Twin Peaks: The Return

Episode 313: What Story is that, Charlie? 



We start in Vegas, at the insurance firm. In a nice bit of ramdon comedy, the Dougie/Mitcham brothers love affair goes on as he rolls in doing some form of the congo with the brothers plus the show girls.  Rodney's line, "A wrong has been made right and the sun is shining bright." was a highlight here.  Meanwhile, office employee Anthony neviously calls Mr. Todd to pass on the bad news about Dougie still being around.  Todd who also answers to a higher power tells Anthony that he must now deal with Dougie personally.  Later a gym set is delievered for Dougie and Janney's son, Sonny Jim from the Mitcham brothers.  Its a fancy gym set, and Janey gets a flash new car with a cool ribbon wraped it! Janey is seduced by Dougie's new found fouture.  This a big theme in the episode.

The focus is switched to Montana.  A gang gather in a fancy, high tech garage.  Dopple Cooper drives in and is after Ray.  It turns out that the gang are to decide their new leader with a arm wrestling contest.  Dark Cooper knowlingly accepts the challenge and is matched with big muscled bond guy.  The predictable happens in the unpredictable way. Coop teases that he is going to lose the contest.  Rather than just beat the goon after that Cooper places the hand at different heights, and playfully tells him what position hurts and where it feels comfortable. "Starting positions!" This is classic Twin Peaks logic, and plays perfectly into the power of personality and presence of the character.  In a neat twist, Dark Cooper doesn't win the conventional way, instead smashes the guy dead with one punch.  Its a powerful pay off. So Dark Cooper is the new leader.  He has his gang (even if he didn't want them), but of course he wanted a few minutes with Ray.  As the others clear out, a geeky looking man in a suit asks Cooper if he needs any money? The answer is no, but this might still be important later.  Cooper shoots Ray in the leg and questions him about who hired him to kill Cooper?  Ray reveals that it was Philip Jefferies who arranged Cooper's jailbreak and told Ray to place the green ring on his finger after he killed him. Ray hands over the coordinates that Chester had taken down.  Ray tells Cooper that last he heard Jefferies was in a place called 'The Dutchman's' which Ray believes to be a fictional place.  Cooper kills Ray, and says, "I know where it is."  As all this has gone down, the gang have been watching in the back on the big screen, and a nervous looking Richard Horne wanders through.  So Dark Cooper has his gang and seems to be heading for Twin Peaks.

Back in Vegas we get more of the annoying cop brothers.  Despite someone struggling off screen, they do not seem the least bit interested in helping her.  The lead officer tells them that he has lifted Dougie's prints and they revealed that he is a missing FBI officer.  We learn that one of the officers is involved in the insurance scheme. Anthony begs him to clean the Dougie mess up, but is told he handle it himself.  We see a short clip of Chatel and Gary in the van, having a random conversation about people in Utah.  Being team Dark Cooper, its fair to say they might be heading for Twin Peaks also.  Anthony offers to buy Dougie a coffee at work, and of course this being Twin Peaks Dougie/Cooper is not going to pass up that offer.  Speaking of which Dougie then destracted by a cherry pie at the counter.  While Dougie is away Anthony drugs his coffee, though he is already uneasy with the thought of doing the dirty deed.  The tables are then completely turned when a mesmorised Dougie starts touching the back of Anthony's coat where what appears to be some fibres are in plain sight.  Believing that Dougie is onto him, Anthony breaks down, runs to the toilet and desposes of the spiked coffee.  Later Anthony confeses all to his boss, who tells him he will not press changes if Anthony testifys. On the one hand this scene was just anothe qirky piece of comedy, and fate taking its course.  On the other hand I do think that Dougie getting caught up by the pie is another sign that the Cooper is in there, and is getting ever nearer to returning to his old self.  Whether he knew what he was doing to Anthony is harder to say.



In a smooth thematic link, we head to Twin Peaks for the first time in the episode where Shelly calms down her daughter Becky (she's upset that jerky Stephen didn't call last night), by inviting her to the Double R for a piece of CHERRY PIE! Big Ed (Everett McGill) returns to our screens, in a sweet little scene him and Norma invites Bobby to sit with them in the Double R.  There is some doubt during the episode whether Ed is still with Nadine after all these years (though considering her obsession with Jacoby, possibly not).  Bobby is excited about somethings connected to the case from his Dad (could be to do with Cooper case or maybe something else). Its just a nice community type of scene, and again considering Big Ed was opposed to the likes of Bobby in the old series, its another nice completion of a character switch.  If anyone was clinging onto the hope that Ed and Norma were still keeping their frame alive, then I'm afraid that this nice cosy moment is broken up by Norma's current romatic partner a sleazy capitalist named Walter Lawford.  Ed and Bobby leave them alone, though Ed watches on from another table (he doesn't trust Walter and still desires Norma).  It turns out that Walter and Norma entered into a franchise agreement to promote the Double R brand across the country.  Opening up a flash monitor, Walter shows Norma the sales figure, revealing that the other Double R's have been performing well, whereas, the branch in Twin Peaks has not been performing so well.  Its important to remember that during her previous appearances Norma had been counting up the Double R takings in the traditonal paper method.  Walter suggests that the way to improve business is for Norma to change the recipes to her famous Cherry pies.  Norma refuses, saying she prefers to stick with tradition.  Another Walter suggestion is that she re-name the Double R, "Norma's Double R" She shoots this idea down too for the same reason.  Throughout the new series, there has been a theme of the old fashioned world of Twin Peaks being corrupted by modern practices and capitalist influence.  In this case Walter is like an outsider and Norma is defending the established culture of the town.  Like Lynch, Norma as a character believes in sticking to artistic values whether even at the cost of making extra profits.  To take this a bit further, Norma refusing to jazz up the Double R, is like Lynch refushing to compromise his vision for the new series just to make everyone happen.  Then we get another Jacoby scene which probably wasn't needed, but at least its not another run through of his podcast, this time Nadine knocks on his door and declares her love for him by repeating back to him the "shovering the shit" line.  Unless they have anything major planned for these two in the overall show arc, I hope this is the conclusion of this plot.  Its telling that it comes after Big Ed's comeback scene, probably killing any ideas that he and Nadine are still together.

In one of the more eerie scenes of the episode, Sarah Palmer watches an old boxing match (I'm guessing on video tape) - its in black and white and is stuck on the same sequence, repeating it on a loop, with the commentator repeating the same sentence.  Sarah watches this drunk, as her decline into depression builds.  Something tells me this is not just a random scene to highlight her state of mind.  I expect her to become a cruical piece of the final puzzle.  Returning to the scene from last week between Audrey and Charlie, but this week the tables have been turned. Charlie with the information that Audrey wants, is suddenly much more in control, as she becomes ever desparate.  Becoming disoriented Audrey, says that she DOESN'T FEEL HERSLEF, that she DOESN'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS? During Audrey's breakdown Charlie teases her with mention of the 'Tale of the Kid Down the lane' (there was a film of said story starring Martin Sheen and Jodie Foster in 1976), Charlie hints that he will take Audrey to the Road House.  Again this is Charlie taking power back.

We return the Road House, no surprise there.  We get a musical performance.  No Surprise there... The performance in question is introduced... Now flashback to episode eight of this season, that was the last time a performance got a introduction, and least we forget that was the mighty Nine Inch Nails.  For anyone expecting another big hitter, special performance, just had no idea what was to follow, the announcement comes, "Ladies and Gentleman the roadhouse presents...James Hurley"!  To the amazement of all Hurley preceeds to perform his ah, hit song, "Just you and I" from season 2 all the way through.  Except in the absence of Donna and Laura's cousin Maddie on backing vocals we get two other young ladies performing with James. Just to ram the point home to fans further we get the whole song, and its clearly too much for one excitable young lady watching on from a nearby table.  Whatever, the point of this whole thing is, there's no question that it goes down another standout WTF moments.  As another subversion, the episode doesn't quite end there.  Instead, it ends with another Hurley, Big Ed smoking and drinking a coffee back at his Gas Farm.  Ed stares off into the distance as the credits roll.  I do read a little more into this than just a distinct shot to end on, and more than just the fact that Ed returned during the episode.  I think Ed is pondering the outside danger and modern threat coming into Twin Peaks, and no doubt about he has a certain owner of a local diner on his mind too. Ed and Norma were such a charming couple in the original show.  Once again it seems like circumstances are coming between their happiness.



Episode MVP: Dark Cooper
A welcome return for the character, and another composed, and menacing performance from MacLachlan clearly having a blast playing against type.  His Fight Club style scene (but with a twist) was a standout of the season so far.

Verdict
After a couple of recent episodes that have left some a bit cold I don't see how many can complain with this one.  There was a nice mixture of plots, interesting and fun character beats, and real edge of your seat and surreal moments.  More importantly just about every scene served a purpose in the overall arc, and with the dark Cooper and to a certain extent the Dougie side of things, there were progressive movements.  It was nice to see Big Ed return, and I enjoyed how the scenes with him and Norma linked up with events elsewhere, and payed off some of the on-going themes Lynch has explored these season.  This was a very focused episode, but still with some oddball, and playfully fun scenes.  I sense the best maybe still to come.

Bored Now Does the Complete X-Files 1993-?

Episode 1 - Pilot 

Plot: Young FBI agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) with her background in science is assigned with and to report on the cases of speical agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and the specialised X-Files, a series of supernatural cases based on Fox's belief in the existence of extraterrestrials.  The new team investigate the mysterious disappearance of group of teenagers in Oregon Woods.  

Original Air date: 10/09/93

First thing to say is that is no classic X-Files theme (by Mark Snow), or those trandmark credits, in its place is a very generic one note piano score, which is bit bland and on the nose. Much of the appeal of the show, certainly in its early years, was the haunting quality of its small town locations (most of the early seasons were filmed in Canada).  These locations had greater character and fitted the tone of series, and play into the idea of mysteries and the outcast and freak like characters.  It suits the intimate tone of the leads too, but the low budget of the effects does have some drawbacks in the early episodes.  The opening scene in the woods with the girl being stalked and that beam of flashing light looks very dated now.  

Damn Anderson looks young here! Its to her credit how well she pulls off the maturity of Scully, but still convincing as a nervous rookie.  This scene with Scully, and the FBI higher ups (played by Charles Cioffi, Ken Camroux-Taylor, William B. Davis - playing the famous Cigarette Smoking Man for the first time) sets the tone effectively.  I like the touch of Scully being on her guard and suspicious of the intentions of the bigwigs, with Dana asking, "Am I meant to understand that you want me to debuk him?" referring to Mulder's work.  The scene sets the cold political tone of the very traditional masculine FBI environment.  The muted colours are effective in showing the sterile atmosphere.  This then feds naturally into the deadpan, cynical tone of Mulder in his first scene with Scully.  There are some wonderful exchanges in this scene, such as Mulder answering Dana's knock on the door with, "Sorry nobody here except the FBI's most unwanted."  

Other gems include:

Scully: "Actually I'm looking to working with me." 

Mulder: "Really? I was under the impression you were sent to spy on me."  

Scully: "The answers are there, you just have to know where to look for them."  

Mulder: "And that's why they put the I in FBI."

The chemistry is there from the start.  Its a neat touch that both have done their homework on each other.  Like Scully, Fox shows up on screen pretty much fully formed.  Scully's cheeky smile at the end of scene is a thrill (like she knows she has a challenge on her hands with her new partner).  

There's some good character building between Mulder and Scully throughout the episode.  The brief scene where he drops in on her hotel room (asking if she wants to go for a run), shows Fox both keeping abreast of the case, but more crucially of his new partner.  The later scene when they've been out in the woods and experienced the white light, and Dana comes to his room worried that she's been infected by something, may seem on the nose, and a bit of a weak towards the audience that there could be a future romance.  But then it settles down into a warm, open exchange, with Mulder opening up about his backstory (the disappearance of his sister in their teens), and there is some common ground reached.  Scully re-assures Mulder that she there to purely report the findings of the case, and in return she seems to have a new found respect for her new partner, even if she is still leaning more towards the science based everyday logic.  I love most of their interactions throughout the episode.  The intimacy of the scenes are effective, like the deep focus shot of them in the car together when time appears to freeze.  Anderson's bemused, and yet, intrigued responses are on the money. But Duchovny's acting in the second half of the episode is a bit hammy and forced at times. He hasn't quite nailed Mulder like he will in future episodes.  These scenes were mostly engaging, its the stuff around them that let the episode down at times.

Again the televisonal background music failed to grip me, the direction and visual language in scenes like the hospital one is flat.  Some of the big dramatic scenes like the one in the woods when a mysterious man threatens Scully are look dated now.  The budget limitations are highlighted in many of the special effects, and woodland scenes.  The cheapness took me out of some of those scenes.  The drama is let down by weak supporting actors.  Sarah Koskoff as the disturbed daughter of the local doctor is very one note, though to be fair its not a very meaty part.  There are a few cheesy lines also, such as Scully's "There was a light."  

Verdict: This pilot episode has dated quite badly (though it does show much promise for the characters and core concept of the show).  The main problem with it, is that it feels like th writers are trying too hard hammer home the key set pieces and themes.  The effects budget is sadly lacking, the supporting plot of the case itself isn't the best, the lighter, witty tone of the first half of the episode would have been more effective when it comes to the case.  Less is often more.  The set up at the FBI, the Mulder and Scully interactions, and the rap up back in Washington (a nice scene with Dana reporting her findings to the directive general, and a final shot of Smoking Man putting a case file away) are enough to make it passible pilot.  The drama was just lacking outside of those moments. 

Rating: 5/10