World of Blue - Archived Forum 2007-2022

Let's talk the trip through the ceiling tile, the early days of season 2 subplots, the Jerry Stahl fiasco and whatever else you want to analyze, discuss, or criticize from this episode.

I just learned while lurking on IMDB that Jerry Stahl appeared in Inland Empire - am I the only person who didn't know this..? Apparently he plays Devon Berk's agent. Need to rewatch.

Ha, that's great. Wasn't Kyle MacLachlan supposed to have had a subliminal cameo in that movie too? Was it something that got cut?

I liked the ceiling tile opening and the surreal sounds, but these openings would become increasingly more in-your-face and annoying as the show went on (I'm looking at you Diane Keaton and gigantic chess pieces). They began to feel, as I think Sherilyn Fenn mentioned in an interview on Season 2, like guest directors being weird for the sake of being weird, trying to emulate Lynch, whose weirdness came from a place of artistic truth.

Can I ask what is meant by the "Jerry Stahl fiasco"? I know he was one of the writers, but beyond that don't know what this means?

This episode introduced the concept of M.T. Wendt, I think. That's one of my least favourite subplots - and would also bring in Ernie, a character I really grew to loathe after the initial slightly amusing appearances. Didn't think much of M.T. Wendt herself, either, though I felt sorry for Norma. All the stuff here with Josie and Audrey tends to blur together in my mind and I think there was stuff about Laura's diary too, right?

I think this episode is interesting also because Tojamura first appears here - and this is a subplot I really want to discuss. Did you all know who it was? Did you suspect? I can't seem to find a thread on this, but have come across great discussions from Piper Laurie (in an extract of her memoir and a YouTube interview or two) discussing this subplot. (Edit - created a new topic on this twist here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2990.)

Jerry Stahl was an up and coming writer for TV in the '80s and early '90s, who worked on ALF, Moonlighting and thirtysomething. He was talented but had a nasty heroin addiction. According to Mark Frost (IIRC) and others, he was brought in to write Episode 11 on someone's recommendation, but what he turned in was apparently only half-written and incomprehensible. I think Frost claimed he was constantly going to the bathroom to shoot up, and said what he turned in had 'bloodstains' on it. I believe they took his name off it and rewrote it all themselves, but I can't recall.

Stahl went on to write his autobiography, Permanent Midnight, which was made into a film with Ben Stiller. Frost was incensed that he was apparently bashed in the book.

Re-watching Twin Peaks from my least favorite to favorite episode...

Previously: Episode 27 (http://www.dugpa.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 445#p43445)

The journey through the ceiling hole is one of the best openings of the series, and Leland's confession, which immediately follows that striking image, is spectacularly good. If the rest of the episode followed in the same spirit then it would easily rank in the top ten. Sadly it does not, and so episode 11 barely scrapes by in the top twenty but, for a while at least, this was a very refreshing rewatch. Right off the bat, it's such a pleasure to see Ray Wise again. Of the many things the last dozen entries on this list were egregiously missing, his presence is near the top. And Sheryl Lee too - I'd been so focused on the idea of this being the first "Laura" episode of the rewatch that I forgot about Maddy. But there she is quite a ways into the episode, a useful reminder what a constant feature she was on Twin Peaks until she was swept away with the three L's (Laura, Leland, and Lynch). Characters whom I’ve been watching for the past week appear much more in their element: Ben is a slimy schemer, Cooper the confident outsider looking in, and Audrey the teenager in over her head...even if she doesn't get to do much except act drugged-up at One-Eyed Jack's. But these familiar sights wear thin as we squander our time with Andy's sperm count, Josie's tangled plotting, and the who-the-hell-cares M.T. Wentz intrigue. The scenes pass by enjoyably enough, coasting on the moody atmosphere (this is the episode in which a thunderstorm passes through Twin Peaks) and the actors' charisma (including Royal Dano as a suitably folksy traveling judge), but several times I found myself tuning out of the decidedly non-crucial dialogue or action. Here is where a lot of season two's flaws become apparent, and even if the very best stuff in season two is my favorite part of Twin peaks, 11 reminds us that the show's decline wasn't simply a matter of ending the murder mystery. Speaking of which, many first-time viewers identify this as the episode in which Laura Palmer really seems to recede into the background, even as her story remains unresolved. Aside from the opening which dwells on Leland's grief and the evocative scene in which Harold reads from the secret diary, I suppose that’s mostly true. Which makes this a good transitional episode for my out-of-order rewatch.

Next: Episode 15 (http://www.dugpa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=43468#p43468)

I agree with all this, except the Andy Sperm thing. That story is silly, but in an enjoyable way. Fits into the show nicely, messing with the tone purposefully.

That's fair enough. Of the season 2 subplots, the Andy-Lucy stuff annoys me less, and is often more enjoyable, than a lot of the other stuff. At least at this point. When it gets to Little Nicky, less so (although even then I confess I have a soft spot for the ridiculous Andy-and-Dick-invade-an-orphanage moment).

I found it funny that Kimmy Robertson told Dave Letterman she wasn't on Twin Peaks anymore, she was on the "Andy, Dick, and Lucy Show."

Although more of a transitional episode, I really enjoy this one. I find the opening scene quite haunting and I love the introduction of Judge Sternwood.

Here's my recap for #11 - http://twinpeaksfanatic.blogspot.com/20 ... de-11.html

Judge Sternwood is one of my favorite things about season 2. He's sort of the cool grandather figure for the Twin Peaks sheriffs, presiding at the roadhouse and drinking Black Yukon Suckerpunches. http://diningwithdiane.tumblr.com/post/ ... meeting-in.

Not a bad episode, but easily the most inconsequential up to that point in the series. It is true, as noted above, that Laura barely figures at all here even as a ghost, and overall the agglomeration of subplots about various not terribly interesting smaller characters makes this feel like a mid-late S2 episode more than anything. As Lost said, everything just coasts by on mood here. The ending sequence is a good example: the storm is evocative and the shadowy fight strikingly staged, but just why do we care about these characters and what do they have to do with anything? Again, not a bad episode but a noticeably inessential one.

For the longest time, I thought that the man standing in the rain, staring in through the window at Harry and Josie was Pete! I like that scenario better than having it be Josie's "cousin" - though clearly not a side of Pete that fits with what we know about him, it would have sorta worked in the context of the crush he seems to have on Josie, and it would have been infinitely more creepy.

Speaking of Josie, seeing her again after several episodes without her just reminded me of how much I dislike her as a character. The show works better without her and her "shenanigans".

Knowing what I know about Tojumara (sp?), it seems pretty obvious when he makes his first appearance...now. I had no idea originally. In that context, I really loved that scene in the Great Northern lobby with Ben. Richard Beymer is such a great actor. He can say absolutely nothing and still give a deeply textured performance.

Really like Coop's and Ben's interactions. They clearly don't like each other and Coop especially seems so uncomfortable standing in his office, almost like he wants to immediately run off and take a shower.

First episode without many main characters - Bobby, Shelly, James, Ed, Nadine, etc. Definitely a transitional episode, but I still enjoyed it. Ray Wise knocked it out of the park in his scenes.

They definitely dropped the ball with Ben and Cooper moving forward. They were great together.

Audrey Horne wrote:They definitely dropped the ball with Ben and Cooper moving forward. They were great together.

They really were! Cooper seems so agitated/flustered when he is humoring Ben Horne, I love it so much haha

This episode was pretty decent. I liked Judge Sternwood. I have a feeling he would have been a reasonably significant character had the show run for longer.