I reckon the Cooper/Dougie storyline has been stretched (is arguably filler material) to accommodate eighteen episodes. Showtime commissioned a nine episode season. This was changed to eighteen episodes after David Lynch quit the show over concerns at about budget restraints.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11517807/David-Lynch-leaves-Twin-Peaks-remake.html

David Lynch about 2 years ago Dear Facebook Friends, Showtime did not pull the plug on Twin Peaks. After 1 year and 4 months of negotiations, I left because not enough money was offered to do the script the way I felt it needed to be done. This weekend I started to call actors to let them know I would not be directing. Twin Peaks may still be very much alive at Showtime. I love the world of Twin Peaks and wish things could have worked out differently.

When the season ends fans will decide if it was a good or bad decision to have so many extra episodes.

Imho storylines tend to suffer if there is a lot of self-indulgent material. The phrase 'murder your own darlings" is used to describe writers that write self-indulgent material. The idea is to remove self-indulgent material that slows down the storyline even if the writer is proud of the material.

Taking a guess, I reckon Showtime have allowed Lynch a lot of creative freedom and this means they haven't told him to curb the self-indulgent material.

@fan_of_films said:

Taking a guess, I reckon Showtime have allowed Lynch a lot of creative freedom and this means they haven't told him to curb the self-indulgent material.

That may be so and I do not blame Showtime for giving into Lynch's demands. So many times projects have been ruined because of budget restraints and Lynch has always been the type to take the long way to tell you something. The Dougie story line is not at a critical breaking point but I would definitely say it is in the yellow and it really needs to move along.

@movie_nazi said:

For the first few episodes it was a cool gag but it is getting way too stretched out now.

I totally agree, this has gone on for wayyyy too long.

First off, I can't get over the fact that people do not realize there is something seriously wrong with this guy. It's fkn ridiculous already. The man can barely speak and doesn't know to walk out of the elevator and everyone is just like like, "Oh Dougie! You so silly!". Seriously? Nobody acts like that. I could possibly buy him acting like this for a day or so and people just letting it slide but now it is getting to be a bit much.

WARNING SPOILERS BELOW

Again, ITA. Even though it's obvious and from what Anthony said at work Dougie is known to go on regular alcohol and gambling binges- but that still does NOT EXPLAIN the way everyone treats him, i.e., taking him to the bathroom, guiding him in and out of elevators, practically carrying him into the bosses office. Was Dougie a totally brain dead totally non -functioning drunk before? And after all this time wife, Janey- E finally says' I'm taking you to the Drs. tomorrow to get checked out.' Anyone sane would have thought he had had a stroke or something when he first returned home. But like I said before- maybe it's just all part of the weird way people act on TP , like the way ALL the townspeople acted when that little boy got ran over by Richard Horne- they just stood there watching NO ONE phoned for help.

I am starting to not like the show and the original tried my patience at times (especially in the second season) so I am not ready to give up on the show and say it is sh!t but it is definitely starting to lose it's luster. At least the other elements of the show are still intriguing.

I'm still loving it , just getting really tired of Rain Man Cooper, even though he is funny at times.

BTW- I was seriously startled when Sonny Jim finally spoke and you were right, nothing is wrong with him.

@ScorpionQ2 said:

@movie_nazi said:

For the first few episodes it was a cool gag but it is getting way too stretched out now.

I totally agree, this has gone on for wayyyy too long.

First off, I can't get over the fact that people do not realize there is something seriously wrong with this guy. It's fkn ridiculous already. The man can barely speak and doesn't know to walk out of the elevator and everyone is just like like, "Oh Dougie! You so silly!". Seriously? Nobody acts like that. I could possibly buy him acting like this for a day or so and people just letting it slide but now it is getting to be a bit much.

WARNING SPOILERS BELOW

Again, ITA. Even though it's obvious and from what Anthony said at work Dougie is known to go on regular alcohol and gambling binges- but that still does NOT EXPLAIN the way everyone treats him, i.e., taking him to the bathroom, guiding him in and out of elevators, practically carrying him into the bosses office. Was Dougie a totally brain dead totally non -functioning drunk before? And after all this time wife, Janey- E finally says' I'm taking you to the Drs. tomorrow to get checked out.' Anyone sane would have thought he had had a stroke or something when he first returned home. But like I said before- maybe it's just all part of the weird way people act on TP , like the way ALL the townspeople acted when that little boy got ran over by Richard Horne- they just stood there watching NO ONE phoned for help.

We are on the exact same page on this. Having to lead him and drag him everywhere is not normal I don't care how much of an alcoholic, junkie, mentally challenged you are. Even when the cops brought him back and they were like "Miss, there is something seriously wrong with your husband" she was like "Oh he's always like this." REALLY!? GTFO. BTW it does make for a humorous scene watching little Naomi Watts grab him by the collar as though he was a kid all over the place.

That scene with the kid dying in the streets didn't bug me as much and not because I think it's OK for no one to call for help. I took it as that was a moment that in real life time happens in a few seconds but was slowed way down for the audience to absorb the emotional impact of the situation. So even though to us it looked like minutes had gone by with the mother wailing and no one doing sh!t, it actually was only a few seconds going by. Also you can hear the ambulance siren near the very end of the scene so someone must have called them. But man what a POS that Horne kid is. I hated him before now I really hate him.

I am starting to not like the show and the original tried my patience at times (especially in the second season) so I am not ready to give up on the show and say it is sh!t but it is definitely starting to lose it's luster. At least the other elements of the show are still intriguing.

I'm still loving it , just getting really tired of Rain Man Cooper, even though he is funny at times.

BTW- I was seriously startled when Sonny Jim finally spoke and you were right, nothing is wrong with him.

Yeah, some kids are like that. I know because I was one of them. I was very quiet and hardly spoke unless spoken to. Another thing I was right about is I guessed that Laura Dern would be playing Diane.

I don't mind the Dougie stuff. I think it is showcasing how great an actor Kyle Machlaclan is to play someone with the mind of a toddler. I think it will be all worth it when he finally does wake up. Also, remember when Major Briggs was in the Lodge just for a couple of days, and he came out very disoriented. It's probably gonna take Cooper a while to wake up after 25 years. As for why nobody seems to be alarmed by "Dougie's" behavior, I think it's mostly for comic relief, but also Janey-E said something about him having one of his episodes. Maybe it's not uncommon for Dougie to space out from time to time.

@movie_nazi said:

For the first few episodes it was a cool gag but it is getting way too stretched out now. First off, I can't get over the fact that people do not realize there is something seriously wrong with this guy. It's fkn ridiculous already. The man can barely speak and doesn't know to walk out of the elevator and everyone is just like like, "Oh Dougie! You so silly!". Seriously? Nobody acts like that. I could possibly buy him acting like this for a day or so and people just letting it slide but now it is getting to be a bit much. I am starting to not like the show and the original tried my patience at times (especially in the second season) so I am not ready to give up on the show and say it is sh!t but it is definitely starting to lose it's luster. At least the other elements of the show are still intriguing.

To be fair, it is called "Twin Peaks: The Return", which could mean many different things from us returning to Twin Peaks to Cooper returning to his original state. The show could very well be glimpses of Cooper coming out and helping to stop the future murders while trying to break out of his world of "Dougie".

"The Return" could be right up until the very last episode when he Cooper does finally return to full form.

People are missing an important aspect of the show, we've been watching it for about five or six weeks now. But in the context of the show, it's been about....three or four days? Cooper's been missing and trapped in a different world for 25 years - I'm sure that it will take more than three or four days to break out of.

@Invidia said:

What if COOP was normal?

Wouldn't that also mean COOPER/BOB would seek him out and try to KILL HIM?

Well, evil Coop IS trying to kill him. He was the one who sent those hit men after him and now as a back up he has sent the midget after him as well. I'm guessing the "cow jumped over the moon" code was probably a call to either the midget or his contact.

And the other young boy who lives in RANCHO ROSA also almost blew up when the CAR DOUGIE drives EXPLODES?

What young boy? The 1-1-9 junkie's kid? He didn't get blown up.

And LUCY and ANDY were also acting as if they were ACTING during the scene with what's suppose to be their son WALLY BRANDO?

Hmm, I did not pick up on this.

BTW, told ya Dern was playing Diane.

@Invidia said:

Thought it was some GOONS that the CASINO OWNER sent to kill DOUGIE?

So it was the EVIL COOP/BOB who sent them, and DOUGIE'S also paid off the other GAMBLING DEBT that he had before the LODGE COOP took his place and WON several JACK POTS?

The reason I think that the goons attempting to kill Dougie have nothing to do with the gambling debt is two-fold.

1) Evil Coop knows that both of them cannot exist in our world at the same time. When he devised his plan he would have set it up to have Dougie/Coop murdered as soon as Coop arrived back in our world.
After the goons report back to that lady that the job was not finished the lady freaks out and makes a text to the box in ARGENTINA. Presumably the same box evil Coop is in contact with. The midget is now hired to finish the job that the lady was supposed to get done as we see the midget stabbing a pic of Dougie and a pic of her which she knew was coming which is why she freaked out with those goons reported back the job was not done.

2) Why would goon set #2 (Jeremy Davies and the other guy) be sending pics of Dougie with Jade and calling the house trying to collect the money if a hit was put out on him? Seems like a waste of time.

Yes the JUNKIE'S boy is the one who ALMOST BLEW UP when DOUGIE'S car BLEW UP.

Ha ha! You CHANGED that didn't you? It didn't say ALMOST before!

Lucy and Andy ACTING like they're PRETENDING Wally's their son is MY IDEA. Imo, That FAMILY PHOTO is just way too CHEESY to be a REAL PHOTO. It's way too FAKE looking. And the way they behaved was also FAKE even for LUCY who's also usually pretty FLAKEY.

You are right, that picture was weird as hell. But then again isn't that whole family weird? They are pretty dumb. Maybe it never occured to them that instead of taking individula pictures and pasting it on an existing picture they could just taken a picture together.

Laura Dern as DIANE is a good choice.

Hopefully she'll also say something to him that TRIGGERS something that brings back his MEMORY again.

Well, you can tell in a lot of shots that he does remember A LOT of things from his life here on Earth. Too numerous to name at the moment (I'm at work ) but there are plenty of examples.

Remember how in MD RITA WOKE up saying THERE'S NO BAND or ORCHESTRA in SPANISH after her memory came back to her again?

Then after we hear the MAGIC MAN on stage saying the SAME THING inside of the CLUB of SILENCE we also knew her memory had returned again?

Maybe DOUGIE/COOP will also OPEN UP some kind of a BOX soon like RITA did and DISAPPEAR into it?

And then the story will continue again with his having another NEW NAME (like the way RITA became the other person called CAMILLIA) after her memory came back again?

This is what I love about you Invidia. You use clues from his past films to try and piece together what is going on in the latest project and IMO this is completely FEASIBLE. This is what Lynch would do himself as he has a good understanding of PSYCHOLOGY and what the human mind tends to do when it creates psychological PATTERNS.

Yes, I have seen both versions of Solaris as the original is a Tarkovsky film who is also an abstract film director so if you get a chance, check out some of his other work which I believe you would enjoy. You are also correct that Davies was excellent in the remake. I haven't watched either versions in a LONG time but I do remember having issues with both of them although they are both worth a peek at for sure. An excellent story no question.

@movie_nazi said:

Also you can hear the ambulance siren near the very end of the scene so someone must have called them.

Seriously- I have watched the episode 4 times already and there is no ambulance siren, only that sound of the electric wires when they show that electric/utility post.

But man what a POS that Horne kid is. I hated him before now I really hate him.

Agreed!! and I wonder if he's going to kill the fat pie girl because she saw him-they made full eye contact.

Yeah, some kids are like that. I know because I was one of them. I was very quiet and hardly spoke unless spoken to. Another thing I was right about is I guessed that Laura Dern would be playing Diane.

@ScorpionQ2 said:

@movie_nazi said:

Also you can hear the ambulance siren near the very end of the scene so someone must have called them.

Seriously- I have watched the episode 4 times already and there is no ambulance siren, only that sound of the electric wires when they show that electric/utility post.

I am not beyond admitting that I was hearing things but I coulda SWORE I heard an ambulance when STANTON is next to the poor woman trying to console her. I will check it out when I get home and give you the time stamp.

@simian_ninja said:

People are missing an important aspect of the show, we've been watching it for about five or six weeks now. But in the context of the show, it's been about....three or four days?

I'm just getting impatient that's all-I want Cooper back, still the show.

Cooper's been missing and trapped in a different world for 25 years - I'm sure that it will take more than three or four days to break out of.

Being trapped in that other place for 25 years ( and he obviously talked and walked there on his own) is not what made him the way he is though. Being violently hurled out at the wrong co ordinance and cursed by the Evil Doppelganger Arm Tree to float through different times/ other realms before he finally returned here I believe is the reason why he is 'dopey', and the fact that he and Evil Coop did not make the switch @ 2:53.

@movie_nazi said:

Well, evil Coop IS trying to kill him. He was the one who sent those hit men after him and now as a back up he has sent the midget after him as well.

I @ the killer midget scenes and his background theme music.

I'm guessing the "cow jumped over the moon" code was probably a call to either the midget or his contact.

But then who was the dark haired woman the midget ice picked to death? was she not the same woman who called/texted Argentina to activate that box before Evil Cooper called the box- I thought she was working for Evil Cooper? After she did her job he wanted her dead?-Yes?

@movie_nazi said:

After the goons report back to that lady that the job was not finished the lady freaks out and makes a text to the box in ARGENTINA. Presumably the same box evil Coop is in contact with. The midget is now hired to finish the job that the lady was supposed to get done as we see the midget stabbing a pic of Dougie and a pic of her which she knew was coming which is why she freaked out with those goons reported back the job was not done.

I did not see you had already posted this before I had even asked the question.

ok, thanks, I was right.

@Invidia said:

And perhaps JANE E only PRETENDS as if it's a REAL community, when it may also be a GHOST TOWN where most of the people who live there are homeless and/or junkie squatters?

Doesn't That HOMELESS person we see pushing the SHOPPING CART in front of the RANCHO SIGN also seem to indicate that might be the case?

Janey-E and Dougie do not live in RANCHO ROSA, that's just where Dougie and prostitute Jade were using one of the houses to hook up in.