The Twin Peaks thread...

So I decided because the gold edition box set came out that I needed to watch this show from beginning to end again. I can remember watching it when I was a kid, and not really getting it. Then Bravo had it on when I was in college so I'd throw Twin Peaks parties in my dorm room. I'd force everyone to bring coffee, doughnuts and pie.

This will last for a while because there are nine disks total. I may take a break toward the weekend, but we shall see. I will spoil the ending, but I'll make sure I post a spoiler alert just in case anyone hasn't seen it and wants to.

The Pilot:

We start with the traditional opening for Twin Peaks, a speech from The Log Lady. Now in any other circumstance a woman sitting in front of a fire place holding a log would be enough to turn to another channel and watch NightLine. Yet, Lynch pulls us in with her. She's just off beat enough to keep us watching. Then he throws us to the wolves. With in the first three minutes we are given the introduction to the most famous dead girl in TV history, the sweet Homecoming Queen Laura Palmer. To quote the show, "She's dead. Wrapped in plastic." Thus begins our little adventure.

Most TV pilots don't really do the rest of the show justice. They are viewed and re-viewed by a bunch of men at high studio levels, and edited according to their whims. For some reason David Lynch was given a pass when it came to that. This isn't an ordinary pilot. It's almost a mini-movie. We are given introductions to the vast cast, find out who is sleeping with who (and who isn't), and discover that the sweet Homecoming Queen isn't who she pretended to be.

Dale Cooper, the FBI agent, is our tour guide. He knows nothing about Twin Peaks, and is given the grand tour of it's local weirdos. He also has a thing for pie. Cherry to be specific. In most ways he's our comic relief, and our driving force.

Show #1
Laura's been dead for 48 hours, and the town has begun to calm down. We've discovered that Laura wasn't the "nice girl", and we've also discovered she was cheating on her boyfriend.

This is where the odd things start to happen. Laura's mother is taking her death very hard, and has a vision of a creepy man sitting at the end of her couch. We are given a quick terrifying glimpse of this man, but we think nothing of it. Grief does weird things to people, right?

Cooper is still going through the interview process, so mostly we think this is just any other murder mystery. However, The Log Lady shows up and says that her log will have something to say about this one day. No one takes her seriously. Why would you? I mean, she's a crazy lady that thinks her log can talk to her.

So that's it so far.

Episodes 2-4

At the very end of episode two the whole show changes. At first we think that this is just another cop drama, but then Agent Cooper falls asleep and goes to The Red Room. We are given images that make no sense, we meet a Man From Another Place, Mike, and Bob. We now understand that this is David Lynch's show and we are just a long for the ride. What Lynch is doing here is amazing. He's trying to give us an understanding of why people commit horrible crimes. He feels that they are possessed by evil spirits that come from another world.

Because of the Red Room dream we are now perfectly willing to accept Agent Cooper's explanation of his and use of an unusual investigative technique. Throwing rocks at a bottle. It's quirky and funny, but as all things are in Twin Peaks, it has a dark undertone.

Agent Cooper is now hot on the trial of Laura Palmer's killer. We understand that he will find him, but we not quite sure what's going to happen when he does. Is it linked to drug running from Canada? Is it somehow linked to a casino/brothel called One Eyed Jacks? Why does Laura's mother keep having visions of Bob?

I'd like to digress slightly. This show caused me to bake, and fail at making my first pie. If people want to know how my baking fetish started it all comes down to the Huckleberry Pie at the Double R diner in Twin Peaks.

EDIT: I'm keeping to the main story line because it would be far beyond the scope of this thread to talk about everything in Twin Peaks. The show has a lot going on.

are you enjoying it? I never caught it on while it was fresh.
Is it worth watching?
I need a new series to watch...I'm almost done with Medium.

Originally Posted by CDubbie

are you enjoying it? I never caught it on while it was fresh.
Is it worth watching?
I need a new series to watch...I'm almost done with Medium.

Click to expand...

Oh yes.. I'm catching small things that I never did before.

I think this is one of the best TV shows that's ever been on the air, so I'd check it out if I were you.

This is one series I want to buy - I loved the show when it first came out!

Thank you for the recommendation!

*off to update queue pronto*

Episodes 5 thru the end of season one.

Here's where the show starts to loose me. With such a short first season it's almost impossible to keep up with all the plot twists and turns. Even after watching this show all the way though twice it's still a challenge.

Here's what we know:

1. Laura Palmer is dead.

2. We don't know who her killer is.

Also, with intense studio pressure Lynch was asked to change some major parts of his scrips. ABCwanted another Knots Landing, Lynch wanted something... different. The key thing to know is that Laura's murder was never supposed to be solved. It was supposed to open a door to further mysteries in the town. If one grasps that one will see where some forced plot elements come into play. For example, Lucy, the office secretary at the police station, becomes pregnant. This is a B story line that gets distracting. Another is the burning of the Twin Peaks lumber mill. This plot takes up so much time it's tedious, and has very little payoff.

The one saving grace is that we are left with one heck of a cliff hanger. Laura's father kills the main suspect in her murder, and Agent Cooper is shot in the chest.

Episodes 10 through 14

Sorry it's been so long, but I needed a break from this show.

Where are we now? That's right. We've discovered who killed Laura Palmer.

To back up a little Agent Cooper was smart enough to wear a bullet proof vest and survived the attempt on his life. When he was knocked out he dreams of a giant who gives him clues to find the killer.

I'm going to stop right there and rant a little. This show was waaaayyy a head of it's time. If Twin Peaks were being made today it would be on HBO, and Lynch would have total creative control over it. However, in the early 1990's that outlet didn't exist. It was at this point that the studio said, "Tell the world who killed Laura Palmer, or we'll sue."

Being that Lynch wanted to eat lunch in Hollywood again he obliged.

****** SPOILER ALERT ************

We are then taken on the long and creepy ride to discover that Laura's killer was her own father. Being this is a show by David Lynch it isn't that simple. Her father is inhabited by a parasite spirit named Bob. We discover that Bob has been pulling her father's strings since he was a little boy.

Now the show takes a dive. With any epic build up like this there's bound to be some let down, and Twin Peaks does that in a big way. How are we supposed to tune in next week (or pop the next DVD in) if we know the big bad secret? Well, trust me. The last few episodes of this show are some of the best ever made. We just have to suffer a bit to get there.

I'm glad you're chronicling this for us. I watched it the first time out, but it just got so weird and it was right about when our first child was born, and then we moved, and I just couldn't make the time!

Originally Posted by kluchetta

I'm glad you're chronicling this for us. I watched it the first time out, but it just got so weird and it was right about when our first child was born, and then we moved, and I just couldn't make the time!

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I have to admit, I'm not doing a very good job of it. All I'm talking about is the main story line. The show is really complex, and deserves a solid viewing.


I'll make a list of what I'm not taking about: Leo and Shelly Johnston, the Mill and Jose Packard, the silly Andy and Lucy baby story line, and the Donna and James issues.

I'm doing a sound bite review.

I watched the first disc this weekend (the pilot I assume).
I found myself bored somewhat.
Is it going to get better?
(I didnt want spoilers so I didnt read thru the whole thread)

It wasnt awful but it didnt hold my attention at all.

Originally Posted by CDubbie

I watched the first disc this weekend (the pilot I assume).
I found myself bored somewhat.
Is it going to get better?
(I didnt want spoilers so I didnt read thru the whole thread)

It wasnt awful but it didnt hold my attention at all.

Click to expand...

I'd give it until the end of the 4th show. If you don't like it by then stop renting and read what happens on line.

thank you for the recommendation

Episodes 15-17

I had no idea it would take me this long to get through such a short series.


So we now know who killed Laura Palmer. So what does the show decide to do? Skip a three day time period and start a whole new story line. This is where Twin Peaks looses me. The show very well could have gone though those three days, then ended, and everyone would have been happy. Yet, for some reason it decides to take us on a whole new path with this White Lodge/Black Lodge nonsense and Agent Cooper fighting his old partner in a weird game of mail chess.

It's a weird trip, but trust me the ending of this show is totally fantastic.