Now I can definitely see where it was going, and you make a good case for it (again, from a business perspective.)   But Twin Peaks went ahead and decided to thwart the sitcom romance hook--- and Maclachlan/Boyle must have made a pretty strong case (Was there blackmail involved?) for the love story to be cast aside.

Teen noir femme fatales, I think... Still very childish and full of fantasies, and her youth would have been the fatal part for Coop.

More, she reminds me of girl reporter Torchy Blane from the Depression era noir films; tough, sassy and oozing sex, but always getting herself into scrapes while playing rogue detective that she has to be saved from by her *real* cop boyfriend (who refuses to marry her at the end of every film.)

So would you have advised Audrey not grow up and take an interest in busines and politics and stay a helpless damsel in a tower, to be courted forever from afar? (In the name of romance over realism and salability over integrity, of course.)

good point about the Torchy angle.  And it's essentially indicative about all characters in a serial.  A successful popular character is hard to keep an audience satisfied in the growth department.  You have to have some sort of development and still retain/revert to what is popular about the person.

JR Ewing has to go back to a new scheme in Dallas; Alexis and Krystal have to fight and refight in Dynasty; Rachel has to be a spoiled brat but grow and still regress back to it at the same time.  It's just the nature of television.

I don't mind the idea of Audrey as business woman and political persuer, but in the series I see it only as two dimensional growth; there was nothing complex or layered about it -just an abrupt change, and more likely because the character was now found to be in limbo after quick changes were made to their outlines.  She was probably projected to be in the drug frame/Renault arc more and than had to be yanked- and there wasn't anytime to rework things. 

Just because the character is in a more mature situation doesn't mean it translates to interesting growth.  It's essentially the same as a lazy movie giving one character a briefcase and another a baseball cap.  I'd take the scene where Audrey spies on Catherine and Ben and laughs, shakes subtly in a sexual charge, and nervously chuckles to herself as more complex and layered in the growth department anyday over her holding papers at the concierge desk and making checkmarks on a notepad.

The only time it is successful is when Lynch directs her in the finale -it's exciting again, and not just because a bomb goes off.  She's inquisative, pondering, a little off-beat, mischievous etc. 

But I understand that this happens all the time in television, and the grueling schedule makes it very hard to keep things from going off in semi-superficial aspects.  And Audrey is just a prominant example- it was the case for almost all the characters across the board.

So would you have advised Audrey not grow up and take an interest in busines and politics and stay a helpless damsel in a tower, to be courted forever from afar? (In the name of romance over realism and salability over integrity, of course.)

Yeah, probably -or combine both.  Peyton and Frost would still keep her smart though- and they make a point of trying to keep her independant and resourceful- she returns the favor to Cooper ("So that makes us even now, right?" and in early drafts of scripts she inspects Cooper's dilemma, "I heard you're in some kind of trouble...")

It's just plot device that Audrey only works by getting herself into trouble, just like we would expect more mysteries and murders once the Laura Palmer case is solved.  ("I'm sure if I'm going to help you out with your investigations, I'm going to be put into situations a lot more dangerous than this on a fairly regular basis...")  So yeah, I expect they would keep putting Audrey in danger- but keep her resourceful and learning from Cooper.

And I'm sure after her capture in the Black Lodge, production would have to do something radically different in the aftermath anyway across the board- to all the characters; and could easily see the jump in time happening.

 Yes, they almost neutered her. I don't see the qualities you mentioned even in the last episode! By then, she is just Daddy's puppet. But I think the writers did a great job getting her there.  The only part of old Audrey I see in the last episode is her vulnerability.  She is in bondage with death hanging over her head--- just like she's back at One Eyed Jack's!

In her case, the ripples of changes brought about by the Jack's adventure were believable and adequately gradual. This is how she becomes Daddy's girl, the pathology for her rebelliousness, but not until after he has been humiliated.  Sudden change happens after an epiphany, what happened at Jack's to flip the tables on Ben. She parlays her resourcefulness, sexual wiles (the Bobby scene) and cockiness into a safe career, which she knows will impress Cooper more than jumping into the hands of criminals. She is still curious and vampy, but in a suit.

I actually see nuance in that scene at the Great Northern concierge.  She can't get her nametag on straight. She is having a hard time being "straight" and doing the adult task she set out to do, the uniform of maturity she is wearing for Cooper (and Daddy!)  And the uniform  might be a cheap prop for Fenn, but she acts well in it. You can tell Audrey is still the bored little girl who sticks pencils in full coffee cups on the inside, and she is playing a role, just like she played Hester for Blackie. Then BOOM. Love walks in. The "romantic nature, a heart that yearns" is resurrected and redirected to a Daddy'Cooper surrogate.  Of course, he leaves and then it's just a puppet show. Almost a mercy to have her killed off.   

What I love about Audrey is her intelligent self interest, which we see from beginning to end.  It's too bad her displays of "sexual charge"were the whole of her value to a lot of the audience.

Wouldn't it have been amusing if Audrey was in the Lana role, trying to handjob and tease her way to the Miss TP crown?

I have an interview where MacLachlan stated that even after he complained to the TP writers about the Dale/Audrey romance the writers were still going for it, God bless them! It was only after he threatened to leave that they finally nixed it, basically throwing out all the hard work they had done. In that same interview, MacLachlan voiced his complaints about his character's relationship with Annie as well, complaining about Heather being so young. She looks more like a porcelain doll than a world wearied woman and I'm surprised people find her older looking than Fenn.

MacLachlan reasoned that it wouldn't be right for his character to become involved with a high school girl but I wonder when exactly do human beings always find themselves doing what is right? If it is that case in real life than in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, where Giants speak and demons kill, it is even more likely.

I think Annie could be interesting apart from Dale. When she's with Cooper it's just too much of the same almost! They talk alike etc... and it's a little too much. I'd like to see what would have happend had Harry and Annie fallen in love and Coop was in Windom Earle's shoes.

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 was thinking about the whole issue again this morning. Would Kyle have been so upset if Cooper had fallen in love with Donna? She was a high school girl but I have the feeling he wouldn't have been opposed to that. I wonder how different things would have been had Fenn and MacLachlan had a scene before Boyle and MacLachlan.

It seems to be that Boyle gets a lot of flack because she was instrumental in the demolition of the Cooper/Audrey romance but I don't blame her. I think that Kyle was old enough to make his own decisions. It's odd that while he was against Audrey/Cooper he was willing to date Boyle who was only about a year older than Audrey's character and who was immature enough not to be able to seperate what happened on screen to what happened off. If I was him I would have sat Lara down and taught her what acting means. If she still didn't understand I would have asked if she needed someone to change her diaper while they were at it also.

In a way, I truly believe that MacLachlan's own stance on the character of Cooper helped to add to the character's failure in the finale. In trying to repress his own darker aspects, Dale created a monstrous shadow self. As Audrey told him, he was too perfect.

I was thinking about this and I've been wondering: what left the lodge at the end of S2 wasn't Cooper, so on the basis of that it's quite likely this being could have had a relationship with Audrey - or tried - and Audrey's being disturbed by that could have been one of the things that would have proved Cooper wasn't right and been one of the soon to be many clues that something was amiss.

(I'm going on the basis that sources have stated that Audrey would have survived the bank explosion.)

I don't think Kyle (if it was a source of contention originally on the basis of character) would have been able to argue his way out of that one as it wouldn't have been Cooper who was putting the moves on Audrey. I wonder what the arguement would have been then?

I think they could have redeemed themselves somewhat in S3 if it had happened, although I think there were some elements of Mike Frosts storytelling that were in direct conflict - by then - to David's way of exploring and seeing the characters and THAT would have had to have been sorted out.

Juanita Dark I think that Dale/BOB would have gone after Audrey. I don't think it would be just his doppelganger because I am of the rare belief that Dale left the Lodge during a deleted scene in FWWM and ended back in his body.

It was said during the series that Audrey was like Laura. Laura was BOB's obsession. It is logical that he would go after Audrey, seeing the similarities.

man, I don't want to get sucked into this debate again.

but in terms of what might happen.  well, if the series had continued (which at the time would have taken a miracle) I don't know.

I know Frost and Peyton talked about really trying to get it back to the quality it once had -but don't see how that still wouldn't involve the backstage politics.  I think from Frost's point of view in crafting the second half of the second season, Cooper is possessed.  But from Lynch's handling it, Cooper is split.

If it continued as a series, would Heather Graham stick around?  She was a guest star and also not sure what her intended career path interest was at the time.  I have a feeling, she'd be like Billy Zane -coming back if available, but not their top priority.  And while the logic that Cooper's dop might go after Audrey makes sense, the show had verred so far of course based on what was dictated to them from their cast.  And the Audrey as Laura comment is nice and persceptive, but no longer held water.  That whole wonderful set-up went out the window after the Leland death.  Audrey was a completely different character in the last six episodes.

I don't know what they would have done.  There was talk of jumping ahead a few years to get the kids out of high school.  Maybe with a summer hiatis in planning there would be time to really figure things out.  They had a major problem with the popularity of the Audrey character.  She needed a big storyline because she was the show's most favorite character after Cooper.  But she's so far removed from the primary storyline -because it involves Cooper.  So it's almost like two shows are running at once -the Cooper show, and the Audrey show.  Who knows how a third season would have been treated -maybe they would be overlapped again.  And the hipness of the show had faded, Boyle and Fenn were filming movies, so perhaps the need for jockeying on the show wouldn't seem so important, and naturally storylines could continue.

If it's true that the reason was because MacLachlan didn't like the idea of an FBI agent romancing a high school student, then I'm inclined to agree.

 Although, it could've made for good drama. Coop soul searching about whether or not what he's doing is right and stuff...

I'm sorry, but have you a link for this interview ? I have read some interviews of Kyle for the decision to end this romance, but I don't remember that he have menaced to quit the tv show or that he was not pleased to the Annie character.

 According the blog of Sherilyn Fenn, apparently Kyle have flirted with her (but she don't give more detail about that), so that can explain the eventual tension between Boyle and Fenn...imo Kyle have done the best choice for his character, it would have been horrible to have an agent in relationship with an high school girl, I don't think Boyle have played a role in his decision, according to various interview from Fenn, Kyle, Lynch etc...it was his decision who was imo very logical in the context of the tv show.

 For your question about a relationship between his character and Donna, I think this guy is a professional, and I'm sure it wouldn't be agree about that too, Cooper couldn't have this kind of weird relationship, because he is supposed to be perfect, I don't think Kyle see himself like a perfect guy, so I don't think we ca make a parallel between his relationship with Boyle and his role in the tv Show.

I don't know why, 'cos obviously it would be terrible for Coop who we all admire so much in the show, but i think a twist like that would have been great for the show. It could have opened a whole pandora's box of awesome storylines.