Let’s talk about sex, specifically the Erection Hardness Score developed by the European Association of Urology, which classifies the stages of the male erection over four levels: tofu, peeled banana, banana and cucumber. It was from these designations that writer Russell T. Davies — best known for his tenure as showrunner on the new Doctor Who — got the titles of his very compelling (and very uneven) new pair of TV shows.
Cucumber and it’s sister show Banana, is the tale about middle-aged insurance salesman Henry Best (Vincent Franklin), whose life implodes after he refuses to marry his partner of nine years, Lance (Cyril Nri).
The duo have been having trouble for a while. Superficially, it’s all about Henry’s yearslong refusal to have anal sex with Lance — a ribald, ridiculous situation from which Davies, who wrote every installment, gets plenty of comic mileage. But in reality, the couple’s stresses go much deeper.
When Henry reaches his lowest point, he ends up crashing at the flat rented by a group of much-younger work colleagues, Dean Monroe (Fisayo Akinade) and Freddie Baxter (Freddie Fox). They are supportive characters as Henry explores his newfound freedom as a single man and we get to learn much more about their lives in Banana.
A number of characters on Cucumber show up on Banana and vice versa, and this allows for some clever alternate perspectives on situations — such as Dean’s strange adventures with a chastity belt — that occur on both shows. Moreover, it gives a sense of human sprawl to the heightened, black-comic world that Davies has created.
Overall Cucumber and Banana is a must watch as Davies brings you drama, comedy and life all wrapped up into an hour and a half up unadulterated , in-your-face life experiences for these British bloaks.
