Still need to see this edit before I give proper feedback but I agree with LeperMessiah that some stuff really can just be cut, I might need to check again but I don’t think James and Donna really come back for anything post Evelyn subplot, Donna is in Miss Twin Peaks but she also never left town except to talk to Evelyn in the same subplot, so truthfully I would cut it off when James leaves town and that’s it. I think same can go for Ben’s civil war mental break, he’s already been beaten and morally defeated so I don’t see a problem going from him in shambles reminiscing about his childhood to eating a carrot trying to reform his ways, cleaner just to avoid entirely.
On things that should be reduced but still kept in small doses either for continuity or character development, the whole travel critic thing and Norma having a bad relationship with her mother is so typical sitcom and pointless except that we need Ernie introduced. More obvious trims for Nadine and little Nicky, though I would keep some of the humor when it works.
Another I might be going out on a limb with is Windom Earle, haven’t seen his stuff mentioned but it’s a huge part of what makes season 2 abysmal for me personally. Giving Cooper this Joker-esque mad genius ex partner was really a mistake that only diminishes Cooper’s character to a comic book hero going after villain of the week. That stuff plays in so much it can only be tilted so it’s less on the nose, but if it can be helped I’d like only the best of Windom, no horse suit kidnapping Major Briggs, less with the stupid flute and dead random extras we’ve never met encased in paper mache chess pieces, the show should really be above those sorts of things.
Can’t wait to watch the edit!
Hope you enjoy! I see your points on weak storylines, but they somewhat define Twin Peaks too in a historically notable way. Twin Peaks lost viewer momentum and was therefore cancelled because of how much weaker Season 2 was, and that cancellation and mediocrity is what lead to Fire Walk with Me and it’s surreal continuation in Season 3 two decades later.
In an ideal world, there would’ve been no lame subplots and a better written villain/scenes for Windham Earle, but that would be a different show. I’ve seen quite a few fans online like the silly elements of season 2 - I’m indifferent - and I see my edit as an improved preservation of what Season 2 was rather than try to reform it into what I wish it would be. You can’t polish a turd, so my edit tries shrinking it instead. It’s refining instead of trying to craft something good out of the fundamentally weaker writing of Season 2. I always try to rewatch it with the context of FWMM and Season 3 being made in it’s aftermath, so that’s why my edit tries to slim down Season 2 rather than dramatically reshape it.
@meeko
FWIW there’s a new 2nd season Fanedit that has been completed over at Fanedit.org that you might want to check out…
Already had that linked over to me by one of my other viewers. Its interesting to see the changes they made, but for my tastes their cut list is a bit too far. Twin Peaks is already a short-lived show and his edit restructures the entirety of the second half of season 2 (episodes 10-22), whereas my one only covers 11-15. I think the underlying storytelling focus is more or less decent in episode 10 and gets into more interesting territory from epsiode 16 with the worst subplots wrapped up. Like I said above, I want to preserve the lame parts rather then pretend they didn’t happen.
I’m somewhat a bit tired of Twin Peaks at the moment having thoroughly rewatched it in the making of my fan edit, but I’ll give Cooper’s 10 episode edit a watch when I revisit the show at the end of the year.