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| Photo PMCarlson 2018 Snoqualmie Falls |
Diane, 11:30 AM, February 24th. Entering the town of Twin Peaks, five miles south of the Canadian border, twelve miles west of the state line. I’ve never seen so many trees in my life. Pilot Episode: Northwest Passage Aired April 8, 1990
Many have recently started to expressed interest in binge watching Twin Peaks. Those of us who watched it back in the 90's and then had to wait 25 years to see Season 3, can offer some advice, give you no answers, suggest preparatory guidance on how to experience it in full via a chronology of seasons, films, and books. There are 48 episodes that will enchant you, haunt you, confuse you, and leave you with many more questions than answers.
Full disclosure: Twin Peaks is not an easy watch. The movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is brutal. Everyone experiences it differently based on life experience. Some may see the quirks, others may be triggered by events on the show. David Lynch and Mark Frost created a masterpiece enjoyed by many and understood by few.
You first hear the music of maestro Angelo Badalamenti and you're pulled in and you don't quite yet understand why. You see a quant Pacific Northwest town and meet some of the characters you will grow to love and loathe: Pete and Catherine Martell, Josie Packard, Sheriff Truman, Lucy and Andy, and Doctor Hayward. And then you meet Laura Palmer.
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| Photo PMCarlson |
There are puzzles, symbols, strange mottos, disturbing realizations, secret societies and clubs, and yet, in Seasons 1 and 2, you never "meet" Laura Palmer, save for a short video of Laura and Donna in earlier times. Not until Fire Walk with Me do you see Laura alive. However, Laura remains the central premise from the pilot episode through to the last scene of episode 48. But it is also more than just Laura, of course. It's about small towns, secrets, victims, and circumstance.
So what makes Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks and why is there such a cult following? At the time of it's release, it was like absolutely nothing else on TV. Many of its viewers who fell victim to it's intrigue were in their teens who could identify with the younger characters. It was a naughty show filled with guilty pleasures and felt forbidden. For those who obsessed, David Lynch and Mark Frost provided further insight with the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and the film, Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me, filling in some storylines and history of Laura herself. The most controversial thing about the show was never the violence ... it was the fact that Lynch and Frost were making a victim heard and seen and how the true crime is those who do nothing to stop the violence when they know its happening.
The tag line for the show in every promo was Who killed Laura Palmer? However, when you start to delve into Twin Peaks, you'll find there are many more questions that you'll have. Now welcome to the world of David Lynch where answers are not easily given, if ever at all. Season 2 is vastly different in style and feel. And Season 3 will just create havoc within your heart and psyche. (You can read my reaction to Season 3 here). There are other plots and curiosities of course besides Laura that drove the three seasons, all unique, some heartwarming, and others that will leave you questioning your perception of reality.
You're experience versus mine? I don't know what you're personal Twin Peaks experience will be. My experience was what David Lynch and Mark Frost had in mind ... I waited 25 years. (When you get through Season 2, this will make sense). I felt like I was part of the story all along, like our collective waiting and maturing experience was a part of the script for Season 3. Keep in mind again, these aren't what you're used to in regards to television episodes. They aren't packaged up and tied with a bow. You have to do the work and at least try to make sense of what's going on. Really, Twin Peaks is about the experience and the journey. It's a show that, when it ends, you will have varying reactions and / or realizations. You may be satisfied, you may hate it. BUT if you make it to the end of Season 3, please read the companion books after the credits roll. You will have many of those burning questions answered and also gain historical insight into the town and its people...but at this point in the story, do you?
- Watch Season 1 and 2
- Read the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer
- Watch Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
- Optional step: Wait 25 years
- Watch Season 3
- Read The Secret History of Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier
Books
- Laura's Ghost: Women Speak About Twin Peaks
- The Essential Wrapped In Plastic: Pathways to Twin Peaks
Music from Twin Peaks
- Soundtrack from Twin Peaks
- Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
- Twin Peaks: Music from the Limited Event Series
Web resources
- Welcome to Twin Peaks https://welcometotwinpeaks.com/
- 25YL https://25yearslatersite.com/category/twin-peaks/
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