Back during the long-anticipated, yet ultimately disappointing (for me) debut of RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE, Season 7, CUCUMBER AND BANANA were given a sneak preview that my DVR programming had also picked up. I was tremendously underwhelmed by the RPDR debut, and was sorely tempted because of that experience, to delete everything, including the preview. However, because I try not to make snap judgments about the first episodes of shows, I decided to go ahead and give C&B a shot. Maybe I shouldn't have. I found it too loud, frenetic, stereotypical bordering on the insulting and maybe even homophobic, with unlikable characters that I could find nothing in common with. And THAT was just CUCUMBER. Don't even get me started on how I felt about the follow up of BANANA. This was sometime back in March, if I recall correctly.
SO...fast forward to NOW. When my partner asked about watching something for the evening, I suggested that I had taped the 'official' premiere of C&B. I had described it to him before, and not in a very complimentary way, so I was surprised that he agreed to watch it with me. I did qualify beforehand, that if it stunk to high heaven, we could always bail out and watch something else.
Wonder of wonders...we watched both parts, he for the first time and I for the second, and we both actually ENJOYED it (in spite of the ridiculous censoring of certain visuals and dialogue that were very easy to see and/or lip-read what was going on.)
So, what changed for me this time around? What made me give C&B a second chance?
TIME, for one thing. Not being a Doctor Who fan (though I was crazy about TORCHWOOD), I was still somewhat familiar with Russell T. Davies writing style from that and also the original version of QUEER AS FOLK. And here's the thing. Viewers need to recognize that like any other popular nighttime entertainment, C&B presents a stylized, heightened version of what we know to be real life: people, situations, consequences.
Straight people know not to look to television or film for saintly, pristine, accurate depictions of the IDEAL life they imagine they have, or would like to have. Why should the situation be any different for gay men, be they middle-aged or young, living in Manchester? Real life IS complicated, messy, absurd. People make complicated, messy, absurd decisions from motivations that are likewise.
I've had TIME, as I mentioned before, to reflect on all of this. I don't believe that gay men think any more or less of sex than straight guys do. Same with actually engaging in it.
Part of the reason why I didn't respond well to Henry and Lance and their colleagues, was because I wasn't ready to acknowledge the more truthful components of their relationship and the interaction with their mates, co-workers, etc., that resonated sympathetically with what my partner and I go through. RTD has done a brilliant job with that part. And with BANANA, the 'flip side of the album', so to speak, it was easier to identify some of the traits of people I knew when I was in my early teens to twenties, with the exploits of Freddie and mostly, Dean...not to mention a few of those same qualities I saw in myself at that age.
The reviewers that charge these shows with some kind of blatant irresponsibility should take a couple of deep breaths and reexamine their extreme reactions to what they've been watching. Is it the writing or acting they're responding to? Because in my not-so-humble opinion, both are pretty much above reproach. Or is it a nerve being struck with some of the more truthful aspects of the characters and situations being presented?
Personally, I don't need or want a show that paints all gay men as some kind of sexually, morally and fiscally responsible saints, who all have adopted kids or beautifully blended families, with the neat little white picket fenced house, the minivan, the two great jobs, the fully loving and supportive families. Please. We know some of that exists, but if that's all you want to show me, SHOOT ME NOW.
REAL DRAMA COMES FROM REAL LIFE. And vice versa. Gay men think about sex a lot. MEN think about sex a lot. PERIOD. And sometimes, actually more than that, it can affect what decisions they make and what actions they take. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes not so much. A quote I heard recently perfectly sums up what is at the core of C&B. And that is taking into account the Three Most Important Keys To Living A Successful Life: TIMING, ADJUSTMENT and CONSISTENCY. The ongoing, engaging scenarios that will continue to unfold in these two shows, will be a lesson on how the characters apply those three principles to their own situations. Or not. And how well they do with the outcomes.
SO...fast forward to NOW. When my partner asked about watching something for the evening, I suggested that I had taped the 'official' premiere of C&B. I had described it to him before, and not in a very complimentary way, so I was surprised that he agreed to watch it with me. I did qualify beforehand, that if it stunk to high heaven, we could always bail out and watch something else.
Wonder of wonders...we watched both parts, he for the first time and I for the second, and we both actually ENJOYED it (in spite of the ridiculous censoring of certain visuals and dialogue that were very easy to see and/or lip-read what was going on.)
So, what changed for me this time around? What made me give C&B a second chance?
TIME, for one thing. Not being a Doctor Who fan (though I was crazy about TORCHWOOD), I was still somewhat familiar with Russell T. Davies writing style from that and also the original version of QUEER AS FOLK. And here's the thing. Viewers need to recognize that like any other popular nighttime entertainment, C&B presents a stylized, heightened version of what we know to be real life: people, situations, consequences.
Straight people know not to look to television or film for saintly, pristine, accurate depictions of the IDEAL life they imagine they have, or would like to have. Why should the situation be any different for gay men, be they middle-aged or young, living in Manchester? Real life IS complicated, messy, absurd. People make complicated, messy, absurd decisions from motivations that are likewise.
I've had TIME, as I mentioned before, to reflect on all of this. I don't believe that gay men think any more or less of sex than straight guys do. Same with actually engaging in it.
Part of the reason why I didn't respond well to Henry and Lance and their colleagues, was because I wasn't ready to acknowledge the more truthful components of their relationship and the interaction with their mates, co-workers, etc., that resonated sympathetically with what my partner and I go through. RTD has done a brilliant job with that part. And with BANANA, the 'flip side of the album', so to speak, it was easier to identify some of the traits of people I knew when I was in my early teens to twenties, with the exploits of Freddie and mostly, Dean...not to mention a few of those same qualities I saw in myself at that age.
The reviewers that charge these shows with some kind of blatant irresponsibility should take a couple of deep breaths and reexamine their extreme reactions to what they've been watching. Is it the writing or acting they're responding to? Because in my not-so-humble opinion, both are pretty much above reproach. Or is it a nerve being struck with some of the more truthful aspects of the characters and situations being presented?
Personally, I don't need or want a show that paints all gay men as some kind of sexually, morally and fiscally responsible saints, who all have adopted kids or beautifully blended families, with the neat little white picket fenced house, the minivan, the two great jobs, the fully loving and supportive families. Please. We know some of that exists, but if that's all you want to show me, SHOOT ME NOW.
REAL DRAMA COMES FROM REAL LIFE. And vice versa. Gay men think about sex a lot. MEN think about sex a lot. PERIOD. And sometimes, actually more than that, it can affect what decisions they make and what actions they take. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes not so much. A quote I heard recently perfectly sums up what is at the core of C&B. And that is taking into account the Three Most Important Keys To Living A Successful Life: TIMING, ADJUSTMENT and CONSISTENCY. The ongoing, engaging scenarios that will continue to unfold in these two shows, will be a lesson on how the characters apply those three principles to their own situations. Or not. And how well they do with the outcomes.