LostInTheMovies

I feel somewhat similarly to you on this - although I've never hated the James-Donna stuff (James in particular is not a very interesting character, but their storylines do tie in nicely with the Laura mystery, in a way many season 2 subplots don't). In particular, I have to say Donna and Lara Flynn Boyle's performance have really been impressing me on recent revisits. In fact, I think the upcoming storyline with Donna has some of the best acting on the series (ep. 12 - er, ep. 13 by the system we're using here - is particularly nice). But yes, season 2 is where the show REALLY gets interesting to me. Mythologically, psychologically, and stylistically I think it breaks new ground. The first time I watched the series I remember being thrilled by the season 2 premiere, feeling like, ok we're really gonna take the plunge now.

(written by Lynch) Don't know if that's what it was in the actual shot, or if he liked the idea afterwards. It does put "that gum you like is going to come back in style" into a new light.

Oh, and I completely concur with the Lynch-had-Maddy-break-her-glasses-because-he-didn't-like-them theory! EDIT: If we need a bigger explanation (or a motive for him not liking it, besides him not being a glasses fetishist) I think he's all about making Maddy more like Laura at this point. Less remarked upon, but in a way even more notable, is that overnight Maddy's hair has changed completely. Leland's not the only one in the family with magical hair follicles. I suppose she could've just broken out the straighteners in the morning but it looks more like she's still waking up when we see her so I doubt it. Like Doc Hayward said, it was quite a night.

Good point about the ratings of episodes (by your count) 7, 8, 9, and 10. Also worth pointing out that the season 1 finale and season 2 premiere were aired on unusual nights - Wednesday in the first case, Sunday in the second, rather than at the show's normally-scheduled time. In season 1, the series aired on Thursdays directly against Cheers, the most popular show on television. For most of season 2, it aired on Saturday night - which many considered the worst venue for Twin Peaks' audience, which trended young and hip and was usually going out at that time. So that can also account for some of the slippage in ratings (as well as the higher marks for the beginning and end of the season, aside from those being episodes people would tune in for anyway). That said, the season 2 premiere as a major turning point in this sense: while the ratings can be difficult to gauge, this is definitely where the buzz about Twin Peaks started to go sour. If the show had firm popular support, press reaction might not be a problem but the media had essentially carried the show through season one since its ratings were not particularly remarkable (except for the pilot and, to a lesser extent, the next couple episodes). Twin Peaks is a good example of a show that really NEEDS positive press to thrive and when critics and journalists decided the show was no longer hot, that was maybe the biggest nail in its coffin. Though many columnists continued to write about the show positively early in season 2, the majority (that I've been able to see) did not and even the admirers noted a general cooling in the show's favorability. What's amazing to me is how quickly it happened, particularly in the pre-internet age. There is a columnist who writes enthusiastically about the show just before the premiere (at which point, let's remember, MacLachlan is hosting SNL, Twin Peaks is on the cover of numerous magazines - including Time, and Jennifer Lynch's Secret Diary is shooting up the NY Times Paperback Bestseller List). Two weeks later (!) he is writing that "no one cares who killed Laura Palmer" anymore as if it's a fad from months ago. And this sort of thing is pretty ubiquitous. Again, considering that this is pre-internet, the public - and perhaps most importantly, the executives - can only access a handful of media narratives. As the pilot went to air, the media narrative was that David Lynch had brought art to television and this was maybe the most revolutionary moment in TV history. During the first season, the narrative shifted to the idea that this was wildly provocative and playful entertainment, unprecedented but above all, fun. Over the summer, the narrative was that this was a pop culture phenomenon with the subtext, sometimes explicit, that its bubble could burst if the creators weren't careful and viewers became too frustrated. And then, after season 2 began, the narrative changed: Twin Peaks had gone too far, outlived its usefulness, and above all extended its mystery too long and now it was washed up. Within a month or two there was no real narrative at all, because Twin Peaks wasn't even being discussed anymore. It's interesting that even today, during press commemorations of the show (most notably when the new Showtimes series was announced), Twin Peaks is still presented along these lines: as a show with a groundbreaking pilot and fascinating first season, with the rest a disappointing afterthought. In addition, there is some revisionism as critics and reporters claim the show's eventual unpopularity and decline in quality resulted from a - and b - David Lynch disengaging from the show. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Read almost any contemporaneous account, and the writer is complaining about and - this is key - specifically blaming Lynch for abusing his audience. Indeed, their objections began with the episodes Lynch was MOST heavily involved with. Again, I can't stress this enough: the negative reaction to Twin Peaks in the fall of 1990 was very personal and led to a massive backlash against David Lynch. Up to this point, the media was grooming him as an offbeat mainstream celebrity, America's Favorite Surrealist. From this point on, he was characterized as a phony, cynical trickster laughing at his audience and lazily indulging his outlandish whims to make a buck ala P.T. Barnum. This is one of the biggest factors in the shockingly negative response to Fire Walk With Me (I say "shockingly" not because it was negative, although I love the movie, but because the level of vitriol and loathing in many reviews is pretty astonishing). I have a lot of thoughts on why this is, but it would take another post so maybe later in the season - or when we get to the film - I'll go into it. Suffice to say Lynch is pretty unique in the way he gets viewers invested in his work while simultaneously frustrating their desires. People felt they were striking a bargain when they headed into Twin Peaks and that Lynch was not holding up his end of the bargain. I suspect he got past critics' defense mechanisms and under the skin in a way they couldn't forgive him for.

Glad to hear you're back! This is a great episode, and kind of underrated. It's probably the least immediately noteworthy of any Lynch episode - with a more subtle opening than most (I remember the first time I watched it, I was surprised when his name came up as director). It's also the only Lynch episode not to contain a huge narrative or series event (pilot - establishing the murder mystery and kicking off the show, ep. 2, I mean 3! - dream sequence, 2nd season premiere - introducing the giant, flashing back to Laura's murder to show Bob as killer, and of course kicking of the 2nd season, and then I won't get into his upcoming episodes but let's just say they are pretty damn far from being filler). That said, I may like this episode more than the previous one. It has many superb moments, both comic and terrifying - in fact, on a list of favorite moments from season 2 this and the previous episode would probably consume about half the list. Jerry's absurd smoked cheese pig (and line delivery of "Marshmallows! Ben, where are those hickory sticks?"), Lucy watching the fly, the Log Lady's conversation with Maj. Briggs, the blurred Bob in Cooper's dream, the stools in Ronette's hospital room, the whole bizarre sequence with Leland and the Hornes ("Is this real, Ben, or some strange and twisted nightmare?" - Jerry definitely has the best lines and deliveries right now), and though I know it gets hated on big-time, the brilliant "Just You" number. Yes, of course, it's quite silly and implausible (where'd that reverb come from?) but it's also sincerely charged with pathos and eroticism (well, maybe not in James' cooing vocal). What's more, it is superbly directed - the expressions of Maddy and Donna especially telling us everything we need to know about this little love triangle. And of course, it's followed by one of the best moments on the show so far. The first time I saw Bob crawl over the couch, it scared me shitless and of course I loved it. I also made the mistake of looking the clip up on YouTube and had a major plot point spoiled for me (not ). So, warning to newcomers, not that you should be exploring Twin Peaks on Google and wikipedia searches under any circumstances but yeah, be especially careful here. Anyway, back to Bob - it's worth noting that up to this point Bob has only appeared in episodes either written or directed by Lynch. And the most overtly surreal and/or supernatural moments have also been limited to Lynch episodes: Sarah's visions (of the necklace and, in an episode Lynch wrote only, Bob - although the incident was based off of something that happened in the European alternate ending of the pilot, which Lynch directed); the dream sequence; the giant and Maddy's first vision; and now, the bizarre creamed corn "magic trick" of the Tremonds and Maj. Briggs' cosmic communication. I used to think this meant that Lynch was the partner primarily interested in pushing these elements but turns out Frost was just as enthusiastic, if not more, about taking the show in a paranormal direction. So I think it's more a matter of the content of that direction being left up to Lynch (he came up with Bob, Mike, the Red Room, the giant, and the creamed corn - the latter of which was not in the script). Although from what I've read, the extraterrestrial bent was more Frost's idea. I'd also like to offer a nod, since I'm usually discussing Lynch and Frost, to Harley Peyton whose teleplay is great (he has a particular way with Albert's bon mots and pens some of the best dialogue on the show). There's a wonderful scene which unfortunately wasn't shot - I'll put it in spoilers since mentioning its exclusion has bearing on an upcoming episode: Much more to discuss about this episode, but I've said enough. Interested, as always, to hear newcomers' takes. In particular: *Why do you think Bob appeared to Maddy in Donna's living room? *What do you make of Maj. Brigg's message? Are you ok with the show possibly moving in a UFO direction? *How do you think Leland knows Bob? *Do you think Ben was being serious when he asked Jerry to kill Ben? *Any thoughts on Harold's neighbors and the creamed corn? *Do you understand the ledger shenanigans any better than Ben and Jerry? Do you care? *"Just You" - love, hate...? *Anyone shipping Maj. Briggs & the Log Lady? *How do you feel about the second season so far? Oh one more thing, on that first question:

Interesting, I've always assumed it was If it's Norma, what do you think would be her motive?

Neither am I, but from what I've watched & read, I agree completely.

Fire Walk With Me is my favorite part of Twin Peaks. One of the things I like about the blu-ray set that came out this summer is it forces fans to consider the film part of the overall saga (even as an admirer of the movie, I'd been inclined to see it as a separate phenomenon), both because of the packaging and because The Missing Pieces form a sort of bridge between the worlds of the show & film. I'm really hoping that when Showtime re-runs the series in 2016 as a prelude to the new show, they also screen the movie. Mark Frost (who didn't have anything to do with the movie and was reputedly not a fan) has said it's "canon" as far as he is concerned, and that elements will most likely be incorporated into the new material so it would really be doing newcomers a disservice NOT to air it.

Yes, that makes sense. Without getting too spoiler-y, there will be some upcoming discussion of strangeness and believability thereof amongst the characters. But also some more strangeness that is (too easily?) accepted.

This is interesting to read as it was a common reaction at the time. Now people talk about the second season as if the popularity turned at a later point but really, it was the season 2 premiere, very much for the reasons you mention (in addition to the episode moving so slowly and the lack of resolution for "who killed Laura Palmer" - apparently that concluding flashback was considered more confusing than revealing). This in particular was a widespread response: "The show is not even putting a pretense of lurking weirdness anymore is it." Weird-for-weirdness' sake was how many viewers and critics put it. Personally, I feel the early second season is actually better (while more uneven) than the first season. If I was listing favorite moments, many more would be from these episodes than season one. So I'd say stick with it. And for selfish reasons too - I've been enjoying reading your reactions so far. That said, if you eventually find the show is not to your taste, I'd still advise checking out at least three more pieces of Twin Peaks - worth watching on their own as cinematic (let alone television) landmarks. This isn't a spoiler per se but I wouldn't advise "unlocking" it unless you want to know ahead of time when to expect highlights:

Mentioned this earlier in the thread, but fun fact worth repeating: it's Lesli Linka Glatter, who directed the episode with the Log Lady's cabin (other than Lynch, she is the series' most ubiquitous director). Apparently most of the people on set didn't know it was her until she announced it.

Yes, absolutely.

I think it's helpful, and ultimately pretty logical knowing the making of the series, to consider season 2 not one but at least two or three (maybe four) different entities: My take on the first part of season 2 is that it is more uneven than season 1, but contains much greater highs.

Agreed - and that's by far the scariest moment in an episode that, at times, vamps it up a bit too much for my tastes:

I hadn't heard that Frost thought this before, though it would make sense giving the breakneck pacing of ep. 7. I think the opening is definitely a turning-point/make-or-break moment for viewers, or at least it was at the time, but I think trying to accommodate the audience is kind of a dangerous game to play for a couple reasons. 1) Obviously, how far does one want to go in compromising to retain viewers? True, Twin Peaks starts off as a balance between artistic integrity and entertainment value but go to the extreme of trying not to alienate viewers and you end up with . It's sort of a slippery slope. Also, of course, we'd then lose this hilarious and brilliant opening sequence. 2) I am of the opinion that Twin Peaks' long-term popularity was a lost cause. There was simply no way to do all of the following: retain Twin Peaks' narrative momentum (which requires the mystery to keep going), satisfy the viewers' desire to know who killed Laura Palmer (and why they killed her), deliver the resolution of the investigation in a dramatically appropriate way I think the room service waiter's implicit advice, and the giant's explicit advice, in this episode is correct: sit back, be patient, and allow the mystery to unfold as it needs to. If viewers can't hang on for that process, and the show dooms itself, at least it goes down with its integrity intact. Of course I can never know all the alternate routes that could have been taken so who knows. Good question about Bob. Why is the automatic response "We still don't know the killer!" - I hear it from first-time viewers on podcasts as well as in reports from the original airdate. Not saying that response is right or wrong - I do know, of course, but I ain't saying. But I'd be curious to hear from first-time viewers on this thread - do you think the audience response of 1990 ("this isn't a reveal!") makes sense? I did read some contemporaneous writers claiming, "Ok, this is a reveal but it's a character we've barely seen up to now so it's a cheat." Do any of you feel this way?

Best part of the above scene - Albert takes his glasses off several times. Which suggest to me that Lynch was purposefully just lining up numerous takes of Harry Goaz to extend this sequence as long as possible. He does love him some goofy Andy.

I was able to purchase those DVDs really cheap online this summer, when I found out those commentaries wouldn't be on the blu-ray. Very fascinating. (I get that Lynch doesn't like commentaries but it's a pity they couldn't just be included as audio tracks independent of video. That's how I ended up listening to them anyway.)

Now that we've completed the series through the season 2 premiere, I'll share this video I've created here, the first part of a 4-part "journey through Twin Peaks." It is sort of a visual podcast - commenting on the show as it unfolds and providing some context, while mixing the narration with clips and montages. Part 1 (linked below) does not contain any plot spoilers for stuff past this episode, although I do use occasional brief clips from Fire Walk With Me and some later episodes in the introduction, so use your own judgement (you may see certain characters or locations featured again so if that's too much of a spoiler, don't watch). The purpose of the TV montage, about 3 minutes in, is to look at different aspects of the show before zooming in on Laura Palmer via the grief of those closest to her (friends, family) and then a quick non-spoilery clip from FWWM segues into the classroom scene of the pilot. From there, I tackle the show in short groups of episodes without looking ahead: http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2014/09/journey-through-twin-peaks-part-1.html It can be watched in one full Vimeo video (1/2 hour) or in smaller 4-8 minute chapters on YouTube. Please feel free to share your own thoughts on this group of episodes (and my right/wrong opinions of them!) here, there or elsewhere.

Oh, and another thing: while this episode gets darker than anything since the pilot, it's also got some of the most hilarious bits. My particular favorite is Ben and Jerry spontaneously dancing when Leland enters the Great Northern office. Other favorite scenes, funny or otherwise: The room-service waiter returning 3 times Ben visiting Audrey at One-Eyed Jack's - so creepy, but beautifully played and shot with the colors popping, the wide lens and the Steadicam; is that the first Steadicam on the series (and in Lynch? I can't remember what's in Wild at Heart but that's a pretty freewheeling film so maybe) Leland's first "Mairzy Doates"/white hair appearance Major Briggs' speech to Bobby - what a transformative moment for that character (both of them really, but the Major especially) Maddy breaking the glasses - my guess is that was just Lynch saying "I don't like this look for her character" haha Leland singing "Get Happy" at the Hayward Supper Club. The little girl playing the piano is Kyle MacLachlan's creepy little sister from Dune. Audrey's prayer to Cooper The random dinergoer announcing (with his face pressed right up against the camera) "Hot DAMN, that pie's goood!" Albert laughing at Ed's story. Hilarious and yet as others have noted, this only makes it seem sadder.

Really excited to see the response to this episode. The first time I saw it I loved it, the second I thought it was a big disappointment. Now I lean more toward the favorable side - there are so many great moments, even if the whole thing does feel a bit shapeless in comparison to some of the tighter parts of the series. This was a very controversial episode when it aired. In fact, surprisingly to me, it was the turning point for Twin Peaks' popularity much more so than This was when a lot of critics and viewers began complaining that the show was just indulging in "weirdness-for-weirdness" sake and that Lynch was laughing at them. The ratings also went into a tailspin immediately following this episode, but that may also be due to the schedule: starting with the very next episode, Twin Peaks began airing on a Saturday night, the worst time for Twin Peaks' hip, young audience to be home. To me, this stretch is where Twin Peaks gets really interesting. The first season is a blast - fun, playful, absorbing, suspenseful - but season two (at least initially) grabs ahold of you in a much deeper, darker way. Let's face it - even today, how many half-comedic (or even full-on gritty) whodunits would flash back to a really relentless, unremitting depiction of the victim's tortuous demise? I think this is the first indication that John Leonard was wrong about Twin Peaks having "nothing at all in its pretty little head except the desire to please." Incidentally - at the time there was a popular theory, advocated by a critic with the L.A. Times, that Bob is not killing Laura in the final scene, but giving her CPR. I'll let first-time viewers suss that one out for themselves.

I love that it picks up EXACTLY where the finale left off (ok, like 1 minute later haha) which only makes the contrast more stark. That said, worth noting that Frost still did write the teleplay of the season 2 premiere. I think it brings out a different side of him as a writer - he can write tightly-wound plot acceleration, but is also aware of the long-form challenges of a full season and can be very methodical when necessary. Actually, I think too much so in this episode; my big complaint is that there's so much exposition retreading previous ground. It can feel sort of aimless at times. This summer I started watching Frost's Hill Street Blues episodes to see if I could trace any influence on Twin Peaks. Only a few were available, but there were actually some very revealing parallels (especially with stuff that would come up later in season 2). But one fun thing I noticed: he has a scene in which two characters are trying to have sex during a short lunch break and they keep being interrupted by...you guessed it, an extremely old, slow room service waiter. Another fun anecdote: apparently David Lynch spontaneously called Frost up when they were beginning to work on the script and simply said, "Mark, there's a giant in Cooper's room." And supposedly Frost simply replied, "David, I believe you."

Fun fact (thanks again, Reflections): she is also played by Lesli Linka Glatter, director of the "Cooper's Dreams" episode!

Also, the host's "contrast" with The Fugitive made me chuckle: "we hung in there all those seasons..." but wait, he's saying 7 episodes is too long?! It seems like the real fear people had was that they would NEVER find out the killer.

Ah, I see. Yeah, I'm more on board with that although I will say the whodunit has a lot of competition for least interesting haha (at least as the show goes on). Hm, interesting perspective on s2 - "philosophical investigation into what the is the nature of evil." I like that, and this is increasingly how I see it too. I'm actually working on a video this week (hoping to upload it by the weekend) which dives into the mythology's roots in Theosophy (which Frost has cited as the primary influence on the whole