Subject: Re: Lynch - CRITICISM!!!
From: daq@hpfcso.HP.COM (Doug Quarnstrom)
Date: 1990-12-04, 07:40
Newsgroups: alt.tv.twin-peaks

You know Gary, I agree partially with some of your points about
Lynch.  I have felt for a long time that his movies were style
over substance, but I always get the impression while watching them
that this is a man that is capable of directing a masterpiece.
I think he needs to be coupled with a plot writer that understands
his directing style.

I think that Lynch is still learning his trade and I hope that
he matures so that his work can achieve his potential.  In Lynch's
movies, I get the feeling he is just being violent and strange for
the sake of violence and strangeness, but I also feel that he
has a real talent with images and mood and that he really has his
finger on many of the dark sides of our culture and that some day
he may create a truly brilliant piece of film.  

I do not think he has done it yet, but I personally think that
Twin Peaks is his best effort yet.  I think there are things wrong
with TP of course, but it is a very interesting TV show and I
really look forward to seeing it.  Some of it is incredibly
drippy.  I really wish Bob had nuked either James or Donna.
Either one I can handle, but together they are really annoying.

As for the quick resolution and explanations, I get the FEELING
that maybe the show was forced into something like that by
the networks.  Now, before you get annoyed, I am not defending
Lynch.  It is very possible that it is just Lynch's directing 
style.  But I would have been happy to see the murder mystery
go on until at least the end of the season, and I wish they
had kept Leland around as Bob's host for awhile.  But there
have been indications of real public dissatisfaction with the
show, and it would not suprise me if Lynch and Frost had to
interrupt the normal 'flow' of the show to wrap up the Laura
Palmer mystery in order to prop up the ratings.  Also, I kind of
liked the explanations even though they did seem pretty forced.
I think they did a pretty good job in the episode where they
'revealed the killer', but the last episode did not seem to be
paced very well.

One thing that this show is good at is leaving LOTS of questions
open from week to week.  I think that the plot development in this
show is pretty good.  I think the Lynch and Frost DO know what is
going to happen more or less.  I think they were a little sloppy
with the wrap up of Laura's murder.  I look forward to the
rest of the shows this season and hopefully next season.  I hope
they take their time resolving the Bob thing, because I 
really kind of like the plot.

The show's weeknesses are a certain bit of sappiness that may be
intentional, but is still very annoying.  The show does not
treat the main characters very well.  Cooper did almost nothing
to figure out the Laura murder.  It was all handed to him on a platter.
There is no reason to think that Cooper is anything but a bumbling
hack as an investigator.  So far the show seems to have a weakness
at handling resolutions.  Almost nothing was resolved for a year
and a half, and then we get a paragraph explaining why it was
all obvious.  I felt that the explanation made sense more or
less, but the pacing felt very wrong.  Of course there are
more weaknesses, but I have typed too long....

Doug