Twin Peaks: In Praise of Dougie, the Show’s Biggest Tease

The Dougie-Coop scenes are also the funniest, most accessible elements of The Return, despite their measured pace and repetitive nature. MacLachlan is responsible for the vast majority of the comedy, as simply watching Dougie-Coop navigate a world he doesn’t understand is funny enough, while Lynch and Frost raise the comedic stakes by placing the character in situations he’s seemingly ill-equipped to handle that nonetheless work out in his favor, not unlike the bare-bones formula of a sitcom. After Dougie-Coop staggers into a casino, he proceeds to clean out $425,000 from the slot machines, much to the surprise and fear of the casino management. Similarly, he wanders into an office building, chugging coffee like a fiend, only to make an accusation of corruption against his co-worker Anthony (played by Tom Sizemore). Later, as he childishly doodles on insurance files he’s supposed to summarize, he all but proves Anthony’s misdeeds, much to the surprise and gratitude of his boss. Dougie-Coop’s upward flailing is top-notch absurd situation comedy, but the humor comes through even better in the smaller moments — his ritualistic “Helloooo-ooo-ooo” every time he hits a jackpot, his rediscovery of pancakes and coffee, his inability to control his bladder and subsequent relief when it’s emptied, and his befuddlement at his son’s clapper lamp.

Source: Twin Peaks: In Praise of Dougie, the Show’s Biggest Tease