Twin Peaks

[Sven]

Watching through the series with Ms. Iosos here. It's pretty fabulous. I'd seen the first season already, and I'm definitely wondering, after watching 2.1 last night, how things are gonna pan out.

I have reached a realization that when it all comes down to the wire, I'm actually quite uninterested in the intrigue of the plot. All that backstabbing, sleeping around, sleuthing, unethical business practicing, whoring, dope-pushing, in-league-with-criminals stuff. I don't really care how the story ends. It's all (intentional) overwrought tawdry melodrama--liken it to the soap opera that the characters watch, Invitation to Love. What IS fascinating is the psychology of the show. Not the what, but the how and why. The surreal moments, wild character motivations and actions, and frequently interesting direction, not to mention the lovely soundtrack, are what elevate this unremarkable narrative into genius-territory. Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Dale Cooper is one of the most darling and interesting characters I've ever seen.

And Ray Wise is so great as Leland.

Anyway, I think that episode 2.1 is one of Lynch's finest creations, kind of tucked away in there, but keep an eye out for it. It has so many dazzling scenes (Bobby and his dad at the diner, Bobby and Shelley in the hospital, Cooper and his Giant, Andy getting hit in the head with a board, Donna's transformation into femme fatale, Madeleine's vision in the carpet, Leland singing that "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy" while the Horne brothers shuffle... so many more!) and its ambience - its weirdness - is classic Lynch, which is never less than entertaining when transplanted in Small Townsville.

Pick up the box set at your local retailer today!

[D_Davis]

Bobby and his dad at the diner

This is, without a doubt, my favorite moment of the series, and probably my favorite moment of any television show, ever. I love this scene.

[Sven]

This is, without a doubt, my favorite moment of the series, and probably my favorite moment of any television show, ever. I love this scene.

One of the things that I love so much about this episode is the way Bobby's character is given a kind of 180. In the first season, he's a hopeless delinquent, but this episode, with the genuine tenderness of that scene and the one with Shelley, gives us hope that Bobby will be okay. Which is awesome.

[Spinal]

Watching through the series with Ms. Iosos here. It's pretty fabulous. I'd seen the first season already, and I'm definitely wondering, after watching 2.1 last night, how things are gonna pan out.

It kind of goes downhill around the middle of the second season. But still ... Heather Graham ... The final episode finally finds a way to inject new life into the series, but alas, it was too late to save the show.

[D_Davis]

It kind of goes downhill around the middle of the second season. But still ... Heather Graham ... The final episode finally finds a way to inject new life into the series, but alas, it was too late to save the show.

Once they bring on Cooper's nemesis, Windham Earl, it really picks up. The final 7 episodes are pretty damn amazing.

I will always wish, though, that the white and black lodges, and the UFO stuff was touched upon more. Major Briggs' story arc is way too cool to leave it unfinished.

[Sven]

It kind of goes downhill around the middle of the second season. But still ... Heather Graham ... The final episode finally finds a way to inject new life into the series, but alas, it was too late to save the show.

Yeah, so I've heard. From what I understand, Lynch didn't even really want the show to go on as long as it did, and he wanted to leave it very open and unresolved.


I will always wish, though, that the white and black lodges, and the UFO stuff was touched upon more. Major Briggs' story arc is way too cool to leave it unfinished.

:eek:

[D_Davis]

Yeah, so I've heard. From what I understand, Lynch didn't even really want the show to go on as long as it did, and he wanted to leave it very open and unresolved.
:eek:

It could have used another half season, like the first. Perhaps another 7 episodes to really finish things up.

[Sycophant]

Aw, man. Netflix doesn't seem to have the first season or the gold box thingy. Guess I'm gonna have to save up a bit of money. I really need to watch this.

[Sven]

It's pretty incredible, the noticeable quality flux between episodes directed by Lynch and those not. Episode 2.2 is also quite incredible, Lynch-wise, and one I wouldn't hesitate to rank up there with the better part of his film work. The musical number by James, Donna, and Madeleine is great. This show rocks!

[Rowland]

I wasn't blown away by the first season, but I did like certain aspects of it a lot. The pilot episode was my favorite. I need to see the second season eventually, if only so I can watch Fire Walk With Me.

[Sven]

I wasn't blown away by the first season, but I did like certain aspects of it a lot. The pilot episode was my favorite. I need to see the second season eventually, if only so I can watch Fire Walk With Me.

I thought the season premiere of the 2nd Season was better than the pilot, in truth, though both are up there. So far, 3 episodes into season 2, I'd recommend it to you, because it's totally getting weirder and more fun.

[Russ]

I wasn't blown away by the first season, but I did like certain aspects of it a lot. The pilot episode was my favorite. I need to see the second season eventually, if only so I can watch Fire Walk With Me.
I'm betting you'd hate it. And it's not as good as the first season. But iosos is right, there are some parts that easily rival Season 1. The opening episode of Season 2 is really great, but there's a slight, gradual lull (some say) that leads up to the halfway point of the season, when Laura's killer is revealed (those episodes are some of the best of the entire show); afterwards, everything is either anticlimactic or silly or pointless, until the very last episode, which is as much pure concentrated Lynch as anything you've ever seen.

[chrisnu]

The musical number by James, Donna, and Madeleine is great.
I wanted to kill myself after this. I assume that the polarizing reactions were intentional.

[Sven]

I wanted to kill myself after this. I assume that the polarizing reactions were intentional.

Wha-- why?! It's gorgeous!

Anyhow, just finished episode 2.7. Lemme say again, and probably officially for the record, that David Lynch is a fantastic director. All of his episodes (including, maybe especially, 2.7) have been unique, startling, and evocative. They deserve serious consideration.

However, I started to feel that much talked-about season 2 "drag" in episodes 4, 5, and 6. They felt more like Melrose Place than Twin Peaks.

And now, there's absolutely no question about Ray Wise's contribution to the higher echelon's of acting notoriety with his wild yet credible and sincere and devastating performance as Leland. It's some of the best acting I've ever seen. Positively inspiring. His admission at the beginning of episode 2.4 (of killing Jacques) is jaw-dropping.

Can't wait to see where this crrrrrrrrrazy show's gonna go next.

[Sven]

Good lord, this show is on a fast-track to becoming Melrose Place. :confused:

Love, love, love, love, love all the stuff with Leland, the case of Laura, and Cooper and the miscellaneous FBI guys, and the weird Major Briggs stuff, and I admit a soft spot for Andy and Lucy's troubles... they're lovable.

But everything else is rapidly disintegrating into blah. I can't believe the last episode I saw tried to get me to care that Andrew, Jocelyn's "dead" husband, didn't actually die. Who cares? Totally, totally lame.

I'm feeling kind of :evil: right now.

Still, that last bit with Leland was pretty powerful stuff. His confession/realization/baptism had me teary-eyed.

[Derek]

I don't really understand the complaints about it becoming like Melrose Place. As Russ alluded to earlier, Lynch is intentionally using a lot of the soap opera cliches throughout the whole series, obviously referring to that with the cuts to Invitation to Love. If you think the show is even in the same universe as MP (which as far as I understand, was basically about who's sleeping with who), then I'm sorry but we're not watching the same show and I think you're deeply undervaluing its complexity.

Now, if you wanna bitch about the Nadie reverting to high schooler sub-plot, I'm all ears. :)

[Sven]

I don't really understand the complaints about it becoming like Melrose Place. As Russ alluded to earlier, Lynch is intentionally using a lot of the soap opera cliches throughout the whole series, obviously referring to that with the cuts to Invitation to Love. If you think the show is even in the same universe as MP (which as far as I understand, was basically about who's sleeping with who), then I'm sorry but we're not watching the same show and I think you're deeply undervaluing its complexity.

Actually, it was I who alluded to the Invitation to Love commentary. And sadly, that whole schtick has been dropped in season 2. Which is indicative of the show having become what it was once lampooning (to a point).

The creators (for I will not say "Lynch" at this point, knowing about his only peripheral involvement in the majority of season 2) use the soap opera cliches, yes, and they use them beautifully all throughout the entire first season and roughly through the first three episodes of the second, but they have stopped doing anything with the cliches. Now, they're exercising them straight-facedly. All that stuff about the Mill and the Hong Kong intrigue and Hank's baddiness and the Horne implications and the insurance stuff with Leo, Bobby, and Shelley... none of that stuff is doing anything outside the realm of a crappy Invitation to Love-type soap. The first season, yes. But now, it's going about all routine-like.

Of course the universe is not the same as Melrose Place... they had no serial killer doppelgangers or aliens or red rooms with backwards talking midgets. But none of these subplots are utilizing any of that dreamy influence or commenting in any way on the banality of soaps. If you can argue any substance into the subplots I mentioned, I'd totally like to hear it, because I'd love to love what's happening.

For the record, I'm still interested in many things going on. The Windham Earl stuff, the Internal Affairs investigation against Cooper, the Andy/Lucy/Dick stuff, the Major Briggs stuff.


Now, if you wanna bitch about the Nadine reverting to high schooler sub-plot, I'm all ears. :)

No, because that's weird. And dealt with somewhat straightforwardly, which makes it even weirder in a way. Much more interesting than anything having to do with Catherine, Jocelyn, Ben, Hank, Shelley, Bobby, Donna, or James at this point.

[Rowland]

Lynch is intentionally using a lot of the soap opera cliches throughout the whole series, obviously referring to that with the cuts to Invitation to Love. I've only seen the first season, but you know, was I the only person who didn't think this was terribly clever? Just because you constantly remind people that your show is a slightly heightened and absurdist take on soap operas doesn't suddenly make the cliches that much more appealing.

[Sven]

I've only seen the first season, but you know, was I the only person who didn't think this was terribly clever? Just because you constantly remind people that your show is a slightly heightened and absurdist take on soap operas doesn't suddenly make the cliches that much more appealing.

Well, I do think that the heightened melodrama and absurdity and silliness of the first season does alchemize the cliches into something more interesting than your average prime time soap. The first season had this ability to show you an action or emotion normally devoid of substantial human feeling per overexposure on television melodrama (ie, grief, fear, apprehension, abuse, murder) and inject it with a tangible feeling. I loved watching for the cliches, so I could see how they related it back to real human experience.

The use of the show isn't "clever" in the way you suggest, because you imply that its use is limited to a gag. It is a gag, but it also is transformative. Showing us a lover shot in Invitation to Love is funny, but when the same instance happens in the show, its slightly more than just a narrative blip. And the mirroring there is what the show's all about.

[Rowland]

Well, I do think that the heightened melodrama and absurdity and silliness of the first season does alchemize the cliches into something more interesting than your average prime time soap. The first season had this ability to show you an action or emotion normally devoid of substantial human feeling per overexposure on television melodrama (ie, grief, fear, apprehension, abuse, murder) and inject it with a tangible feeling. I loved watching for the cliches, so I could see how they related it back to real human experience.

The use of the show isn't "clever" in the way you suggest, because you imply that its use is limited to a gag. It is a gag, but it also is transformative. Showing us a lover shot in Invitation to Love is funny, but when the same instance happens in the show, its slightly more than just a narrative blip. And the mirroring there is what the show's all about.Ahh, well I don't watch average prime time soaps, so I don't have a frame of reference. In fact, my frame of reference is the best of modern television, which I understand is all an evolution of Twin Peaks' revolution. Nevertheless, most of Twin Peaks doesn't do much for me anymore when I could just watch the first season of Carnivale again.

[Sven]

Ahh, well I don't watch average prime time soaps, so I don't have a frame of reference. In fact, my frame of reference is the best of modern television, which I understand is all an evolution of Twin Peaks' revolution. Nevertheless, most of Twin Peaks doesn't do much for me anymore when I could just watch the first season of Carnivale again.

This seems to me an awfully limited way of engaging the show. I will not call your perception incorrect, however, I will say that it doesn't seem that you are attempting to view the show within the context of its own creation. But not only that, because sure it has something to say about television in the late 80s-early 90s, but it also appears that by likening it to Carnivale, you're looking at it solely for its "weird" factor (or maybe "fantastical"), when Twin Peaks is much much more than that.

And while it's true that television may have gotten weirder (I have not seen Carnivale, but I'm curious), I'm unconvinced of the evolution in quality. What I've seen of Lost, Heroes, 24, Alias, Sex and the City, pretty much every sitcom ever, etc, demonstrates a relatively paltry understanding of human experience.

[Milky Joe]

And while it's true that television may have gotten weirder (I have not seen Carnivale, but I'm curious), I'm unconvinced of the evolution in quality. What I've seen of Lost, Heroes, 24, Alias, Sex and the City, pretty much every sitcom ever, etc, demonstrates a relatively paltry understanding of human experience.

You're right about television in general, but Carnivale is more than just a progression of weird. It represents a brief moment in history when television strove to be something much more than what it has become since Twin Peaks went off the air. You should really give it a look, iosos.

[Rowland]

This seems to me an awfully limited way of engaging the show. I will not call your perception incorrect, however, I will say that it doesn't seem that you are attempting to view the show within the context of its own creation. But not only that, because sure it has something to say about television in the late 80s-early 90s, but it also appears that by likening it to Carnivale, you're looking at it solely for its "weird" factor (or maybe "fantastical"), when Twin Peaks is much much more than that.
I likened it to Carnivale because it is considered in direct lineage to Twin Peaks (which is misleading, but that's the common perception), but more importantly, I just like it more. This is an off-the-cuff dismissal of Twin Peaks, I know, especially since I'm not even dismissing it. I've just never been blown away by the show, which is a bit frustrating, given its reputation. Some of it is wonderful, but I'd say that about 75% of it just washes over me -- not bad, but not really inspiring either. After the phenomenal pilot episode, the rest of the first season was just... pretty good, with reasonably consistent peaks.

[Rowland]

You're right about television in general, but Carnivale is more than just a progression of weird. It represents a brief moment in history when television strove to be something much more than what it has become since Twin Peaks went off the air. You should really give it a look, iosos.That show really was amazing. I suppose I should be grateful that two seasons even exist, but I wish desperately that it had been allowed its full six-season arc.

[Qrazy]

I wanted to kill myself after this. I assume that the polarizing reactions were intentional.

I also wanted to kill myself at that point.

I found the show in equal parts maddening and incredibly enjoyable. The entire Jose storyline was stupid as fuck. Coop is obviously amazing and makes the show. Some of Lynch's, or perhaps alternative director's, stylistic choices particularly involving Bob, were absolutely cringe-worthy.

I knew the ending of the series would leave me hanging from the get go, call it Lynchian intuition, but it still irked me. I found the entire last episode of the series to be thematically sophomoric and unsatisfying. I don't need narrative wrap up, but I do need satisfying emotional/thematic wrap up... Eraserhead had it, as did Mulholland Drive. Twin Peaks did not.

This post seems one sided but there were lots of other elements I enjoyed in the show.

[Sven]

Just finished the series. The last episode is great, but you CAN'T end it on Cooper becoming Bob! :frustrated: :frustrated: :frustrated: :frustrated:

I'd like to write a whole lot more about this one, but lemme just say that while it lagged a little after the Palmer stuff wraps up, and I kind of feel that most of the stuff that happens after that, all the lame melodrama and easy storylines that go nowhere, the unexciting plot revelations, the basic transformation into Melrose Place, somehow cheapens all of the horrifying, sad, revelatory, mysterious, haunting stuff surrounding the show and the Palmer situation.

Anyway, the last five episodes or so definitely pick up (starting with the great episode directed by Uli Edel! (followed by a great follow up by Diane Keaton wtf??)), though I found Windom Earl's character to be frustratingly cheesy and inconsistent. He's supposed to be a mad genius, but he's just a giggly psychopath who'd totally steal candy from a baby. Where's the smarts?

Oh, and I was very sad at the final episode's disposal of Pete and Audrey, though the punchline was hysterical.

Fun stuff! More later, I'm sure. Any thoughts or comments?

[Spinal]

:frustrated: :frustrated: :frustrated: :frustrated:

This pretty much says it all.

[chrisnu]

The extended Red Room / Black Lodge sequence is my favorite part of the entire series. Studying it, trying to figure out the logic behind it, was very engrossing.

It almost negates the "who's the daddy?" segment of the finale, but not quite. That stuff was just terrible.

I think a tie between most superfluous storyline can go to Little Nicky, James and Evelyn, and Nadine becoming a teenager and/or superhuman.

[Russ]

...the "who's the daddy?" segment of the finale...That stuff was just terrible...
Refresh my memory??

[chrisnu]

Refresh my memory??
I believe it's inferred that Ben Horne is Donna's father. I believe it ends with Dr. Hayward striking Horne with a blunt object, knocking him unconscious. In all honesty, I've tried to forget all about it. :)

[Derek]

Ahh, you gotta love all this anger and frustration towards towards the show.

Also, I'll be sure to check out Melrose Place since iosos has clearly spent a lot of time watching it and thus, I assume, holds it in high regard. ;)

[Milky Joe]

The low point of the series for me is that awful storyline involving James "running away" (down the street) and getting involved with that totally random case of domestic abuse. Blech.

[Yxklyx]

The low point of the series for me is that awful storyline involving James "running away" (down the street) and getting involved with that totally random case of domestic abuse. Blech.

Yeah, everyone I know would agree with you there. The second season is very good for the first third (up until the "resolution") and then loses direction until about the last third of the series (when Earle appears) with the final episode being the greatest thing I've ever seen on TV. The Keaton directed episode was the nadir of the show.

[Sven]

The Keaton directed episode was the nadir of the show.

What?! Madness! Hers was pretty good. If I'm remembering right, it's the one right after we Leo stumbles into Earl's cabin, which was Uli Edel's episode, which was the first good one after, like, 6 or 7 awful ones. Even if you didn't like her direction (which was fun), by virtue that anything interesting happened in that episode at all makes it not the nadir. Plus, I thought you said that it picked up with the introduction of Earl, which is, like, her episode.

[Sven]

Ahh, you gotta love all this anger and frustration towards towards the show.

Also, I'll be sure to check out Melrose Place since iosos has clearly spent a lot of time watching it and thus, I assume, holds it in high regard. ;)

You, sir, are a son of a bitch. :)

In truth, I did watch the first few seasons of Melrose Place when it was on when I was in elementary school. My mom watched it. What was I to do?

[ledfloyd]

Yeah, so I've heard. From what I understand, Lynch didn't even really want the show to go on as long as it did, and he wanted to leave it very open and unresolved.
actually lynch wanted the show to go on much longer than it did. but he didn't want laura palmer's murder resolved until the last episode. nbc more or less forced him to solve it sooner, and killed the show.

[Russ]

nbc more or less forced him to solve it sooner, and killed the show.
abc

[chrisnu]

actually lynch wanted the show to go on much longer than it did. but he didn't want laura palmer's murder resolved until the last episode. nbc more or less forced him to solve it sooner, and killed the show.
Hmm. I thought Lynch didn't want the story ever resolved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Peaks


In the featurette "A Slice of David Lynch", included with the 2007 "Gold Box Edition" DVD release of the complete series, Lynch expressed his regret at having resolved the Laura Palmer murder, stating he and Frost had never intended for the series to answer the question and that doing so "killed the goose that laid the golden eggs". Lynch directly blames network pressure for the decision to resolve the Palmer storyline prematurely.

I haven't purchased the Gold Box Edition DVD set, but I believe it.

[Acapelli]

So I just started the series (on episode 6 so far) and am loving it.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

I'm showing the series to my friend (not a big Lynch fan) and we knocked out the Pilot-Episode 5 in one night, and you can't iamgine the thrill of watching the series again and watching a Lynch hater come around as well (he's blown away!)

[Acapelli]

Is it strange that I'm mad at Bobby for trying to get with Audrey? Audrey's way too good for that little dildo.

And other than the James going down the road stuff, I've loved everything about the show so far (although the Nadine in high school parts do drag a bit).

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

And other than the James going down the road stuff, I've loved everything about the show so far (although the Nadine in high school parts do drag a bit).

aahh, brooding James and his gourd-shaped head.

[Acapelli]

Also, wtf, Josie in a bedside table?

[D_Davis]

(although the Nadine in high school parts do drag a bit).

This is, by far, my least favorite thing about Twin Peaks. I can't stand this sub-plot. It is stupid and annoying.

[Acapelli]

I wish there was more.

[Sycophant]

I plowed through the first 17ish episodes of this series in about 2 or 3 weeks. Then it took me nearly 3 months to watch the remaining 12. After the first arc, the quality of the show drops off completely. The show's direction and cinematography fee like they're straight up out of something else immediately after. The show drastically changes nearly every character and throw a bunch of shit at the wall and unfortunately left it all up for a long time. Too much zaniness, not enough... oddness. (That sentiment could be phrased better.) The last 3 episodes or so get a little more interesting and confident, especially when Lynch himself is behind the camera. Still, at that point, I had been basically drained of my interest in and engagement with the characters, and the last plot twist before the show ends forever gets more of a "huh" from me than anything else.

First 17 episodes are pretty damn good though.

[Milky Joe]

I always had a soft spot for Ben Horne's recreating the Civil War in miniature.

[elixir]

I won't check before this post in case there are spoilers.

I just watched the pilot, and it's very good so far, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to LOVE this show.

Dale Cooper is a great character. Love him already.

The mystery is already fascinating to me.

Amazing use of music...on TV shows, I never really think about the music, but here it really hit me.

I can't wait to watch more!!! I'll give more in-depth thoughts then...

[elixir]

I don't think "very good" cuts it. Might be the best pilot I've seen. Really fantastic stuff.

Why haven't I watched this earlier!?

[angrycinephile]

Nice. Looking forward to it. I'm in the midst of rewatching the whole show (for the 2nd time in total) and it's truly a killer show. As good as the pilot is - episode 2.1 might be better. Maybe the finale as well.

This is not really a spoiler but you probably shouldn't look.

Bob is still Lynch's greatest antagonist. Yes, more so than Frank Booth.

He is Bob, eager for fun. He wears a smile. Everybody run!

[Pop Trash]

Still my favorite show of all time.

[elixir]

I wish I didn't have school or hw or anything, because I want to tear through these!! I probably will regardless.

So, episode two: Laura Palmer is becoming pretty fascinating. So she had three lovers in general, and three sexual partners on the night of her death? Hm. Interesting.

The fish coffee was great!

I'm trying to create a mental chart of all the townspeople and their various connections, but it will probably take an episode more for me to have it cemented in my head.

Why does Dale Cooper love his pie so much? Why is he so awesome? Every word out of his mouth is gold.

Laura Palmer's mom is that weird-ass lady from Inland Empire!!!!! Her one vision this episode freaked me out.

What's the deal with Audrey? (Don't actually answer.)

I love how this death is allowing us to see the, well, seedier side of the town, and see all this secrets all these people have.

Shallowness coming up...Norma and Shelley are both very pretty. Especially Norma.

[Thirdmango]

I just finished that one episode in the second season. Should I keep going?

[elixir]

Does anyone know a good place to find reviews/recaps of episodes, which won't spoil the whole series for me? I'm scared to look for fear of spoiling myself (it's happened with other shows). I just like to read recaps afterwards. Thanks. :)

And I've watched episodes 3 and 4, and I'm so hooked. 4 episodes left in the season. Which season is generally considered better? Very different lengths. I'm just curious.

Gah, I think I need to watch another.

[chrisnu]

I just finished that one episode in the second season. Should I keep going?
Yes. It finishes quite well.

[Acapelli]

this is pretty cool. from a q&a with bob engles



- He and Mark Frost went to college together and stayed friends afterwards, which is how Mark brought him into Twin Peaks. He said he hadn’t written a thing at the time, which was remarkable to me. He said that he met Mark at Mark’s office at Universal, David walked in around 2:30 (“the time that Chinese people go to the dentist,” David joked at the time) and they went to lunch (at Russo’s?), and they were pretty much off & running. This was after the pilot was in the can and the series had been greenlit. He also went to school with Chris Mulkey and the guy who played “Chet” in Invitation to Love.
- He confirmed that BOB, MIKE and the other Lodge spirits originated from Garmonbozia, a planet covered entirely in creamed corn and where everything moved backwards. He said that he revealed this to the guys from Wrapped in Plastic in an interview for their final issue, but they didn’t use it (because he thought they wanted to keep the secret to themselves).
- He confirmed that all of the David Bowie Argentina stuff for FWWM was shot. He also made reference to a scene that involved Sheriff Truman driving backwards that I believe he said was also shot, as well as shots of a whole bunch of stuff (insects, mainly, from the sounds of it) that existed under the formica table.
- He estimated that there was a grand total of about 1 hour and 45 minutes of footage cut from FWWM altogether.
- The name “Judy” from FWWM actually came from his wife Jill’s sister.
- He said that Michael Anderson actually had a lot of difficulty remembering how to say all of the words backwards in the Lodge sequences, and that it was actually Jill who was quietly off-camera feeding him the backwards dialogue (this is contrary to what we’ve normally heard, in which Michael Anderson was the on-set expert at speaking backwards).
- The only mementos Bob kept from the show (other than his prized Golden Globe) were Cooper’s bloody shirt from when he was shot and a “Save the Pine Weasel” button. He said that David is a big believer in not keeping a bunch of stuff and getting nostalgic; that experiences are meant to be enjoyed in the moment. So he kept with that philosophy.
- He said that the reason he wrote FWWM with David is simply because Mark Frost just wasn’t available at the time; it wasn’t due to a dispute between David & Mark. It sounds like Bob and David wrote quite a few scripts together, as Bob said he worked with David on various other scripts for 4 or 5 years after FWWM.
- He said that they were pretty much certain when they shot the finale that the show was over. He said there was no waiting on the edges of their seats for a 3rd season pick-up; they were too busy already dismantling the sets by that point. He added that very little thought or planning was put into a Season 3, as they knew the show wouldn’t be going on.
- I didn’t quite understand this bit 100%, but he did say that the key to Cooper’s rescue would have involved time travel; that we all have Black Lodge doppelgangers, and they all exist about 2 minutes (or hours? I don’t remember which one, sorry guys) behind us in time, which is why we don’t see them. So rescuing Cooper would have involved going back in time 2 minutes or hours to find his other self. (If that makes sense, I hope.)
- He confirmed that the decision not to move forward with the Cooper-Audrey romance was entirely down to Lara Flynn Boyle (who of course was involved with Kyle at the time). While he said that both Sherilyn Fenn and Lara Flynn Boyle were lovely and he was friends with both, that they were on “very different ends of the spectrum.” He said that had Cooper and Audrey gotten together, they would have specified on the show that Audrey was actually 19, so as to avoid it being an illegal affair! He also added that they had also discussed doing a “10 years later” jump in time after the Laura Palmer storyline was resolved. (I have a hard time believing they’d jump that far, but I do remember hearing about a “5 years later” jump that was discussed, to get the kids out of high school, which makes more sense.)
- He mentioned that Sherilyn Fenn was actually ill around the time they shot Episode 4.
- He also remembered an actress (Fenn, most likely?) who did a Playboy shoot and then subsequently came to him upset that people on the set were looking at her pictorial. (“So then why the hell did you do it in the first place?!” he asked her.)
- Hawk’s poem that he recites in the shooting range was actually something that Bob Engels thought up in the car while he was driving to the set that day.
- He said that he had thought that Lynch may be working on getting On the Air out on DVD.
- There was apparently a whole other arc to the James/Evelyn Marsh storyline that was shot and subsequently cut, and he did say that he regretted the Evelyn storyline, in general. He said that it was probably miscast and that ultimately what had seemed like a good idea at the conceptual stage just didn’t work when it was executed. He also confirmed footage being shot with James and his alcoholic mother who returned to town, but this was scrapped as well, and also a bunch more footage was shot for the Miss Twin Peaks pageant that was never used.
- He claimed that, from the beginning, 6 of them knew altogether that Leland killed Laura – himself, his wife, David, Mark, Harley Peyton, and Mark’s wife. But he said this was definitely set in stone when they began work on the first season (after the pilot), and that they had sketched out the broad strokes of the BOB/Black Lodge mythology at the very beginning as well. The rest was pretty much made up as they went along.
- He added that they never really had a proper Bible for the show, like almost all other series had. ABC kept nagging them for one and they didn’t want to do one, so when a fan sent them a Twin Peaks Bible he’d written, they then turned this into the network to keep them quiet!
- All of the Invitation to Love sequences in Season 1 were shot over the course of a day or two at the Ennis-Brown House at the very beginning and inserted into the episodes as they edited together the season. He said they were actually dropped in Season 2 because David wasn’t a fan of them.
- He confirmed that he & Harley Peyton were largely the ones in creative control for Season 2, as David & Mark were gone for much of the time.
- He didn’t know anything unfortunately about the FWWM deleted scenes. He actually stated that as far as he knew they didn’t exist anymore at all, but he did add that he really didn’t know for sure.
http://dugpa.com/2010/04/10/inside-twin-peaks-with-bob-engels-april-9th/

[chrisnu]

Very interesting, but I'm enclosing that in spoilers for some new viewers of the show in this thead.

[Grouchy]

I just finished that one episode in the second season. Should I keep going?
YES

I mean, you might find a number of episodes that don't quite cut it and some really stupid storylines, but the ending is worth it.

And besides, you just watched the best hour of fictional TV ever broadcast. I can't see you quitting now.

[Sycophant]

With about a third of its short run being absolutely godawful, I can never count Twin Peaks among the greatest shows.

[Grouchy]

With about a third of its short run being absolutely godawful, I can never count Twin Peaks among the greatest shows.
Most if not all shows jump the shark. But Twin Peaks at its greatest was leagues above any other show I can think of.

[elixir]

Which third do you speak of? Certainly not this first season I hope, which I'm finding incredible. About to watch the last two episodes of it.

[elixir]

JUST FINISHED THE FIRST SEASON! HOLY SHIT. I hate cliffhangers. asndkljaklsdj. I mean, because now I have to watch another episode...

Who is shooting at Cooper? He still has a vest on maybe! I'm sure he'll be alive.

Overall thoughts: I love how the show is able to be this strange but perfect mix of quirkiness, drama, and even amusement (it's actually quite funny). I mean, I imagine that completely awesome dream Cooper had turned off a lot of viewers--but that's when I knew I loved the show even more.

The atmosphere the show creates is like none other; it's not simply the plot that engages, but on a moment-to-moment basis, the sound design, stylized acting (in a good way), and convoluted plots (in a good way, again) create this sense of an evil presence lurking beneath the charm of the city. Indeed, the oddball characters may be played for laughs, but I never felt they were looked down upon--and it was endearing to see how Cooper was quite charmed with the place.

Seriously, the show is able to juggle so many plotlines but still feel like it has room to breathe, going from sequence to sequence with a great sense of pace, and perfectly mixing humor, drama, and oddities. I especially love the way it plays around with soap opera conventions/ideas, a notion they refer to with the "Invitation to Love" show-within-the-show.

Maclachlan is fantastic at playing this eccentric yet compassionate special agent (especially during that wonderful sequence where Jacques describes the cabin scene and he can barely contain his horror!). Other highlights were Piper Laurie and Catherine, and the guy who played Benjamin Horne. Oh, and Audrey Horne---amazingly sexy and just a great screen presence, with this mischievous look in her eyes that doesn't feel forced.

Josie is going through so many double-crossings, but it turns out she's not so sympathetic after all! That plot was a bit slow and confusing, but it was worth the wait.

The sound on this show is incredible, as it really builds the mood and tone of the show without being a simple crutch; the main theme music is perhaps the best I've heard. Wow."

I haven't even gone that deep into the plot yet, but Laura Palmer has become a fascinating person, as if she represents the town of Twin Peaks: digging deeper causes you to find the seediness underlying the small-town goodness and values. Oh, and go Andy! But I hope Cooper is okay! I'm sure he is. AHH CLIFFHANGERS!

I think I may need to watch s2e1 now!!! So, when does this show get "worse" as I've heard people mention. I don't want that to happen.

Loving it so far!

[angrycinephile]

So, when does this show get "worse" as I've heard people mention. I don't want that to happen.

The tenth episode of Season 2, but it does pick up towards the end of the season again.

[elixir]

The tenth episode of Season 2, but it does pick up towards the end of the season again.

With that episode or after? Hm. That makes me sad. But maybe I'll like it more than the consensus! Gosh...I have no willpower...I think I might have to watch it now and procrastinate even more on my work.

[Russ]

Not surprisingly, the best episodes are the Lynch-directed ones (2.1 (2 hours), 2.2, 2.7 (Laura's killer revealed), and the finale, 2.22 (regarded by many as one of the best things Lynch has ever done). Everything leading up to 2.7 is quite good. However, shortly after that, things become pretty dismal pretty quickly (given Lynch and Frost's non-involvment for much of this time) and don't pick up again until the last few episodes. So, you have a stretch of about 10 episodes or so that are ok, but not much more. Still, lots and lots of great stuff to get excited about. Just don't expect the consistent awesomeness of Season 1.

[angrycinephile]

With that episode or after?

With that episode.

You know what I would do if I were you? Since the Laura Palmer storyline kind of gets closure in episode 2.9... maybe you should watch Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me directly after that and then go back to the remaining episodes. It would make sense.

[elixir]

With that episode.

You know what I would do if I were you? Since the Laura Palmer storyline kind of gets closure in episode 2.9... maybe you should watch Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me directly after that and then go back to the remaining episodes. It would make sense.

Doesn't it make more sense to watch it in order of release? And the movie came after, right? Either way, I'm watching everything Twin Peaks-related.

[chrisnu]

Doesn't it make more sense to watch it in order of release? And the movie came after, right? Either way, I'm watching everything Twin Peaks-related.
Yes, I would not recommend watching FWWM until finishing the entire series. It assumes knowledge of the entire series.

[elixir]

Just watched s2e1. One thing to say: That ending...I honestly don't usually get scared by film/tv, but Lynch has succeeded is terrifying the crap out of me multiple times...omg.

[Thirdmango]

Yeah watching that tenth episode of the second season made me lackluster on finishing the show.

[elixir]

Just watched 2.7. The show is still really good...and this episode was especially great, and unsurprisingly so since it was directed by Lynch (who basically directed all the best episodes).

Can someone clue me in on why Lynch/Frost became non-involved? Studio pressure? How did that work exactly (without revealing stuff?). I'm assuming they wanted the mystery "solved," but I don't know.

Um...Woah! Killer Bob! is Leland? Crazy. Those last ten minutes were very powerful stuff, with the giant in the roadhouse and Maddie getting attacked by Leland/Bob.

I think it's a dangerous game playing with soap opera cliches...BUT the way I see it, soap operas are all about the WHAT--whereas this show operates on the HOW and WHY and what it MEANS, and thus fills these moments with genuine emotions, and I have found myself strangely moved so many times...this strange tragic beauty (some of which could be contributed to the superior use of music), and I do find the mystery stuff very intriguing (I like mysteries!). So far, I don't see it dragging, though Nadine is annoying as hell. I really like Audrey Horne. (Not as much as Dale Cooper of course though.) Yeah, still very good, and I guess I can assume the Palmer mystery will be solved by the law enforcement soon...

I think a fun game is to try to consider who is the most normal person in Twin Peaks--my vote is for Norma.

[angrycinephile]

I believe Lynch left temporarily to focus on promoting Wild at Heart. Plus he was probably in a bad mood over having to reveal who the killer was prematurely. I think his plan was to wait until the season 2 finale.

Oh, and if you think Nadine is annoying now--just wait to some of the later episodes.

[chrisnu]

I think a fun game is to try to consider who is the most normal person in Twin Peaks--my vote is for Norma.
Either she or Dr. Hayward.

[Thirdmango]

Unfortunately for me, I knew Ray Wise was the killer since I heard an interview when he was still on Reaper about it. :(

[Russ]

So, how's it going, elixir? Made it to the end of S2 yet? Don't despair through the mid-season period of suckiness. The climax (almost) makes it worth it.

[elixir]

So, how's it going, elixir? Made it to the end of S2 yet? Don't despair through the mid-season period of suckiness. The climax (almost) makes it worth it.

Oh, I've watched 2.8 and 2.9 and though the storyline was wrapped up quite nicely. I'd probably put this first bit of s2 a bit below the awesomeness of s1, but it's still very good. I'm about to dive into it again and I'll be sure to share my thoughts. Really like Ray Wise now...

[Russ]

Really like Ray Wise now...
You will LOVE the film, Fire Walk With Me then (but don't watch it until you finish the series).

[elixir]

You will LOVE the film, Fire Walk With Me then (but don't watch it until you finish the series).

Really? I've heard quite bad things about the film in comparison to the show, but of course I will wait until I see it to make an actual judgment!

[Russ]

Really? I've heard quite bad things about the film in comparison to the show, but of course I will wait until I see it to make an actual judgment!
Well, you've probably heard correctly in that, tonally, it's nothing at all like the television series. The humor of the show is not present (with the possible exception of the non-TP material w/Isaak and Sutherland). Most of the supporting characters are not present. However, many feel (as do I) that it's as strong a feature as Lynch has yet produced. It's a lot closer in tone to the final espisode of the series (also directed by Lynch). I certainly didn't feel that way the first time I saw it (I pretty much hated it), but over the years...it's a damn fine piece of celluloid.

[angrycinephile]

I love the movie.

I'm tackling the filler episodes now. It's pretty rough. I just watched the Diane Keaton episode though--so it's safe to say the worst is now behind me.

I remember when I watched the show the first time and...

The Man from Another Place and Bob's surprise appearance at the end of episode 2.16 made me so happy because I was afraid the show was done with those characters. It should be said though--that Bob is only creepy when he doesn't talk.

[elixir]

just watched 2.10...This Nadine subplot is so damn annoying.

I guess the ending could lead to something interesting? but yeah, this episode is definitely a letdown considering the standards the show has yet. Not exactly awful, but it definitely felt off.

[chrisnu]

^ Just wait until David Duchovny shows up. Coming very soon.

[Acapelli]

fire walk with me is easily my favorite lynch

[Grouchy]

^ Just wait until David Duchovny shows up. Coming very soon.
Hahahah that's awesome.

[D_Davis]

Really? I've heard quite bad things about the film in comparison to the show, but of course I will wait until I see it to make an actual judgment!

FWWM is awesome. It exaggerates the tone and atmosphere of the television series to an almost absurd level, and contains some of Lynch's most amazing audio work.

[elixir]

^ Just wait until David Duchovny shows up. Coming very soon.

Yeah, him in drag was an interesting sight. A serious WTF.

Gosh, Nadine. JUST STOP ALREADY.

Hank is terribly annoying. Or is that just me?

Ugh, James.

The best part of the episode was a crushed Benjamin Horne watching a video of him as a kid when his father opened the Great Northern.

Yeah, it's not completely horrible, but gosh, not good right now...

[Milky Joe]

But you love it anyway, yeah? That was my experience.

[chrisnu]

Hank is terribly annoying. Or is that just me?
Not just you. Leo is also horribly annoying.

[elixir]

Okay, when the is the show going to get good again???!!?

2.12-2.14

James' storyline is literally the stupidest thing this show has ever done. Yes, even worse than Nadine punching out Hank--didn't think that could be topped, but it was. Really wretched stuff.

The little Nicky stuff is insanely dumb as well.

Ugh, Leo, JUST DIE ALREADY. JUST DIE.

Ben Horne being in this fantasy world of the civil war is at least not boring and sometimes a bit of fun! But...still...

Also, this is NOT the Audrey Horne I know and love. She would not hang around Bobby so much either!

Um, perhaps with Windom Earle showing up, things will get better.

[Russ]

Okay, when the is the show going to get good again???!!?

2.12-2.14

James' storyline is literally the stupidest thing this show has ever done. Yes, even worse than Nadine punching out Hank--didn't think that could be topped, but it was. Really wretched stuff.

The little Nicky stuff is insanely dumb as well.

Ugh, Leo, JUST DIE ALREADY. JUST DIE.

Ben Horne being in this fantasy world of the civil war is at least not boring and sometimes a bit of fun! But...still...

Also, this is NOT the Audrey Horne I know and love. She would not hang around Bobby so much either!

Um, perhaps with Windom Earle showing up, things will get better.
They do. Slowly but surely. However, I think you still have to weather the whole "Save the pine weasel" fiasco. Once you make it past that low-point, the show starts a steady climb back up to respectablility.

[Sycophant]

I'm sorry. I tried to warn you. We all think "I'm gonna be the one that really gets this show and I'm gonna love the whole second season!" And then it actually happens and death.

Here is the episode where the show is good again, if you really wanna find out (according to me):
Final episode. The only good episode the show has left.

Penultimate episode is maybe kind of ok.

Everything else from here on out is utter shit.

Windom Earle gives us some of the show's worst moments.

[Winston*]

I'd always thought I'd seen all of the second season but looking at this thread I don't think that's the case.

[elixir]

2.15-2.17

It's getting better, but it still isn't the same as the first season/beginning of second season.

Thankfully, that awful awful awful James storyline is gone. Nadine is still there and annoying.

Pine weasel at the end of the show? Really? Some scenes just feel like a bad sitcom or soap opera, depending on what it is.

It is getting better though, with at least some intriguing developments...

Oh, and wtf with Josie and the drawer nob? Whaaaaa?

[elixir]

2.18-2.20

In the past three episodes, it's gone from okay to good to pretty good, so it's definitely on the rise. Will probably watch the last two episodes and maybe the movie tomorrow.

Windom Earle is just too cheesy (?) and annoying for my liking.

The last few episodes have had truer emotions that have been missing from prior eps, like scenes with Audrey and her dad and between Bobby and Shelly, among others.

Heater Graham is hawt! Seriously, Dale Cooper and Annie would have magnificent babies.

BOB!

Yeah, I am now more invested to see how it ends than I was five episodes ago.

[elixir]

Okay, finished the show.

In one word: FRUSTRATING.

The last two episodes were really good, and that long Black Lodge sequence was insanely awesome and the kind of stuff I love from the show. Just really great stuff there. I must mention the stupidity of the Donna storyline--why? JUST WHY? Really don't see the point. Of course Nadine's storyline still continue for whatever reason...ugh. But back to the main thread, that was really good BUT

THE ENDING? What am I supposed to say here? I was just like, really? and then sort of shrugged. I don't know what to say...just...I'm not sure it really adds anything besides of whaaaaa? from me.

The show did finish up pretty well and I'm glad to have watched it for that Black Lodge sequence alone, but the first 17 episodes were the best, especially the extremely consistent first season (but that doesn't really wrap up, so yeah, the first 17 episodes).



At its highs, the show was magnificently great, but it did have some very bad and length lows. Will probably watch the movie soonish.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'd always thought I'd seen all of the second season but looking at this thread I don't think that's the case.

This is exactly what I was thinking.

At the risk of alienating myself, I just never really got into Twin Peaks. Don't get me wrong, I adore Lynch and there are various moments in the series that are permanently etched in my memory banks, but I greatly prefer Lynch when he's being a showman (Mulholland Dr.) or perverted (Eraserhead). TP always felt a little neutered to me. Almost Lynch-lite.

Love that theme song though. I also love that moment when the police chief forces an entire donut in his mouth, and of the course the llama.

[elixir]

This is exactly what I was thinking.

At the risk of alienating myself, I just never really got into Twin Peaks. Don't get me wrong, I adore Lynch and there are various moments in the series that are permanently etched in my memory banks, but I greatly prefer Lynch when he's being a showman (Mulholland Dr.) or perverted (Eraserhead). TP always felt a little neutered to me. Almost Lynch-lite.

Love that theme song though. I also love that moment when the police chief forces an entire donut in his mouth, and of the course the llama.

Well, it is network television, and for that--and its time--it's more out there than most (come on, that first dream sequence must have alienated lots of people!). I do agree, I think Mulholland Dr. is better, but I wonder if he would have gone farther if he could have--or if he did exactly what he wanted? He was also part of a team with Mark Frost, and isn't he a more conventional guy?

Anyways, so my idea is that Lynch should do a show on HBO (or Showtime). That would be awesome. And he should make another feature film, as well...

[Spaceman Spiff]

And he should keep releasing singles.

[Barty]

Alberts speech out of nowhere is one of the greatest things Ive ever seen.

[Bosco B Thug]

Brilliant show. So very smart and filled with satire.

Favorite characters: Audrey Horne (a duh), Bobby Fucking Briggs (I really hope someone out there enjoyed him as much as I did; he is the embodiment of high school age), and the rest (Cooper of course... any character/phantom figure played by Sheryl Lee John Carpenter's Vampires someday and like it a lot more because I know now it's Laura Palmer]... Ben and Jerry Horne... Piper Laurie as Catherine Martel's pretty hilarious..).

Spoilers - would you believe the only thing I didn't like was the resolution to the Laura Palmer mystery? Pretty much attributing it all to the BOB hogwash? Maddy Ferguson's being offered up a quickly forgotten sacrificial lamb? Leland Palmer's rather trite last rites? Windham Earle and the Black Lodge stuff kind of sucked too (until the last episode of course).

Most annoying characters: definitely Leo and his face. I thoroughly enjoyed all of Nadine.

[Mysterious Dude]

I just finished this show. I shouldn't have watched the last episode at 11:30 at night. Laura Palmer's screams will haunt me forever.

[Russ]

I just finished this show. I shouldn't have watched the last episode at 11:30 at night. Laura Palmer's screams will haunt me forever.
IMO, the finale is unquestionably the highlight of Lynch's TV work. Plus, the tone is much darker than the series in general, and is actually a lot closer to FWWM. However, it's a real slog just getting through the second half of Season 2, so I guess the finale can be viewed as a well-earned reward for perseverance.

[Mysterious Dude]

I wish they had done the finale episode earlier, because I think...

Cooper becoming possessed by Bob...presented a lot of interesting story possibilities, instead of what we got: all the amnesia and coma stories and the Miss Twin Peaks contest.

[dreamdead]

I loved the first season, but I'm stuck two episodes into the second season. I feel strangely as though I've already seen the best of the series; this makes me want to return to the show.

[Grouchy]

Yeah, somewhere in the middle of the second season I started wondering if I should stop watching... but the finale is very much worth it.

EDIT: If you are only two episodes in, though, YOU HAVE to keep watching. You still haven't seen The Best Episode of Anything in the Entire History of Television.

[chrisnu]

EDIT: If you are only two epiodes in, though, YOU HAVE to keep watching. You still haven't seen The Best Episode of Anything in the Entire History of Television.
Which episode is this?

[Grouchy]

Which episode is this?
The one where we discover who killed Laura Palmer, obviously.

[D_Davis]

I wish they had done the finale episode earlier, because I think...

Cooper becoming possessed by Bob...presented a lot of interesting story possibilities, instead of what we got: all the amnesia and coma stories and the Miss Twin Peaks contest.

Totally agree.

[MadMan]

I started watching the show on Instant Viewing tonight. The first episode has me hooked, I'm going to view the second episode and stop there for now until I start up again later after work. Agent Cooper's eccentricities are endearing, and Truman is a good sidekick/sheriff. I'm not sure how I feel about the other characters just yet, although its so weird seeing Laura Flynn Boyle acting like an innocent high school girl considering how the rest of her career turned out, heh.

Love those opening credits, too. So peaceful and yet creepy, all at the same time.

[Lucky]

So I started watching this on Monday. Halfway through the first season right now. I'm actually surprised this show hasn't been carbon copied throughout the years. I love the concept--a mystery revolving around a quirky small town and its inhabitants--more than the actual show right now, but it usually takes me awhile to warm up. I hear that the quality takes a dive during the second season which is understandable as I don't see long term potential here, but the run is short enough that I'm committed to finish regardless.

I would be intrigued to see this show "remade." FBI agent comes to a small town to solve a mystery, nail that Simpsons/Parks & Rec/Twin Peaks character vibe, give the case a season to conclude, and take the agent to a new town the next year. Some town inhabitants could even make crossover appearances from season to season, but the majority of the cast would change a la American Horror Story. The vibe could even slightly shift from year to year...one year could be a little funnier, one year could incorporate the surreal elements, etc. I'd watch it.

[Lucky]

Oh, and I knew the theme song before this, but I have to comment on how great it is. And I like that it's used as score throughout the episodes as well. Really takes advantage of its haunting appeal.

[D_Davis]

I loved the first season, but I'm stuck two episodes into the second season. I feel strangely as though I've already seen the best of the series; this makes me want to return to the show.

You haven't seen anything close to the best yet.

[D_Davis]

You guys just starting off are watching the pilot first, right?

Is that on instant view?

[Lucky]

You guys just starting off are watching the pilot first, right?

Is that on instant view?

Yep. It was a double 2 hr episode.

[D_Davis]

Cool. For years the pilot was completely unavailable, even when the DVDs were finally released.

I had to order an import bootleg of it. I also have DVD version of the European cut, which turned the pilot into a complete movie with an ending.

[MadMan]

I finished Season 1 a while back and I'm currently on Season 2 (the fifth episode). Season 1 was amazing, and I loved how it concluded, too. Cooper getting shot was a huge shocker.

Once I finish the series I'll be watching Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me next. I'll have to rent that via DVD from Netflix, though.

[Lucky]

Finished Season 1. Add me to the "like, not love" camp. My thoughts essentially echo Rowland's on Page 1. I don't find that conscious awareness of using soap opera cliches make the applied cliches any more appealing. Melodrama only works for me if the characters are engaging enough to carry the show and don't rely on the superficial plot devices. The entire town of Twin Peaks has introduced me to only a handful of characters I give a damn about. At least Audrey Horne has good taste. She seems as bored as I am with these townspeople and is attracted to the other best character in the series.

[Lucky]

Man, that guy is creepy. End of the S2 premiere and climbing over furniture in Madeline's vision...I'm actually a little uneasy right now watching those episodes back to back.

I liked the love triangle's song, too.

[MadMan]

The episodes levels of creepy are why I had to take a break for a while. I don't like weird Lynchian inspired dreams, man :P

[number8]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT.


“Twin Peaks,” the ABC series that was a forerunner of today’s offbeat serialized cable dramas, is coming back to life with nine new episodes to air on Showtime in 2016.

Sources say series creators David Lynch and Mark Frost are working away on the scripts, with Lynch planning to direct all nine episodes. Showtime declined to comment.

The episodes are expected to bow in early 2016, which would coincide with the 25th anniversary of the show’s demise after two seasons on ABC in 1990 and 1991. The new segs will be set in the present day and continue storylines established in the second season. Sources emphasize that the new episodes will not be a remake or a reboot but will reflect the passage of time since viewers last checked in with key characters.

http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/twin-peaks-revival-to-air-on-showtime-in-2016-1201322329/

[slqrick]

Wut.

Guess I should really get around to finishing the second season.

[Kurosawa Fan]

They teased this a couple days ago, but I wasn't expecting an announcement so soon. Looks like I have plenty of time to revisit the series. My wife has never seen it. This should be all the motivation she needs.

[EvilShoe]

Holy shit. Did not expect this to ever happen.

[Morris Schæffer]

Never seen the original, but even to me this sounds a bit odd. Will this not tamper with the original? Will it be a new case in the same town? Or attempt to solve the palmer case after 25 years?

[Sycophant]

There's a whole lot of unresolved stuff. It could go any number of directions, but the series left itself in a place where it was broadening its scope and opening up whole new questions.

If it wasn't Lynch and Frost basically doing all the writing and planning for it, I'd be really skeptical, but I'm actually excited.

[Pop Trash]

I'm skeptical but I would be down if they have new characters that occasionally cross paths with the og "Twin Peaks" cast.

[number8]

I just think it's absolutely incredible that the final episode keeps its promise.

http://ghostradio.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/2447681-6300856111-a_0ai.jpg

This has got to be the longest cliffhanger resolution in television history.

[Russ]

http://youtu.be/S7FKaLYLOug

[dreamdead]

I'll echo the many who now feel compulsion to finish out the second season. Surprised but excited by the announcement and rumors actually turning out to be true.

[D_Davis]

The last few episodes of the 2nd season are the best of the series.

I'm not all that excited about this. It's just another cable company wanting me to pay for a subscription to their service, which isn't going to happen.

If they ever end up on Netflix streaming, or available to stream online I'll watch. But it won't get me to get cable television.

I'd actually rather see a new movie. It'd be cool to book end the entire saga with films.

[ledfloyd]

I'm just excited that Lynch is directing something again. It's been 8 years.

[Russ]

But it won't get me to get cable television.
Fuck that noise. Showtime, please sign my ass right on up (and cancel my subscription when the series is complete).

[Spinal]

I'm amused by the header for this Guardian article (http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/oct/06/twin-peaks-returns-weve-waited-long-enough) which says "David Lynch has a chance to answer all our questions."

Have they ever seen anything by David Lynch? Answering questions is not really his thing.

[D_Davis]

I know, right? If anything, his stuff has become even more ambiguous since Twin Peaks.

[Grouchy]

This is the single most exciting piece of news in entertainment I have ever heard.

8, that was my... fourth thought as well. My first three thoughts were primigenial screams of joy.

[Ezee E]

Haven't seen a scene of this. So, may as well get to it.

[Dukefrukem]

Haven't seen a scene of this. So, may as well get to it.

Same here. But if MC loves it, it must be good. Amirite?

[Mara]

I watched the first 3-4 episodes of this years ago but then people on the internet started yelling at me that I was watching it wrong, and then there was a huge argument when I asked the right way to watch it, and honestly it just became too much work.

I might just accept that however Netflix has it is right enough for me and try again.

[D_Davis]

I watched the first 3-4 episodes of this years ago but then people on the internet started yelling at me that I was watching it wrong, and then there was a huge argument when I asked the right way to watch it, and honestly it just became too much work.

I might just accept that however Netflix has it is right enough for me and try again.

Unfortunately, for many years the only way one could watch it was the "wrong" way, because the pilot was OOP and completely unavailable. Not sure if that's what they were referring to, but starting the series without seeing the pilot really isn't worth it. When it was first released on DVD, the only way to get the pilot was to order from a Korean manufacturer, on a terrible DVD with the sound phased because of a poor conversion from the PAL VHS. I still can't believe that they released a television series on DVD without the initial 1.5 hour episode that set everything up.

[quido8_5]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT.



http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/twin-peaks-revival-to-air-on-showtime-in-2016-1201322329/


!!!

I think concerns raised about the show actually having a pretty phenomenal ending, currently, are valid. Having said that, if Lynch can maintain high involvement, I doubt that this won't be impressive. We'll probably get a new set of questions along with any answers we're provided in the new season. Plus, in the linked article, Frost says straight up that 25 years figures heavily into the plot.

The fact that about half the cast gets wiped out in the finale doesn't hurt for a fresh start, either.

[Russ]

The pilot is on Neflix and on the blu ray box set.

What made it even more confusing for so long were the two different versions. For overseas distribution (as a feature film), Lynch was contractually obligated to include footage to "wrap up" the mystery, so to speak. That one is the "international" version of the pilot and was intended to be a stand-alone release and thus, not part of the series, per se.

Netflix is showing the original pilot, which is what you want. The blu ray box contains both.

Also, for some reason, the pilot has never been included in the episode numbering sequence. So, the second episode (the one right after the pilot) is always referred to as Episode 1, the third as Episode 2, etc.

All clear now? :)

[Grouchy]

Wow, seriously? How does one watch the series without the pilot? It's feature movie lenght and like Davis says, it sets absolutely everything up.

I don't know how Netflix has it, but the right way to watch it is with Log Lady intros activated.

[Russ]

To preserve everyone's sanity, Netflix lists the episodes in a more "correct" sequence, ie., 1 is the Pilot, 2 is the second episode, etc.

Whew!

The log lady intros, while interesting and yes, they were shot by Lynch, they are not essential. The were not part of the original ABC network broadcast, but were filmed for the series' subsequent re-broadcast on the Bravo channel. They are included in all the box sets and, I suspect, will also precede the original series when Showtime airs it.

[Russ]

Wow, seriously? How does one watch the series without the pilot? It's feature movie lenght and like Davis says, it sets absolutely everything up.

I don't know how Netflix has it, but the right way to watch it is with Log Lady intros activated.
Didn't mean to give that impression. The original pilot was definitely part of the series. You should never watch the series without starting with the Pilot (the original version, NOT the International version; they are two different creatures)

[Qrazy]

I absolutely loathe the end of the show so I'm glad it's coming back.

[quido8_5]

I absolutely loathe the end of the show so I'm glad it's coming back.

Because it was depressing and hopeless or another reason?

[Grouchy]

I absolutely loathe the end of the show so I'm glad it's coming back.
No, the ending is fantastic.

It's the episodes in between the resolution of the main mystery and the last two that are borderline unwatchable at times.

[Qrazy]

No, the ending is fantastic.

It's the episodes in between the resolution of the main mystery and the last two that are borderline unwatchable at times.

No, it sucks. Agent Cooper going to the Lodge is good. The very end with him banging his head on the glass is fucking stupid. It's Lynch at his laziest thematically pontificating about how even the best of us are susceptible to the demons within.

[Russ]

No, it sucks. Agent Cooper going to the Lodge is good. The very end with him.... .
Spoilers, please, Q. Obviously lots here who haven't seen the series.

[Spinal]

Since this will be on Showtime, obviously there will be no restraints on adult content. I'm wondering if it will be closer in tone to the movie than the original series.

[Qrazy]

Spoilers, please, Q. Obviously lots here who haven't seen the series.

My bad, sorry about that.

[Spinal]

I think after another 25 years, we can just not worry about spoiler tags.

[Grouchy]

No, it sucks. Agent Cooper going to the Lodge is good. The very end with him banging his head on the glass is fucking stupid. It's Lynch at his laziest thematically pontificating about how even the best of us are susceptible to the demons within.
Bob is an evil spirit. He possesses people. I don't find anything "pontificating" about that.

[Russ]

I think he was making what we humans call "a joke".
Hence my deleted post [/slow on the draw]

[Melville]

The last episode is a big step up from all the crap episodes preceding it, but it's not great. The haphazard killing-off of characters felt like a 'fuck you' to the show, the way Annie disappeared felt awkwardly contrived—why would Cooper and the police not do something to cancel the beauty pageant when they knew Windom Earle was going to attack there?—and the possession/doppelganger of Cooper doesn't work for me. Bob is compelling so long as he operates simultaneously as an evil spirit and as an abstract symbol of the capacity for evil; the death of Laura Palmer is interesting and tragic because it's a murky mix of freaky metaphysics and real sexual abuse of a daughter by a father. But Cooper is basically devoid of ethical flaws, and he only ends up possessed because he sacrifices himself for the woman he loves. While it feels like it should have the meaning Qrazy ascribes to it, that meaning doesn't work with Cooper's character or how his possession occurs.

[Melville]

Since this will be on Showtime, obviously there will be no restraints on adult content. I'm wondering if it will be closer in tone to the movie than the original series.
I hope so. Great movie. Great show too, but the best episodes (e.g., the pilot and "Lonely Souls") were closer in tone to the movie than they were to a lot of the show's other episodes.

[quido8_5]

The last episode is a big step up from all the crap episodes preceding it, but it's not great. The haphazard killing-off of characters felt like a 'fuck you' to the show, the way Annie disappeared felt awkwardly contrived—why would Cooper and the police not do something to cancel the beauty pageant when they knew Windom Earle was going to attack there?—and the possession/doppelganger of Cooper doesn't work for me. Bob is compelling so long as he operates simultaneously as an evil spirit and as an abstract symbol of the capacity for evil; the death of Laura Palmer is interesting and tragic because it's a murky mix of freaky metaphysics and real sexual abuse of a daughter by a father. But Cooper is basically devoid of ethical flaws, and he only ends up possessed because he sacrifices himself for the woman he loves. While it feels like it should have the meaning Qrazy ascribes to it, that meaning doesn't work with Cooper's character or how his possession occurs.

I find Cooper more in the vein of a Levin or Alyosha type hero who is utterly pure only because he's willing to acknowledge absolute evil. The fact that, at least currently, evil doesn't win and Cooper is now (we must assume) causing nothing but either pure good or pure evil. For instance, the seeming shark-jump of the beauty pageant makes total since, in that Cooper is trying to prevent good but certainly not down with changing fate. The pageant has to happen for political reasons, but more importantly for spiritual-warfare purposes.

[Qrazy]

Bob is an evil spirit. He possesses people. I don't find anything "pontificating" about that.

It just did not strike me as a satisfying conclusion to everything that came before.

[quido8_5]

It just did not strike me as a satisfying conclusion to everything that came before.

Oh, it's certainly not satisfying. It's so unsatisfying that people have been searching out satisfaction for almost exactly a quarter of a century.

[Grouchy]

Oh, it's certainly not satisfying. It's so unsatisfying that people have been searching out satisfaction for almost exact a quarter of a century.
Pretty much, yeah.

My take on it is that the show had already jumped the shark. It was beyond saving. What I love about the final episode is how it creates a thousand more mysteries instead of actually solving the plot threads.

And let's not even talk about Josie ending up stuck inside of a door handle...

[quido8_5]

And let's not even talk about Josie ending up stuck inside of a door handle...

Yeah. There's no way that's a satisfying afterlife.

[Grouchy]

Yeah. There's no way that's a satisfying afterlife.
It would be beyond awesome if she came out of the fucking door knob 25 years later, first scene of the first episode.

[MadMan]

I loved both the show and the movie. I'm finally now wondering how the new series will turn out after spending weeks going "Holy shit yes Twin Peaks is coming back fuck yeah awesome!"

[Spinal]

This interview with Sherilyn Fenn (http://www.avclub.com/article/sherilyn-fenn-talks-david-lynch-and-how-twin-peaks-200898) was published several months ago, but it contains some neat trivia that I had never heard before. She says that the germ of an idea for Mulholland Dr. started as an intended spin-off for Audrey Horne. Also, she says that Heather Graham and Billy Zane were added to the cast because Lara Flynn Boyle, who was dating Kyle MacLachlan, was getting jealous of her screen time with Agent Cooper.

[D_Davis]

I think after another 25 years, we can just not worry about spoiler tags.

Not on the Internet.

[Spinal]

I've been rewatching this in the past week. I'm up through the reveal of Laura's killer. And I have to admit that I'm not really a fan of one of the show's most iconic characters: The Log Lady. There are so many of Lynch's eccentricities that feel completely organic to me. Dancing midget ... no problem. Prophetic giant ... totally on board. Malicious force of evil named Bob ... makes sense to me.

But there's something about the way the Log Lady is written (or maybe performed) that doesn't ring true to me. It feels like a place where Lynch is actually guilty of some of the unfocused strangeness of which he is often accused.

I had also forgotten how Miguel Ferrer owns every scene he's in. The show could have used some more Albert.

My head's been spinning trying to think of where they'll take the show next.

[Spinal]

Anyways, so my idea is that Lynch should do a show on HBO (or Showtime).

Heh. Nice call.

[Spinal]

I would love to see Lynch and Frost bring back both Lara Flynn Boyle and Moira Kelly to play Donna Hayward and then find a way to rationalize it in their universe. Make one the shadow self of the other or something.

[number8]

Oy. David Lynch has left the project. They're trying to decide if they'll even do the revival now.

http://www.businessinsider.com/report-twin-peaks-revival-canceled-by-showtime-2015-4

[EyesWideOpen]

Showtime is saying they are still in negotiations. Sounds like a power play by Lynch to get more money.

[Russ]

!!! (http://welcometotwinpeaks.com/news/18-new-twin-peaks-episodes-angelo-badalamenti-washington-state/)



The forthcoming third season revival of Twin Peaks on Showtime will now feature 18 episodes, all directed by David Lynch, reports Welcome to Twin Peaks.

Series stars Sherilyn Fenn and Sheryl Lee reportedly revealed the information during a Twin Peaks panel at Crypticon in Seattle this weekend, according to various sources.

Lynch, who co-created the series and directed a number of episodes including the pilot and Season Two (then series) finale, will co-write the episodes with Mark Frost, his co-creator, who will write a companion book set during the missing two decades-plus between seasons.

Original series composer Angelo Badalamenti will reportedly compose new music for the series, and Twede’s Cafe in North Bend, Washington, will be restored as the original Double R Diner set.

The series had originally been expected to run for nine episodes, which would be directed by Lynch, with the possibility of more down the line if the series was successful. Lynch briefly walked away from the project when budgetary negotiations with Showtime broke down, but recently came back with an unspecified amount of additional work to do on the show.

[Peng]

http://i.imgur.com/35T914Bl.jpg

[Russ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfPv57KBpJI&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

[Irish]

Showtime confirms Sherilyn Fenn will return

https://deadline.com/2016/01/twin-peaks-sherilyn-fenn-cast-audey-showtime-1201678613/

[Yxklyx]

I think it was updated recently - imdb now shows a cast of 6 including Balthazar Getty (i.e the young lead from Lost Highway).

[number8]

Full cast list. Whoa. This list is insane.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/TP222222.png

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/tp.png

[number8]

Trent Reznor and Eddie Vedder. WTF is this.

[Irish]

This smells like a Thin Red Line-style clusterfuck of celebrity.

[Spinal]

Michael Cera? Come on now.

And did they shoot scenes with Catherine Coulson before she died?

[Henry Gale]

I don't even know where to start with half of those names.

I mean, we go from Monica Bellucci and Jim Belushi back to back, to David Duchovny, Sky Ferreira, Robert Forster, Ernie Hudson, with L.A. comedy-affiliated people like Stephanie Allynne, Josh Fadem and Brett Gelman thrown in there for good measure.

And that's just page one.


Michael Cera? Come on now.

They recently passed a showbiz law (motioned by Netflix and Imgur trolls) that he has to be involved in all revivals of beloved properties with cult followings. He's gonna make a great Gilmore Guy.

[Russ]

No Michael J. Anderson?

[Winston*]

Michael Cera? Come on now.

And did they shoot scenes with Catherine Coulson before she died?

I could see Michael Cera doing well in a Lynch thing. Have you seen Magic Magic?

[Spinal]

I could see Michael Cera doing well in a Lynch thing. Have you seen Magic Magic?

No, but since it has Juno Temple, I probably should.

[Winston*]

No, but since it has Juno Temple, I probably should.

She is incredible in it.

[Morris Schæffer]

Watched the very first episode. Instant grabber!

The town reminds me of Alan Wake or even more of "Hope" the place where Stallone and Dennehy have that "quarrel". It's immensely atmospheric, slightly askew, the characters and actors are colorful, slightly daft.

I understand season 2 does a 360 and isn't quite as good so I hope that is not true.

Also, this thread is nearly 10 years old.

EDIT: Indeed, that cast list!!!

Shit, this is going to be TV event, 27 years later, many of the same characters!

[Russ]

Showtime President and CEO David Nevins announced the official release date for the network’s much-anticipated series: May 21. He went on to say, “The version of ‘Twin Peaks’ you’re going to see is the pure heroin version of David Lynch.” (http://www.indiewire.com/2017/01/twin-peaks-release-date-revival-david-lynch-showtime-series-1201764259/)

And I thought I was the King of Hyperbole! :)

I'd be hard-pressed to think of any other corporate President/CEO's that would use the words "pure heroin" as an adjective in describing the rollout of their new product.

[Morris Schæffer]

It's funny how you never see an actor for ages and then WHAM! he's sort of everywhere.

I'm currently watching Penny Dreadful and David Warner has a brief stint as Professor Van Helsing.

I'm also watching Season 2 of Twin Peaks and lo and behold "also starring David Warner as Thomas Eckhardt".

The middle episodes of S2 are indeed a chore, but it's picking up now with the Windom Earle business. That said, I will be glad when I've staggered through this second season.

[Morris Schæffer]

I was going through that cast list again, and it seems Robert Forster may play the Harry Truman role since Michael Ontkean won't be back.

[Morris Schæffer]

Extreme weirdness in the last episode of Twin Peaks, 22.

Is that really how it ended for audiences back in 1992? Or should I watch the movie Fire Walk with Me to see the continuation of the story?

[Idioteque Stalker]

Fire Walks W Me is a prequel. Worth a watch considering you're fresh off the series.

[Milky Joe]

Yes that is really how it ended, with a hour long cavalcade of some of the most Lynchian oddness ever put on the small-screen.

FWWM is one of Lynch's best works. Definitely watch it. It's a prequel like Idioteque said, but it definitely expands the universe and gives clarifying backstory/context for what happens in the series. Also it has David Bowie and Kiefer Sutherland.

[Morris Schæffer]

Yes that is really how it ended, with a hour long cavalcade of some of the most Lynchian oddness ever put on the small-screen.



With, now that I think about it, poor Leo Johnson still awaiting death by Tarantula. I do not see his name in the cast list so we may never know Leo's fate. :D

Cool trivia which I just dug up, Eric Da Re is the son of Hollywood actor Aldo Ray.

[Morris Schæffer]

https://youtu.be/LB2naaQZbfI

Seeing all these aged and withered faces is going to be weird, emotional and fascinating.

[Peng]

Just finished the series!

The pilot is great; same beguiling atmosphere as Blue Velvet, but with the added benefit of not needing to wrap up itself within one feature length, so the seeping in of dark surrealism and unease can feel more invitingly slow-burn, natural and intoxicating. One lovely thing that is pure Lynch is having one lingering, unexpected grace note among the montage of darkness and terror at the end: Donna's warm and tender interaction with her dad about soothingly mundane stuff (returning a bicycle I think).

As much as I loved Lynch direction in this series (the third episode of the first season is so great) though, there is already a hint on the much talked-about slump in the second season premier, where Lynch's direction elevates some blander material A LOT, including Donna's inexplicable personality change. I'll give it that last scene though, so memorably creepy/terrifying. Then it just remains OK, slightly lesser than the first season, until Lynch kicked it into high gear with 2.7 and the storyline resolving so well two episodes after. (By the way, just in the first episode he appears, Lynch's Gordon Cole is just the most delightful darnedest character ever)

And then it's seven straight episodes of pure suckage. It's really amazing how immediately and totally the show nosedives after Laura Palmer storyline, and has yet to recover even once, until there's a a slight merciful shift after James' and Josie's stories end. I do admire how Diane Keaton directs the heoric hell out of the worst material during that stretch though, even if it doesn't make a difference. And then it gets... more tolerable, until two episodes before the finale where it's actually good again. During that stretch, there are only two things that I unwaveringly like the whole way through: Andy/Lucy and Gordon Cole. Everyone else has gone character shifts or reversals, with Audrey Horne being almost unforgivably blanded down.

That finale though... I just finished it and I think my heart stopped about 3 or 4 times, with those noises and screams, and those contorted faces pushed up against the screen! Some of the most unsettling, quietly and deeply disturbing images/sounds ever (this aired on network TV???). Might be my favorite of the series, but it helps though that I already know for a long time about how "it doesn't solve anything".

[Grouchy]

I only watched Twin Peaks once all the way through. We started it originally with three friends, and then a few friends of friends got caught up and we all got together and marathoned it, enduring most of the second season thanks to massive consumption of pot and chatter.

On the day we got to the final episode we were five people, I think, and it was the house of a guy I barely knew. It was an old house and it was the first time we watched it there. We were appropriately disturbed by it and we were discussing the madness of the entire series when the conversation turned to the host talking about his brother who was in prison at the time. Only one of us knew the story since he was close with the guy so he explained it for the rest of us - apparently his older brother had accidentally killed their father in a violent fist fight years ago.

I still vividly remember that as one of the freakiest nights of my life.

[Morris Schæffer]

I found the last episode faintly disturbing, but agonizingly close to silliness too.

[Russ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjDa-_Vq51I

[Sycophant]

Rewatching this in anticipation of next week. Definitely planning to skip episodes 10-20 (or so) of the second season. Just watched through S2E4 tonight... and man, I forgot how bad it gets immediately after Lynch's direction of the first two episodes of season 2. It drops HARD. I forgot how many of the bad season two plotlines started so early.

Watching this show, it's just tragic how much potential was squandered on a hot lot of nothing. The people who took the show over (writers and directors) after Lynch stepped away just didn't seem to understand the show at all.

[Peng]

Finally caught up on the Twin Peaks-verse before the new season! I guess this is not exactly TV but since I already posted my thoughts during the show here...

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

Can't imagine this working without the show, per some recommendations floating around. The first half hour in particular I am ambiguous about, but would likely feel exasperated in a hurry if I don't have the context of the show to counter that (stuff like Lynch's Gordon Cole shouting, the using of supernatural/superstition as clues, etc.). Not to mention many things in the Twin Peaks section that would feel like too many random character throw-ins and baffling elements (plus spoiling of the show, although that's another matter) that would seem less "Lynchian" and just plain confusion.

As one who has completed the two seasons though, I am glad to be immersed in this town yet again (after the too-long prologue), albeit in a darker, bleaker, and more viscerally upsetting mode than the show. There's nothing quite like Kyle MacLachlan followed by the Twin Peaks music kicking in to ease you back, before ramping it up with the heartbreak that is Laura Palmer's life.

There are some unwelcome weirdness/humor that is reminiscent of late season 2, like goofy Bobby backing away from Laura at school. But for once, Lynch channels his brand of surrealism and dreamy/nightmare-ish logic into a very focused depiction of downward spiral of abuse, both allegorical and literal, propelled by dark forces both outsides and within Laura Palmer. The show already provides an ending to this film, so what make the film not mere puzzle-like predictability, but more of a tragic inevitability, are Lynch's direction and Sheryl Lee's intensely vulnerable performance. Her Maddie during the show really doesn't prepare me for the utter psychological force she's able to wring out of Laura Palmer here. Her depiction of Laura's increasing alienation while her face always a mask of confusion and fear, excepting a few stunning grace notes of the happiness that were, is going to haunt me for quite some time.

Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces

Enjoyable enough for a collection of deleted scenes assembled chronologically. Some unnecessary in the first place (Agent Desmond), some cute (Diane) or nice world-building (Twin Peaks people going about), some adding to FWWM's heartbreak; it's clear that many Laura-related scenes are cut to make her downward spiral and alienation more total, but I think the scenes of Laura's few unguarded moments of happiness (the three Palmers' only pure joyful scene together, the Hayward family's kindness towards her) make our foreknowledge sting all the more. And then some are just tantalizing mythology, like the Black Lodge and (!!!) the final deleted scene that really adds to Season 2 more than FWWM (continuing just a tiny bit past the last scene in the Season 2 finale, and tying the finale and FWWM together).

[Watashi]

I'm powering through this show for preparation for the new season. Is it okay if I stop watching after they resolve the Laura Palmer storyline, wikipedia the rest of the episodes and then watch the finale? I've already been spoiled on the finale's disturbing climax thanks to people using images as avatars on this site and over on RT.

[Peng]

I would say it gets good two episodes prior already. At the very least watch the penultimate episode and the finale together.

[Russ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgXLEM8MhJo

[Dukefrukem]

Can I watch Fire Walk with Me before anything?

[Peng]

Not recommended. It's already weird, but many instances would probably feel like random incoherence without the context of the series.

[Dukefrukem]

Isn't it a prequel?

[Peng]

Yeah, but it leans on our series knowledge of the characters and how the supernatural/spiritual stuff works in this world quite a bit. The series gradually lets you in on it, while this one just assumes and charges straight ahead.

[Russ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWa0dZMHYeE

[Idioteque Stalker]

Fire Walks w Me is a prequel but it still spoils revelations from the show. It's also not as strong as the show imo.

[Dukefrukem]

Alright. I guess I'll get around to watching this. Always wanted to.

[Yxklyx]

So how's the new season?

[Spinal]

So how's the new season?

Opinions seem to vary. I think it's wonderful.

[Spinal]

It kind of goes downhill around the middle of the second season. But still ... Heather Graham ... The final episode finally finds a way to inject new life into the series, but alas, it was too late to save the show.


Once they bring on Cooper's nemesis, Windham Earl, it really picks up. The final 7 episodes are pretty damn amazing.


I just rewatched the series. D_Davis was right. There are really only about 4 truly bad episodes in Season 2, stuck in between the two major story arcs. I think I was overly dismissive way back in 2007.

[Sycophant]

I really can't agree with that, also having rewatched it about a month ago. I thought season two was less awful than I remembered, but still really quite awful. Windham Earle is a really weak villain. The show's direction mostly goes down the toilet, and the sense of community falls apart as each character grouping gets locked into its own little sinkhole of a plotline with an increasing sense that weird things happen for the sake of weird things happening. The mystery surrounding various elements becomes far too neat as it's revealed, turning what was dark and mysterious into the minutes from a frenzied game of child's make believe in the woods.

[Skitch]

I just rewatched the series. D_Davis was right. There are really only about 4 truly bad episodes in Season 2, stuck in between the two major story arcs.

I just watched the series for the first time, and I agree. Except I think it was more like 6 or 7, and I didn't think they were bad really they just didn't add anything to the main arc, which was confusing. We just wandered around Twin Peaks for a stint. But admittedly, it may have been from impatience while plowing through episode after episode for weeks.

[Dukefrukem]

Almost done Season 1, i think i have two episodes left. This is the most bizarre thing I've ever watched.

[Grouchy]

Almost done Season 1, i think i have two episodes left. This is the most bizarre thing I've ever watched.
Hah! You have no idea what's coming your way.

[Dukefrukem]

Hah! You have no idea what's coming your way.

The last time someone said this I had just finished Season 1 of Breaking Bad.

So.... :)

[megladon8]

Ok so I’m watching this for the first time.

Random query - the town is presented as being a “small town”, everyone knows everyone type of thing.

But...the town sign shows the population being more than 50,000.

That’s...not a small town. Not even close.

Am I missing something?

[Milky Joe]

There's no f'n way there's 50000 people in that town, which mostly seems to consist of a Cafe, a Hotel, and the Sheriff's station

[megladon8]

There's no f'n way there's 50000 people in that town, which mostly seems to consist of a Cafe, a Hotel, and the Sheriff's station

Seriously.

There’s a small town outside of Ottawa called Carleton Place. It has its own Walmart Super Center, two major supermarkets, a Lowe’s, a Home Depot, a Canadian Tire, multiple fast food restaurants and countless other stores, hotels and eateries.

And their population is, like, 10,000.

There is no effing way that Twin Peaks has a population of 50K.

Is it some inside joke I’m not getting?

[megladon8]

Spoke about this with Kurosawa Fan, and he pointed me to an article explaining the reasoning behind it...

TL;DR - studio meddling. (http://www.twinpeaks.tv/2011/07/trivia-twin-peaks-population-sign.html?m=1)

I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed this immediately :D

[Peng]

It is happening again... or is it?

Maybe unreliable rumor site (https://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/showtime-bring-twin-peaks-season/?fbclid=IwAR1VcaTzUzgchtdcrAAT iRc73TpcY0DK89g63hs7iNNNo41OvH WVQibfJR8), but then...

Michael Horse (Deputy Hawk)'s instagram post (https://www.instagram.com/p/B3DdOqFllAJ/), and:

1179034350559432707

[Skitch]

50k in that town?? No way. That town seemed smaller than mine and thats saying something. I really dug original series. Need to see extra movie.

[Yxklyx]

There's no f'n way there's 50000 people in that town, which mostly seems to consist of a Cafe, a Hotel, and the Sheriff's station

The school scenes fit in with a 50K population city. Building size, class size, etc... It's just the way the series was filmed that makes it feel smaller. In FWWM you get a better sense of its actual size.

[Milky Joe]

This is very good.


https://youtu.be/7AYnF5hOhuM