Twin Peaks... Why it's Perfect
You know, this is... Excuse me... a DAMN fine cup of coffee.
Hello again. Let me start by saying it is GOOD to be back. I took a (not so) brief hiatus for the holidays. I really wanted to decompress and spend time with my family before returning to New York. (I’m lying! I could not think of anything to write!) I did, however, enjoy the holidays and family time. I also realized that my link for the Spotify Wrapped Playlist just brings you to your own Spotify Wrapped playlist, not mine. Well that ship has sailed, so if you need a shortcut to your own playlist, hit that link, I guess?
As I arrived home for the holidays, I was in between shows. The White Lotus (so good, shoutout Mike White aka Ned Schneebly) had just ended and I was looking for something to really sink my teeth into. My roommate and I were discussing potentially starting Twin Peaks. Unfortunately for me, I did not have Paramount Plus. So we just never watched it. When I got home I felt like it was time to just bite the bullet so I could start the show. I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into. All I knew about Twin Peaks prior to watching it was that 1) It was weird. 2) It was very popular. and 3) David Lynch made it. I was not a particularly big fan of David Lynch prior to watching Twin Peaks, mainly because I just had not seen his work (I know that’s a sin coming from someone who writes about movies and TV, I’m working on it). The main draw for me to watch the show was that it was weird. I love weird shit. I was not however, expecting the show to be as weird and as exceptional as it was.
Twin Peaks came out on ABC in 1990. The pilot episode was made as a two hour (90 minutes with no commercials) “movie of the week” in case the rest of the series was not picked up (cable, am I right?) We now know that the series WAS picked up and it became a massive success. After its original run of 2 seasons containing 30 episodes, David Lynch then directed a movie in 1992, that serves as a prequel, titled Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. 25 years after the movie, a “3rd season/revival” titled Twin Peaks: The Return was released on Showtime. So, if you plan on watching Twin Peaks, the original series is on Paramount Plus, the movie is on HBO Max, and the third season is on Showtime. It is a real headache, but it is so worth it.
I just finished the Showtime season yesterday. After about 44.5 hours of content in under a month I can confidently say that Twin Peaks is easily in my top 5 shows of all time. The show has so much depth, and the characters are so well crafted, I was hooked immediately.
The show has so much going on it is honestly hard to spoil it because even the answers raise questions. So feel free to read on because I don’t really spoil anything.
The show follows the citizens of the small town of Twin Peaks, Washington. The body of model student and prom queen Laura Palmer washes up on the river shore. The police force and citizens are searching to find “Who killed Laura Palmer?” As the show goes on, the layers begin to unfold, and the secrets of the town begin to come out. Around the midpoint of the pilot, a young, chipper FBI Agent named Dale Cooper arrives in Twin Peaks to investigate Laura’s murder. I will dive deeper into Cooper’s character shortly. Every character is related to this murder in one way or another, whether big or small. There are so many individual storylines happening all at once. The show starts as a standard murder mystery, but gets so much more cryptic as it progresses. I don’t want to give too much away because I want you to watch it, but the main turning point from typical murder mystery to surreal, strange, Lynchian television is in the third episode, where Dale Cooper has a dream that begins to unlock clues as to what happened to Laura Palmer. For context, here is what the dream sequence looks like.
This is the scene that got myself, and the majority of Americans watching the show when it was airing, hooked. The risks Lynch and show runner Mark Frost took for cable television proved to pay off tenfold, considering its cultural significance and popularity. As Twin Peaks progresses it gets even more strange, and by then, you can’t look away.
Our protagonist, Federal Bureau of Investigations Special Agent Dale Cooper is, in my opinion, one of the best television characters of all time. He is so likable. When people talk about male characters that “film bros” look up to, it is always carries a negative connotation because the characters in question are Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, and Leo’s depiction of Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street. I would like to make a case that Dale Cooper is the ultimate character that the “film bros” SHOULD be looking up to. He only cares about a few things. Coffee, pie, doing his job, and being respectful/kind to everyone. I knew I would love the show because as soon as he arrives in Twin Peaks, he does not act like he is better than the local police force, due to his status as an FBI Agent. He works extremely well with the Sheriff and their friendship is one for the books. He also stands up for the locals when some of his rougher FBI colleagues arrive to help in Twin Peaks.
Twin Peaks can go from laugh out loud comedy to pure horror in the snap of a finger, which blows me away. The lore of the show goes way deeper than you would expect. I finished the show feeling satisfied and I am still learning more and more about it, just by reading the Wikis and watching videos that attempt to dive deeper into the story. The beauty in the show is not knowing everything, but still feeling like it pays off.
I cannot recommend this show enough. I hope at least one of you watches it and feels the same way. I could spend the rest of this time talking about the genius of David Lynch, but there is no shortage of writing and videos that do that already. Before I go, I should mention, there are A LOT of characters (as seen on the thumbnail). At first, it can be a little overwhelming, but they are all so eccentric and once you’re familiar with them you will root for some, root against some, and just be excited to see where their journeys go.
Anyway, thank you for reading, I will try to get something new up soon, pending inspiration.
With that I will leave you with this…
Try to not get this stuck in your head.
Until next time.
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-CJ
fantastic👏👏👏adding to the watch list