AgentCoop

To be fair, he'd only have to be five or six years older than her to remember that. It is a weird opening line, though.

Sometimes a viewer can tell when the actors are having fun. The diner scene is one of those times.

I'm just gonna say it: I really like this episode and that extended sequence in the Diner is one of my favorites in the whole series. I'm not generally a fan of Annie/Cooper, but I think they're delightful together here. Even Harry is great. And Gordon and Shelley are magical. I love the whole thing. And yes, I think the penguin joke is genuinely funny.

I was actually surprised by how good everyone looks.

When commenting on an episode a couple weeks back I mentioned that we had not yet reached what I thought was the show's lowest point. This. This episode, for me, is Twin Peaks at it's absolute worst. Just...awful. What the hell is Diane Keaton (who, as an actress, I like quite a lot) doing with this episode? We've seen this on the show before. Directors trying, and failing, to out-Lynch Lynch, but it's never been taken to such ridiculous, self-indulgent extremes as it was here. Really amateurish, film student "look at me" stuff. Embarrassing to watch. I would also argue that this episode, more than any other, ruins any potential that Windom Earle might have had. There's absolutely no way the viewer can ever find him threatening or scary after seeing him hop around in his underwear playing a flute like a demented imp. There's one scene in an upcoming episode (maybe next week?) that's nearly as bad, but as a whole "Slaves And Masters" represents rock bottom for me. Things start looking up from here.

Can't disagree more about Buffy. I thought Season Five was excellent and Season Six is probably my favorite BTVS season.

Damn. I don't know what the issue is, but I sincerely hope it gets hammered out. I can't think of many things that would be more disappointing than to have this thing fall apart now. It would genuinely break my heart.

Okay. I have approached this one a little differently than previous episodes. Rather than writing an off-the-cuff post based on my general thoughts I actually took some notes while watching this one. I'll go through them as coherently as I can and hope it's not so long that it becomes tedious. First off, I found this episode to be much better than the last one. So that's something. The dripping sprinkler echoes the episode where Leland dies. It's such a specific image that I have to think it's intentional. Notice that it's dripping onto a photo of Major Briggs' tattoo. I still love Denise, who proves to be a badass by the end of the episode. I especially love the delighted look on Cooper's face when she comes into the room as "Dennis". Also, she gives Ernie a "noogie". Which is fantastic. The Bobby/Shelly relationship seems to have completely deteriorated at this point. When she slaps Bobby I find myself saying "finally!". Somehow "Businessman Bobby" manages to be even sleazier than "Drug-Dealer Bobby". Also, that's some shirt he's wearing. James has $12 in savings? Seems like too much. The James story really seems to be milking the memory of Laura for all it's worth:"I loved a girl who died--her name was Laura". Hey, James, didn't you also love a girl named Donna--who you unceremoniously ditched? Didn't you ALSO sorta-love a girl named Maddie? Who ALSO died? James, you're the worst. How did Ernie Niles--a character who seems to have stepped out of an episode of "The Love Boat"--become a key Twin Peaks character? The mind boggles. This is already longer than I had hoped, so I'll check in later with more notes on this episode.

To me the biggest offense of the James plot is that it's just relentlessly boring. I barely cared about James' problems when he was still in Twin Peaks. I sure as hell don't care about him now that he's spending his time with these cardboard characters in this "wannabe-noir" plot. For me the only saving grace of this story comes from Brad Cupples on that "other" TP podcast, who dubbed the Malcolm character as Exposition Malcolm and pointed out the hilarious way that he walks into a scene, provides an unsolicited explanation of the plot and promptly leaves. Now I get plenty of laughs from Exposition Malcolm. The widow storyline (is her name Lana? even after more than ten rewatches I can't be bothered to remember) starts out boring, but with the scene where every male on the show starts fawning over her like a bunch of horny teenagers it becomes downright insulting. Insulting to the audience, insulting to the show and (worst of all, IMO) insulting to the characters themselves. Twin Peaks should be above this. Like way, way above this.

So I just rewatched the episode and I actually found myself enjoying it. If you can overlook the eyeroll-worthy plot developments, there are some nice character beats. The scene with Cooper, Audrey and Denise is probably my favorite in this episode, if only for it's echoes of earlier and better scenes. Denise continues to be a bright spot in the show at this point. The guys already pointed this out in the podcast, but I love Cooper's unhesitating acceptance of the "new" Agent Bryson. At heart, Cooper just wants people to be happy. And Duchovny's performance remains wonderful. The scene with Catherine and Pete is a little odd, given Pete's close relationship with Josie and the fact that he's now basically going along with what Catherine is doing to her (although they do at least attempt to have Pete question what Catherine is doing). Pete's attempt to recite romantic poetry is, however, hilarious. To my surprise, I found myself really enjoying the brief Ed and Norma scene this time. On previous rewatches I usually didn't pay them much attention, but I'm enjoying their story this time around. Maybe I'm relating to them more because I'm getting older. I really liked the final scene at the Briggs' house, although I don't know why Major Briggs is dressed like a character from a steampunk-themed RPG.

Haven't checked in recently, but at least I'm caught up on the podcast now. Yep, we're definitely in TP's low point now (we have not, however, reached it's lowest point yet...put I'll save my comments for when we get there). LostInTheMovies, you asked about people who watched the show in it's first run, well I'm one of them. What I remember at this point in the series is tuning in every week and hoping fervently that it was going to be a David Lynch episode. It was clear even at a time without internet spoilers and behind-the-scenes gossip that Lynch wasn't all that involved in the show at this time. I never stopped being a loyal viewer, though and I'm probably a lot harder on this stretch of episodes now than I was then. I always managed to find something in the show to enjoy. Looking forward to getting through the next couple. I feel the show gets a lot better around Episode 25.

This episode is problematic for all of the reasons LostInTheMovies outlines. The shift in tone from the previous episode seems really jarring, which is strange seeing as how such swings from dark to light are generally right in Twin Peaks' wheelhouse. It also seems really odd that the audience now knows more than Cooper does. Up until this point Cooper has always been two steps ahead of everyone, which lent his character a certain dynamic quality. Now that we know more than he does it makes him seem passive somehow. As a Cooper lover, I don't like him being made to look stupid. The flashback to Louise Dombrowski dancing with the flashlight goes on way, WAY too long. It's an early symptom of something that gets much worse as we move forward from here: Directors who aren't David Lynch trying to be "Lynchian". Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are some dark times ahead, my friends, but be strong. It's worth sticking with. The episode isn't all bad, though. There's still good stuff to be had: Ray Wise is terrific, as always. In fact I think it's safe to say he steals the show here. There's a subtle shift in the way he's playing Leland now that's really effective. Leland's manic behavior is still there, but rather than being tragic it's taken on a hint of insincerity. In this episode I feel like BOB is fully in control. Pete's visit to Ben Horne's jail cell is pretty fun. I love that Pete has now apparently become Catherine's co-conspirator. Jerry's back! I love the fact that he seems to take it for granted that Ben is guilty. Was Leland/BOB planning to beat Cooper and Truman to death with a golf club in the middle of the street in broad daylight? Because I kinda think he was. I really like the Cooper/Audrey scene at the end. The show doesn't touch base on this friendship nearly often enough, and I love how it's handled here. Looking forward to next week!

Another scene that I love in this episode is Shelly quitting her job. It should be completely banal and uninteresting, but the use of music and the performances of Madchen Amick and Peggy Lipton really turn into something sad, sweet and even kind of moving.

I also love how Lynch puts the record player in the foreground during the Leland/Sarah/Maddy scene. It's only on a rewatch that you realize it's foreshadowing.

I actually did keep a notebook while I was watching the show way back in 1990-91. Unfortunately, it's long gone.