From: jgp@zodmate.Rational.COM (Jim Pellmann)
Newsgroups: alt.tv.twin-peaks,rec.arts.tv
Subject: The Twin Peaks Finale Timeline/Commentary (part 4/5)
Date: 27 Aug 92 21:24:31 GMT
Followup-To: alt.tv.twin-peaks

[Start of File 4 of 5]
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General discussion on the finale is divided into the following topics:

*** Finale haters
*** Finale lovers
*** Humor
*** Movie
*** Plot developments (potential)
*** Unanswered questions
*** Why TP didn't catch on
*** A happy ending

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*** Finale haters
==============================================================================

Subject: TP: Concise, non-spoiler comments on TWIN PEAKS conclusion

Well, *that* was unpleasant.

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ARRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Noooooooooooooooooooo, not cooper!!!  I'm dying!
I can't believe that Lynch did this to us!!!!!!

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Typical Lynch!

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How much do you want to bet the Twin Peaks finale gets a "Jeer" in an
upcoming TV Guide's "Cheers and Jeers" column?

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My review:

The first hour and a half:  Tedious and boring.
Pete, Audrey, and Packard:  They blew up REAL good.
The black(red) lodge:  Dense and inscrutable.
The ending:  Really fucking funny.  I loved it.

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Subject: FINALE MY A**!!!!!!!

I am not happy.

Although I thought that the Black Lodge sequence was pretty lame, I don't mind
ending the series with Bob possessing Cooper.  In fact, I consider that to be
one of the redeeming qualities of the last show.  But I have way too many
subordinate plotlines to be pissed off about.

First of all, I thought Lynch was better than using the asinine "impact on the
head" cliche to bring back Nadine's memory and personality.  Silly me.

Dammit, I LIKED AUDREY!  I DID NOT WANT HER DEAD!  At the very least, I wish
Lynch had shown definitely whether she was killed or not, although we can be
pretty sure she was.

I was so hoping that Dick would die a slow, painful death.  Damn.

Just when you thought that the Donna/James was the dumbest plotline Lynch could
or would produce, we get Donna's "Who's my daddy?" BS.  Also, I liked Donna a
whole lot better before she started trying too hard to look and act "grown up".

A couple scenes I did like: Leostein releasing Major Briggs, and the repeated
dialogue from the first season in the double-R.

Spiders hanging over Leo's head.  So, Mr. Lynch, how many hours did you spend
repeatedly watching the Indiana Jones movies before you wrote the script for
this episode?

I wanted to see some old friends.  Gordon, Jerry, Albert, and one or more owls.
Again, damn.

Anyway, back to the main story.  Although I thought the lodge scenes were lame
and boring, the stuff that happened was pretty good.  If there ever is a
continuation, I think Andy should play one of the most important parts in
fighting the evil in the woods.  He seems to be the closest to being so pure
and innocent that he doesn't have enough "darkness" in his soul for Bob to
latch onto.  Andy just has this sort of near-perfect Zen vacuity.

My overall evaluation: DAMN!  (and I don't mean "damn good" either)

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I am flat out ANGRY.

I am angry that we see Dale running around in a STUPID set - that
the White Lodge scarcely makes an appearance - and I DONT mean the
stupid appearance of the trio  before the Doppleganger sequence.

I am angry that Coop never mentions or acts upon the Giant'a
warning from before the pagent.

I am angry that we see the Dr so out of character in attacking Ben
and then, a while later, standing over Coop.

I am angry that Mike did not show up in the sequence.

I felt good about the show up until the Red Room sequence.  From that point
on I felt cheated - as if all ideas had ran out and so resorting to
stream of conciousness (or unconciousness as the case may be) was
the final solution.

I am too angry to talk about the first 90 minutes right now - maybe
later.

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>Myself, I am flat out ANGRY.
>
    Yep, me too - though I am most angry with myself for investing 2hrs.
of my time to watch this "last episode". But, it was pretty much what I
expected, I guess. They have been making things up as they've gone along,
using style and bizarreness as a substitute for a truly cohesive, well thought
out, and interesting story line. In other words, the writing has been terrible
for quite a while. And to harness Coop with the evil entity Bob at the end was
a cheap and easy shot. Bullshit! 

    All this made-for-t.v.-movie was was a ploy by d. lynch to get t.p.
viewers to write the network demanding more episodes. Ha! The jokes on us.

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> All this made-for-t.v.-movie was was a ploy by d. lynch to get t.p.
> viewers to write the network demanding more episodes. Ha! The jokes on
> us. 

What "made-for-TV-movie" ploy?  ABC had two first-run episodes left on a
series that they had canceled, and figured that they could make a little
bit more money by airing both together in a two-hour block.  The two
episodes were written and filmed as the last two episodes of the season,
not of the series.  Nobody promised that everything would be wrapped up
at the end of the last episode.

I can understand being annoyed at having TP end with a dozen unresolved
cliffhangers, but if you want to blame someone for that, blame all the
people who wimped out on the show early this season, not Mark Frost and
David Lynch.  I think they did a great job, especially considering the
medium they were working with -- series television.  If Lynch gets to do
the theatrical movie, you can bet that I'll be first in line, regardless
of how it ties in with the TV series . . . TWIN PEAKS with a motion-picture
budget and shot on a motion-picture schedule (as opposed to the episode-a-
week constraints that drained a lot of the life out of the series during
the second season) will be a wonder to behold.  Remember the pilot.

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> I felt good about the show up until the Red Room sequence.  From that point
> on I felt cheated - as if all ideas had ran out and so resorting to
> stream of conciousness (or unconciousness as the case may be) was
> the final solution.

I really liked these images.  It tied up the dream sequenced very
nicely, it was unnerving, and enough to weird out even Cooper
(apparently!).  It was very weird!  It reminded me of the main idea
behind an episode of the Avengers called "The House that Jack Built".
In this one, Emma Peal (I think) was trapped in side of a bizarre,
reconfiguring house.  It was set up so that leaving a room could take
you back to the same room (halls "silently" rotated, etc)... That was
strange, but tonite takes the cake.  And...I'm still pissed!!!!!!

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> I am angry that Coop never mentions or acts upon the Giant'a
> warning from before the pagent.

Cooper was probably caught up in the moment. Love makes you do strange things,
and blind to others. Perhaps his mind was elsewhere. (Probably on that
gratuitous love scene first half of the finale)

> I am angry that we see the Dr so out of character in attacking Ben
> and then, a while later, standing over Coop.

Ben Horne just told a secret that could possibly destroy Hayword's family.
What is your idea of his "proper" response? I'd like to know. After Donna
confronting him those couple times, I'm sure he was building up a lot of anger,
and after seeing Horne in his house, he exploded. Just because he is normally
a calm guy, he can't get mad?

> I felt good about the show up until the Red Room sequence.  From that point
> on I felt cheated - as if all ideas had ran out and so resorting to
> stream of conciousness (or unconciousness as the case may be) was
> the final solution.

Hmmm. I guess we are opposite. I was pretty dissappointed with most of the
show, UP UNTIL the Black Lodge. I'm sure I'll iterate on that in the near
future.

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After Coop entered, oh, about the eight curtained room, I kept hoping his
Eagle Scout training would kick in, and he'd make a map of the place.  (The
whole Black Lodge bit bored me silly.  I really got spooked by some of
Lynch's images from last year, and early this year; nothing here came across
as particularly frightening.  Laura laughing insanely was just annoying; my
first reaction:  "Where's a rolled-up newspaper?")

I really wish I'd been watching the NORTHERN EXPOSURE repeat on CBS.

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Even if this WAS leading up to more movies, I still think it was a lame
attempt at a finale. I've been watching this wonderful offbeat show for
a year and a half now, WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT FOR AN ENDING!!! I figured
everything would be explained/tied up. Nope, now we're left with clues
to what MAY be happening in the future (Coop posessed by Bob?
Puh-leeeeeezzzzz!). Why kill Audrey? What was in the safety deposit box
to begin with? Why wasn't the white lodge explained? Why was Cooper
stupid enough to let Annie in the contest after the Giant told him in
plain gestures "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!". In any case, I was VERY
disappointed with it. Even if TP makes it into the theaters, you won't
see me wasting $7.00 on it.

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I could sum up my feelings in three simple words, but I am going to control
myself and try to discuss it logically - if that is possible!!!!

Like millions of other people, I was titilated by the thought of a series
that is (or was) so off beat.  Several of the characters were weird
enough to be interesting, and the situations that they fouind themselves in
were certainly strange enough to keep my interest.  Unfortunately, things
seemed to end there ...

As we all know at this point, Lynch / Frost clearly didn't have the faintest
clue what the hec they were doing, nor did they even take the time to try to
"find out"!!!  I could list all of the plotlines that were not resolved, but
that would take pages and pages (screens and screens) and there is no point.

Let me just say that:

1.   Although it has nothing to do with the successful conclusion of
     the story, it would have been nice to see Dianne.

2.   No real reason or purpose was given for the murders of the various 
     girls.

3.   No reason was given for the letters under their fingernails - except to
     let us know that BOB was involved.

4.   Nadine's sudden return to the real world was totally stupid - although,
     considering what else was going on, not unexpected.

5.   Ths situation with Donna's father, after hitting and presumably killing
     Ben would probably end up in involuntary man slaughter, although we 
     should also find out how things turned out between Donna's parents after
     the doc killed her father.

6.   All that foolishness in the "Dark Lodge" was exactly that.  There was no
     real purpose behind any of it, except to wast time.  Cooper should have
     been able to free himself because of his love for Annie (remember that
     there were two lodges - one entered through fear and one through love.
     It may beargued that Cooper shouldn't have even entered the 
     "Dark Lodge" because he had nothing to fear.  He should have been 
     able to rescue Annie from within the "white lodge" <?>.
     Traditionally, the devil i.e. BOB cannot overcome true love, which is 
     what we are supposed to believe had developed between Cooper and Annie.)
     Cooper should have been able to escape - rather than coming
     in contact with his Doppleganger.

     Dopplegangers have been around in various forms for years.  The word 
     is German and - if memory serves - you vanish if you or meet your
     Doppleganger.  Cooper should have vanished on first seeing his
     Doppleganger, but considering all the other goof-ups Lynch / Frost
     have made what the hec?

     The business with him being shot again led me to think that maybe he
     had actually died when he was shot - even though he had his vest on.  I
     was also aware that the giant was related to BOB and that he was
     evil.

7.   What was the significance of the midget?  

8.   Why would Laura tell cooper that she would see him again in 25 years?

9.   We never found out what happened to Jossie - I wonder if she likes living
     in a drawer handle?

     I could list more, but I think this makes the point.  The show 
turned out to be a complete waste of time (mine) and I doubt that I will be 
going out of my way to view things by Lynch / Frost again. 

     For all you DIE HARD TWIN PEAKS FANS, I feel sorry for you.  I would 
like to suggest that you have been taken to the cleaners in a bitg way.

I AM REALLY GLAD I DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY MONEY TO SEE THIS SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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o I never expected to see all plotlines tied up - that would defeat
the idea of follow on movies.

o I thought that the first 90 minutes were great -only at the
end did it appear that someone, perhaps a 4 year old, got ahold
of the typewriter and finished things up.

Re: 1.  I agree that it would have been nice to see Dianne - I was
        surprised to see Ben's wife and have NO idea why she appeared.

Re: 4.  It didnt surprise me - but it DID disappoint me.

Re: 6.  I agree - after all of the build up about love, I was disappointed
        that the most we see is the cooper stabbing and unstabbing.

Re: 6.  I think that Coopers blood was from a stabbing - not from
        another shooting.

Re: 7.  Previously folks believed him to be a symbol of leland.

Re: 8.  The first dream took place 25 yrs in the future, with Dale as
        an old man.  The last dream refers back to the previous dream.
        
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I agree that the last episode was weak for a finale, but we must remember
that "Twin Peaks" was cancelled, and that what we saw were simply the last
two episodes that had been made when the show received its walking papers.
I do understand that two versions of the final episode (part 2 of what we
saw) were made - one in case the series was picked up for another season,
and one in case it was not.  Resolving something with the scope of
"Twin Peaks" in one hour of time would be a seriously difficult thing to do,
but this was exactly what Lynch and Frost had to try to do.

There are rumors that a "Twin Peaks" movie will be made.

Looking back over the entire course of the series, I think we're trying to use
logic here.  Maybe we should just let this one go . . .  :)

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    I asked Scott Frost specifically whether they had reshot
    any portion of the final episode(s) when it became known
    that Peaks wouldn't continue on ABC.  The answer was that
    nothing was reshot -- the season ending was left as it
    would have been if the show had continued next season.

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   If that is a series finale someone should shoot Lynch and Frost. Nothing
was tied up, things are now more in the air than ever before and I
definitely feel cheated. I guess now I'll just have to wait for a movie,
and there had better be one. 
  P.S. - I think that this finale would be a very intense experience on
acid. Anybody watch it in such an altered state?
  Now I don't want to say the show was bad, it had some of the best imagery
yet and I was on the edge of my seat for most all of it. But still....

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Interesting watching the reactions to the finale.  So far, they seemed to
be:

1) Disappointment--the good guys lose.
2) Disappointment--the ending was boring.
3) Loved it--the good guys lose.
4) Loved it--the ending was enigmatic.

Mine is:

5) Disappointment--the ending was not particularly well done.

I don't mind the enigma or the hanging plot threads, I don't mind the
good guys losing, and I like Lynch's sense of slow pace (cf
Eraserhead).  What I didn't like was that he completely failed to do
anything (artistically) new with The Red Room, except for the
interesting strobe effect on Cooper's face.  It wasn't nearly as
visually arresting as the original dream sequence; all the subtleties
of that original sequence (the lighting, the floating shadows) seemed
to be missing.  It just felt like a room with a bunch of red curtains,
not The Red Room.  Moreover, he failed to develop any new themes.

My impression of the whole series is that Lynch was less and less
involved with it in the second season, and came back to do a
perfunctory job on the ending.  The writers, having a bunch of loose
hints and themes to tie together in one episode, went for the
enigmatic route, but failed to give it any sense of depth.  It
wouldn't have been so bad if they had at least bothered to make it
look like they knew what they were doing.

(Visual) style over (plot) substance would have been fine had there
been any style, but there was none besides the rehashed elements from
the third episode of the first season.

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That was it?

That was the Vision of Twin Peaks?

Death.  Pain.  Desolation.  Dreams broken, souls defiled, all worthwhile 
achievements brought to nothing.  Tragedy lacking nobility, meaningless and
without redemption. 

Or was it a temper tantrum- "If I can't enjoy my toys any more, I'll break
them so no one else ever will?"

At least Andy and Lucy turned out well...
                                        ...unless it really is the Spawn of
                                           Evil she's carrying....
I'm depressed!

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>At least Andy and Lucy turned out well...

Actually, I didn't realize until last night the possible parallel between 
Andy:Lucy:Dick:baby and Doc:Mrs. H:Ben:Donna.

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I can't believe it's over!  I want to know MORE!  Last night's final episode
left me with mixed emotions - I loved it and hated it.  Some scenes I found
incredibly boring - as if they were stalling for time: the banker SLOWLY
shuffling back and forth with Audrey's water....., Cooper running up and down,
up and down, up and down between the red curtains...., too much play on the
contestants of the "Miss Twin Peaks" contest.  Towards the end, I kept jerking
my head back towards the clock to see how many minutes were left, thinking "Oh
my God!  It's almost over!"

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I was not terribly impressed with the final show.  Perhaps my expectations
were artificially heightened by weeks without Peaks.  Stunning visuals, yes,
and I've certainly never seen anything like that on broadcast television. 
 
All through the final red-room (Black Lodge) sequences, I kept thinking
back to the first few episodes -- a dark, ominous murder mystery in a 
place where things Aren't Quite Right under the surface -- of rich visuals
and textures -- and a definite chill in the air.
 
And when all has (apparently) been said and done, we're left with our hero
trotting around through an art-deco hell of curtains, strobe lights, and
uncomfortable furniture.
 
I can't quite figure out when and where it happened, but somewhere I think
the show led me from television-grade thriller, down a path through the
strange and wonderful, and straight into Just Plain Silly.

I think the fabric started to unravel for me when I began to understand
that the horrors in Twin Peaks were *not* the manifestations of evil within,
but from Something Outside.  It's the former that I find more frightening;
I group the latter with bad horror and science-fiction movies that are
found on late night or afternoon television.

I've got a funny taste in my mouth.

I need to brush my teeth.

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Many commenters have expressed their disappointment with the season finale
and get wailed on by the extreme fanatics who can't take criticism in stride.
I have enjoyed Twin Peaks from the very first episode because of the intrigue
and mystery (and strangeness) and for anybody who likes a good mystery there
has to be some resolution of the mystery at some point.  I enjoyed the episode
up until the final 15 or 20 minutes (except for Nadine getting zonked on the
head) because things were coming together and finally making sense.  I didn't
even mind Audrey and Pete getting blown up in the bank. I don't understand why
their characters were so senselessly discarded but I didn't really question it.
(Maybe they aren't dead.  Right.)  Anyhow, nothing about the ending made a bit
of sense.  There was no proper resolution and we have no idea why things
happened the way they did.  There is no reason that Coop should have been
possesed (or his doppleganger should have gotten out - see we don't even know
this much!) If some theories that I have read in this group are correct then
I can understand (like Coop really wasn't pure with his love or whatever) but
we were given no clue that this was the reason.  It was just an untidy, silly,
ending.  I couldn't even feel chilled by the fact that Coop was actually
possessed (or whatever). I just kept screaming, that doesn't make a bit of
sense.  I think those of us who disliked the finale don't deserve criticism
for not having a tidy little ending.  I think, instead, the writers deserve
criticism for not resolving things in a logical or sensible manner (at least
in the Twin Peaks sense) whether the outcome was good or bad.

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Am I alone in this, or were there others who rooted for an "asteroid-
obliterates-Washington-state" ending?

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Don't know about you, but I had nightmares. Woke up at
2:30 in the morning incredulous that Lynch could do this to us.
Black, black, black. Not amused.

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> You all know Lynch doesn't believe in happy endings.  You all KNOW that.

I didn't care whether the ending was happy, I JUST WANTED AN ENDING!

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   Watching this episode was like watching TWIN PEAKS put a gun to its
head and pull the trigger.

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I can't *believe* that Lynch did that. We went to bed really angry and
feeling cheated. And to think that we passed up an opportunity to play
BINGO with a bunch of elderly people (really). At least I recorded
Northern Exposure while watching TP. To me, this brings new meaning to
the phrase Lynch mob - that's what I'd like to organize. I really took
it as a f*ck you from Lynch - either directed at us or at ABC. I can't
even express how pissed off I am. After all...

Is Audrey dead?

What about Ghostwood?

Is Ben dead?

How is Donna?     

What ever happened to James? (I know, who cares...:-)  )

What about Leo?

Is WE dead?

What about Cooper?

What about the log? Is it her dead husband?

What about Annie?

What happened to Josie-in-a-box?

What will Catherine do?

What about Nadine?

What about Ed and (oh shit, what is her name?)

What about James and Shelley?

I could go on and on and on, but I'm sure you get an idea about how I feel

:-(  :-(  :-(  :-(  :-(

Let's have a Lynch-ing.

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   I believe that last night's final episode of Twin Peaks is
David Lynch's way of saying, "You!  You watch too much television.
Stop it!  Why don't you just watch movies instead.  Movies are better.
This wouldn't have happened if this had been a movie, now wouldn't it?!"

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My gripe list:

Certain scenes seemed as though the show ran short and some filler was needed.
One example is the bank scene. I agree that it was pretty humorous, but I'd
rather not spend 5 minutes watching an old man look confused. The ending was
great, though! Another example was Lana's dance at the pagent. Cute, but it
seemed kind of long to me. (Not enough time to meet Diane this season, but
plenty for an old man walking, girls dancing, etc.) There are others, but I'll
spare you the details.

   Oh, surprise, surprise. Nadine gets her memory back by a blow to the head.
The cure-all for anybody with memory problems, used in every stupid sitcom
ever made. I suppose to could be argued that in using this method, the writers
were simply casting light on the stupidity for other shows using it. DON'T
BELIEVE THAT FOR A SECOND! :-)

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I am so pissed at Lynch. I waited *months* to see this show, and I could
have spent two hours doing something much more productive and getting
a life.

I didn't expect *all* the loose ends to be tied up, but Lynch left so many 
major things hanging, that it's not even worth mentioning them all. Many
of them were things that he had built up to be very significant (such as
BOB finding his way out of the Black Lodge in the last show before the 
final hiatus!) If BOB apparently no longer needs a host, why is he inside
Coop now?

The whole show just annoyed me. The drawn-out scene in the bank was a time
waster. And all those minutes of Coop running in and out of red rooms was
dizzying and annoying. Laura Palmer's screaming was unnerving and cloying. 
And Naedine getting clunked on the head and regaining her memory was so 
predictable. 

As for Cooper looking in the mirror and seeing BOB, about a dozen people on
this newsgroup "predicted" that months ago. 

I wanted to be knocked off my seat! I wanted to be blown away!

Twin Peaks has, in my opinion, ended with a small whimper and a bunch
of stupid cliches. Even if there is a movie, I won't pay $7 to see it. 

I'm disapponted, angry, annoyed, and just plain pissed off. I think that
we deserved a finale that was much better thought-out. I consider last
night's show an insult.

That's my 2 cents.

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The stuff with coop as bob scared the crapola out of everyone, that was 
beautifully done, but when the credits stared rolling right after that, I
felt cheated- as if we were given a fine meal on silver plates, and nothing
to eat it with....

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I don't know which was worse.  The fact that T.P. ended in a flaccid
wash of obtuse, capricious, and pointless imagery (not to mention
repetitive and dull), or that I turned off a perfectly good Pirates game
to watch it.

Let's pray for a better movie, minus the scatter-shot scripts that piss
away so much valuable energy on gratuitous subplots.  And if the
symbolism is going to be this obscure, a written backgrounder would be
helpful for those of us who don't care to grope for cohesive, unifying
themes in this sargasso sea of false starts, dangling references, and
deadwood.

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I hated the episode, but it was still better than anything else on TV now.

==============================================================================
*** Finale lovers
==============================================================================

I'm in the "What a great last episode!; what a bunch of whiners some of you 
are!" camp.

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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry...had to get that out of my system...I've been wanting to scream all
night.

Not that I didn't like it.  I LOVED it.  There really was no other way to end
it, IMHO.  It's just that David Lynch (quite intentionally) makes me VERY
VERY VERY NERVOUS.

Comments/suggestions/threats?

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Lynch reads this newsgroup, Hi DAVE! ;-) How's Annie?

Thanks for ending it the way we said it should!

Bye Now!

See ya next series!

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Well now....hmmmm.....uh....  I have to say I liked it.  But I'm not *pleased*
at that ending.  I too hope that's not all she wrote.

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I loved it! All of it! Ready for more!

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  In the final analysis?  I liked it.  Lynch did NOT wimp out.  I
would have been a bit miffed by a "happy ending." - IMHO of course!

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}What I didn't like was that he completely failed to do
}anything (artistically) new with The Red Room, except for the
}interesting strobe effect on Cooper's face.  It wasn't nearly as
}visually arresting as the original dream sequence; all the subtleties
}of that original sequence (the lighting, the floating shadows) seemed
}to be missing.  It just felt like a room with a bunch of red curtains,
}not The Red Room.  Moreover, he failed to develop any new themes.

I'll disagree with you a bit here. The Red Room was even more disturbing
as it was than if it had been purposefully built up as A Weird Place.
It looked so normal, but you knew it wasn't. Much more suspenseful.

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That was intense. I know a lot of you are going to be disappointed, since
this was supposed to be the big finale. But I have some advice for you.
Just look at this episode as if it were the *season* finale for Season 2,
then think about what would be happening next fall (or in the theatrical
release, Lynch willing).

Oh, wow.

The first half was just like the standard TP episode, with standard
cliffhanger. But Lynch...is God. *shiver*

I was looking for some big spiritual convergence ("tell him about the
twinkie"), and that's what there was: Laura, Maddy, Leland, TMFAP, the
Giant, Senor Drool Cup, BOB, Windom, Carolyne, Annie, the whole crew
is here. Damn good show. And hot too.

I refuse to think about the mundane activities in the town, but I must say
that when Thomas' "gift" turned out to be a box for a key, I thought
briefly, "Trap?" Audrey blowed up? *wah!*

Since Cooper is BOB-possessed, I see it as Major Briggs' duty to rescue 
him. After all, "I am waiting for you." 

That ending has to be the most frightening scene on this show since BOB
in a boxcar earlier this season! "How's Annie? How's Annie? How's Annie?"

*SHUDDER*

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It's over. All I can say is...

    Wow, Bob, wow.
    
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Very nice....

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Heh heh.  I am amused.

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This was the first episode to actually get some sort of fear reaction
from my system.  The last half hour was pretty disturbing, and sort
of neat.  Laura was really scary.

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Well, I loved the final episode. That was one hell of an ending.

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I sat riveted to the last 80min especially, twitching
and KNOWING all hell was gonna break loose!  It did.  LYNCH
you are the MAN of ultra coolness!  The drawn out scenes that
some complain of "red room" and maybe that banker getting Audrey
wauter were absolutely wonderful.  Adding to the suspense and
possible "personal interpretation" was the redroom, and the banker for
sheer humor/torture making me bust out.  What a subtle yet mean touch.

I did think it was the most amazing thing I've seen on tv.  especially
imagery wise.  Sure some answers never get let out, but hell details...
I mean I didnt expect to have some producer DUMP answers on me so I
knew  every tiny details.  That is what we imagine and have this 
group for....TP was about not having things laid out before you like
we're kids.  Life aint like that and peaks brings out the wild side
of the world.  Evil sometime wins, and shocking to find out the
"hero" has lost.  So I sit here a bit stunned and overwhelmed.
But also very, strangely happy - and electric at the ending.  damn fine!
I have to go brush my teeth.  That's when I felt it.  wham.

A true gem, Mr. Lynch!  Bravo.

It's 1114pm here, and a local AM talk show has TP on it's
"discussion" list tonight.  They just cut to the theme song.
ouch.  I may cry.

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What a bunch of crybabies!!!
 
       WAH!!!  I wanna know what Bob is!
       WAH!!!  Lynch didn't tie up all the loose ends!
       WAH!!!  I didn't understand it!
       WAH!!!  Captain Ahab didn't kill Moby Dick!
       WAH!!!  I don't know why Gregor Samsa turned into a bug!
       WAH!!!  The castaways didn't get rescued from Gilligan's Island!
 
Give me a break!  Those who wanted answers out of the finale have
never caught on to the beauty of Lynch's art.  Lynch has never tried
to provide any answers in his work, from Eraserhead on to Twin Peaks. 
What he does, and does wonderfully enough to keep me tuning in to
Twin Peaks for these many months, is ask questions.  Great questions. 
Big questions.  All great literature, great works of art, are like
that.  Pat answers are for those who can't face the ambiguity of
truth.  There are many correct answers, correct interpretations.  The
fun lies in coming up with them.  Those who've posted that they're
angry with the show are missing out on the fun.

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Personally...I LOVED it....that was the consensus  here in Iowa City! I was
on the edge of my seat and completely chewed the nails off my right hand...
well...not the ENTIRE nail...just the white part at the top that...well..you
understand.

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Well, I've already gotten a piece of email from someone who didn't like the
finale.  To bad for them.  I liked it!  The ending still disturbs me, as Coop
was an awfully important hero to me, but, there were a lot other things to
like about the episode.

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I have always felt TP was intended by Lynch/Frost to be a joke on the viewers.
 Especially in the way it made fun of standard television trademarks (quotes fr
om other movies/shows, weak plot lines, and emphasis on the strangeness of situ
ations).  My inclination that TP was always intended as a joke to the viewer st
ems from an article I read before the series was first aired (might have been R
olling Stone).  I think Lynch even said that the story lines were written in re
lation to the commericials being shown.  An example would be the Dunkin Donuts
ad that ran after the Laura-upside-down coffee cup credits.  Of course Dunkin D
onuts was advertising for their super large size cup of coffee.  Coincidence?
I found it strangely humorous.  Viva El Lynch!

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I actually don't want any more episodes, don't want a movie, don't 
want it all tied up: It is tied up. If it's true they knew or had guessed 
during the season that it wouldn't be renewed, then the final hour we 
saw is the best solution imaginable: not hurried, implausible ending 
to all plot lines; not a continued drift forward; but a restatement of
big themes and images, with old characters returning, and strong
new developments to carry away with you.
  
That is, if there need to be cliffhangers that never get resolved,
these are the best that could be.
  
The long sequence in the curtained rooms was a joy: it made me 
happy to see Bob triumph over prosaic evil, and to see all those 
people again. These returns were echoed in the "real" narrative
by Sylvia (Mrs. Ben) Horne's reappearance for the first time in, 
what?, twenty episodes? 
  
And the best thing, the perfect closure, the person I'd been hoping 
for weeks we'd see before the fade: The German waitress, just as we 
saw her in the very first diner scene, having the same conversation.
For always. In Heaven, nothing ever happens.

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I praise ABC for letting it on the air in the first place. I praise Lynch and
Frost for not losing their vision and "dumbing up" the show. And I curse ABC
for pulling the plug. Unfortunately, programmers live and die by ratings. Even
though I think TP is one of the most ardently watched shows in america. Look
at the merchandise and books, for example. But it's an audience that doesn't
show up on ratings. It's a young audience, a demographically strong audience..
and I'm sure we'll all be there when TP returns.. whenever that is.

The gum we like will one day come back in style. Until that day...

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Overall, I enjoyed the episode.  I did not, as some may, expect a blow-out
of a finale because IMHO, I did't think Lynch would do it.  He would finish the
series as planned.  By changing it, he would have bowed to the dark spirits of
ABC (Black Lodge??).  If anyone expected all the loose ends to be tied up,
that would have been asking too much.

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Well, I loved it.  I haven't been reading this group recently, and I
usually don't go this much into detail about television shows, but
this was the best damned two hours of entertainment this person's had
in a long while, and dammit, I'll make a fool of myself on USENET if I
feel like it.

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One thing I liked about the finale is that it cleaned up a lot of the
stupid side plots, creating a clear ground for a movie concentrating on
Bob, Coop, Truman, and Annie.  The whole Nadine thing is resolved (at
least, it's back to an ordinary triangle), Andrew, Pete, and Audrey are
dead (going to miss Pete; I'm surprised Lynch would kill off his old
friend), Windom Earle is finally out of the picture, all the clutter has
been cleared away -- all those side plots that the TV series (may have)
needed to fill in the time available are eliminated to make space for
the much shorter movie to come.

The other thing I liked is, the utter triumph of evil.  I doubt that
anybody is going to immediately pick up on Bob's impersonation of Coop
(or, if you prefer, Coop's evil twin replacing him) right away, and even
if they did, what would they do?  The Major and the Log Lady will
probably know, and Annie will likely figure it out.  Bob will have a
free rein for a while.  On the other hand, Coop did defeat WE, and get
Annie back, though she's not particularly safe.  Only Lynch would be
bold enough to end a TV show in this way.

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I think this was a great season finale, and is probably better than any 
'series finale' that they may have come up with.  You want a sense of
closure, go read a harlequin romance.   Lynch has left us with an open
wound in our cerebral cortex (brain damage?).  I don't think it would be
possible to terminate all the major and minor plotlines in this series,
short of some sort of (choose one) mass murder/ alien invasion /nuclear
war / all of the above.  Besides, now we can make up our own episodes.

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   First of all, cheers to Angelo Badalementi for the new suspense theme. I like
it! That eeiry tune will be with me the rest of my days.)
(And while I'm at it, my vote goes for his other piece that debuted quite
a while ago. How to classify it... new love theme? I don't know.)

"...she has lived here for about 15 minutes!" - Dwayne Milford
(if you totaled Annie's on-screen appearences, wouldn't this be close?)

   The end of the pagent was incredible. It saved the episode, in my opinion.
(I wasn't too thrilled with the rest of the show.) Perhaps strobelight
action/suspence scenes exist in other places, but I haven't seen one. Even
so, this one was executed beautifully.

   I've seen some negative comments on the "Red Room" sequence. One simple
comment - "Pure Lynch". (That's a compliment, boy.)

   Okay, the ending. If this were a cliffhanger, it would be great ending.
We would be spellbound all summer, waiting to find out what happens. But
assuming Lynch knew that the show was over by this time...

... IT WOULD BE AN EVEN BETTER ENDING! When Coop was in bed and was told 
Annie was Ok, I thought "oh boy, another wishy-washy ending. How predictable."
Of course, just seeing that Coop was near a mirror was enough to give the
secret away, but not the ending. I'm sorry if you don't agree with me, but
doesn't it get boring when everything concludes with a happy ending? Now we
are left to our imagination on a world with an evil Cooper. Mind boggling...

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The show was a astounding success if only for the fact that we get
to see everybody make fools of themselves on alt.tv.twin-peaks:

1.) hundreds of people who have deluded themselves into thinking they liked
    the episode and seem to be experiencing orgasm as a result
2.) hundreds of people who have deluded themselves into thinking they hated
    the episode and seem to be frothing at the mouth about to kill someone

I don't think anything since _The Prisoner_ has caused this much foolishness.

This is why I like Lynch so much.  Only a true genius could make so many
people view a television program as a personal gift/attack.

1.) The Singing Detective
2.) The Prisoner

and only then

3.) Twin Peaks

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Subject: Final epsiode = 15 million thumbs up.

I love it!  The perfect ending. Audrey, Pete, Ben, Andrew all toast,
Coop in the black lodge forever, WE with a flame-induced lobotomy, and
Killer Bob on top of the world.  Kinda makes you feel like the end of
"It's a Wonderful Life", don't it?

"How's Annie? How's Annie? How's Annie? HOW'S ANNIE? H-O-W-'-S A-N-N-I-E?
HOW'S ANNNNNNIIIIIIIIEEEEEE???????"

Hee hee!

That Killer Coop, he's a pistol!  Think he'll be on "Comic Strip
Live" soon?

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The crybabies who are moaning on the net that Lynch/Frost did not spoon
fed them a TV pablum finale tied up in a pretty bow are a bunch of
wimps!  Good art stimulates the mind and is not necessarily "pretty" or
"pat"!  I say that it is fine that there are many unanswered questions
left, especially a huge humdinger of a question.  All this discussion
shows just how much peoples minds have been stimulated!  Think of what
Cooper and Briggs faced!  The crybabies mental anguish is about as
significant as an pine weasel fart in a forest with noone to hear it.

The best part about the ending is the scope that it opens up for Kyle
MacLachlan.  His acting in "Blue Velvet", "The Hidden", and "Twin
Peaks" has been remarkable for its restraint and subtlety.  Given the
chance at the end of the 2nd season finale to cut loose, he cut loose!
There is bound to be a sequel be it another season somehow or, as seems
more likely at this point, a film.  Well, Kyle now has the chance to be
really expressive and I look forward to it.  I thought that the way he
laughed at the end was very short, but brilliant acting.  Lesser actors
would not be able to achieve such level of verisimilitude, the way he
cranked up the intensity in such a brief interval.

One thing that I think is great about Lynch's art in creating Twin
Peaks is that he so often does the "obvious" and gets away with it by
investing it with a heavy load of mythmaking, whimsy, and heart, much
like George Lucas uses the same three elements.

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This was definitely the wierdest two hours of televison I've ever seen.
Can't wait for a movie!!

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Seriously, I give the ending a major thumbs-up.  David Lynch knew what the
audience wanted, and he refused to give it to them.  (Kinda like "Fall Out",
as someone said.)  He staged long drawn-out scenes, explained nothing, and
tossed out a giant cliffhanger even when he knew that ratings were shaky
at best.  All in all, a wonderful in-your-face to the conventions of normal
network drama(mine).  And who knows, ten years down the road (a la Fall Out
again) we might even understand it...  That was his best gift to the fans,
leaving them things to puzzle over.

Am I alone in hoping that there won't be a thirtysomething-style TV movie
wrapup, or a 25-years-later redroom flick, or even a prequel that gives it
all away?  Those would spoil the fun.  If they do a prequel, it should be
just about Laura Palmer and her death -- stark, realistic, like the pilot --
and leave the fans the pleasure of wondering what it all means.

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[End of File 4 of 5]
--
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"I lived in my head mostly."                | Jim Pellmann (jgp@rational.com)
"That's not a bad neighborhood."            | RATIONAL
"There were some pretty strange neighbors." | Santa Clara, California