"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

The fact that a FBI agent would have a romantic relationship with a high-schooler  didn't seem like a very smart thing to do. Either Kyle or Mark Frost (not sure which) decided that Coop was too morally correct for such a thing.

There's surely several more post about this issue so feel free to explore.

yeah because while he was filming all the first season reaction shots he certainly felt that way.  And while Mark Frost and David Lynch were writing and directig lines like, "I can't think of clues or of evidence but only the content of her smile."

I'm sure it has nothing to do with Fenn making all the covers of the magazines and getting the news coverage and getting the fan mail that set Boyle off.

I'm curious to know when Kyle pulled the plug on it though -it had to be sometime after the first season or he wouldn't have acted certain scenes the way he does ("Audrey, I'm going to take you out of here now" etc).  My guess it would have to be somewhere in the filming of the eighth and ninth episode -since he clearly is acting in a foreshadowing way when she visits his room and observes where he's been shot.  Yet the writers at least try to keep the connection between them through her repaying him with Ben's blackmail pics.

Peyton, Frost and even Heather Graham have talked about it in wrapped in plastic but they can only speculate.

It be interesting to ever hear Kyle's or Sherilyn's point of view.  We know Sherilyn became isolated from most of the cast by the end and was frustrated by most of the second season, and in prior interviews always stated that she suspected Audrey and Coop would get together.

I never wanted a full-on relationship in the show, but just the connection by uncontrolable circumstances.

And it always seemed so out of place when this happened abruptly and yet they have David Lynch's character making out with Shelly with Cooper nodding approvingly, and Annie is played by someone younger than Fenn.

I don't think it matters if Heather Graham was younger than Sherilyn Fenn. She's supposed to be older and I believed her. I never even considered when I was watching the first season (and didn't know the story) that Coop and Audrey would get together - it would have been out of character for him to get involved with someone that young and connected to the case. Of course he did get it on with Caroline Earle, but she was older than Audrey, at least. I know a lot of people disagree, but I think an Audrey/Cooper romance would have been a mistake.

(I like the Shelly/Gordon scenes. "I'M PLANNING ON WRITING AN EPIC POEM ABOUT THIS GORGEOUS PIE!" What's not to love? In fact, I love all of episode 25. One of the best of the season, maybe even the series.)

"What credit card do you want to put that on?"
"Caash, prease."

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Sherilyn Fenn put it very clearly after the show ended:

"Fenn believes the end for the TV version of Twin Peaks occurred early in the second season, when the romance was cooled between Audrey and Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). "Kyle didn´t want it to continue. He thought Audrey was too young for Dale; and then they brought in an even younger girl!"

"I think Kyle blew it, because Dale and Audrey were so great together," Fenn says.

Apart from that there is to my knowleddge an off-camera reason concerning two of the major Twin Peaks figures involved, but that one might be best forgotten .... 

"I know a lot of people disagree, but I think an Audrey/Cooper romance would have been a mistake."

 I see this a lot on message boards and am always shocked -back in 1990/91 everyone I knew was tuning in only to see if Cooper and Audrey were going to hook up, most didn't even care about the LP case anymore.

Again, I never wanted a conventional romance, but thought it was exciting to see Audrey/Laura parallels.

Wow, never saw the Fenn interview.

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

Why wouldn't you think they would get together? It was obvious they would get together from a story point of view, with the commerical, and the print ads. 

This isn't real life, it's a story.   Real life practicality doesn't make a good show.  Ross and Rachel, Sam and Diane, Scarlet and Rhett (etc, etc, etc) shouldn't get together either if it were real life.

Twin Peaks was always about character and surprise -the 'shock' about Audrey was she wasn't the bad girl and Cooper saw through it.

"What credit card do you want to put that on?"
"Caash, prease."

I don't know about the father figure thing -from a storywriting point of view it's not very dramatic -and they needed the Ben/Audrey combative element to keep a dramatic structure.

I always saw it more as the post modern fairy tale -and I believe there have been some essays written on it -Audrey as post modern princess in Great Northern castle, Cooper knight in shining armor/black FBI suit etc.

And narratively, the story is obviously planned to carry through on Cooper/Audrey arc -Windom Earl is introduced when Cooper mentions missin Audrey (same scene so we tie the two events together), Cooper's past with Caroline is introduced or reiniforced when Cooper tells us rescuing Audrey is not the first time he's risked someone's life.  Ben reinforces to Cooper that "he and Audrey have a special relationship..."; the Giant tells Cooper he's forgotten something, and hell Audrey appears surrounded in red curtains.

Narratively, no matter what the practical problems are with the age difference, the story had been set up for these two to been intwined within it.  Doesn't mean they have to be holding hands an going steady -that wouldn't have worked either.

They never had to get together in the conventional sense of the phrase, even up the point where they slow dance at the Millford wedding, there's still an intimate, close friendship between the two that keeps you hooked. And I firmly believe with their chemistry that would have been enough to stretch it out, and keep it interesting. Even if they never actually got together. Personally, I feel there could have always been the possibilitysomething might happen, close awkward moments but Cooper never gives in no matter how tempting it was. (And how much stronger his feelings for Audrey would get).

It would have been more suitably ironic had Earle kidnapped Audrey to the Lodge in the finale for not only Audrey was involved in a case Cooper worked on (like Caroline), but perhaps Cooper finally realised how much Audrey ment to him. Maybe they might have even kissed, or I daresay, consumated their relationship before the Miss Twin Peaks contest. But we'll never know.

And I've always felt the decision to drop this sub-plot must have a serious 11th hour decision, given the persistent hints beyond the resolution of the Laura Palmer mystery. (Audrey kissed Cooper in their hotel room in front of Denise, the aforemention dancing at the Millford wedding). I can't imagine MacLachlan going for that kinda stuff if he was really serious by the time the second season came 'round. It's interesting hearing Fenn's reaction, hopefully MacLachlan will be more forthcoming on the extras on the Gold-Set, it's absoloutly a subject that must be discussed. :) 

And here's that second season promo pic: http://kyle.narod.ru/cooper-audrey.jpg

-- Gerry

the black dog runs at night

"It would have been more suitably ironic had Earle kidnapped Audrey to the Lodge in the finale for not only Audrey was involved in a case Cooper worked on (like Caroline), but perhaps Cooper finally realised how much Audrey ment to him. Maybe they might have even kissed, or I daresay, consumated their relationship before the Miss Twin Peaks contest. But we'll never know."

oh absolutely.  I would have nixed consumating the relationship -the delicate soufle would have deflated then.

I would have kept Audrey saving Cooper's hide with the blackmail photos, and move her on to getting into the mix of holding the cards with the mill info between Ben and Catherine.  Catherine/Audrey scenes would have been amazing.

Don't have Ben make his change/and keep him going forward with the Ghostwood plan.  Audrey thinks Miss Twin Peaks is stupid but at the 11th hour enters it to make a statement against her father and inadvertantly leaves.

I would have actually have Cooper tell Audrey to back off from him.  Have her have some run-ins with a new stranger (Windom Earle) and naturally is kidnapped.  Her prayer scene to Cooper is framed by Cooper's dream/visit by the giant.  Her dancing alone, and her crying in observing the behavior of the town to Leland gives her a sort of insight despite her apparant bad/tough girl exterior.  It would have been interesting to find out she had a power because she was surprisingly, "pure of heart."

The finale could have ended with Cooper -while not ever admitting it -going into the Lodge and offering his life in exchange for Audrey's.  Perhaps a shot or two where Audrey actually aknowledges where she is for us to speculate that Audrey always had insight, and of course it ends in the same cliffhanger.

It would give more forshadowing even with Audrey's first meeting with Cooper -"Do you like my ring?"

-- Gerry

the black dog runs at night

At least Fenn complained.  I would have gone down swinging. 

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

I agree that it could have worked. I just feel like defending Annie since no one else wants to do it, hehe. I like her. Keeping the delicate balance of things with Audrey and Cooper, with the mutual desire just lingering would have worked, I guess. And Audrey in the Lodge would have made a nice parallel with the One-Eyed Jack's rescue.

One of the reasons I like Annie is that she actually adds to the show. The second season's main problem (apart from some shoddy writing) is in my opinion the simple fact that a good part of the good characters got killed! Leland was extremely important to the show. Maddy was important. Jacques was one of my favourite characters (thank God we saw more of him in FWWM). Leo didn't do much for many episodes, and later he just warbled on. Even Jean, who was ridiculous but amusing, got killed. Josie got killed. Ronette got well, apparently, but they never followed it up. Even James leaves the show. And worst of all, Mike/Philip Gerard is never heard from again. This leaves way too much Windom Earle for my liking. In the first season, we start with a great number of characters, and then the writers actually introduce more, like Jerry Horne, Maddy, Hank, and Jacques. Season two instead gives us expendable comedy characters like Tim Pinkle and Dick Tremayne, and badly written characters like "M.T. Wentz" and Ernie Niles, not to mentionEvelyn (who I can take) and Lana (who I can definitely not take; by far the low point of the series). Jonathan and Windom Earle and maybe the Giant are the only substantial new characters given some actual screen time (I like Briggsy's increased importance, though). They should have given judge Sternwood a bigger part and reintroduced Joey Paulson. He and James could have done undercover work for the Bookhouse Boys. I also think Donna should have gone to Harold Smith's funeral, and maybe she could even have met someone there from Harold's past. That would actually give her something useful to do and spare us the horror of the crap "who is my daddy, anyway?" story later on. I think Donna feeling guilty about Harold's death could have been a bigger driving force of her character later in the season. Or maybe she should have met Mrs Tremond again. She SEEMED like a very nice girl, after all.

...what was my point again? Aah, Annie. Yeah, I like her, and the show needed some new blood. Maybe it was a bad move, but she saves some of the later episodes for me. The diner scene from episode 25 are gold.

"What credit card do you want to put that on?"
"Caash, prease."

I agree that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with Annie, other than Heather Graham's uneven acting.  And Billy Zane did the best he could with a half-written character.  But "Audrey + Cooper" was half of the show, really, with the Laura murder being the other half, and the more I watch the show, the more I wish the creators had taken a firmer hand with the suddenly-high-on-themselves talent, and the writers had been less lazy.

Whether they hooked up or not, Coop and Audrey were the main couple of the series for a long time, and if the hacks at X-Files () could keep Mulder and Scully out of bed for years and still keep it interesting, there's no reason that couldn't have worked on Twin Peaks as well.

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

[quote]with Caroline Earle, but she was older than Audrey[/quote]

indeed, she certainly LOOKED a lot older than Audrey. something about caroline looked 'very old fart' to me; it was her style more than anything else, i guess. there was something about that woman's face that irritated me. i was so glad that she didn't play a major part in the series.

lol, i sure got a huge kick out of the character played by lynch having  had such a crush on Shelley.

it's pileated, isn't it?

Well, we know almost nothing of Caroline, but I loved how intense Coop's love for her was and how deeply affected him her death. "She was the love of my life, Harry", he says; from that early scene with the guys discussing love in the shooting gallery to the later ones with Earle toying with his emotions you can feel Cooper's broken heart, how he suffered and how overwhelming was his love for that woman. Does it matter how was she? Just take a look at how Harry suffers because of someone like Josie...

I used to think it was a mistake to give Coop a new love, that a truly great woman should have been needed. And that obviously Annie didn't fit and that Audrey was too young... But again, does it matter if Caroline was dumb and uninteresting to feel his pain? Then Annie's flaws as a character (and she has plenty) don't matter either... What is important is that Coop has found finally someone to love...

yo, chill, Gordon. i  did understand that 'coop' had  a great love for 'caroline'. i don't contest that.

i was just offering my opinion on caroline's appearance, that's all.

it's pileated, isn't it?

My post wasn't addressed to you, in fact you made me think that for all we know Caroline could have been, I don't know....a transvestite... My opinion about her without considering Coop isn't very high either, we know nothing about her...