Every Thursday, M, H, S & I watch a few (quite a few) episodes of Twin Peaks. Today we watched the first few episodes not written by David Lynch, mid-way through season 2. These are considered by most to be weaker, far less atmospheric episodes than season one and the beginning of season 2, but I've come to appreciate lots of things about them nonetheless. Though it might be the product of sloppy writing, there's something to the oddity of the post-murder mystery episodes that keeps me interested or, should we say, amused. Lots of new twists of the story are introduced, competing among themselves in looseness. Nothing is tied together, there's almost no progress of story and no meaningful connections between the threads are established. Whereas the humor of the earlier episodes focused on the dark and the morbid and the overly sentimental, the latter episodes mix the lowest of the low and the weirdest of the weird. The tension of David Lynch's approach is lacking. Here, everything is allowed. Sure, some parts are downright boring. I have never been too interested in the Windom Earle character. But there are scenes that are moronic in the best possible sense. Major Briggs is abducted by a UFO! Nadine lives her school girl reality and joins the wrestler team! Lucy, Mr Fashion and Andy tend to a diabolic kid! Mr Horne has gone insane and is now playing with civil war dolls! Cooper is suspended from FBI. A gentleman/woman called Denise Bryson (David Duchovny) shows up to investigate the circumstances of Cooper's professional misbehavior. "I might be wearing a dress but I still put my panties on one leg at a time if you know what I mean." This part of Twin Peaks is gloriously offbeat and a dignified sleazefest. I like it. I'm convinced that the writers intended these episodes to be silly and bizarre, and as a parody of the soap opera formula, this works even better than the first part of Twin Peaks! There is nothing here that is not over the top and that is exactly what makes it so good.
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