Twin Peaks Return: The Profoundly Disappointed Support Group

[Trudy Chelgren]

Agent Earle wrote:

I don't know why everyone keeps making jokes about Windom Earle's dress-ups. Why should him wearing a fake moustache hamper his creepiness? It does happen in real life too, you know - Ted Bundy wore a fake moustache when he posed as a police officer and tried to kidnap a girl (Carol DaRonch) at Fashion Place Mall in Salt Lake City (November, 1974); I guess his reasoning was a moustache makes a guy look more like a man of the law. I think everyone here familiar with the story should agree such tactics doesn't make him any less menacing, especially in hindsight, when the whole of the sordid saga is long a part of public conscience.

This is true, in a way. But in this case, I guess it's who is wearing the moustache that decides whether it's menacing or not. Or even, if the moustache is considered part of the creepy whole. Did the costume designer use a moustache to make Earle creepier, or because it complimented his particular disguise? I can imagine an eerily quiet, stiff-backed, watery-eyed character wearing an absurd fake moustache. That, to me, is when it can get scary, when the absurd meets the genuine. Tactically, a disguise makes perfect logical sense with Earle's theatrical plan, but stylistically it's just too much, for me at least. Obviously, unlike Bundy, Earle is fiction; his character was created and formed as such, and I just think his personality was way too bullish and cartoon-like to carry the disguise, to make it scary.

Earle was not a grey-area. He was a textbook, phoned-in 'lunatic genius', and you could read him right through. Even if you couldn't predict exactly how his plan was going to go, you knew it was going to be theatrical, prancing and overblown. He'd yell, do something goofy, snicker, plot, and hit Leo. His Log Lady disguise scared me because it was so monstrous, but is that because it was the Log Lady? I think so. A biker or an old nerd was not scary because it was so transparent. To me, the thought of DoppelCoop wearing a moustache could be really oddly frightening. But Earle? I just don't think his disguises were meant to be truly creepy.

[kleio]

Even, in season 1 and 2 she didn't have a real story. Can't you see how silly and contrived it would be to come up with an interesting story (that makes sense and does not insult viewers intelligence) that not only puts Dale and Laura in the spotlights, but also Nadine, Norma, Ed, Audrey, Dr. Jacoby, etc?

Why is that? You don’t think Lynch and Frost have it in them creatively to come up with something engaging that works in the original cast? If they had ditched most of the musical performances and tightened up some of the extended “watching paint dry” scenes, there would have been time to develop a more coherent TP storyline. That would have allowed the supporting characters to appear in a more natural way rather it being a “spot the guest star” token appearance.

[The Gazebo]

Just a brief comment regarding Earle, since that earlier quip about the moustache was aimed at one of my posts: I never said Earle was creepy. I said he was more of a real threat to our favourite characters, something which this show's supernatural bad guys (so far) haven't been. It's all been a bit random, and I'm not quite sure which one is going to be the ultimate nemesis.

[Rhodes]

How could they have used Peggy Lipton in a better way, if she's such a good example of what you're arguing? She is a WAITRESS!!! And the story is about Cooper's return to the real world (and ALSO a bit about mobsters, etc.). She doesn't fit into that.m

That's a really weird thing to say. Why should Norma being a waitress preclude her from having an interesting life, or a story? The original TP was full of the stories of waitresses, small town doctors, perfume counter salesgirls and housewives.

I think I explained it rather well (if I can say so myself ), but you quote only a piece of what I said.

In the ORIGINAL RUN, it made sense that all of these people had important storylines. Because they were all connected somehow to Laura. Donna was her best friend, James her boyfriend, Big Ed a bookhouse boy, Norma working with her on meals on wheels, etc. Of course they were NOT gonna show random TP-citizens that had NO relevance.

However, this does not necessarily work for a sequal. If you have to use exactly the same set of characters, but they have nothing to do with Coopers exit from the lodge or the FBI or organized crime, how can they be central to the story? It can be done of course (as I explained). If you are willing to go as low as: "Audrey is now head of the FBI", "Norma is possessed by BOB", "James is after 25 years still obsessed with Laura and what happened to her diary". I don't think that's the level of writing that we should be welcoming, but that's the only way all the old characters can be integrated in the new central story. As I said earlier, then you end up with Ridge, Thorne, Eric, Taylor and Brooke all marrying one another all the time.

Still, I am very happy that they included the old characters. Because the town of Twin Peaks is still a somewhat big part of The Return. That being the case, I prefer Norma over another random waitress in the RR. I like seeing James two or three times. And along the way, we learn a thing or two about these characters and what happened to them during the last 25 years. For me it's not fanservice, but a little bonus to the show. But that's as far as it should go, little gifts/bonusses. The core of The Return should not about Norma and whether or not she is with Ed. The Return should not about Donna en James' children. The Return should not be about Audrey's brilliant carreer. We SHOULD see James two or three or four times, but not 40 times. That would be lazy and uninteresting writing.

[mlsstwrt]

Life happens a bit though, doesn't it? I'm creeping towards 50. The only thing I look forward to these days is going to bed. To sleep. First time around I was devouring the show. Reading everything I could find. Now I just can't be bothered in the same way. Are there other aspects of your life that you feel *exactly* the same about? When I go to see bands play now, I don't feel like I did when I was 17. And so maybe it would be odd if your response to TP was the same in 2017 as it was in 1990.

Perhaps you’ve hit upon the problem: I’m too optimistic to be watching this show. I need to be more jaded about life.

I’m not expecting it to be *exactly* the way it was for the original series, but I was hoping to enjoy watching it. I didn’t expect to be fighting to find something interesting to hold on to.

We watched Star Trek Beyond last night, and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t have high hopes after what happened with Into Darkness, but Beyond finally got the mix right. It managed to be an “action” movie that felt like a Star Trek movie. The first AbramsTrek movie was okay as a popcorn movie, but didn’t feel like Star Trek to me. The second one was a mockery of a Star Trek movie. It feels like The Return is stuck in that mode. The pieces are there, but they are presented in such a tedious way that it comes across as trying too hard to be cool.

edited for clarity of point 1

I don't know though man, I'm pretty jaded about life and I'm not enjoying The Return

[yaxomoxay]

Life happens a bit though, doesn't it? I'm creeping towards 50. The only thing I look forward to these days is going to bed. To sleep. First time around I was devouring the show. Reading everything I could find. Now I just can't be bothered in the same way. Are there other aspects of your life that you feel *exactly* the same about? When I go to see bands play now, I don't feel like I did when I was 17. And so maybe it would be odd if your response to TP was the same in 2017 as it was in 1990.

Perhaps you’ve hit upon the problem: I’m too optimistic to be watching this show. I need to be more jaded about life.

I’m not expecting it to be *exactly* the way it was for the original series, but I was hoping to enjoy watching it. I didn’t expect to be fighting to find something interesting to hold on to.

We watched Star Trek Beyond last night, and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t have high hopes after what happened with Into Darkness, but Beyond finally got the mix right. It managed to be an “action” movie that felt like a Star Trek movie. The first AbramsTrek movie was okay as a popcorn movie, but didn’t feel like Star Trek to me. The second one was a mockery of a Star Trek movie. It feels like The Return is stuck in that mode. The pieces are there, but they are presented in such a tedious way that it comes across as trying too hard to be cool.

edited for clarity of point 1

I don't know though man, I'm pretty jaded about life and I'm not enjoying The Return

Are you giving yourself the once a day present?


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[mlsstwrt]

Perhaps you’ve hit upon the problem: I’m too optimistic to be watching this show. I need to be more jaded about life.

I’m not expecting it to be *exactly* the way it was for the original series, but I was hoping to enjoy watching it. I didn’t expect to be fighting to find something interesting to hold on to.

We watched Star Trek Beyond last night, and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t have high hopes after what happened with Into Darkness, but Beyond finally got the mix right. It managed to be an “action” movie that felt like a Star Trek movie. The first AbramsTrek movie was okay as a popcorn movie, but didn’t feel like Star Trek to me. The second one was a mockery of a Star Trek movie. It feels like The Return is stuck in that mode. The pieces are there, but they are presented in such a tedious way that it comes across as trying too hard to be cool.

edited for clarity of point 1

I don't know though man, I'm pretty jaded about life and I'm not enjoying The Return

Are you giving yourself the once a day present?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ahhhh I miss Cooper's own enthusiasm about life. If only he'd known how he'd turn out.

[BOB1]

At the moment I'm still profoundly disappointed that I haven't - on the eve of the new episode - been able to watch Part 11 yet. Which is also why I am reading topics here rather carefully. I did manage to spot this, however:

I'm ever so slightly younger, I was in sixth-form college (16-18 in the UK) rather than university when TP first aired. I used to watch it with my girlfriend on her tiny bedroom TV, and we would give one another blank stares at scene after scene and she would fawn over Dana's hair, and try to make mine look the same. We talked endlessly at college in the refectory, bounced ideas off everyone we could find who watched the show. Friends would bring magazines in and share the articles. Two years later at university the big thing was, strangely enough, Wild Palms -- in which I enjoyed Jim Belushi, David Warner and Brad Dourif's performances. I always felt it was a pale imitation though, something like a Bladerunner/Twin Peaks crossover knock-off. Nothing since Fire Walk With Me has stirred me like that movie.

So I'm now 42, and aware that there are very few films or TV shows that can hold my attention and get me enthusiastically reading around compared with when I was a late teen / early tween. In contrast, though, to experiences reported in the last few posts, TP the Return has got me hooked and devouring information. I feel the hunger again. Maybe this stimulus-response is odd for my age group, but I like it.

I like all that you're saying! Thanks for that post!
I have to say that while I tend to be disappointed with the show from time to time, I find myself waiting for new episodes, and feeling an urge to rewatch in the future. Why, even now, if I could!

Having said that, I am also hoping that I'll make it to wake myself up before 2 a.m. and watch the previous episode just before the premiere of the new one. See ya! Goodnight!

[LateReg]

How could they have used Peggy Lipton in a better way, if she's such a good example of what you're arguing? She is a WAITRESS!!! And the story is about Cooper's return to the real world (and ALSO a bit about mobsters, etc.). She doesn't fit into that.m

That's a really weird thing to say. Why should Norma being a waitress preclude her from having an interesting life, or a story? The original TP was full of the stories of waitresses, small town doctors, perfume counter salesgirls and housewives.

I think I explained it rather well (if I can say so myself ), but you quote only a piece of what I said.

In the ORIGINAL RUN, it made sense that all of these people had important storylines. Because they were all connected somehow to Laura. Donna was her best friend, James her boyfriend, Big Ed a bookhouse boy, Norma working with her on meals on wheels, etc. Of course they were NOT gonna show random TP-citizens that had NO relevance.

However, this does not necessarily work for a sequal. If you have to use exactly the same set of characters, but they have nothing to do with Coopers exit from the lodge or the FBI or organized crime, how can they be central to the story? It can be done of course (as I explained). If you are willing to go as low as: "Audrey is now head of the FBI", "Norma is possessed by BOB", "James is after 25 years still obsessed with Laura and what happened to her diary". I don't think that's the level of writing that we should be welcoming, but that's the only way all the old characters can be integrated in the new central story. As I said earlier, then you end up with Ridge, Thorne, Eric, Taylor and Brooke all marrying one another all the time.

Still, I am very happy that they included the old characters. Because the town of Twin Peaks is still a somewhat big part of The Return. That being the case, I prefer Norma over another random waitress in the RR. I like seeing James two or three times. And along the way, we learn a thing or two about these characters and what happened to them during the last 25 years. For me it's not fanservice, but a little bonus to the show. But that's as far as it should go, little gifts/bonusses. The core of The Return should not about Norma and whether or not she is with Ed. The Return should not about Donna en James' children. The Return should not be about Audrey's brilliant carreer. We SHOULD see James two or three or four times, but not 40 times. That would be lazy and uninteresting writing.

I agree with all of this, but I don't think the old cast are merely bonuses. That's selling their appearances short. I view the Norma appearances, for example, as vital to the themes of the show, and smart storytelling, and definitely not fanservice. Life goes on, and sometimes it stands still. That's what the old cast is there for. The way they color the scenes is integral to the greater meaning of the show, as well as the show's integrity with regards to telling the story it needs to tell as it acknowledges that these familiar people still exist. And yes, I do think we will find out just enough about Norma, James, etc to make their brief appearances worthwhile.

This is not to say that they couldn't have successfully incorporated more drama for the older characters. I think they could have, and it didn't need to be tied to the main plot. It could have just focused on these characters' everyday lives. But I also think that, so far, they've made the most right, and bravest, decisions.

[Redlodge]

Episode 12 is in the can still no Coop

[rugerblackhawk357]

Episode 12 is in the can still no Coop

breaking bad got awesome 4 episodes in. 18. f***ing episodes. 18. we waited 20 years for 18 episodes. want to know my plotline for episodes 1-4? hawk and harry realize the bad coop is on the loose and committing unspeakable crimes. they find a way to break good coop out of the black lodge. 4 episodes down, 14 left to explore this deep, rich, complex wine that we call bordeaux lynch. good coop vs. bad coop. just sayin.

[Aqwell]

Eoisode 12, so far the worst of the worst for me.
Unbearably slow, boring, poorly writen, in one word: pathetic.

Spoiler:

At last, Audrey is bacK, yaaaay...
in the worst scene of the episode, noooo...

Yeah, I'm a big fat hater, sue me.
Grrrr.

[mtsi]

I have enjoyed parts of the show immensely but 12 was ludicrous in every way. What an awful awful episode.

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[krishnanspace]

Weakest episode ever.
Edit:How and why did I post in here?

[mtsi]

Everyone is so unlikeable.

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