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Anyone watching Cucumber?

214 replies

FamiliesShareGerms · 05/02/2015 21:49

Bit risqué!! Definitely not one to watch when the kids might wander into the lounge...

And definitely a Russell T Davies series - Queer as Folk's little brother

OP posts:
BestIsWest · 06/03/2015 19:19

I loved Bob and Rose many years ago now too.

MuddhaOfSuburbia · 06/03/2015 21:19

I love Cliff. And Dean. And Scotty. And Cleo

The supporting characters are fabulous, I wouldn't be able to pick a favourite

TheHappinessTrap · 07/03/2015 07:59

I wasn't looking forward to this week's episode. It was good and allowed me to lay the lance character to rest, but ad with a real life death, it's hard to be confronted with the continuation of life.

Meechimoo · 09/03/2015 08:16

I was a bit disappointed by the last episode. It seemed a bit superficial the way they quickly resumed life as normal and didn't properly deal with the grief and horror of Lance's murder.

Yikesivedoneitagain · 09/03/2015 13:50

Me too Meechi, but I wonder if it was just a bit of an anticlimax after last weeks amazing show.

MuddhaOfSuburbia · 10/03/2015 10:22

ooh I didn't get that at all. I thought Henry's agony was really real

I thought the normal life/absolute grief thing worked well- eg the hairy cock thing/sobbing in the toilet two minutes later. Ditto chasing someone on grindr/howling in the car

(I remember when my nana died, and I was too late to see her. I sobbed for 12 hours, watched Caddyshack by mistake [which is shit, btw], laughed my head off, then cried for another 12 hours)

grief is very odd

luckiestgirlintheworld · 10/03/2015 21:28

Can someone help? This is really bugging me!

I just watched episode 5, and Henry and Freddie are chatting in Freddie's room, and Freddie is being very flirty and he says " it's been a good week for me" and then he says what sounds like "fucking my dad's off". And then he says "you'd better go" and Henry says "yeah" and walks out.

Eh? Fucking my dad's off? Or did I mishear?

Southeastdweller · 12/03/2015 19:15

Last episode tonight!

ChoochiWhoo · 12/03/2015 21:54

Recorded! Watching soon

ProfYaffle · 13/03/2015 06:29

Luckiest - Freddie's referring to Henry as his Dad because he's so much older. He's basically telling Henry they're not going to have sex.

Loved last night's episode. Again, an authentic representation of how grief goes, the manic 'must fill my life' phase, the come down after, then the slow realisation that it's somehow 6 years later.

Enjoyed the scene where Freddie and Henry bump into each in the street. And Henry's last line - perfect.

Eebahgum · 13/03/2015 06:45

Really? I was completely disappointed by this episode. I was expecting some kind of dramatic ending, or happy ending, but it just kind of finished. Although I did laugh when he did jazz hands at Freddie.

ProfYaffle · 13/03/2015 06:58

The subtext of the whole series has been how the life experience of gay men of Henry's generation has changed so dramatically. Henry's struggle has been with accepting his sexuality. He absorbed the homophobia of society when he was younger. He's envious of the way younger people find it so easy, that's what's attractive about Freddie. That's why he couldn't marry Lance or have proper sex.

The series finale (and maybe the story arc from QAF to here) is that he's finally at peace with himself.

It was beautifully drawn, fantastically good writing.

Jackie0 · 13/03/2015 11:44

I thought it was wonderful.
I'd love to watch the entire series from the start again

I wish I had them all on the planner instead of watching them on 4od.

Clayhead · 13/03/2015 14:58

I thought it was a brave portrayal of the reality of grief - it's a long, long (never ending?) process with ups and downs and repetition.

Also agree with everything ProfYaffle says about Henry.

Excellent writing and acting; would have previously written off Freddie Fox but was wrong about him, thought he was brilliant in this, playing a much nuanced character.

ProfYaffle · 13/03/2015 15:28

Thinking about it some more this afternoon, I think that Henry is almost an older version of the character Vince in QAF. Vince was also very reluctant to actually have sex when it came down to it, often just stood by watching Stuart (confident, attractive, promiscuous) when they were out on the pull.

RTD said that the QAF characters were archetypes of the gay scene, I can see that in Cucumber too.

2rebecca · 13/03/2015 19:11

I enjoyed it but found it bizarre that Lance's colleague was blaming Henry for his death. If one of my exboyfriends or my exhusband had been killed by a bunny boiler would that have been my fault for not staying with them?
Should we all stay in unhappy relationships just to stop the other person from hooking up with a nutter?
Lance didn't have to choose the most deranged bloke around.

StaircaseAtTheUniversity · 13/03/2015 22:55

ProYaffle I absolutely agree about Henry being a continuation of Vince (even down to the age... Henry is 46 and so would Vince be now!) and have been thinking that right from the start.

I loved the final episode. Time goes on but are we ever really sorted or over the things that have hurt us?

I've got them all saved on the digibox and can't wait to sit and watch them all in one sitting now.

ProfYaffle · 14/03/2015 07:00

Am I the only person in the Universe who didn't know that Nathan from QAF, is Jackson in Sons of Anarchy? Shock I had no idea!

ProfYaffle · 14/03/2015 07:15

There's a co-incidence, hadn't read this when I last posted!

Daily Mail, sorry

MuddhaOfSuburbia · 14/03/2015 13:02

Nathan QAF is also in what is possibly the worst film I've ever seen- Green Street (I think-memory a bit fogged because I pissed self laughing all the way through and vision prob blurred by TEARS)

He has the best cockney accent since Dick van Dyke, love him

HelenaDove · 14/03/2015 23:18

Yaffle those are very insightful posts and i agree.

ThingummyJigg · 14/03/2015 23:41

I thought it so ironic that there was Henry, conflicted about being gay, and when their relationship hit a brick wall, Lance found himself attracted to someone even more conflicted about his sexuality. And in the most horrible way.

And I remembered episode 1 where Henry's first conversation (that we see) with Lance is Henry saying 'I hate gay men' and then stereotyping them all.

Really got the impression that the intervening years had not been one big party for Freddie, must to his disappointment.

Thought the final scene was great - really made me think back on the whole series and it was all in there, Henry's not entirely being at one with himself.

Also loved the way they stitched up the HR bloke at Henry's work.

ProfYaff - excellent posts.

BestIsWest · 15/03/2015 00:03

That was a fantastic series. Although I never really warmed to Henry, I think that was deliberate writing on the part of RTD. Going to miss Thursday night Cucumber.

I can't wait to see what he does next.

Allyblaster · 15/03/2015 08:42

This is a bit off topic but it's been bugging me. Why did the lawyer friend suddenly stop using crutches? Did I miss something obvious? Confused

GerundTheBehemoth · 15/03/2015 08:47

The lawyer had just had hip replacement surgery at the start of the series (IIRC) so I guess he only needed crutches for a short time.