Anyone remember 1990? Twin Peaks. Remember how people would get together to watch the series, and to eat cherry pie and a damned fine cup of coffee? I loved that show. I loved and hated how Lynch ended it. (Loved it because it was like, “Cancel me will you? Cancel this!” Hated it because the whole White Lodge/Black Lodge storyline was getting really twisted and interesting after a season of “prime-time soap” – and then the show was cancelled. I would have liked another season.)
I was on a service call today (backing up databases) up near Mt. Baker. On the way back I was driving on a rustic, tree-lined blackto road in the rain. Not a whole lot of businesses there; a lot of farms. I thought of how nice it would be to find a small diner, sit at the counter, and have some cherry pie and a damned fine up of coffee.
Damn fine series. Loved every bit of it, from Sweater Girl to Major Briggs. Never really understood the entire Red Room concept, but to this day, I still can’t sleep under a ceiling fan.
The last episode I watched (before my eye-rolling with the self-indulgent surrealism could cause permanent eyestrain) ended with an astronomer revealing some kind of SETI message intercepted from outer space, addressed to Cooper and warning “The owls are not what they seem.” Since that time, I’ve used the phrase to describe any sort of wierd-for-wierd’s-sake filmmaking.
One of many, many of Lynch’s signature Wizard of Oz references.
(When Dorothy & company first get spooked in the woods, one of the first signs of things getting wierd is a coupla owls sitting side by side on a branch-- which are revealed as scary buzzard-like things when illuminated by a flash of lightning.)
Were they Douglas firs?
I loved the show, too. I was bummed not to have the chance to discover whether Coop was going to kill Annie, once he got possessed by Bob.
To this day I can’t help but think of Twin Peaks whenever I see one of the old cast, and will always watch them just to contrast the current role with their Twin Peaks character. Except for Lara Flynn Boyle, that is. Donna’s mooning over James annoyed me so much that I just can’t watch her at all.
[slight hijack]
By the way, anyone know why Don Davis seems to always end up playing a military or law enforcement character? I knew he was Major Briggs in Twin Peaks, Scully’s navy dad in The X-Files, and Gen. Hammond in Stargate SG-1, but I just noticed in his IMDB listing that he’s done a bunch more such roles.
I LOVED this show. I’ve got the whole thing on VHS. Now you’ve got me thinking about watching it again. In fact, I may look to see if it’s available on DVD.
Did anyone see the prequel “Fire, Walk With Me”? I thought it was a big dissapointment.
I kinda wish Lynch would try TV again, just to see if he could make something as good, or even better. But I doubt that he’ll want to.
sunfish, I’ve wondered the same thing about Don Davis. I think it’s just that he fits the type so well. And speaking of the X-Files, am I the only one who’s wondered if it was inpspired at all by Twin Peaks? In both you’ve got an FBI agent with his pathologist partner investigating weird goings on. And in both you’ve got David Duchovny. He played two very different parts of course.
Yes, it’s available on DVD. The weird thing is that, because of copyright issues, the pilot is not included in the boxed set. I had to get the pilot episode on DVD as an import. IIRC, it’s a lot easier to get now.
One night about eight years ago on the Net, I was discussing TP with a guy who insisted that Albert Pike’s MORALS AND DOGMA OF SCOTTISH-RITE FREEMASONRY would unlock all the mysteries of TP & vice versa. Altho having taped all of TP & having skimmed my copy of M&D, I’ve never felt the least bit inclined to do a thorough study to synchronize them.
I also have the Lynch-Frost book WELCOME TO TWIN PEAKS (as well as the same-titled unauthorized guide to the first season which I think was pulled for legal reasons). The official book mentions a Passion Play at Glastonbury Grove held by the Bookhouse Boys on occasional Easters. I really wonder if such a rite was going to be instrumental in rescuing Cooper from the Red Room.
That was the best thing ever on TV by a long shot. As I recall, it was supposed to be three seasons but the network told Lynch that he was only getting one more after the second season so he had to squish the last two years of story line into one. The movie that came out later was a disappointment.
When the second season was showing, Kyle McLaughlin and Laura Flynn Boyle were dating. They took a vacation to Santa Barbara and ended up sitting right in front of my wife and me at the movies (The Commitments). As they were walking out Laura was throwing a hissy fit because she realized that she left her fake ID in the hotel and they couldn’t go out drinking.
Otto, try eBay. They have the motherlode of DVDs, including the rare Twin Peaks pilot (~$10) and seasons 1 & 2 for about $90–available through a Brit source.
Season 1 alone (DVD) can be had for about $20, a great value.
I would also recommend Full of Secrets: Critical Approaches to Twin Peaks. I particularly like the chapter “alt.tv.twinpeaks”, which details online discussion of the show when it was current. Really cool, because this before the whole world was on the 'net, so if someone was online talking about a TV show, you know they were hardcore!
Just a couple weeks ago my wife and I were putting together a shopping list, and she said, “Oh, I need cotton balls.” Out of the blue I said, “Are those for the drape runners?” She had no idea what the hell I was talking about…
