Twin Peaks

(1990-1991, 1501 min) I still remember the night the pilot aired – April 8, 1990. Two days earlier I had just turned 14 and was at that age when I’d probably rather be out vandalizing the neighborhood and pretending to smoke cigarettes than spend a Sunday night with my dad watching some crappy nighttime drama. I was preparing myself for the latest version of "Falcon Crest" or something equally horrible. But Dad put his foot down, muttering something about the fact that one of the world’s greatest living directors had his own TV show.

I will forever be in his debt for making me stay in that evening… plus he let me have a pony bottle of Rolling Rock while we watched. Don’t tell the Feds!

Coming from a fiercely artistic family I was already well aware of the films of David Lynch. Dad had taken me to see Blue Velvet and I was still young enough to think that Dune didn’t suck, but it was "Twin Peaks" that changed my life forever. Hell, my brother and I even forced our family to film a HI-8 remake of the pilot while vacationing in Massachusetts… with disastrously awesome results. We also joined an organization called COOP (that’s Citizens Opposed to the Offing of Peaks) once we learned of the imminent cancellation. And yes, COOP failed.

Few remember what a sad state television was in before "Twin Peaks." I mean, this was a whole different universe compared to the world of "Major Dad" and "L.A. Law"! Not only had television never been so daring and original before, it had never been so weird! If you can show me any pre-"Twin Peaks" show featuring anything close to dancing Dwarves, backwards dialogue, a lady with a pet log, hearing impaired FBI agents (played by Lynch himself) and mind-bending hallucinations I’d be impressed.

Of course, the copycats came almost immediately. Some were bombs (Oliver Stone’s "Wild Palms") and some enjoyed more success than "Peaks" ever would ("Northern Exposure" and "The X-Files").

Getting to the show itself, the First Season (episodes 1-8) is essentially flawless. The episodes directed by Lynch himself stand up to his best theatrical work, and the rest ain’t too shabby either. You all should be familiar with the basic plot, but for you newbies out there, here goes: homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) is found brutally raped, murdered and wrapped in plastic. This shakes the entire town and nearly every citizen is a suspect. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan at his best) is sent to the town to investigate. From his eccentric mannerisms (constantly speaking to his assistant Diane through his tape recorder, or using a rock-throwing exercise to weed out potential murder suspects) to his endless appetite for “damn fine” coffee and cherry pie, Cooper is quite possibly the most original television character of all time.

From one-armed men and eye-patch-wearing housewives to agoraphobic horticulturists and homicidal truck drivers the cast of townspeople encompasses what could be the greatest ensemble this side of an Altman film. The only other show in recent memory that so completely creates a believably rich town environment is "The Simpsons"... and that's a cartoon so it doesn’t count! In the world of "Twin Peaks" you feel just as satisfied watching the supporting cast as you do the stars… except for maybe that abused wife that James Hurley shacked up with in Season Two. She freakin’ sucked.

Speaking of Season Two… the first 9 or 10 episodes are just as good as Season One. Beginning by concluding the amazing season-ending cliffhanger, the two hour season opener (again directed by Lynch) is nothing short of stunning. The Kubrickian final minutes as Ronette Pulaski (Phoebe Augustine) awakes from a coma gave the 14-year-old me nightmares for weeks. Some complain that the Laura Palmer storyline took too long to resolve itself, and to those people I kindly quote Mr. Axl Rose: “All you need is just a little patience.” The slack is soon picked up by an excellent plot thread involving Agent Cooper’s insane ex-partner and the race to a gateway to what may be another world called The Black Lodge. Knowing that the show would not be renewed, Lynch was able to indulge himself at the end of the series without worrying about ratings. And man, did he indulge! If you thought Inland Empire was weird, try watching the last episode of "Twin Peaks"! Who knows where the series would have gone if it would have continued? I like to think that it would somehow involve Pete Martell (Jack Nance) fronting a gangsta rap group with The Giant (Casey Struycken) as his DJ. Hey, this is David Lynch we’re talking about here!

To this day, I still watch the entire series at least once a year, always starting in the fall. Last year we started a "Twin Peaks" drinking game taking a shot every time Sarah Palmer (Grace Zabriski) screamed or a doughnut was eaten. I even judge people based on their comprehension of random "Peaks" references peppered into my conversation. If you give me a wink after I order my coffee “black as midnight on a moonless night” chances are that we’re going to be pals. I like to think it is not a coincidence that every one of my closest friends is a huge fan. I also like to think that they would not be my friend if they weren’t. If you haven’t seen this series yet, you need to. If you’ve already seen it, watch it again. Does the quality fade towards the end? Yeah, maybe a bit. But that’s like saying “Being a millionaire used to be so great, now it’s just alright.” Be thankful for what you have, folks. It’s not going to be there forever, and when it’s gone all you’re going to have is "Northern Exposure"… and that’s just sad.

– Jesse Short

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