All episodes & show notes for my podcast coverage of Twin Peaks season 3 part 7
June 18 - 24, 2022
(illustrations for storylines, character rankings, TIME cover & all categories)
LOST IN TWIN PEAKS #35: Season 3 Part 6 (The Return - "Don't Die") podcasts & illustrated companion
All episodes & show notes for my podcast coverage of Twin Peaks season 3 part 6
June 11 - 17, 2022
(illustrations for storylines, character rankings, TIME cover & all categories)
Mysterious Skin as Twin Peaks Cinema #14 (podcast)
This is a tale of two abused children who grow up into troubled young men. Brian Lackey (Brady Corbet) is a shy, reclusive UFO hunter and Neil McCormick (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a gay hustler; both of their far-apart lifestyles represent escape from and obsession with the trauma that fuels them. This of course reflects both the actual narrative of Twin Peaks, in which a fascinated detective hunts the secrets of a troubled young victim (although Brian, like Laura in Fire Walk With Me and The Secret Diary, is both detective and victim), and also the behind-the-scenes Twin Peaks meta-narrative, in which the creators discovered Laura Palmer's emotional depth only in the course of telling her supernatural mystery story. The duality of Mysterious Skin - two narratives connecting only in the end - is itself a very Lynchian structure. All of these observations, and much more, are developed in my lengthy analysis of the film, which also allows me to re-visit season three's relationship to the ending and legacy of Fire Walk With Me. Does the conclusion of Mysterious Skin present an alternative, more successful (if bittersweet) version of the older Cooper's alienated, bumbling attempts to bring Laura "home"? This podcast, one of the last I recorded for patrons (along with the episode I'll publish next month), is also one of the few Twin Peaks Cinema entries to document a movie influenced *by* Twin Peaks rather than working as a potential influence upon it (the director Gregg Araki is an avowed fan of Fire Walk With Me who would later cast Sheryl Lee in one of his movies). That lineage, and Mysterious Skin's complex weaving of denial, confrontation, and mythologization, make it an appropriate conclusion to the three-month "Traumatic Transformations" miniseries which incorporated Belladonna of Sadness and The Sweet Hereafter.
belated May 2022 Patreon round-up: LOST IN THE MOVIES patron podcast #91 - The Morning Show (+ feedback/media/work updates: Everything Everywhere All At Once, Belfast, Benjamin Franklin, Latin American history, The Office finale, Joan Chen's career, the Oscars slap, generational shifts, archive reading: making my movie Class of 2002 & more) + 7 TWIN PEAKS Character Series advances
Delayed almost a week by my work on Lost in Twin Peaks (which I discuss extensively at the outset), this exclusive Patreon podcast was supposed to be a relatively brief overview of recent activity. After all, I was covering a shorter period than in other recent updates. And I didn't expect the podcast to have an anchoring subject due to the time crunch as my deadline passed, the relative paucity of movies viewed this spring, and the conclusion of my "Twin Peaks Cinema" patron series in February. Nevertheless, Episode 91 blossomed into not only a lengthy discussion (over three hours, requiring my podcast recommendations to be shuffled off into a couple bonus mini-episodes), but also one with a nearly-fifteen-minute "film in focus" - or rather "series in focus" - at its center.
I came across the Apple TV series The Morning Show mostly by accident, and was initially turned off by what I heard (literally: my first exposure was audio from another room as someone else watched it). Yet I found myself slowly reeled in by the hook of season two, and soon I was making my way backwards into the story - in a show which is already itself structured around a major flashback. There is quite a lot to dig into: the coronavirus pandemic, the #MeToo phenomenon, the toxic "PMC" culture of media elites, and even similarities to Twin Peaks/Fire Walk With Me's storytelling arc. Fair warning: to meaningfully discuss the series in this context, I have to reveal major plot points of season one.
Elsewhere in this sprawling podcast, I offer shorter capsules on several films I did see during this time, reflections on recent awards ceremonies (including, yes, the notorious Slap), and musings about generational divides and commonalities - a subject of growing fascination - in literally every category of the episode including some introductory anticipation of a potential project as well as my conclusive archive reading about the making of my film Class of 2002...a selection that coincides with the twentieth anniversary of that class' graduation. And while I concluded my standalone "political reflections" section in March there's still plenty of commentary sprinkled throughout these various parts of the podcast as well (much of it as grim as what I ended with a few months ago).
Having spent my March and April patron podcasts catching up with the prior six months to a year of what I'd been viewing, listening to, and receiving as feedback, my (belated) May podcast catches up with what I've been consuming or working on in March, April, and May themselves. From this point on, the $1/month Patreon reward will be able to focus on just that particular month's film capsules, listener feedback, behind-the-scenes work, and other activity.
Meanwhile, alongside this regular recurring feature, I provided a new reward throughout May (it began a week earlier, with different intentions, in April). Going forward, I'll be sharing three new or revised Twin Peaks character entries each month for all patrons, well in advance of the eventual public series. In fact, within these entries I advanced more content than I usually would in May, since I was initially expecting a different schedule this month. Here's what you can currently read on Patreon...
TWIN PEAKS Character Series advance entries in May:
Finally, although I also cross-post these separately, no Patreon round-up would be complete with my highest-tier reward, the second part of my monthly Twin Peaks Conversations offered to $5/month patrons. In May, the exclusive discussion with Andreas Halskov, the Danish scholar behind TV Peaks and other Peaks/Lynch books and commentary, spanned almost an hour and a half, twice the length of the public introduction available on YouTube. In other words, two-thirds of the entire conversation is reserved for patrons at that tier (who always have exclusive access to at least half the material).
Podcast Line-Ups for...
LOST IN TWIN PEAKS #34: Season 3 Part 5 (The Return - "Case Files") podcasts & illustrated companion
All episodes & show notes for my podcast coverage of Twin Peaks season 3 part 5
June 4 - 10, 2022
(illustrations for storylines, character rankings, TIME cover & all categories)
Status update: "Remembering the Class of 2002" & getting ahead on Lost in Twin Peaks
Before I get to an update on my schedule, I've taken the opportunity of another anniversary - the twentieth for the high school class of 2002 - to re-share my short film from 2013, a "fictional documentary" titled Class of 2002. Due to technical issues back then, I never actually published the full, finished video on my Lost in the Movies YouTube channel; I only shared it in installments (prior to a few final revisions) at the time. Since I'm also having trouble accessing that other channel behind the scenes, this seems like a good moment to finally place that movie on the main feed. I've embedded it below.
As for the rest?
This will hopefully be the last time I need to provide a status update until at least July. Five of the last seven Fridays required such an update, often at least in part because I had some work I wanted to share (as with today) but more often because I needed to keep tabs on a schedule that getting out of hand (also as with today, although fortunately it's good news this time). Having gotten over the hump of the belated monthly Patreon podcast, the first couple weeks of Lost in Twin Peaks season three coverage, and other online and offline matters demanding my attention, I can now finally declare that I'm ahead of schedule again. After weeks of barely keeping up with the daily podcasts and falling behind on other work, I'm now two days ahead at the time of writing (Thursday morning) and ideally a bit more than that by the time you're reading this. My Part 5 podcast coverage is complete; once again, I'm posting the episodes early each morning (rather than the tail end of each day).
It's a slight head start but a welcome one, and you can keep tabs on my progress, as always, here. My goal is to be a month ahead on Lost in Twin Peaks by the end of June which will allow me to spread my wings and dabble in some other projects too (while still keeping at least a couple weeks ahead on the Peaks podcast). One of those projects may be the "Generations" video I spoke of quite a bit on my recent patron podcast. As a particular era designated in my "Seven American Generations" post draws to a close, I can't seem to escape this particular theme. Speaking of which...
Watch Class of 2002:
LOST IN TWIN PEAKS #33: Season 3 Parts 3 & 4 (The Return - "Call for Help" & "...Brings Back Some Memories") podcasts & illustrated companion
All episodes & show notes for my podcast coverage of Twin Peaks season 3 parts 3 & 4
May 28 - June 3, 2022
(illustrations for storylines, character rankings, TIME cover & all categories)
Status update: The House is Black on Wonders in the Dark, barely keeping up w/ public podcasts, Patreon delay
As June kicks off, I'm offering a quick update on my work that's been shared elsewhere, what's hopefully upcoming, and where I currently stand in my efforts to maintain some semblance of my planned summer schedule (already half-abandoned in the case of the TWIN PEAKS Character Series).
First of all, I've once again shared an older piece from my site on Wonders in the Dark as part of their annual "online film festival" - in this case, on the beautiful docu-poem The House is Black:
For more reading, you can explore the other films discussed as part of my Favorites series, for which this essay was originally written (the list was composed back in 2011, although most of the full reviews weren't composed until 2016). You can also check out my previous contributions to the Wonders festival: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised last year and Son of Man several years before that. And of course, the late Allan Fish's piece on The House is Black is what initially spurred me to see the movie and eventually make it my festival entry this year.
As for my present work, I have a lot on my plate today. Over the past week, social obligations around the holiday, offline work (with unusually long travel times), and the coincidence of several online deadlines have kept me struggling against a headwind to make progress. I'm three days behind schedule on the Patreon reward podcast, no days ahead on my daily Lost in Twin Peaks episode (as has been the case all week), and just a day ahead on the illustrated companion for Parts 3 & 4. In other words: "Not good, BOB!" (to mix TV references). Still, I'm going to try to keep up and eventually get ahead. The fifth anniversary of season three is too good to forgo (especially when it comes to discussion of then-current events in these podcasts) and I just don't feel ready to turn toward an entirely backlog-focused approach. A few more weeks of this may change my tune, though; we'll see.
For now: I have today and the weekend off so I will prioritize today's final episode on Parts 3 & 4, then the illustrated companion for tomorrow, and then the Patreon updates podcast which is already late (discussing what I've been watching, listening to, or working on for the past few months). When those are finally complete, I'll update my directories, figure out some logistics (and possibly do some work) on the next Twin Peaks Conversations episode for June, and begin work on the week of Part 5 episodes for Lost in Twin Peaks, hopefully getting ahead this time to the point where maybe before this weekend is over I can already be preparing that illustrated companion for next weekend. Anyway, in the meantime stay tuned for the publication of my round-up for Parts 3 & 4 episodes tomorrow (hopefully in the morning, but with a "watch this space" notice at 8am if it's not ready yet) and a cross-post for the belated May Patreon podcast, or else May's character series Patreon previews, on Sunday.
Here's to June being the month I finally get ahead on the Lost in Twin Peaks backlog...and maybe even some other projects too.
Interstellar (LOST IN THE MOVIES podcast #42)
In the heart of the 2014 "McConnaissance" - following the intense critical buzz of the iconic True Detective, the Oscar-winning prestige of Dallas Buyers Club, and of course those ubiquitous Lincoln commercials - Matthew McConaughey appeared in his biggest hit of all, the cerebral sci-fi blockbuster Interstellar. Popping up in the middle of a high-concept space travel bubble (Gravity premiered the year before, The Martian the year after), Interstellar was Nolan's first post-Batman project and his most direct attempt to marry a humanist sensibility to his fondness for more left-brained puzzle filmmaking. My podcast discusses the successes and shortcomings of this attempt as well as the peculiar mix of Nolan's vivid textures and not-particularly-striking compositions in what is one of his most gorgeous films. I've also included some feedback alongside a further response and, knowing how popular Nolan is, I would definitely be curious to hear where listeners place this in his filmography (both in terms of personal preference and Interstellar's relationship to his other works). This entry wraps up my fourth season of the Lost in the Movies public podcast, an anthology of directorial pairs (and one trio) by Jane Campion, Darren Aronofsky, and now Nolan. The next six months will also follow a theme, in this case classic Hollywood. Several full reviews and a couple capsule collections will draw on titles from the Golden Age, which I've mostly overlooked on the main public feed thus far.
Subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts
(and most places podcasts are found)
LINKS
by Allan Fish
(read the whole discussion, which is really good - it includes a comment by Stephen who, by coincidence, originally recommended the film when this podcast was recorded for patrons)
MY RECENT WORK
New on other podcasts
Twin Peaks Cinema - The Sweet Hereafter (Traumatic Transformations #2) / Illustrated companions (w/ individual podcast links) for Lost in Twin Peaks #31 on Fire Walk With Me + #32 & #33 (ongoing) on Season 3
New on YouTube
New on Patreon
(for $5/month)
(for $1/month)
Patreon episode for May was delayed.
New on the site
The Avengers (The Unseen 2012) / Summer schedule: Lost in Twin Peaks season 3 begins tomorrow, TWIN PEAKS Character Series postponed & the next conversation / Trouble with the Schedule (status update on Lost in Twin Peaks, The Unseen & more)
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