OK, I'm publishing this news release in its entirety for a couple reasons. One, think it's ironic that I never saw a single second of the British "Queer as Folk" until I went to Detroit last month and my friends Frank and Craig played it for me. (I'd seen part of the U.S. version and was pretty mortified.) And two, I've been invited to an advance screening of "Cucumber" and "Banana" on Tuesday, only I was debating not going because I have spent the last few months since its U.K. debut trying to figure out what the f**k they were talking about: is it one show? is it two shows? what about "Tofu"? -- and finally have it figured out by reading this. Eager to hear from anyone who has already seen 'em ... I'm going!
LOGO TO AIR MARATHON OF UK VERSION OF “QUEER AS FOLK” ON APRIL 4 AND APRIL 11
THE ORIGINAL LGBT DRAMA KICKS OFF THE PREMIERES OF “CUCUMBER” AND “BANANA” ON MONDAY, APRIL 13
Still grieving over the loss of “Looking?” Fear not, because the British are coming! Logo will air the full series of the UK “Queer as Folk,” which ran for 10 episodes in the United Kingdom in 1999. “Queer as Folk” starred “Sons of Anarchy” hunk Charlie Hunnam as 15-year-old Nathan, a gay teen who found love, sex and discovered what it meant to be gay in Manchester, UK. The series was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2000. This is the first time that the original “Queer as Folk” will air in full on U.S. cable.
“Queer as Folk” was created by television pioneer Russell T Davies, who also created the revamped “Doctor Who.” The first half of “Queer as Folk” will air on Saturday, April 4 at 10pm ET and the second half will air on Saturday, April 11 at 10pm ET. Logo’s “Queer as Folk” marathon will ready viewers for Russell T Davies’ new and hotly anticipated LGBT dramas “Cucumber” and “Banana,” premiering Monday, April 13 at 10pm ET after an all-new episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
“Cucumber” and “Banana” are interwoven drama series that will explore 21st century gay life in all its powerful, witty, dark and uplifting guises through the lens of two disparate generations. The hour-long “”Cucumber will explore the lives and misadventures of Henry Best and his long-suffering boyfriend of nine years, Lance Sullivan. The half-hour Banana will follow the individual lives of younger LGBT characters orbiting around Henry's world, telling stories of modern love – the romantic, the obsessed, the hopeful, the lonely, the lost, and the lucky.
P.S. "Tofu" is a web-only series.
5 comments:
No QAF UK on the version of Logo available on Dish, according to their guide. A couple episodes of the U.S. Version on Sunday 4/5. No sign of the five hours of The UK version on either weekend.
Can I take a moment to be totally and astoundingly befuddled by this news? I'd spent a long time waiting for Russel T. Davies new shows "Cucumber & Banana", but I could have sworn they premiered on Logo weeks ago, right behind the first episode of the new season of Drag Race.
*Not to sound bitchy about the article, just confused by the programming practices of Logo.
I nearly gave up on "Cucumber" after the first episode, because most of the characters were so unlikable, but I'm glad I stuck w/it. It gets much better as it goes along.
"Cucumber" is the main series. Episodes are an hour long. "Banana" is sort of supplementary material, and episodes are 30 minutes. You don't have to watch both series, but they're both worth watching. (One of the "Banana" episodes stars Luke Newberry, who played the lead in the much-missed "In the Flesh.")
I suspect that Logo, a prissy, basic cable channel, will butcher the shows. They contain full nudity and lots of sex and graphic language. I'd recommend watching the UK version through other means.
I remember spending a full Saturday watching the original UK QAF at DC's Reel Affirmations film festival, back when gay film festivals were the only way to see stuff like that.
BTW, the new series have no connection to QAF except that they're both set in Manchester. And Freddie Fox, who plats one of the leads, is hot!
'Cucumber' is the main show about 40/50-something gay men in Manchester, England. 'Banana', a separate show that was shown back-to-back with Cucumber in the UK, complements it with stories of some of Cucumber's minor, younger characters.
Having seen both shows (here in the UK, where the two series finished airing a few weeks ago)I have to say episodes were of variable quality. Stick with both series though - Cucumber in particular is pretty powerful later in the season.
Tofu, as you say, is a web-series, essentially of ordinary people, and the occasional cast member, talking frankly about sex.
All the series take their names, apparently, from the degrees of, erm... hardness we might experience (or encounter!) in - well, you know what in!
Neil
Logo censors the same gay movies/TV shows than other cable networks. I wonder how much of the QAF series won't air during the marathon...
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