Cucumber

The boys of the Popjustice forum (who are 99% gay) think it's terrible - poorly acted and a bad representation of modern gay life. I haven't watched it personally, just didn't appeal to me (plus it clashes with Brooklyn Nine Nine which I love).

Sorry - this is written in annoying round about ways in order to try not to include spoilers!

I almost started a thread on this last week. Do you mean the episode that started off when Lance was a boy? That was a powerful episode, I have to say that the moment that diver character was introduced I said "He's the kind of straight bloke who would ...." ... and then he did. Obvs I didn't predict the extremity of it. That was SO uncomfortable to see play out, from the episode the week before to the end of that one.

I have to say though, about the series, I've found it a bit uncomfortable to watch. There has been a lot of highly inappropriate stuff in there. Freddie and his teacher, Henry and his nephew. I guess it is telling the truth about a tiny tiny proportion of the world, but I hate that they've used gay characters to tell the stories. It's just reinforcing that awful awful stereotype that gays are predators to be feared. Lock up your kids, there's a gay coming!

Russell Davis told a lot of truths with Queer As Folk that didn't do us many favours (though I still maintain that programme was the whole reason I moved to Manchester!) so I was looking forward to this follow up series, about the older gay generation in Manchester - but he's just depicted a load of old men playing the same games they did in QAF!

I tried to watch the first episode and gave up. I wanted to like it but found it a bit uncomfortable to be honest. it all seemed a bit stereotypical and obvious...

I really liked QAF though... so i don't know why i found this so off putting. Maybe because so much time has passed since then and this is just more of the same when, to my knowledge, we haven't had a different angle... or maybe i missed it and/or can't think of it...

Glad you're enjoying it though. Might give it another shot!

I watched the first episode but I found it really odd tbh

That's what I was like when I watched Black Mirror at Christmas - but NOBODY else I know watched it! H was out and seemingly not bothered about watching it on 4OD, nobody in my office saw it, I started a thread on here and bumped an old thread on Popjustice, all to no avail. I was desperate to talk about certain aspects of it with someone. I can't remember very clearly now what those aspects were, so maybe if it's still on 4OD it's time for a rewatch!

ID you thread on here encouraged me to watch it, evidently I fogot to come back and discuss it ... and now I can hardly remember. I didn't think it was one of his cleverer Black Mirrors though.

I found it really odd that last week was such a powerful episode, and this week they were back to "comedy gays". I find it very disjointed and a bit too stereotypical. We watch it with the (gay) neighbours, and they have a real love/hate relationship with it. SW, we all felt the same way about Daniel when he was first introduced, and I just didn't find it believable that Lance would continue to pursue him after all the horrible things he lashed out and said to him in each episode.... esp given his age and knowledge of a less tolerant time. very strange dynamic.

My sister (who is gay) thought the exact same thing. She was pretty embarrassed by it and said she hoped people didn't think it was an accurate representation.

I haven't watched it but l am thinking maybe l need to watch it on catch up. One of the gay guys l worked with loved it, l hadn't heard too much about it until he mentioned it.

I love QAF and I love this!

I never watched QAF so can't compare.

This might sound strange but I think I watched it a very different way to a lot of people on here. I watched it as a series about a man going through a mid-life crisis. Him being gay was just a new twist on the mid-life crisis bit. He was so horrible and self-centred and I kept hoping he would wake up sooner to what he was doing, but as people do in a relationship they atagonise each other and they kept doing it at the wrong moment and it fell apart again.

Lance and Daniel... well I can understand why Lance kept going back. I didn't want him to but could understand it. Lance had been in a controlling relationship with Henry and although it was only partially controlling (still a major part after 9 years though), it was enough to leave him vulnerable to being controlled even more by Daniel. It was an abusive controlling relationship which ended the way many sadly do, albeit at a much faster rate.

The storylines around it to me were just fluff and were I think relevant whatever the gender or sexuality of the people invovled.

Or am I being really naive watching it and ignoring the sexuality part?

The character of Lance kept me watching it, Henry was just a bumbling goof, whilst actually being horribly manipulative of Lance, was it his fault? Hmmm after his treatment of Lance during their relationship I do think he did set him up to be vulnerable, although at the end fo the day there is only one person to blame. But it is that DA angle that caught me.

I don't think that's naïve, I think it's just a result of 'straight person privilege' (even though I know you said in that other thread that you're not straight). I too am bi but I'm lucky enough to have straight passing privilege and to have married a cis man, so I've never experienced any of the discrimination or disadvantages that gay people face, which would include poor/lack of/biased/discriminatory portrayal and coverage in the media. So for those of us in that position, it may not occur to us to watch a show from the point of view of 'this is about gay people and they are still a minority, so portrayal of them matters, regardless of storyline'.

Does that make sense? I'm not having a go at you at all cos I'm kind of in the same position, but having had so many close gay male friends, I've learned to look at things more from a different angle. I think ignoring the fact that the characters are gay is fine in terms of watching the show and understanding issues like abusive relationships and loss of a partner (or technically ex), but it isn't fine in terms of considering whether their actions, words and thoughts are a positive representation of the gay community, and those things are still really important. I think.

That was wonderfully explained ID. However I think for me having been in a controlling relationship those were the blinkers that I watched it from. Also it may have been because it was men, it was a change to see controlling relationships involving men on tv as opposed to it always being abotu women - Henry controlling Lance, Daniel controlling Lance, Henry controllign the nephew, teacher controlling Freddie and in a positive way a number of them taking ownership back, although not all positive.

I do find whatever programme I watch that there are always rubbish stereotypes. Again I may not watch enough tv but doesn't everyone end up being a stereotype of some sort?

On that forum did the guys there specfiy who they didn't like stereotype wise? Or was it just everyone?

I think it was the whole thing. Here are a few quotes from the thread on it (some do mention Banana as well as the thread was about C/B/T):

Were there any that just reviewed Cucumber as a standalone piece as opposed to including Banana as well? Just I felt they were two very different programmes, although sharing characters.