June 2020 Patreon podcasts: LOST IN TWIN PEAKS #17 - Season 2 Episode 9 and LOST IN THE MOVIES #68 - Twin Peaks Cinema: Peyton Place (+ Twin Peaks Reflections: Harold, Nancy, Harold's house, the woods, Harold and the diary/The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, La Dolce Vita & more)

No film is as deeply related to Twin Peaks' origins as the fifties melodrama Peyton Place, part of the pitch made to (rather than by) David Lynch and Mark Frost when their mutual agent suggested they write a nighttime soap opera together. When they screened the film - although their agent may have had in mind the later spin-off TV series - they didn't find it particularly illuminating. However, my return visit this month for the main podcast's "Twin Peaks cinema" coverage yielded many interesting connections (and contrasts; sometimes those differences-within-similarities are the most fascinating elements of all). The overlap seemed especially sharp given this month's Twin Peaks Reflections focus on Harold for character, location, and storyline - there's a somewhat Harold-like character in Peyton Place although, ironically, he's played by a young Russ Tamblyn (i.e. Dr. Jacoby)! A brief clip of Tamblyn's dialogue plays in my Opening the Archive section (I used it to kick off Journey Through Twin Peaks years ago) but most of the podcast's back half is taken up by previous work on La Dolce Vita, which I was unable to highlight when I covered that Fellini film on my October podcast.

Episode 68: Twin Peaks cinema - Peyton Place (+ Twin Peaks Reflections: Harold, Nancy, Harold's house, the woods, Harold and the diary/The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, La Dolce Vita & more)

My Lost in Twin Peaks podcast reaches a milestone by concluding the Laura Palmer investigation, which calls for another two-parter. The first part introduces us to the production, television, historical, media, and fan context of episode 16...

Lost in Twin Peaks #17A: S2E9, Part 1 (Arbitrary Law/"Episode 16")

...while the second part dives into the story itself while teasing out the ambiguities and complexities of Twin Peaks' race to the finish. Please let me know your own thoughts on this complicated, frustrating, and fascinating episode; I look forward to sharing them as future listener feedback.

Lost in Twin Peaks #17B: S2E9, Part 2 (Arbitrary Law/"Episode 16")

Finally, while the full mystery-resolution arc is available to my $5/month tier, I'm opening another earlier episode up to all patrons: the first non-Lynch entry of season two.

NOW AVAILABLE: Lost in Twin Peaks #11 ("Episode 10") open to all patrons

I'm hoping to introduce a public podcast in July (if things go as planned, which - given how this month has gone - means you should probably expect the debut in August or September if we're lucky). This will be composed, at least throughout 2020, of previously recorded material sliced into much smaller episodes built around a single film at a time. I have further ambitions for this project but for now, of course, it's time to get back to Journey Through Twin Peaks. Hopefully I'll have something ready on that front soon.

Podcast Line-Ups for:

Lost in the Movies #68

INTRO 

MONTHLY UPDATE (recently published): Twin Peaks Unwrapped 5th anniversary celebration

MONTHLY UPDATE (upcoming): Twin Peaks Unwrapped (ep. 14, season 3 madness, maybe ep. 16), Mad Men season 4 viewing diary, Twin Peaks character series, deleted Unicorn Store review, Journey Through Twin Peaks - other collaborators & Mark Frost

TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS: Nancy, Harold / Harold's house, the woods / Harold and the diary + The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer

TWIN PEAKS CINEMA: Peyton Place

OPENING THE ARCHIVE: La Dolce Vita essays/video essays + video clips from projects, short excerpts from other pieces, inclusion on lists, etc. (+ one video clip on Peyton Place)

OUTRO

Lost in Twin Peaks #17A

INTRO

THE OPENING OF THE EPISODE

DIRECTOR/WRITERS

PRODUCTION & TV CONTEXT

(when it aired, ratings, surrounding shows)

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

(#1 movie: Home Alone, world events including potential talks with Iraq & overthrown dictator in Chad, TIME cover: junk mail)

MEDIA COVERAGE

including extended excerpts from a piece on the first season & a behind-the-scenes book

FAN RECEPTION

w/ Usenet quotes, dugpa forum comments & my personal reaction

THE FEEL OF THE EPISODE

Lost in Twin Peaks #17B

"PREVIOUSLY ON" RECAP

THE STRUCTURE OF THE EPISODE

WHO KILLED LAURA PALMER?

(new clues, the big picture)

SCENES ORGANIZED BY LAURA STORY
Murder investigation / Family & Leland-Bob / James / Donna / Spirituality / Harold & secret diary

SCENES ORGANIZED BY NON-LAURA STORY
Ghostwood deal & Saw Mill fire / *(forgot to mention the Teresa Banks case!) / James & Donna / Lucy's pregnancy / Cooper's past / Norma's mother
new: Mystery of the woods

LOCATIONS

CHARACTERS

COFFEE, PIE & DONUTS

(+ other food & smoking)

THE UNCANNY

WHAT IS TWIN PEAKS?

WHO IS AGENT COOPER?

WHO IS LAURA PALMER?

READINGS FROM MY OTHER WORK

LOG LADY INTRO & NEXT TIME PREVIEW

(*I meant to say Leo not Leland at the end)

FAN SPECULATION

(from Usenet & dugpa)

SPOILER SECTION

(for future episodes)

EPISODE RANK, UPCOMING RATINGS & CHARACTER MILESTONES

READINGS FROM MY OTHER WORK

(+ observations on mid-season 2 & Fire Walk With Me)

EXCERPT FROM GREIL MARCUS' ESSAY ON TWIN PEAKS