Cucumber, Banana & Tofu are three interconnected shows showing on Channel 4, E4 and 4oD.
Cucumber: An original drama series from Russell T Davies exploring the passions and pitfalls of 21st century gay life, focusing on middle-aged hero Henry (Vincent Franklin)
Banana: Focuses more on LBGT teens who play minor roles in Cucumber, including Dean (Fisayo Akinade) and Freddie (Freddie Fox).
Tofu: A documentary series about sex hosted by Ben Cook, featuring members of the public and the cast of Cucumber and Banana.
This show provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Invoked and subverted: Dean's makes his parents out to be this, but Freddie picks it out as a lie. When we finally meet his parents, they're actually incredibly supportive and accepting.
- A Threesome Is Hot: In Episode one this is first invoked while Lance and Henry are at a gay club, then when it begins, it's a total subversion.
- Crossover: Part of the premise; Cucumber focuses on an older group of gay men, while Banana follows LGBT+ teens, and the characters cross over frequently between the two.
- And episode six of Cucumber, a character from Queer As Folk makes an appearance.
- "Friends" Rent Control: Dean and Freddie only pay £400 a month for an entire industrial building! Justified in that it's not 100% legal and their landlord is a gangster.
- Full-Frontal Assault: Francesco attacks a police officer while stark naked. It doesn't end well.
- Jerk Jock: The diver at the aquarium definitely counts, athletic but incredibly arrogant and homophobic.
- Opposites Attract: Episode 3 of Banana shows the relationship between the reserved Sian and the carefree Violet
- Soundtrack Dissonance: What song's playing over a long-term relationship ending with an awkward threesome-turned-twosome? Rasputin by Boney M!
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Spiritual Successor: To Queer As Folk, Russell T Davies previous show about gay life in Manchester. Hazel even appears as a ghost to Lance shortly before his murder.
- Technical Virgin: Henry's never engaged in anal sex, much to the frustration of his long-term partner Lance
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Henry worrying that Sunil is planning to plagiarise his essay, leads to the latter killing himself, leaving behind a pregnant wife even worse when you realise this all happens on the same day!
