TWIN PEAKS Character Series (for the original cycle) • final Fandor video essay (on O.J.: Made in America) • Twin Peaks podcasts including The Return & The Final Dossier (Twin Peaks Unwrapped - "Lost in Twin Peaks", Obnoxious & Anonymous, Discourse Collective, The Lodgers, Twin Peaks Peeks, Beyond the Filter) • David Lynch films on podcasts (The Straight Story & Fire Walk With Me on Twin Peaks Unwrapped, Lost Highway on Fireside Friends) • Twin Peaks: The Return viewing diary • "5 Weeks of Fire Walk With Me" begins
Chapter 26: Awaiting the Good and Bad (November 2016 - January 2017)
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JANUARY
Read about this chapter
JANUARY
With Top of the Lake finished and the year of Twin Peaks about to begin, I dip back into a previous viewing diary for a few last observations, plus a long guest reflection
Discussing the documentaries on the Entire Mystery blu-ray on a podcast
My shifting relationship to the movies and my online work
Chapter 27: Characters Everywhere (January - May 2017)
Preparing for a year that will be dominated, almost exclusively, by Twin Peaks content
My Twin Peaks videos are highlighted by a guest post on the popular fan site, where I guide new viewers into their process and purpose
You know her as Laura Palmer, but here's a line-up of many other fascinating roles from the talented actress
Moving much of my video work to a new location
Kicking off the first version of this series, based entirely in the first two seasons and Fire Walk With Me/The Missing Pieces.
Onscreen for a few moments, they still left a distinct impression
"Hidden" in various ways (some are not so hidden anymore), these characters didn't meet my initial criteria for inclusion in a standalone study so they're rounded up here
The concierge with just a couple minutes of screentime
* = indicates when a title has been altered from its original publication to reflect its eventual inclusion in a Return-updated character series; hence the discrepancy of numbers from entry to entry
The March of Twin Peaks Concierges continues
The Great Northern's reigning waitress/pianist
Yet another concierge - but one who sticks around longer
FEBRUARY
A character who did end up returning in The Return - and whose actress jumped into the comments of this post to clarify a costuming question!
Our first villain pops up in the series
Everyone's favorite Twin Peaks character (to appear in a devil costume inside a thought bubble)
A nonchalant stranger comes to town and understands some things that more more enthusiastic visitors (and even residents themselves) don't
The exasperated Horne has a few brief but sharp appearances in the original series
Probably the biggest star to appear in the Twin Peaks world
The "Heavy Metal Youth" has a name, thank you very much (and even a theme song!)
Long before Mr. Jones, Twin Peaks featured another Dougie
He's already gone places, he just wants to stay where he is
Icelanders just want to have fun
Another Horne with emotional problems (they run in the family)
A woman who grows more compelling when she leaves her boss' shadow
The first collective entry - these individuals tell their own stories while also commenting on the larger story of the town
Updating and streamlining the site, with a new URL, backdrop, and commenting platform
The man with fire in his eyes
Disaster of all trades, master of none
The initial mystery girl, whom we hear about in the pilot, isn't seen until the end of the original Twin Peaks cycle
Norma's mother - or is she? (We'd have to wait until Mark Frost's second book to find out more...)
Josie's mysterious associate takes a long time to properly introduce himself
My last Fandor video looks at both halves of the Oscar-winning documentary's title - what does the film tell us not just about O.J. Simpson but also the society that created, worshipped, and criticized him?
The Deer Meadow sheriff is played by one of several Abraham Lincoln impersonators associated with Twin Peaks
The chauffeur has a lot he'd like to let you know...
MARCH
The FBI sends Internal Affairs to Twin Peaks (and facilitates a brief Mod Squad reunion)
Slow and steady delivers the message
An amusing background character in Fire Walk With Me becomes a callback to a throwaway line in the pilot
Here comes Dudley Do-Wrong
An authority figure who "gets" Twin Peaks - and yet...
As cowardly as he is sleazy
The rare individual who can pull off a smiley-face pin at a funeral
One of the few in mid-season 2 whom we can laugh with rather than at
Every rose has its thorns, as demonstrated by the madam of One Eyed Jack's
A singer who is never named, yet whose name we all know
One of the most treasured members of the Twin Peaks ensemble has surprisingly brief screentime in the original series
Twin Peaks' grand patriarch hides in his estate, plots against his ex, indulges in pointless games, and brokers international business while his town reels from tragedy. Seems about right.
Hyperhidrosis nearly undoes the poor sap
One of the few actors to be directed equally by Mark Frost and David Lynch
A survivor who kept coming back when her story was supposed to be over, revealing someone who just might be the key to Laura's arc as well as a compelling figure in her own right
His storyline subtly links Cooper to Leo and Leland
Another town father who isn't really there for his community, although his reasons differ from Andrew Packard's
From Mayor Milford to President Trump, Lana has certainly worked her way up the political ladder (if not much else can be said for that trajectory)
The shoe salesman sheds light on Twin Peaks' supernatural mythos (and, for that matter, the FBI's and sheriff department's rampant abuse of power!)
Even this seemingly placid character has a secret to conceal
Swooping in to sweep Audrey off her feet before returning to his home planet
CHEERFULLY SHOUTING HIS WAY THROUGH THE WEIRD, WILD, WACKY WORLD OF TWIN PEAKS!
What secrets bloom in Harold's hidden greenhouse?
APRIL
She has more screentime than the Log Lady or Gordon Cole in the original series, believe it or not
Snake sliters into a high spot on the combined strength of his early-season nastiness and late-season goofiness
Two in one, dividing Cooper's talents between them but unable to sync up
A whirlwind romance that leads to an ominous flashlit entry into Glastonbury Grove
Dapper Dick comes between Andy and Lucy for a bit of comic relief
A brother better appreciated for his culinary tastes than his legal skills
The town shrink is a quintessentially Twin Peaks presence although he'd probably rather be in Hawaii
The disingenuous hood makes an odd fit for Twin Peaks although I tend to appreciate his contribution more than many
You're (not) only eighteen once!
A supervillain undercuts the town's security - and the show's premise - from outside
The first of several pauses in quick succession; I couldn't keep up with the ever-longer character studies and the new season loomed on the horizon
His concerns are global. He rejects absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a message...is love. We love you, Albert Rosenfield.
Even before the dramatic, radical interventions of season 3, Sarah offered plenty of rich, compelling material to work with (resulting in what's probably my strongest opening synopsis)
An archly winking debut and a profoundly shocking exit
Exploring the skies above and the earth below
MAY
Another pause in my character series, still hoping I'd be able to finish it before The Return
Talking about my character series in another podcast segment
As the third season rapidly approaches, we offer some tentative speculation
Re-uniting and re-presenting my 2014 series after some time offline
Breaking down Lynch's convoluted, evolving worldview through both his work and his personal statements (a year before his Trump incident)
The last character study (before rebooting the series) covers not one but many characters in different manifestations
A podcast gathers Twin Peaks fans to discuss The Straight Story, one of Lynch's most unusual films (and one of my favorites)
The final pause in the character series, which did not actually resume for years
Chapter 28: Living in the Return (May - December 2017)
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Read about this chapter
Listing my top twenty-five pieces on the series (and its co-creator) before the third season
Podcast musings with the new Twin Peaks just days away
A few hours after the premiere of the 2017 season of Twin Peaks, I offer first impressions
I was drawn to the surreal fairy-tale texture of Part 3's opening passage
Getting used to Dougie as I stream the fourth episode (made available that first night with Parts 1-3)
As Twin Peaks continues to take over, a status update (including my introduction of a mobile template and an "About" page) offers my last non-Lynch content for over 7 months
JUNE
Analyzing early Twin Peaks from a sociopolitical perspective as a guest on a left-wing podcast
Underrated episode plunges into the ambiguous, yearning world of the titular small town as Peaks becomes a weekly show once again
Diane's cameo and a hit and run accident characterize this episode a third of the way into the season
Recording a follow-up podcast, what did we think about the likelihood of Cooper "snapping back" soon, how Laura and Audrey would enter the story, and who Richard and Linda were in June 2017, with Parts 7-18 still ahead?
A plot-focused episode with a hint or two of what's in store for the following week
...and then there was this hour, perhaps the most astonishing in TV history
JULY
During the two-week break I chatted with this podcast about what we'd just seen and what might be upcoming
A quiet return to The Return after the mind-blowing previous entry
Who's that knocking at Gordon Cole's door?
One of the strongest episodes of the season's latter half, with nonstop intensity for twenty-five minutes followed by a sustained comic Dougie-Coop story
Searching for The Zone as a guest on a new podcast with a cinephiliac bent
An episode that begins by demystifying soon becomes one of the most mystifying of all (welcome back, Audrey)
AUGUST
Living lives of quiet desperation in Twin Peaks
As the finale emerges on the horizon, the season doubles down on mysticism and dreaminess
Joining with a podcast that had been going for a few years, to discuss Monica Bellucci, Andy's trip & more
A film and a fork mark a turning point for our hero
Cooper's and Diane's stories provide a telling contrast in this episode
SEPTEMBER
As the finale approaches, one more conversation with the Unwrapped hosts...
...and one more conversation with a big group on YouTube (which continues for hours after my visit), including a guest appearance by season 3 producer Sabrina Sutherland to answer (and not answer) some questions
The third season of Twin Peaks concludes with a two-part enigma
Making plans as I digest the new Twin Peaks in the days and weeks after its finale
A lengthy, in-depth discussion of Twin Peaks, my first to release after the season's conclusion
Following up with the Discourse Collective podcast (this time joined by Chapo Trap House's Will Menaker) to cover Twin Peaks now that we've seen the new episodes
My first chance to comprehensively explore all three seasons of Twin Peaks together, since the series placed #2 in the Wonders in the Dark television countdown
OCTOBER
Remembering what led me to create the Journey videos (from getting back into the show to finishing Part 1)
Joining another commentator on a popular Peaks site for reflections on the whole season but particularly the finale
A series of posts to celebrate Fire Walk With Me's inclusion in the Criterion Collection (although three would be delayed until the following year)
Focusing on the film in my first appearance on this podcast since The Return's end
NOVEMBER
Honoring Fire Walk With Me as a standalone film, worthy of inclusion beside the other iconic classics of Criterion
Talking about Lynch's first L.A. film in light of #MeToo, O.J. Simpson, Meshes of the Afternoon, Mary Sweeney, The Return, Fire Walk With Me, and more
Mark Frost publishes another book, one last new piece of Peaks to talk about with this podcast
DECEMBER
Teasing an eventual sequel to my Twin Peaks video series
I was commissioned by Offscreen to write about the relationship of Frost's Secret History and Twin Peaks' new season
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