death was unfortunately imminent from the moment he didn't follow Hazel's advice to go home (and the fact that something's been off with Daniel from day one) and tragic to watch as his life flashed before his eyes with Henry being one of the last people he saw before dying.

Cyril Nri has been great on the show but here in this episode, he was truly exceptional as was James Murray, despite my absolute vitriol for Daniel. Then again, so was Vincent Franklin who realised albeit too late that Henry loved Lance.  It's a shame that Lance in the way he died but as a piece of television, this was something truly not to be missed.

Banana: After the intensity of the parent show, it's nice that Banana went for something lighter with Amy's story. If the parent show has primarily centred on the male characters, then the spin-off (excluding the first episode) has been all about the ladies - Scotty, Violet, Sian, Helen, Sophie and now the adorably quirky and slightly paranoid Amy.

Played by Charlie Covell (who actually wrote this episode and Helen's episode from two weeks ago), I absolutely loved watching Amy onscreen as she went on a nervous but lovely date with policewoman Kay (TNia Miller), who also found out was the woman to arrest Daniel for Lance's murder.

I have to admit, I related a tiny bit to some of Amy's paranoia, though the thing about checking that switches and stuff are off before leaving is just common sense. Despite one or two moments where it looked like she might have blown it with Kay, I did like that the episode ended on a positive note but aside from the fact that we didn't see Amy in the parent show, I also noticed that both Freddie and Dean were absent from both episodes this week.

Tofu: A very emotional episode and actually the best one we've had as well. A lot of the episode seemed to be focused on the cultural impact of Queer As Folk. I caught bits of the show in my teens (I would've been about 14 when it aired, maybe slightly younger) and watched the full thing when it was repeated years later and I loved the comments from the usual suspects about the show and the comparisons that Cucumber has gotten to it as well (though props to Julie Hesmondhalgh for Tale Of Two Cities comparison as well). I also found Gary's (the vlogger guy's) comments particularly touching in this one. All in all, a very emotional draining week for the shows with Amy's adventure adding some needed levity to proceedings.

Next week, it's Lance's funeral and then we get to meet Aiden and Frank.

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.

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - Episode 4 Recap/Review

Now this was more like it. A week where all three episodes were on fire and the result was some of the best television ever made. I'm not kidding. All three shows genuinely were that magnificent to watch this week.

Cucumber: It was date night this week as Henry, Lance, Cleo, Freddie and Dean all had planned nights outs of sexy hi jinks and various excursions, with each of them taking various interesting twists and turns. Maybe it's timely with the release of a certain movie, but I found Dean's kidnap role date with a couple of bears utterly amusing until he managed to inadvertently wreck their relationship and perhaps it was the reduced screen time, but this was the first I actually enjoyed Dean in either show. Maybe less is more with the character at times.

Then there was Cleo, who wanted to give her new vagina (in which we got quite a detailed rundown of her surgery in a way that didn't feel like it was trying to be edgy, so kudos there) a test drive with Brian (Ardal O'Hanlon) and while it didn't pan out so well, it led to a beautiful performance from Julie Hesmondhalgh while Freddie's hook up with Anna (Haruka Abe) led to some details about his sex life with men and the latter's growing annoyance with anal sex as well. All in all some great scenes throughout the episode.

However the best and worst dates plots were courtesy of Henry and Lance. If last week was the episode where I finally clicked with Freddie, then this week was the one where it happened with Henry for me. A genuine turnaround episode and easily Vincent Franklin's best performance yet, I loved the twists Henry's date with French spouting Rupert (Rufus Hound on great form) took and the conversations about sex and pornography Henry would later have with Leigh (Phaldut Sharma) led to some of the best moments the show has produced so far.

Last but not least, the Lance stuff. I get why he didn't want to have sex with Charlie (Adebayo Bolaji) and he even turned the poor guy gently but I am at a point now that much as I like Lance, I absolutely hate his scenes with Daniel. It's nothing against James Murray but the character just rubs me up the wrong way and seeing Lance fawn over him at least twice per episode is actually making me cringe. Other than that, this was easily the best and most character driven episode (maybe not with Dean) the series has done so far.

Banana: If there was an episode well timed, it was certainly this one. In recent times, the UK have now brought in laws which means that people who engage in revenge porn can be jailed for their actions and while this episode didn't tackle that bit, it did however provide a great look into a very thorny topic nonetheless.

Bethany Black was the star of this episode, having briefly appeared in the parent show as trans woman Helen - the victim of a jealous ex, who decided to share some of their intimate videos and pictures online when she spurned his attempts of friendship and as a result found herself being publicly humiliated by her former lover.

I personally think this episode was the best one that this series has offered so far, even managing to surpass Scotty (who we haven't seen now for a little bit) and Black herself was brilliant from start to finish. The one thing I truly loved about this episode is that while Helen had to deal with her co-workers not being that supportive, her own family really came through for her in the end. I seriously wanted to cry at the end of the episode. A wonderful half hour that should be watched by everyone.

Tofu: This episode dealt with the topic of coming out as gay, bisexual and trans and handled it well. It made me think back to my own experiences (I came out when I was 18 properly). I can't imagine actually coming out as publicly as one person - a video blogger did to his 23,000 subscribers but it does sort of highlight that things are changing since I've done it myself and I think this episode successfully highlighted that with the choice of people here, including Andrew Hayden-Smith, Jake Bass and Bethany Black, all of whom had their own interesting coming out stories here.

Next week, Lance might actually get in there with Daniel while we also meet up with drifting apart friends, Josh and Sophie.

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - Episode 3 Recap/Review

Okay, some of a dividing week this week with the main series have one or two moments even I found a little off putting while the spin-off shows continue to strengthen.

Cucumber: Something of a strange episode for me. First of all, let's get the awful elephant in the room out of the way, shall we? Why did RTD think this show needed a scene where Henry was directing his 15 year old nephew and friends in a shirtless/partially pornographic video with terrible lip syncing as well? Even if Henry is desperate to make money that was one sleazy step too far with the character for my liking, even though I sort of predicted that Adam and Beenie (and later Tomasz) were web camming of sorts last week.

Keeping with the awkward factor, this week we got a bit more insight into Freddie's sexuality and prowess by having it revealed that he was having an affair with a closeted teacher five years ago and when he decided to get (rightly) even with said teacher, it also led to an awkward scene with the two of them and Henry as well as Lance, who certainly knew how to pick his moments. I do think this episode did more to flesh out Freddie as a character but I am kind of hoping that Henry's obsession to bed him begins to wear off as the remaining episodes proceed.

That being said, the episode wasn't completely great either - Dean as a character is beginning to increasingly annoy me and Lance continues to make a pillock out of himself the more he fixates on Daniel. Also, while Cleo gave her brother some sensible advice, I think she should probably be more concerned about what her own son is getting up to rather than Henry at the moment. Then again, perhaps she should be looking more at Henry too.

Banana: Not quite as strong as last's week's amazing episode focusing on Scotty but certainly better than Dean's episode, this episode focused on the slightly stressed Sian (Georgia Henshaw) and the little more relaxed Violet (Hannah John-Kamen) as they went from meeting over six pairs of shoes in the former's workplace to falling out over their different approaches to life to getting back together at the last moment thanks to the former's mother giving her child the metaphorical kick up the backside she needed.

Written by Sue Perkins, this episode was the first one to properly focus on a relationship and Violet and Sian's was certainly interesting to see played out as Henshaw and Kamen worked extremely well with each other. The scene where they played curling in the supermarket was amusing and I liked that the show also tackled having a gay character with a gay parent as well (we'll be seeing more of Vanessa later in the series).

Tofu: Probably the most interesting episode we've had so far. We've already seen the show at lengths discussing both good and bad sex and now we have an episode dedicated to discussing both asexuality and people who are also not having sex as well. I certainly found this episode relatable in some parts (mainly the celibate parts) and it's great that this web series continues to tackle all spectrums of sexuality as frankly and amusingly as it does. The song sequence in this episode was pretty delightful as well.

Next week, it's date night for everyone in the main show while Helen becomes the victim of a scorned ex-boyfriend.

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - Episode 2 Recap/Review

It's the second week of this triple treat and things are certainly ticking over nicely with all three shows continuing to produce some surprising moments.

Cucumber: This was certainly an eye opening episode, more so than the first episode. Thanks to a rather hurt Lance, pretty much everyone knows that Henry doesn't like to get fucked or fuck in general. I do like that while Adam and his mate took the piss, Cleo was actually more sympathetic and even did some research on her brother being a 'side'. Actually, I think the female characters on this show (Cleo and Scotty specifically) are coming across as more likeable than some of the male characters. I don't know if that's deliberate or anything though.

I like that while Henry and Lance did somewhat break up in this episode, there were some great back and forth moments with the two of them as they both had their sexual history discussed with and by both Cleo and Daniel but at the same time, I think both of them are in for a rough time ahead, considering their midlife crushes/delusions.

Lance had no problem telling Henry that he had no chance with Freddie (who also relayed that message twice in this episode in a rather egotistical way) but Lance himself looks set to make a fool of himself with straight guy Daniel (who I really find annoying) and maybe even more than Henry at the moment. As for the subplot with the dead co-worker, that took an unpleasant turn that saw Henry getting suspended from his job but it's still a weak plot though. I also got a laugh out of Henry's little phone test as well.

Banana: Somewhat better than it's parent show this week, if I'm being honest. This show might be seriously influenced by Skins (mainly due to every episode focusing on a different character per week) but it's an utter joy to watch and Scotty (or Vivienne Scott) has easily become my favourite on either show so far. The one thing both shows are going to be known for will be their discoveries of fresh new talents and Letitia Wright is an absolute revelation as the hopelessly in love girl with multiple jobs.

While Scotty stalking and inadvertently scaring the married Yvonne wasn't the wisest of moves, it was nice that this episode took various and genuinely surprising twists and turns. Scotty's profession of love for Yvonne and calling her beautiful spurred the married woman into changing her life for the better and she was even kind enough to give the good natured Scotty some sound advice too. The one thing I really loved about the episode was the support system Scotty had - the friends at the party who wanted her to find love, her mother who gave her sage advice and the co-workers at the call centre who leapt to Scotty's defence at the end of the episode. An utterly fantastic episode from start to finish and one that nearly brought a tear to my eye.

Tofu: Only ten minutes this week but again, I'm finding this little side order/appetiser both highly amusing, insightful and a little cringey in place (not a criticism with the latter). This week was discussing about our attitudes towards sex, the different ways in which men and women talk about it and also had an amusing sketch with three different generations of men discussing their own prowess while adult star Jake Bass also made some interesting comments on his own preferences too.

Next week, someone from Freddie's past rocks up and we get to know both Violet and Sian.

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - Episode 1 Recap/Review

Yup, I'm going to tackle all three shows in one blog, usually every Friday or Saturday for the time being, so here's a short look at what happened in the three shows last night.

Cucumber: The main series and one that kicked off with a bang as the explanation behind the titles for all three shows (plus the peeled banana) were deftly explained for those not in the know. The main action centred on a date night between insurance worker Henry (Vincent Franklin) and his long term boyfriend, Lance (Cyril Nri) where the latter's attempt of proposing marriage was met with derision by Henry and a threeway with the rather stoned Francesco (Peter Caulfield) resulted in the ten year relationship coming apart at the seams and one of the strangest domestic callouts any policeman would've had to deal with, probably ever.

There were so many gems throughout this opening episode - the strained dynamic of both Henry and Lance's sex life (or slight lack of one), the introduction of both men's various family, friends and co-workers as well as a neighbouring having to point out one of the lads masturbation habits and that scene where Henry, Lance and a group of older men were not only checking out a hot waiter (supersoaker anyone?), the scene where they speculated on certain male celebrities being gay as well as a rather interesting way that the song Your Disco Needs You was used as well. I've also seen Boney M in a brand new light as well.

As an opening episode, this was a riot from start to finish. The subplot with a plagiarising co-worker didn't quite work and I would've liked to have seen more of Henry's sister but other than that, it's great to have Russell T. Davies back on television.

Banana: The first of two spin off shows and the one that aired on E4. From the looks of it, while Cucumber's primary focus is on Henry and Lance, Banana is clearly going down the Skins route by having an episode focus on a particular character a week. For the first episode, the focus was on 19 year old office boy Dean (Fisayo Akinade), whom we actually met in Cucumber as he works with Henry spent most of this episode, either trying to hook up - first with a Geordie businessman, played by Andrew Hayden-Smith and then with another bloke at the end of the episode and failing to pay his half of the rent, until a solution literally came knocking at the very end.

It's a funny half-hour with Akinade proving to be quite a find as Dean came up with every excuse going to his beleaguered flatmate and man about town Freddie (Freddie Fox) about not having the rent money while lying to his friends, including the rather sweet Scotty (Letitia Wright) about his parents, which was something I found rather annoying, considering that there are plenty of kids out there who have to deal with homophobia in their family. Overall though, I did like the opening episode but the parent show had the stronger hook for me if I'm being candid here.

Tofu: A companion piece to both shows, hosted by Benjamin Cook and one that lasts about 12 minutes too, which is probably a good thing. If you're expecting this to be a Confidential of sorts to each episode of Cucumber and Banana, you'd be off base. Sure, there's definitely contributions from actors of both shows, but mainly this focuses on the real life sexuality with a fictional minisode also thrown into the mix - turns out that hunky businessman Dan isn't quite the hit with the ladies that he likes to think he is as he learned quite harshly that manscaping doesn't impress so much.

Along with that, there were some discussion from a mother and son, an older woman on her sexual partners, a man who uses high class escorts and doesn't care what people and even some contributions from adult star Jake Bass and teenagers themselves being quite frankly on what they like sexually. I'm not sure what subsequent editions of this will add into the mix but I liked this little companion piece though.

So which did you prefer - Cucumber, Banana or Tofu?

Russell T. Davies To Write The Boys For Channel 4

If the upcoming (only six days to go now) Cucumber/Banana/Tofu shows weren't enough LGBT content from Russell T. Davies and Channel 4, then you can add another show to the roster.

The Boys, a six part drama, penned by Davies will closely focus on the lives and deaths in the 1980s of young men from AIDS, and be less about the history of the virus or the politics of fighting the disease. According to Davies, “It’s called The Boys because it is about the boys. The stories of the boys has not been told because they are not here. They didn’t leave any children, their deaths were very quiet." The drama is in it's early stages of writing and will be produced through Red Production Company. Given the passion that Davies is speaking about this upcoming project, it's going to be very interesting to see who he will cast in this six parter.

Meanwhile both Attitude and Gay Times magazines have put the cast and crew of both Cucumber and Banana on the covers of their recent magazines and last night saw the press launch of the shows, with the reception being pretty positive for both shows. It might be less than a week to go for both shows and Tofu, but I really do think the three of them are going to end up being some of the best new shows in 2015 and I even think they might end up eclipsing RTD's previous classic, Queer As Folk as well. I'll be covering the shows in some capacity on this site every Friday/Saturday.

Cucumber/Banana Trailers: http://www.thebacklot.com/new-banana-cucumber-trailers-hot-hookups/01/2015/

The Boys Press Release: http://www.televisual.com/news-detail/Russell-T-Davies-to-pen-AIDS-drama-The-Boys-for-C4_nid-4984.html

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu air on Channel 4/E4/4OD from 9pm/10pm/10.30pm respectively from January 22nd. The Boys will air on Channel 4 in 2016.

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - First Trailers

I've mentioned it a few times this year but now we've finally got a trailer for Russell T. Davies's upcoming series Cucumber, Banana and it's online companion, Tofu.

Actually, we've had two trailers - the first one actually featuring cucumbers, bananas and tofu amongst other things in an inspired and rather cheeky bit of promotion for the three series. You can tell that these will be shows that will air on Channel 4, E4 and 4OD as I couldn't see them being promoted the same way if they were productions for the BBC or ITV. It's an audacious piece of marketing but one that has definitely made me look forward to each of the shows.

Meanwhile the second trailer, released yesterday has featured clips from all three shows. Cucumber will focus on an older gay couple played by Vincent Franklin and Cyril Nye while spin-off show, Banana focuses on a younger group of gay and lesbian characters. Cast members for that show include Freddie Fox, Luke Newberry and Ceallach Spellman to name a few while online companion Tofu will look into real life stories about sexuality. The thing is that while RTD did confirm to Gay Times a few months ago that Cucumber will be a one series only show, I could easily see Banana being kept on if it attracts a Skins like audience though.

Certainly looking forward to seeing all three of these series.

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu Trailer: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/15/cucumber-banana-tofu-exclusive-russell-t-davies-new-channel-4-series-trailer

Cucumber, Banana and Tofu will air on Channel 4, E4 and 4OD from January 2015. US viewers will be able to see the shows on Logo shortly afterwards.

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - More Casting News

With filming currently underway on Russell T. Davies upcoming Channel 4/E4/online dramas, Cucumber, Banana and Tofu, more casting news has been unveiled.

Luke Newberry - best known for his recent role as Kieren Walker on BBC3 drama In The Flesh has been cast in the role of law student Josh for Banana. Described as a young man who finds the past hard to escape, when he has to go home and face his old friend from school. Also appearing in the E4 program is Dino Fetscher taking on the role of Aiden - a handsome, confident young man, who unexpectedly finds himself stuck with the lovelorn Frank for the day. But Frank will challenge everything Aiden thinks about gay life, right to the core. Viewers can see both Josh and Aiden in Cucumber first before their stories are continued into the younger series.

Comedian Rufus Hound on the other hand will guest in an upcoming episode of Channel 4's Cucumber, playing the role of Rupert - a man who is in hot pursuit of Vincent Franklin's character, Henry while Father Ted's Ardal O'Hanlan will play the role of Brian, a man who goes out on a date with Cleo, only to find the evening unravelling into old secrets and long-buried truths. Elsewhere Doctor Who's Adjoa Andoh will play the role of Marie, the sister of Cyril Nye's character, Lance. Other since confirmed cast members include Andrew Hayden-Smith, James Murray and Caellach Spellman.

Meanwhile for online spin-off series, Tofu will be looking for people to share their real sexual experiences as a companion piece to both Cucumber and Banana. The online series will be fronted by Doctor Who Magazine writer and YouTube blogger, Benjamin Cook who has previously worked with Russell T. Davies on the 2008 (and 2010 updated version) book, The Writer's Tale. Cook  has been quoted to say about the online series interviews ...

“Men, women, every gender – all the pronouns! – trans or cis, straight or gay, bi, curious, maybe you’re sex-obsessed or take-it-or-leave-it, or maybe you’ve – whisper the words – never had sex and aren’t afraid to say so. We want to hear from you. No subject and no individual is off limits. We can’t wait to hear your stories.”

If you're over 18 and want to be interviewed, you can look at the official site for Tofu, which I'm linking here. This is certainly shaping up as a project, isn't it?

Casting News: http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/rufus-hound-joins-russell-t-davies-new-drama-series
Tofu News: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/07/21/new-russell-t-davies-online-series-seeks-real-gay-sex-stories/
Tofu Interviews: https://redproductioncompany.com/upload-your-video

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu will air on Channel 4/E4/online in 2015.

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - Cast Announced

It's been a while since filming for Russell T. Davies upcoming gay themed dramas, Cucumber and Banana began for both Channel 4 and E4 and now some casting has finally been announced for the series.

Julie Hesmondhalgh, best known for her role as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, which she left back in January this year has been cast as the sister of the main character, Henry. This is the first TV acting gig that Hesmondhalgh has been signed for since her departure from the cobbles and it's nice that we will see her back on our television screen pretty soon.

Meanwhile Vincent Franklin (best known for his role on The Thick Of It) has been cast as Henry, half of the main couple in this series. The series will focus on Henry and his long-suffering boyfriend Lance (Cyril Nri), whose lives are turned upside down after a disastrous date night. The disasters involving a death, a threesome, two police cars and the Glee Christmas Album – Henry’s old life shatters, and his new life begins.

Also rounding off the cast for both Cucumber and it's youth oriented spin-off series, Banana are Freddie Fox (The Mystery Of Edwin Drood), Fisayo Akinade (Fresh Meat), Con O’Neill (Uncle), James Murray (Primeval) and Ceallach Spellman (Waterloo Road). The spin-off series will focus on young lesbian Scotty’s first love as well to 19 year old Dean’s mysterious family secrets while the main series is more focused on Henry and his life. It certainly looks like between both series and online companion, Tofu that Russell T. Davies will have all bases covered with these upcoming shows.

More Information: http://www.tvwise.co.uk/2014/05/vincent-franklin-julie-hesmondhalgh-cast-russell-t-davies-cucumber-banana/

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu will debut on Channel 4/E4/Online in early 2015.