Twin Peaks Return: The Profoundly Disappointed Support Group

[yaxomoxay]

Nothing looks or feels as good as it did.

That's exactly how time works

Beautiful, deep answer. Well stated.
Just watch "Wild Strawberries" directed by Ingmar Bergman, an amazing movie on the passing of time (95% on rotten tomatoes, and it's low!)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Agent Earle]

I think most people never really understood mark frosts contributions to begin with to even say whether they see his "mark" in the new show and just automatically attribute anything weird to lynch

it's funny though before the new show it was lynch this, lynch that. now a small group of people are like "it was frost I loved all along!! this show is too weird now!"

I'm curious what the average age is of everyone who doesn't like the roadhouse endings lol

Speak for yourself.

[dugpa]

I'll say this about the musical endings. One of my concerns initially was that every scene at the Roadhouse would have a different singer/band. This sort of 'celebrity cameo' if you will tied into my larger concern with the show given the huge names and large cast list.

So, I'm sort of good with the detached musical endings.

At first I was a bit irked that having a band close each part was a bit lazy but now am looking forward to who pops up.

[Gabriel]

I'll say this about the musical endings. One of my concerns initially was that every scene at the Roadhouse would have a different singer/band. This sort of 'celebrity cameo' if you will tied into my larger concern with the show given the huge names and large cast list.

So, I'm sort of good with the detached musical endings.

At first I was a bit irked that having a band close each part was a bit lazy but now am looking forward to who pops up.

Week by week, we can fill in the tracks for the soundtrack album listed on Amazon! Hopefully, we'll get some more Angelo as time goes by.

[mujubuju]

I really feel for those of you who aren't enjoying it or outright hate it. I can imagine all that anticipation for all these years only to end up with a product you dislike is incredibly difficult to stomach. I went in with no expectations whatsoever that this would resemble anything close to the original series, just based on the passage of time, the freedom afforded to Lynch/Frost to create their own undiluted product, and to have it air without the pacing constraints of conventional network television. That probably helped soften the mindfuck of the first few episodes.

There are a couple of things I'm finding hard to reconcile with some of the negative reactions, though. For example, I keep hearing that it lacks that Twin Peaks charm. To this I would ask: "Are you a fan of FWWM"? To me, there is little to no levity/warmth in that film and it has an unmistakably different tone than that of the series. If anything, it seems as though the new series has much higher quotient of humour already packed into its depths than that of the film, and we're just getting started. If it's the human/emotional connection, we are less than a quarter of the way in, and focusing primarily thus far on ancillary plot lines and characters that likely still have leagues to go before they flourish. When was the last time you felt heavily invested emotionally in a new character or their arc within the first 20 minutes of a movie? It will take time for all these threads to materialize into anything substantial. We are still very much in the exposition phase, it would seem.

I've also read some criticism of the visual and sound aspects of this. Granted I'm watching this on an OLED, but some of the visual aspects are absolutely striking (Episode 3's beginning for example), as is the sound design. Even the seemingly pedestrian Casino scenes look outstanding. I do have to agree that the lighting seems off in the Red Room scenes, though. Colder and more clinical, lacking the warmth and fullness of the original.

Could it use some more music? Probably, but I believe those parts are laying dormant until we get into the sections where they'll deliver the emotional one-two salvos required.

[mlsstwrt]

I really feel for those of you who aren't enjoying it or outright hate it. I can imagine all that anticipation for all these years only to end up with a product you dislike is incredibly difficult to stomach. I went in with no expectations whatsoever that this would resemble anything close to the original series, just based on the passage of time, the freedom afforded to Lynch/Frost to create their own undiluted product, and to have it air without the pacing constraints of conventional network television. That probably helped soften the mindfuck of the first few episodes.

There are a couple of things I'm finding hard to reconcile with some of the negative reactions, though. For example, I keep hearing that it lacks that Twin Peaks charm. To this I would ask: "Are you a fan of FWWM"? To me, there is little to no levity/warmth in that film and it has an unmistakably different tone than that of the series. If anything, it seems as though the new series has much higher quotient of humour already packed into its depths than that of the film, and we're just getting started. If it's the human/emotional connection, we are less than a quarter of the way in, and focusing primarily thus far on ancillary plot lines and characters that likely still have leagues to go before they flourish. When was the last time you felt heavily invested emotionally in a new character or their arc within the first 20 minutes of a movie? It will take time for all these threads to materialize into anything substantial. We are still very much in the exposition phase, it would seem.

I've also read some criticism of the visual and sound aspects of this. Granted I'm watching this on an OLED, but some of the visual aspects are absolutely striking (Episode 3's beginning for example), as is the sound design. Even the seemingly pedestrian Casino scenes look outstanding. I do have to agree that the lighting seems off in the Red Room scenes, though. Colder and more clinical, lacking the warmth and fullness of the original.

Could it use some more music? Probably, but I believe those parts are laying dormant until we get into the sections where they'll deliver the emotional one-two salvos required.

It's very interesting how differently we're perceiving it isn't it? To me charity telethon/sketch show is really accurate but you and others are obviously seeing things that others of us aren't. I'm not saying we're right and you're wrong, it's just somewhat difficult to account for.

The only question I can give a reasonable answer to is what you say about FWWM. I like FWWM more than the original series if anything and you're right, there wasn't much humour or levity in that. But there was incredibly empathy for the central protagonist. For much of FWWM we saw the world through Laura's eyes and it was a terrifying place. But there was such beauty in that. I don't feel any connection or empathy for any of the characters in The Return so far. Maybe Bobby in that one scene but only because it conjured up such memories. And I still have problems with that scene that I've discussed in earlier posts.

You ask when was the last time we felt heavily invested in a character after 20 minutes of a movie. Well we're four hours in. And I understand your point that it's not about absolute time but proportions, so 20 minutes into a movie is the 'equivalent' of being four hours into this. But it doesn't work like that for me. Four hours is four hours.

Look, I hope you're right, I really do and that things turn around. But what's very interesting to me is that even within 'Your' camp (to take a very simplistic view of this) there appears to be something of a split. There are those that love what they have seen so far purely for what it is and there seem to be those who really like what they have seen so far but with the expectation that things are going to change. I'm genuinely interested to see what happens next. Whether things will change in a way that would please myself and others in this thread that are less than satisfied so far. Whether things won't change all that much and people such as yourself will still end up feeling very positive about the series. Or whether things won't change and more people will 'turn against' this season.

'Change' as used above could apply to a lot of things. The acting, the look, the music. But primarily I mean change such that we become emotionally invested in the characters. I think that's very important to some of us here and isn't important at all to others. From your post I'm guessing that it does matter to you. So far do you feel any emotional connection to any of the characters, just based on what we have seen so far in this season? I know your whole point is that that will come later but what if it doesn't? We can only wait and see.

I think the way they've chosen to air this is strange. Most of us ended up seeing parts 1-4 in the space of two days and are then having to wait two weeks to see the next part. To me it's an odd choice when this is intended to be an 18 hour movie.

[David Locke]

I've loved reading this thread and I'm glad it exists. To me, it's infinitely more interesting than a thread full of people saying how great the new episodes are with not much elaboration.

I also have loved most of the Return. But it's far from perfect and I still have complicated feelings about it. Gabriel has summed things up best by saying essentially that The Return is quality when considered an independent Lynch work, but problematic when considered a legit continuation of Twin Peaks. And I feel silly for saying this because I've been as "prepared" for the new stuff to be as different and radical as anybody else, but what we have here is just difficult to consider as something completely in line with the series and FWWM.

There's just something intangible and special about the original series and FWWM that just isn't present here. And I'm not surprised, as I wouldn't expect it to be. The difference of shooting on digital, and of Lynch's evolution since 1992, is most of why things feel so "unlike" Twin Peaks. And that includes the warm, cozy TP of the series as well as the dark, demonic TP of FWWM. Because those were more two different sides of the same place/artwork, than they were separate things. It's just telling, though, for example how different the Horne brothers scene here looked from anything set in that room previously. Here there was a kind of cold gray-blue cast to everything, and (as in many scenes in The Return) it almost felt like little-to-no color correction was done. I liked the scene, but I don't understand Lynch's seeming apathy in making things visually stylized or striking in some way.

It's as if his camera has become completely passive, often exclusively trading in very wide master shots and the occasional medium shot, even when the scene would seem to call for a close-up. It's almost a documentary-realism approach, in terms of the camera and the lack of bold stylization via color grading in tandem with set design etc. This could not be more different from how it used to be - hell, even how it was on Inland Empire sometimes. Look at Dorothy's apartment. Look at One-Eyed-Jack's. Look at Fred Madison's home. Look at so many other examples. Look at all the walls Lynch painted for Inland Empire, all these rooms, use of blue filters (in that and across his career really), etc.

We get some striking architecture and a giant surrealist setpiece (in space?) in these first 4 episodes, but much of it cries out for some additional flourish. Now Lynch seems content just to point and shoot, almost - a certain creativity and restlessness isn't as present as before, and even when we do get noticeable little touches, like the focus going in and out as DoppelCoop is vomiting and looking at the cigarette lighter in his car, it's just the old "whacking" technique that Lynch and Deming discovered on the set of LH, messing with the lens to get that subjective-POV look of wobbly blurriness. So it's as if Lynch is in this odd middle-ground - shooting digitally and without the level of craftsmanship and visual beautify of his 1977-2001 films, but at the same time not pushing the envelope like IE did by doing any kind of new, interesting, or radical pivot in the other direction. I'd almost prefer the handheld camera and rawer digital aesthetic of IE to the more middle-of-the-road look here.

I mean, it looks good, great sometimes -- but it's just a disappointment considering how great Lynch's eye is.

But Lynch has really changed since digital. It encouraged him to lower his standards, in a way; to disregard structure, coherence (of any kind), and lots of other things, in favor of just in-the-moment exploration. Look at a film like Lost Highway. This is not haphazardly put together. It's very thoughtful, not to mention beautifully shot. Inland Empire was practically written as it was shot, and it feels like it. It doesn't need to be that way. Happy accidents and all kinds of improvisation and on-set changes happened on films like FWWM, but IE was a whole other level. And it results in a less cohesive, more amateurish, more rambling, and less interesting product. It's a kind of laziness.

Thankfully that's not really the case here, but there's still signs of it.

But the passage of time - both for the characters and for Lynch, and also Frost - is the biggest factor as to why The Return does not resemble the old TP. The creators are different artists and so are their creations, and it was never going to be terribly of-a-piece with the original 1990-1992 stuff. For this thing to really "feel" like the old Peaks, either Lynch would have to disingenuously shoot on film and kind of return to his earlier style (not only not possible but not advisable even if it were), or they'd have to basically make a Fuller House-type nostalgia cash-in, with nothing new or radical.

Everything is very different about The Return. That's alright, because I think what's going on is mostly successful - but I understand why some don't like it much at all. It really is very much like an expansive Lynch film that happens to include the TP world in its scope. At least, that's how it feels now. I suspect that many people are correct in assuming we'll zero in more on TP the town and the Cooper we all used to know and the Angelo music we all love, more and more as the season goes on. If that doesn't happen, I'll be surprised. It seems pretty clear the arc of things is about Dale's "return" in addition to ours. When/if this all comes to fruition, it'd be monumentally satisfying.

Let me be vague here. If you remember the exciting night of filming about a year and a half ago, that was leaked (but is not up for discussion here) - and then think about how such a scene would feel after the first four episodes and Coop's journey so far... well, I think you get the picture.

I know the "It's only been 200 years, just wait and let the season develop!" line can sound pompous sometimes, for varying shows... but it's very true in this case. We really are only like 20% into things. Next week's episode will be a big one for a lot of people, as to whether they're willing to stay on board or feel that nothing is really changing.

Remember, surprises abound and we know next to nothing... even though this is a slowly-paced 18-hour film/season, that doesn't mean all the Maddy's Murder/Red Room Dream/Little Nicky Thought Bubble-caliber scenes will be saved for last. (What, nobody else thinks Little Nicky's devilish appearance was even more terrifying than BOB?)

ADDITIONAL CAVEAT:
I do have a problem with the Red Room scenes here.

The original series and FWWM had such a mysterious air to the Red Room. It felt like a physical location, very tangible - in fact, it almost had a cheap quality in the sense that it was easy to sometimes imagine the camera panning up or left or whatever and then seeing the studio it was really in. But still, it was oddly otherworldly and immersive considering that tangible, set-bound quality.

By contrast, the new RR is SO otherworldly, with its digital sheen and perfecto-CGI look, that not only could nobody mistake it for a physical place like a set, but it somehow loses the mysteriousness of the original RR. Somehow, it seems too out-there. Too perfectly rendered. It doesn't have that ground-zero realism that the Lynch of 1986-2001 or whatever always had in his work, the better to make the surreal stuff pop.

Rather, the new RR feels like it's floating in space... a video-game level or something. And MIKE not only feels out of place as this kind of guide, but all the expository dialogue is pretty cringe-y. "The evolution of the arm..." is too overt already, but then we get right into the redundancy of the tree-thing saying "I am the arm." And then repeating that line that LMFAP had in FWWM. The tree thing's ok but it's just not a substitute for LMFAP. Overall I think the new RR is beautiful and creepy in a certain way, but (as noted earlier) it's in a kind of clinical manner. It's too shiny and new. The old RR had a slightly lived-in feel which isn't only owed to it being shot on film.

That said, I did really love the Laura scene (as fucked up as it was, it's not like this is the last we'll see of Lee, and I doubt Laura will get a tragic ending or anything). I thought the effects for both the face-opening and flying up were perfect and perfectly creepy in the usual Lynch way. In fact most of the effects have been very very good. They are uncanny in their intentional imperfections.

[Mr. Reindeer]

"The evolution of the arm..." is too overt already, but then we get right into the redundancy of the tree-thing saying "I am the arm." And then repeating that line that LMFAP had in FWWM.

I thought the Arm's weird, laconic attempt at imitating the "Indian noise" was kinda cool/creepy.

I agree that the Red Room stuff is a bit too on-the-nose this time, but maybe that's so at this point in the show to set certain story points in motion as quickly/efficiently as possible. Honestly, the Red Room is inevitably going to feel a bit more like a "safe space" than it did 25 years ago. I sort of hope we spend more time in bold new Lodge settings like the "mauve room" and don't go back to the Red Room super often.

My only major complaint so far is the pacing of some scenes. I'm a huge fan of DKL's languorous pacing in general -- Episode 8 Waiter and Episode 29 Dell Mibbler are two of my favorite things ever set to film. However, certain scenes feel leaden in a way that's kind of surprising, given DKL's usual incredible feel for pacing/mood. Caveat: I'm talking primarily about the Andy/Lucy stuff, which is just not my thing to begin with. I like the characters in concept -- they're an adorable couple and the actors are exceptionally likeable -- and season 1's weepy/gun-dropping Andy and office-geography-obsessed Lucy are genuinely funny to me. But from Episode 8 onward, the characters do pretty much nothing for me.

That being said, even keeping my bias in mind, the sheriff's station scenes in the new show are so excruciatingly slow that if I didn't know better, I'd think they were cut with the intention of dropping in 6-7 seconds of canned laughter after every line. I'm reminded of a comment DKL made in the Rodley book about how Marx Bros. movies were cut to account for several seconds of theater audience laughter, and the movies therefore feel slow-paced when watched at home. (For the record, I completely disagree with DKL about the Marxes feeling slow-paced.) Slow pacing can definitely be used to great comic effect, as DKL himself has proven, but a "gas" joke doesn't get funnier by letting it hang in the air (no pun intended). The only joy I've gotten out of those scenes is some of Hawk's exasperated reactions. I adore Hawk, but otherwise, I really wish our time in the town of TP could be spent in places other than the sheriff's station. I've loved all the other glimpses we've gotten of the townies, both familiar and new.

Another culprit is the Sonny Jim breakfast scene -- which I love in spite of its dragginess, but it would be stronger if it were tightened. How many shots of Naomi Watts preparing breakfast do we need? It feels like the scene was cut long merely to squeeze in all of the Brubeck piece.

Of course, this is all subjective. I think the "HelloooOOOOoooo" gag so outstays its welcome that it comes full circle and becomes twice as funny (the "rake scene" approach, if there are any Simpsons fans out there). And I wouldn't want to lose a frame of Jacoby and his shovels. But I can definitely understand why others feel that those sequences are self-indulgent. YMMV.

[David Locke]

"The evolution of the arm..." is too overt already, but then we get right into the redundancy of the tree-thing saying "I am the arm." And then repeating that line that LMFAP had in FWWM.

I thought the Arm's weird, laconic attempt at imitating the "Indian noise" was kinda cool/creepy.

I agree that the Red Room stuff is a bit too on-the-nose this time, but maybe that's so at this point in the show to set certain story points in motion as quickly/efficiently as possible. Honestly, the Red Room is inevitably going to feel a bit more like a "safe space" than it did 25 years ago. I sort of hope we spend more time in bold new Lodge settings like the "mauve room" and don't go back to the Red Room super often.

My only major complaint so far is the pacing of some scenes. I'm a huge fan of DKL's languorous pacing in general -- Episode 8 Waiter and Episode 29 Dell Mibbler are two of my favorite things ever set to film. However, certain scenes feel leaden in a way that's kind of surprising, given DKL's usual incredible feel for pacing/mood. Caveat: I'm talking primarily about the Andy/Lucy stuff, which is just not my thing to begin with. I like the characters in concept -- they're an adorable couple and the actors are exceptionally likeable -- and season 1's weepy/gun-dropping Andy and office-geography-obsessed Lucy are genuinely funny to me. But from Episode 8 onward, the characters do pretty much nothing for me.

That being said, even keeping my bias in mind, the sheriff's station scenes in the new show are so excruciatingly slow that if I didn't know better, I'd think they were cut with the intention of dropping in 6-7 seconds of canned laughter after every line. I'm reminded of a comment DKL made in the Rodley book about how Marx Bros. movies were cut to account for several seconds of theater audience laughter, and the movies therefore feel slow-paced when watched at home. (For the record, I completely disagree with DKL about the Marxes feeling slow-paced.) Slow pacing can definitely be used to great comic effect, as DKL himself has proven, but a "gas" joke doesn't get funnier by letting it hang in the air (no pun intended). The only joy I've gotten out of those scenes is some of Hawk's exasperated reactions. I adore Hawk, but otherwise, I really wish our time in the town of TP could be spent in places other than the sheriff's station. I've loved all the other glimpses we've gotten of the townies, both familiar and new.

Another culprit is the Sonny Jim breakfast scene -- which I love in spite of its dragginess, but it would be stronger if it were tightened. How many shots of Naomi Watts preparing breakfast do we need? It feels like the scene was cut long merely to squeeze in all of the Brubeck piece.

Of course, this is all subjective. I think the "HelloooOOOOoooo" gag so outstays its welcome that it comes full circle and becomes twice as funny (the "rake scene" approach, if there are any Simpsons fans out there). And I wouldn't want to lose a frame of Jacoby and his shovels. But I can definitely understand why others feel that those sequences are self-indulgent. YMMV.

Yeah, I agree - there's been some weird pauses, where it goes past feeling like something Lynch intended because of his dry, dry humor, and feels more like the scene is a rough cut and needed a bit more trimming. The Hawk/Lucy/Andy scenes have a lot of this definitely, with the bunnies scene in particular managing to be chuckle-worthy but also head-scratching with its looooong, awkward pauses. And I also like ostensibly similar examples like Droolcup or Mibbler, the pauses and unbearable slowness. But sometimes it feels like Lynch didn't quite get the rhythm down and let it linger too longer.

i also would add that while I have no problem per se with Jacoby's scenes so far, they just seem completely pointless so long as we don't know... what the hell he's doing. I mean it was nice to see him again, and there was almost a kind of hypnotic feel to the shovel-painting, but on the whole it's kind of too much time dedicate to something that has no interest other than "hey it's Jacoby, doing his grizzled-hippie quirky Jacoby things! Cool..."

I guess you could say if there was music it wouldn't feel weird at all - which might be true. But I have a hard time picturing these new scenes with one of those Angelo bits typically used in comedy scenes for the original series - that kind of jazzy, drum shuffle or whatever. The new episodes are so sparse and severe and dark that this kind of "comic relief music" would feel wrong, actually. Indeed it's almost hard to picture extensive use of the darker tunes like Laura's theme. The scene with Bobby was moving and jarring at once because it seemed so different from the rest of the new episodes (surely this was intentional though?) It was almost comic how over-the-top it was -- not because of the display of emotion, which was moving, but because of how out-of-place and sudden it was, coming in the middle of an otherwise very quiet, dark, contemplative series. Basically, I do want Angelo's music back and I think we'll get it but that first big blast felt a bit strange! Bracing, even. Dark Mood Woods was very good and welcome also, but it melded with its scene much more naturally.

Generally Lynch doing straight comedy isn't my favorite Lynch either. So the stuff with Andy and Lucy being veeeery stupid (in both the original series and here, he seems to like to make them act dumber!) I'm just not a fan of. But personally I LOVED all the casino stuff, and thought Coop's "HULLLLOOOOOOOOO" was hilarious . That whole sequence, including the visit to the mecacing, perfectly Lynchian casino boss (who resembles the magician at Silencio a bit actually).... that was all pure gold to me. I thought Episodes 3 and 4 were the best so far, definitely.

Unrelated, but also just wanna add that I personally LOVE Cera's scene. On first viewing I was unsure, but watching again the hilarity and perfectly Peaks-ian deadpan nature of the dialogue just clicked with me. When he talks about his shadow being with him always.. "except on cloudy days... or at night" or whatever. Man, I just bust out laughing. I don't mind much if we see him again (in a way a non sequitor cameo would only make it funnier) but I thought Wally was right out of the original series, as was that scene generally. Yes the references to Brando and the films were on the nose, but not too much IMO. It was a very, very well written and weird and funny scene. Very Frost-ian, I would say. But also with Lynch's deadpan humor and again those awkward pauses, except here it was done right, for comedic effect that worked.

I hate that sarcastic newcomer in the sheriff's station, though. Just wasn't funny and seemed from some different show. If you're gonna have a sarcastic know-it-all who mocks Peaks's eccentricities and spiritual/mystical side, then you gotta do better than that guy. He was certainly no Albert!

[mtwentz]

I would concur that overall the Sheriff Station scenes are the weakest part of the new show overall. I only like them, I don't really love them. Pretty much everything else has bee awesome, especially for me the New York and South Dakota storylines and Bad Coop, Darya and Ray, the Red Room, etc.

I think the Red Room scenes are much better this time around. I love Ep. 29 of the original series, but depending on my mood the scenes of Coop walking back and forth in the Red Room can be genius or annoying, depending on my mood. On the other hand, I have no such hesitation on the Red Room scenes in this new series. I feel they are much better done, more effective and more interesting than the Episode 29 Red Room.

[Northman]

Hi all,
som of the people posting in this thread have stated that they havent seen those of us who do love the new Twin Peaks elaborate why. I would like to make an attempt and hopefully make 1 or 2 people see the The Return with fresh eyes (I do respect that some will not like this show and i do feel for you guys who have anticipated this thing and been dissapointed). Anyway here I go:

Why i have fallen in love with Twin Peaks The Return

1) It is for me a perfect mix of genres. It contains alot of dark mystery/horror (more than the original series), but also great humour, soapy drama, crime, surrealism. In the old show the darker scenes stood out as exceptional while most of the show was soap with a twist. In this new series the humourour and soap opera moments stand out more as exceptional. The scene at the Roadhouse with Shelly and James was perfect.

2) It looks gorgeous. Just that shot of New York at night. This has been seen a thousand times in tv-series and movies but NEVER like that. Beautiful.

3) It is more involved with the Lodge/supernatural elements. For me this is a good thing. Nothing has fascinated me more about TP than the Blue Rose. I want to know more about the supernatural/interdimensional beings from the lodges and how they affect us. I want to see more of the FBI looking into this.

4) The central crime mystery of Ruths appartment is intriguing and disturbing.

5) There are som many mysteries and riddles that make you think. What is up with Frosts numerology freakout? 3, 15, 253, the 6 in FWWM? What does it mean? Did the strange woman in the fireplace-room send cooper to 2003 instead of 2015? Does it mean something else? And who was that woman? The magician who longs to see (she was blind and clearly between worlds)? Why does Daryas body with the face covered by a pillow invoke the body/bodies in Ruths appartment? Why does Cooper see the pale horse (the log lady said woe to the ones who see the pale horse)? Is the silver mustang casino related to the pale horse? What is up with the owl cage ring? Does the doppelganger say 'its yrev very good to see you again old friend' upon greeting Cole? What is up with the room in NYC - who financed it and to what purpose? Does the Dougie-storyline happen in Coops head as he is being shifted between worlds? Is the book on american indian heritage in the bookshelf in Ruths appartment somehow related to the log ladys message to Hawk? Why is Jacoby painting shovels? How did Bobby end up a deputy? What is up in everones lives for that matter - i cant wait to find out. What is up with Laura Palmer? Who is Mother and is it/she related to the use of the phrase Mother in Mark Frosts book? Why is that sound the giant plays for cooper in the very first scene a distorted recording of a slot machine from a casino? Why is the birthdate we see for evil-coop in the prison the same as for principal hastings? Is hastings a vessel for a lodge spirit? Does the line 'it is in our house now' imply that cooper has become a part of the cycle of abuse? And on and on.

6) The really stand-out scenes are more and more varied than the ones in the original series. I already mentioned the Shelly/James scene but also:
- The room in NYC
- Cole, Albert and Preston driving...laughed my ass off
- them meeting evil-coop in the prison....super scary.
- the interrogation of Hastings
- bobby seeing lauras picture
- Hawk in the woods at night
- ruths appartment

7) GREAT music. The chromatics were perfect and the Cactus Blossoms was such a great discovery.

Great acting all around with some stand-out performances
- Kyle is possibly delivering the greatest tv-role(s) ever...he is just all over the place. Truly an amazing actor. From lost man-child to shallow.dougie to super scary evil-coop to the most ridiculous sequences to thoughtful Dale in the lodge.
- Hawk is great...period
- The log lady.... Coulsons state at the time makes it all the stronger
- James Marshall was great in that little scene
- Dana was great
- David Lynch stole the show in episode 4...wow bob wow!
- bailey chase...we want more of him
- Matthew Lillards performance is truly amazing

9) the show works on so many levels. I have already mentioned the crime mystery with the backdrop of mythology and supernatural phenomena, but consider for example how people react to the dougie that has been replaced by cooper. People dont REALLY seem concerned. Not even his wife is truly alarmed and takes him to a hospital. It's a great way to use surrealism to show how little people sometimes see eachother - even in the closest of relationships.

10) it is true high art in how it makes viewing it a truly personal experience that is entirely different from person to person...we simply see and understand different things. That is true abstract art.

11) reboots are always made for nostalgia and money....EXCEPT THIS ONE. This one is new and fresh and has a life and purpose truly of its own.

No show ever gave me so much food for thought and analysis. No show was ever so unsettling and gripping and frustrating. It has even armed me with the ultimate one-liner for any encounters with narrowmindedness and intolerance: fix your hearts or die!

Anyway this has been my experience so far. And now i cant wait to see what happens next...and i dont know what to expect...anything can jump out of the screen at anytime.

[Mr. Reindeer]

I also would add that while I have no problem per se with Jacoby's scenes so far, they just seem completely pointless so long as we don't know... what the hell he's doing. I mean it was nice to see him again, and there was almost a kind of hypnotic feel to the shovel-painting, but on the whole it's kind of too much time dedicate to something that has no interest other than "hey it's Jacoby, doing his grizzled-hippie quirky Jacoby things! Cool..."

I agree about the hypnotic feel, but even with no clue what he's up to, I'm also enjoying the scenes as their own shaggy-dog slice-of-life non sequitir vignettes. There's something hilariously Lynchian to me about all of it. (Naturally, others might very reasonably substitute "self-indulgent" for "hilariously Lynchian," and I certainly wouldn't blame them.)

[mlsstwrt]

Would all you people going on about how great the new series is PLEASE JUST GET THE F**K OUT OF MY THREAD!!!!

Just kidding Great posts and very interesting to read. Thank you all for your contributions.

[BOB1]

Well........ don't know what to say..... I watched Eps 3 and 4 yesterday and I... liked them
I guess it leaves me out from The Profoundly Disappointed!
I still disliked Parts 1 nad 2, and I still think it's god awful how much of a dork they made out of Andy and Lucy (incomparable to ANYTHING which they would do in the original series), and I still think the digital look downright sucks, and some other things too - but now they were minor issues while the overall impression was not only good, it was kind of peaksy, too!

[Hockey Mask]

Well........ don't know what to say..... I watched Eps 3 and 4 yesterday and I... liked them
I guess it leaves me out from The Profoundly Disappointed!
I still disliked Parts 1 nad 2, and I still think it's god awful how much of a dork they made out of Andy and Lucy (incomparable to ANYTHING which they would do in the original series), and I still think the digital look downright sucks, and some other things too - but now they were minor issues while the overall impression was not only good, it was kind of peaksy, too!

Walk towards the light!