Exactly.  I don't want these mysteries solved!  That's what makes them beautiful, that we're compelled to think about them.  You know those people who always want closure when a relationship ends?  It's like that.  Have some dignity and accept things as they are.

DL may frequently retread thematic ground (Wizard of Oz type stuff,) but for an artist to take their oldest, most commercially popular work and try to resurrect it looks like a 1) desparate attempt to revive their career 2) a lack of fresh creative juice.  And he's doing just fine where he is, progressing forward. 

Good to hear he's accepting that there will always be rabid, TP hungry fans and there's nothing he can do about it!   I think I smell Jen's influence ;)

-- Gerry

the black dog runs at night

 LOL! Another fine example of character assasination (wow multiple puns there).

Speaking as a writer I can tell you that all of my characters live inside me and although a writer may not reveal all apsects of their character's personality and backstory, these aspects shine through in the character's personalities and that is why we can say things like "Rhett would have never done a thing like that"...etc

And why I hope to God I never have to say something like "Coop would never do or say that..."

These characters (most of them, at least the ones I love the most, aw heck, I mean Coop) were created by and given life by Dave and although someone might attempt to revive Cooper other than DL, any true lover of TP would know right away that it isn't really Coop.  This is why fan-fiction is usually second rate stuff (not "all", I am mindful of some fanfic writers here and so I will refrain having not read their stuff).  And I shouldn't say "all" fanfic because I haven't read "all" the fanfic in the world.  The stuff I "have" read has always been...well, in a word: execrable.

I think it would be very difficult for this to happen without it being extremely dissapointing. I say leave it as it is, don't spoil the magic.

Oh and bring out Season fucking 2 on DVD. and the FWWM deleted scenes. 

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As I said before, I really don't think that any TP continuation should pick up where the series left off....it's been 15 years, it would be ludicrous. Plus, the only real "cliffhangers" are whether or not Audrey, Ben Horne, Leo, Andrew and Pete are dead. All the other main characters ( with the exception of Coop ) had their storylines pretty much wrapped up. As I see it, we don't need to bring back Donna or James ( to me, they were merely the filters of information through which we learned about Laura. once her mystery was solved, their storylines were strictly 90210 material ) Bobby or Shelley ( They stay together. Nothing more of interest here ) Sheriff Truman and Andy and Lucy could come back, although it's not a neccesity really. It could be explained to Coop ( and therefore the viewer ) what happened to the main players and "where they are now" so to speak. Oh, I'd bring back the Log Lady, maybe Big Ed and Norma as they would likely never leave Twin Peaks and own local bsinesses. But other than that? All you need is Coop and the town. I say a mostly all new cast and a new mystery. Also, I don't want any of the supernatural/surreal mysteries explained. It's meant to be debated and interpreted your own way. I think it would be the most logical way to go.  
 

Well. I think it would be more interesting to see how Truman and the others deal with the evil Cooper, immediately after the "smashing-head-in-mirror" scene. In the series, one episode is approximately one day. So it makes sense to continue on the same day and then maybe have another episode the day after.

If the story jumped 15 years ahead, you would have characters saying stuff like, "Well, 15 years ago, we had this strange incident with an FBI man, but we managed to calm him down," etc, and it would not be as dramatic or interesting.

Also, it's interesting that DL has managed to finish off the story in about 20 minutes on two occasions: once with the Twin Peaks European ending and once with Mulholland Drive. It seems to be something he's good at. The ending to Mulholland Drive was ingenious!

I enjoyed the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and agree it provides a lot of useful back information but it was written when the mysteries of Twin Peaks were less complex. There would have been limitations as to what it could reveal and it's unlikely the storyline had been fully realised at that point. Laura's final diary entries in the series are much richer and more beautiful because they're the big reveal. That's the only problem I have with the book.

Fire Walk With Me is problematic. I appreciate DL would have used Cooper for the Deer Meadow prologue if Kyle MacLachlan had been available, and can understand why some people can't accept Chet Desmond. The scenes with Cooper are genius but I'm also a big fan of Chet. It's been years since I read My Life, My Tapes because if I'm honest I found it boring (gasp) and have never thought of it as anything more than a tie/cash in. But off the top of my head, Cooper not investigating Teresa's murder is in keeping with the series.

I just can't accept My Life, My Tapes is more accurate than Fire Walk With Me and The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer was a prototype with important plot details omitted so people would keep watching the series. But that's just my opinion.

The thing on DL.com is a shot of Laura right before she sees the angel in FWWM, that slowly tightens to the tune of Laura's Theme.  The captions say, "What does she see?" and "What does she hear?"

In other news, I just had the privelege of reading an early draft of the FWWM script where Cooper is investigating in Deer Meadow.

But the most interesting part of this version is that instead of Laura seeing Annie in her bed in the dream sequence, she sees Cooper and says, "Why did you take so long to save me?" The stage directions say then he, "rolls over on top of her as they begin to make love."  One version has Laura in Cooper's lap at the end of the film, instead of seated in front of him.      I think it was obvious why this was cut, but it does mean that either Laura was having sexual dreams about Coop (and vice versa, possibly)  or it was bad Cooper from the future abusing Laura. Remember, some theorists believe it's posessed Cooper who tells her not to take the ring.  

If she doesn't take the ring, then presumably she becomes inhabitable by BOB, she doesn't die, the FBI never comes to town, and Cooper never enters the Red Room (from where he warns her). BOB starts using Laura as a new vessel. Leland gets disposed of, ignored, or is kept as a second ride (assuming BOB's allowed to tomcat around). But to what end? Fun?

In this alternate Twin Peaks, is Laura going around killing people? That could be a pretty interesting story, and if I was going to present an idea for a new Twin Peaks series, it would be a contemporary alternate-universe version of the show, with the same characters, but Laura alive, as a split-personality killer.

Thanks for that 12rainbow, it's really interesting. I've always despised the 'sitting in the same chair' ending in the script and am glad it wasn't used. The filmed ending's a work of art and without it the film would have been too bleak to become such a huge part of my life. I think.

I'm also glad the bed scene wasn't filmed. The 'Why did you take so long to save me?' line is fantastic but the rest's just unnecessary.

I always assumed the ring weds Laura to the lodge so her soul is no longer Bob's to take. Bob says in the last episode that you can't ask a person to give you their soul which I'm guessing is why Bob says things like "I want to taste through your mouth" oh and "I want to kill through you". It's a roundabout way of saying he wants to possess her. I've read theories that the ring is a death wish, but when Chet Desmond picks it up he isn't murdered, he disappears. And Teresa has the ring but is only murdered after she tries to blackmail Leland. Robert Engels said in Wrapped In Plastic the ring is a good or bad thing depending on who has it and who gives it and that it's definately a bad things for Laura. My interpretation of the ending is, it's all bad for Laura and the angel is divine intervention. Or a third force that gazumps Bob AND the Lodge. According to an article in American Cinematographer the high camera angle when Laura is talking to Donna about angels is supposed to imply a divine presence.

FASCINATING!  But I'm definitely I'm none too fond of the 'Laura sitting in Cooper's lap' original ending to the film, and this and the further evidence here is that Lynch toyed with the idea of Cooper and Laura having some sort of meta-physical, sexaul relationship in their dream states... ?! (Which in fairness, may subtly be hinted at when the aging Cooper smiles after Laura passionately kisses him in his dream, and note that she smiles too afterward). Though the line, "Why did you take so long to save me?" is an intriguing addition, and suggests perhaps that Cooper and Laura may have certainly been aware of each through some undefined telepathic connection.

Though the idea of them having a sexual relationship doesn't sit too well with me, it doesn't gel with Cooper's character - and even if he may come to feel some deep love for Laura, as many of us believe he eventually does - I don't think he would seek to use her like Bob did. All props to Lynch for going with the ending that he did, as while subtly hinting at a love between Cooper and Laura, it does suggest something more spiritually fulfilling for them both. 

-- Gerry

the black dog runs at night

Yep I agree with all that I just couldn't be arsed to write it! Because Bob/Leland climbs in through Laura's window at night and molests/rapes her in her own bed, the idea of Coop appearing in Laura's bed and having sex with her is too horrible to contemplate. It would have killed Twin Peaks for me.

But that's not what was filmed (phew) and it makes me realise what a fine line DL walked when he was making FWWM. I don't think DL wrote that scene because it's not in keeping with the way he sees Cooper. I suspect Robert Engels wrote it as a rough outline - much like he did with the final episode - and it was never intended to be filmed, which is why it was changed in future drafts.

At first I thought I'd like to see the early draft of the script, but I've changed my mind. These things are usually disappointing - like the back-story about where Mike and Bob came from and how they'd get home again. Robert Engels said himself you can understand why that never got filmed!

-- Gerry

the black dog runs at night

Okay it goes like this (deep breath)... Mike and Bob are from a planet of corn and Sheriff Truman has to drive them to a portal so they can get home. David Lynch and Robert Engels thought it would be funny to film Michael Ontkean driving a police cruiser backwards through a cornfield so they could reverse it. It's discussed in depth in the Robert Engels issue of Wrapped In Plastic.

-- Gerry

the black dog runs at night

I wake up every day and thank God that was never filmed! According to Robert Engels David Lynch sees unfilmed/unused material as irrelevant and he has a point. It's like stripping off the layers of a painting to see what's underneath. I have to balance my curiosity with my love of the finished product (which isn't always easy) because it takes away some of the beauty for me. To quote Lord of the Rings "He who breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom."

 LOL thanks for the good morning chuckle, I spewed my cup of "Good Mornin Amer'kuh" all over my lap (that Laura is not sitting on).

I want all my garmonbozia...

Have you listened to the INLAND EMPIRE press conference link yet? My favourite question (ever) was

Can you explain the presence of the three rabbits? Particularly the one in pink doing the ironing?

That made me laugh like a hag and thank God I'm a DL fan.

And I'm glad we're all in agreement that Laura should NOT have been sitting on that knee!

Well, in fairness, while the whole 'Bob and Mike from the Planet Corn' is a terrible idea - it was clearly something that Lynch and Engels only contemplated, and not the ultimate solution to what Bob and Mike are. So much about the characters and their plots were constantly being reinterpreted as time went on (Andrew is dead, actually he's alive; Donna is really Ben and Eileen's daughter; Audrey is a thorn in Ben's side, and then becomes his protoge of sorts).

Perhaps as time went on with possible future film instalements or even another series, Lynch and co. would have crafted an origin of Bob and Mike more in keeping with the mythology of the series. Remember, the original idea for the Black Lodge was it to be a haunted hotel, only when Lynch re-wrote the script for the series finale did it become the Red Room of Cooper's dream. 

-- Gerry

the black dog runs at night

Ooh that's interesting - where's that from?

I really like this idea of BOB and Mike going back to the Planet of Corn! It explains so much: why creamed corn/garmonbozia is so significant, and almost seems to be a motive for killing Laura. Also, in the FWWM shooting script, there are several references to "going home"...

Laura says to Bobby, "I'm going home now."

LMFAP and Mike say, "BOB, you're not going home without me. I want all my garmonbozia"

LMFAP says to Cooper, "There is no place to go but home!" and starts laughing hysterically.

So what LMFAP is talking about is going home to the Planet of Corn. Mike and BOB are both going home. Hence, "you're not going home _without_ me".

 Also, the thought of down-to-earth Sheriff Truman being involved in all this bizarre madness is just hilarious! But, driving through a field of corn relates to something Laura says to James: "I'm long gone like a turkey through the corn", which I think is a reference to a song about a turkey escaping through a cornfield.

The song is "Long Gone - Like a Turkey Through the Corn" by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.