When I look back on all these archive chapters, I can see not just the surface subjects but where I was at that time, both personally and geographically (either living or visiting)...the New Hampshire library in summer, the New York apartment in autumn, the Boston workplace (break room of course!) in winter, the Los Angeles backyard during the holidays, the Florida house in spring, the Yosemite cabin during another summer. This short chapter opens with a context that I shared with readers: while visiting my cousin in Seattle, I took a day trip just a half-hour from the city and visited the locations where Twin Peaks was shot. This was the perfect way to mark a time characterized by commemoration, in which I re-published pieces on Peaks that had been written for other forums, started reading archive pieces aloud on my podcast, concluded my one-year-later retrospective of The Return, and bookended this period with reflections on my archive to celebrate Lost in the Movies' tenth anniversary.
Subjects include the left-wing summer sleeper Sorry to Bother You, Medium Cool on the fiftieth anniversary of the Chicago protests, the reaction to future congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's surprise primary win, the structure of Twin Peaks as a TV series, and rescued-from-limbo readers comments on The Wire, whose first season I'd just finished reviewing.
The highlight of this period is Patreon update #37: FREE Public 10th Anniversary Videos and preview of Get Out review in which I convert my twenty-ninth episode into a highly-illustrated public video (a semi-slide show format), looking back on a decade of my online work.
JULY
My podcast commemorates a full decade of Lost in the Movies
I finally make the pilgrimage to Snoqualmie and North Bend in Washington State, and share my photos of where Twin Peaks was shot
I cover one of the most exciting episodes of The Return as well as a brand new political superstar, and my "Opening the Archive" section begins a new approach, highlighting individual pieces from my past
When I realized that many comments from the past few months had been prevented from posting, I shared them - revealing thoughtful insights into The Wire, The X-Files, Twin Peaks, and more
The Return rewatch covers Audrey's comeback while "Opening the Archives" delves further into the British New Wave
AUGUST
Rugby and arm wrestling are the sports of the week on my podcast
My longest podcast episode covers one of the most memorable parts of Twin Peaks, a popular left-wing film of the moment, and a Swedish vampire book and adaptation
Death defines my podcast both through this Twin Peaks episode and the "Opening the Archive" vampire remake
For the fiftieth anniversary of the 1968 Chicago protests, my podcast reviews Haskell Wexler's counterculture document, while my Return rewatch juxtaposes Cooper and Diane in a very important episode
SEPTEMBER
One of my longest podcast episodes is devoted entirely to the two-part finale of The Return
Several years later, I finally share extended responses to ten episodes I rewatched after completing my Journey videos
I decided to republish Reddit comments from a 2016 rewatch, presenting them as a spoiler-free guide for first-time viewers of the series
The pilot almost seems to exist in a parallel universe, where there are no more episodes and the premise remains forever suspended in mystery
The charm of getting to know the characters and the town
Twin Peaks hits its most Wild at Heart as David Lynch steps in again
The conclusion of the first phase, full of frustrated longing
Creating a sense of Twin Peaks as a community full of little corners to explore
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S1E6 "Cooper's Dreams"
It's useful to view this episode through the two characters most important to the show: Cooper and Laura
It's useful to view this episode through the two characters most important to the show: Cooper and Laura
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S1E7 "Realization Time"
The writers weave a web that makes the whole community feel connected
The writers weave a web that makes the whole community feel connected
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S1E8 "The Last Evening"
Mark Frost's episode is fast, action-packed, and centered around areas of public community
Mark Frost's episode is fast, action-packed, and centered around areas of public community
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E1 "May the Giant Be With You"
Refreshing if you can relax and let the episode (like the waiter) guide you into the correct frame of mind
Refreshing if you can relax and let the episode (like the waiter) guide you into the correct frame of mind
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E2 "Coma"
Whenever I think of my favorite scenes from this stretch of episodes, most are from this hour
Whenever I think of my favorite scenes from this stretch of episodes, most are from this hour
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E3 "The Man Behind Glass"
Who is this girl Laura Palmer, what did loved ones misunderstand about her life, and what impact does her outsize legacy have for the people left behind?
Who is this girl Laura Palmer, what did loved ones misunderstand about her life, and what impact does her outsize legacy have for the people left behind?
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E4 "Laura's Secret Diary"
The episode is doing stealth work, trying to build an audience for mostly non-Laura-related stories
The episode is doing stealth work, trying to build an audience for mostly non-Laura-related stories
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E5 "The Orchid's Curse"
This is a show all about crossing boundaries and the confusion and occasional clarity these transgressions unleash
This is a show all about crossing boundaries and the confusion and occasional clarity these transgressions unleash
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E6 "Demons"
Lesli Linka Glatter delivers the best evocation of the supernatural/eerie/uncanny this side of Lynch
Lesli Linka Glatter delivers the best evocation of the supernatural/eerie/uncanny this side of Lynch
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E7 "Lonely Souls"
A case could be made for the episode's climax as Lynch's finest work, although the following scene in the Road House is equally superb in its own quiet, devastating way
A case could be made for the episode's climax as Lynch's finest work, although the following scene in the Road House is equally superb in its own quiet, devastating way
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E8 "Drive With a Dead Girl"
Twin Peaks takes a turn toward the Hitchcockian
Twin Peaks takes a turn toward the Hitchcockian
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E9 "Arbitrary Law"
Probably my strongest piece in this Companion, reflecting my ambivalence about this crucial, dynamic episode
Probably my strongest piece in this Companion, reflecting my ambivalence about this crucial, dynamic episode
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E10 "Dispute Between Brothers"
An episode so disastrous I find it kind of riveting
An episode so disastrous I find it kind of riveting
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E11 "Masked Ball"
For all the episode's flaws, the Josie scene feels like exactly what her story was supposed to be: a web of intrigue and desperation, rooted far away but amplified by the mood of the woods
For all the episode's flaws, the Josie scene feels like exactly what her story was supposed to be: a web of intrigue and desperation, rooted far away but amplified by the mood of the woods
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E12 "The Black Widow"
By now I regard this as a genuine camp classic
By now I regard this as a genuine camp classic
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E13 "Checkmate"
The episode begins and ends with a bang, several actually
The episode begins and ends with a bang, several actually
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E14 "Double Play"
Despite enjoying mid-season 2 more than usual on this rewatch, this episode brought that appreciation to a grinding halt
Despite enjoying mid-season 2 more than usual on this rewatch, this episode brought that appreciation to a grinding halt
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E15 "Masters and Slaves"
This and the previous episode may be the twin valleys of Twin Peaks
This and the previous episode may be the twin valleys of Twin Peaks
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E16 "The Condemned Woman"
A face on the sheriff's desk, a face on the breakfast table, a face in...a drawer pull?
A face on the sheriff's desk, a face on the breakfast table, a face in...a drawer pull?
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E17 "Wounds and Scars"
Lots of understated, masterfully controlled long takes and camera movements which really contribute to the episode's "room to breathe" feel
Lots of understated, masterfully controlled long takes and camera movements which really contribute to the episode's "room to breathe" feel
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E18 "On the Wings of Love"
An abundance of charm, spilling over from one sequence in particular
An abundance of charm, spilling over from one sequence in particular
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E19 "Variations on Relations"
Remarkable how coordinated the story feels, with puzzles to solve and characters interacting
Remarkable how coordinated the story feels, with puzzles to solve and characters interacting
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E20 "The Path to the Black Lodge"
The pieces begin to come together here with a sense of an imminent climax and the Lynch iconography and Frost-fueled mythology finally merging
The pieces begin to come together here with a sense of an imminent climax and the Lynch iconography and Frost-fueled mythology finally merging
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E21 "Miss Twin Peaks"
This episode is nothing if not diligent: I don't think there's a single plot point missed as it marches toward the climax
This episode is nothing if not diligent: I don't think there's a single plot point missed as it marches toward the climax
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: S2E22 "Beyond Life and Death"
The Black Lodge is the best example of Lynch performing emergency surgery
The Black Lodge is the best example of Lynch performing emergency surgery
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: Preparing for Fire Walk With Me
I can't say for certain you'll like the film, but I CAN say it's an absolutely crucial part of the narrative
I can't say for certain you'll like the film, but I CAN say it's an absolutely crucial part of the narrative
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: Fire Walk With Me
In 1992, a Reagan Republican shifted the hero of his most popular story from a chipper, straight-arrow FBI agent to a traumatized drug-addicted teenage prostitute
In 1992, a Reagan Republican shifted the hero of his most popular story from a chipper, straight-arrow FBI agent to a traumatized drug-addicted teenage prostitute
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: The ending of Fire Walk With Me
Laura's pain is extremely real but so, ultimately, is her relief
Laura's pain is extremely real but so, ultimately, is her relief
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: The Missing Pieces
Like a collection of short stories circulating around the subject of a great novel
Like a collection of short stories circulating around the subject of a great novel
The show exists in the tension between the two poles of Lynch and Frost
TWIN PEAKS First Time Viewer Companion: episode directory
After posting every hour for thirty-five hours, I rounded up every entry, plus my viewing diary for season 3
After posting every hour for thirty-five hours, I rounded up every entry, plus my viewing diary for season 3
Accompanying my anniversary podcast with many images for a YouTube upload
The Full Archive for Lost in the Movies
Many chapters and years, summarized and with links to all the archive pages
Many chapters and years, summarized and with links to all the archive pages
Next: Finishing the Longest Year (September - December 2018)
(in which I wrap a year of weekly Patreon podcasts and finally catch up with my Fire Walk With Me essays)
•
Previous: The Spring of TV (March - July 2018)
(in which I wrap a year of weekly Patreon podcasts and finally catch up with my Fire Walk With Me essays)
•
Previous: The Spring of TV (March - July 2018)
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