The TWIN PEAKS Character Series surveys one hundred ten characters from the series Twin Peaks (1990-91 on ABC and 2017 on Showtime as The Return), the film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992), and The Missing Pieces (2014), a collection of deleted scenes from that film. A new character study will appear every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday although patrons will have immediate access to each entry a month before it goes public. This entry is a preface surveying characters who won't get standalone treatment. There will be spoilers.
If you want to focus on new material only, • indicates additions to the original entry.
When crafting character studies, I knew I had to draw the line somewhere. Twin Peaks includes many who leave a strong mark, sometimes in just a few seconds, without uttering a single line of dialogue. Others play a crucial role in a particular scene, maybe two, but are never seen again. My cut-off rule for standalone character studies was: "speaks in three scenes" (for the original series and film) and "at least ten minutes" (for the new series). Nonetheless, I wanted to pay some sort of tribute to the remainders. I have gathered one hundred eight of them here on a roughly chronological list - actors, episodes, writers/directors, and a brief notation on their role, relevance, or trivial interest.
On Friday and Monday I will follow up with the elite of the also-rans: in the latter case, the top thirty Return runners-up ranked purely based on screentime; in the former case, thirty favorite "hidden" characters from the original series and Fire Walk With Me, ranked by me to form a subjective top thirty (written before the third season, it includes a couple characters whose profiles were boosted by the new episodes, and will also get standalone entries in the official series). So if you don't see your favorite cameos today, stay tuned.
On Friday and Monday I will follow up with the elite of the also-rans: in the latter case, the top thirty Return runners-up ranked purely based on screentime; in the former case, thirty favorite "hidden" characters from the original series and Fire Walk With Me, ranked by me to form a subjective top thirty (written before the third season, it includes a couple characters whose profiles were boosted by the new episodes, and will also get standalone entries in the official series). So if you don't see your favorite cameos today, stay tuned.
The curtain rises on the characters of Twin Peaks...
(by the way, major kudos to this dugpa thread for identifying many of the bit players!)
Max Hartman, football coach (Ben DiGregorio)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Receiving a call from Sarah Palmer, looking for her daughter, he establishes the image of Bobby Briggs as a rebel before we've even met that character.
Norwegian translator (Ed Egardahl)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Unfortunately tasked with bridging the gap between Ben Horne and potential clients, the interpreter's input into Twin Peaks ends when Ben Horne yells, "You stay out of this!"
Boogie kid (actor unknown)
Pilot, improvised by David Lynch
Ok, I probably should have slotted him into the top 30 even though his appearance is so brief some people never even notice him. He slicks back his ducktail in his locker's mirror and then shimmies sideways offscreen into TV history.
Mrs. Jackson, principal's secretary (Dorothy Roberts)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Never seen in close-up, this everyday school official nonetheless contributes to the pilot's general air of casual verisimilitude, which sits uneasily alongside its eccentricity.
State trooper at high school (actor unknown)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Likewise with this character, whose mild-mannered approach to Laura Palmer's homeroom teacher spells dread for her friends and classmates.
Screaming girl in courtyard (actress unknown)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Nothing spells dread so acutely as this figure. Who could forget that wail, even without a name or face?
• (Lynch couldn't; The Return repeats this shot twice.)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Nothing spells dread so acutely as this figure. Who could forget that wail, even without a name or face?
• (Lynch couldn't; The Return repeats this shot twice.)
Janice Hogan (Marjorie Nelson)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
The Palmers' neighbor comforts Sarah. A neighbor character was also shot interacting with Laura in FWWM but the footage was lost - same actor/character?
Janek & Suburbis Pulaski (Alan Ogle/Rick Tutor & Michelle Milantoni - Roberta Maguire cut from pilot)
Episode 1 & Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by Duwayne Dunham & David Lynch
Parents of victim Ronette Pulaski, played by two sets of actors in two episodes (mom was called Maria & cut in pilot).
Fred Truax (Dan Bixler)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Poor Fred is fired on the spot by Catherine Martell after he watches her descend a staircase, humiliated but still more powerful than he is and determined to prove it.
Railway Switchman (actor unknown)
Pilot, probably written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Not in the available draft of the script (which has a completely different location, so it must have been rewritten), this man discovers a dazed Ronette Pulaski crossing the bridge.
Jim, the morgue attendant (actor unknown)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Legend has it this actor misunderstood Kyle MacLachlan's request (in character as Cooper) to leave the room and responded by stating his actual first name.
Pilot, probably written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Not in the available draft of the script (which has a completely different location, so it must have been rewritten), this man discovers a dazed Ronette Pulaski crossing the bridge.
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Legend has it this actor misunderstood Kyle MacLachlan's request (in character as Cooper) to leave the room and responded by stating his actual first name.
Gilman White (David Wasman)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Bobby Briggs' lawyer has his hands full with a client whose emotions get the best of him in the interrogation room.
Bob (Bob Riebbe)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Quickly asking that the Norwegians not be disturbed, one of Twin Peaks' many Bobs leaves his mark, if only due to Audrey's mocking response: "OK, Bob. OK, Bob. OK, BOB."
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Quickly asking that the Norwegians not be disturbed, one of Twin Peaks' many Bobs leaves his mark, if only due to Audrey's mocking response: "OK, Bob. OK, Bob. OK, BOB."
Nurse Greta (Laurel White)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Johnny Horne's nurse asks for Mrs. Horne's help to calm a distressed Johnny, but the frustrated mother wants no part in explaining Laura's death.
Alice Brady, bank employee (Shelley Henning)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
The mousy employee, who brings investigators Laura's safety deposit box, adds a human touch by noting the dead girl was "so nice" (some even thought Sheryl Lee played this part).
• Cyril Pons (Mark Frost)
Pilot/Episode 8/Part 15, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
The only non-owl in this entry to bridge all three seasons, this journalist reports the Palmer killing, the Packard Saw Mill fire, and (off-duty) Steven's druggy appearance in the woods.
Pilot/Episode 8/Part 15, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
The only non-owl in this entry to bridge all three seasons, this journalist reports the Palmer killing, the Packard Saw Mill fire, and (off-duty) Steven's druggy appearance in the woods.
Scotty, other biker (Rodney Harvey)
Pilot, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
Joey's compatriot (is he one of the Bookhouse Boys too?) has a memorable line in the pilot, hearkening to a musical callback fourteen episodes later: "Oh, what a wonderful world..."
Swabbie (Charlie Spradling)
Episode 2, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
The scantily-clad deckhand who greets Ben & Jerry Horne at the riverfront of One Eyed Jack's was one of Lynch's many Wild at Heart alums to appear on Twin Peaks.
One-Eyed Jack's Bartender (Kim Lentz)
Episode 2, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
The bartender at One-Eyed Jack's sets the tone for the bordello before we've met anyone else inside, all business as she informs/warns the madam that the owners have arrived.
Episode 2, written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
The bartender at One-Eyed Jack's sets the tone for the bordello before we've met anyone else inside, all business as she informs/warns the madam that the owners have arrived.
Leland's Nurse (actress unknown)
Episode 3, written by Harley Peyton, directed by Tina Rathborne
Usually it's Sarah who receives injections to calm her down, but this one time we see Leland get a shot instead. The nurse looks just as interested in Invitation to Love.
Parole board (James Craven, Mary Bond Davis, Mary Chalon)
Episode 4, written by Robert Engels, directed by Tim Hunter
These three authorities are no-nonsense as they hear Hank Jennings' statement and question his reluctant wife Norma; all three were actor friends of Frost from the Twin Cities.
• Owls
many episodes, various writers/directors
Okay, maybe these characters aren't so "minor." That said, for all the infamous owl talk of Twin Peaks, we don't actually see the predatory birds that often. When we do, they make an impression.
many episodes, various writers/directors
Okay, maybe these characters aren't so "minor." That said, for all the infamous owl talk of Twin Peaks, we don't actually see the predatory birds that often. When we do, they make an impression.
Midge Loomer, veterinarian's assistant (Adele Gilbert)
Episode 4, written by Robert Engels, directed by Tim Hunter
"Managing the store," so to speak, while her boss Bob Lydecker lies in critical condition at the hospital, Midge doesn't recognize the police sketch and is shocked when the FBI requisitions her files.
Lady with the Shaking Hand (actress unknown)
many episodes, various writers/directors, most memorably improvised in episode 27 by Stephen Gyllenhaal
Though her most infamous scene is late in the series (when her hand shakes while eating pie), this memorable extra actually appears as early as season one.
Hebe Thorisdottir (Mary Stavin)
Episodes 5 & 6, written by Mark Frost & Harley Peyton, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter & Caleb Deschanel
Jerry's muse was named after an Icelandic makeup artist, who apparently impressed David Lynch, and portrayed by the 1977 Miss World, who was twice a Bond Girl.
Theodora Ridgley (Eve Brent)
Episode 6, written by Harley Peyton, directed by Caleb Deschanel
Audrey Horne's snooty customer does not get good service at the perfume counter, and she storms away in a huff.
Stockroom Boy (actor unknown)
Episode 6, improvised by Caleb Deschanel
Not mentioned in the episode's script, this extra gets a bit of onscreen business when Audrey sends him outside to deal with an imaginary accident, clearing the way for her to snoop on her boss.
One-Eyed Jack's Employee/"Ice Bucket Girl" (Jill Pierce)
Episodes 7 & 9 (if not more), written by Mark Frost & Harley Peyton, directed by Mark Frost & David Lynch
This character has two big moments: whispering a proposition to Cooper (he politely turns her down), and later warning Audrey about a particularly kinky customer.
One-Eyed Jack's Seamstress (Lesli Linka Glatter)
Episode 7, written & directed by Mark Frost
For years, the identity of the hunchbacked worker who sews on Audrey's card was a mystery. Then frequent series director Glatter revealed that she played her in an uncredited cameo.
Eolani Jacoby (Jennifer Aquino)
Episode 10, written by Robert Engels, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter
Surprise! Dr. Jacoby has a wife...who lives 2,800 miles away in Hawaii. She pays him a visit when he's in the hospital and helps him hypnotize himself (interview here).
Episodes 7 & 9 (if not more), written by Mark Frost & Harley Peyton, directed by Mark Frost & David Lynch
This character has two big moments: whispering a proposition to Cooper (he politely turns her down), and later warning Audrey about a particularly kinky customer.
Episode 7, written & directed by Mark Frost
For years, the identity of the hunchbacked worker who sews on Audrey's card was a mystery. Then frequent series director Glatter revealed that she played her in an uncredited cameo.
Episode 10, written by Robert Engels, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter
Surprise! Dr. Jacoby has a wife...who lives 2,800 miles away in Hawaii. She pays him a visit when he's in the hospital and helps him hypnotize himself (interview here).
Jack Racine (Van Dyke Parks)
Episode 12, written by Barry Pullman, directed by Graeme Clifford
Stepping in as Leo Johnson's defense attorney, the plainspoken, memorably-dressed Racine is played by a musical figure of quite some note.
One-Eyed Jack's Outside Guard (Michael Vendrelli)
Episode 12, written by Barry Pullman, directed by Graeme Clifford
This guy is taken by surprise by Sheriff Truman, who sneaks up to grab him by the crotch, shove a gag in his mouth and then bash his head in the door to open it.
One-Eyed Jack's Inside Guard (Robert Asipa)
Episode 12, written by Barry Pullman, directed by Graeme Clifford
Still, that guard got off easy compared to this one, knifed in the back by Hawk. He's probably only the fifth person on the show to get snuffed (but the third in two bloody episodes).
Episode 12, written by Barry Pullman, directed by Graeme Clifford
This guy is taken by surprise by Sheriff Truman, who sneaks up to grab him by the crotch, shove a gag in his mouth and then bash his head in the door to open it.
Episode 12, written by Barry Pullman, directed by Graeme Clifford
Still, that guard got off easy compared to this one, knifed in the back by Hawk. He's probably only the fifth person on the show to get snuffed (but the third in two bloody episodes).
Cappy (Ron Kirk)
Episodes 13 & 27, written by Harley Peyton/Robert Engels, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter & Stephen Gyllenhaal
A dutiful, silent Bookhouse Boy, Cappy is most notable for being the spitting image of Sheriff Truman.
Tom Brockman (Ian Abercrombie)
Episode 13, written by Harley Peyton/Robert Engels, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter
The shady insurance rep apparently coordinated his loud outfit with customer Shelly Johnson. Look for Abercrombie as Laura Dern's butler in Inland Empire.
Gwen Morton (Kathleen Wilhoite)
Episode 15, written by Scott Frost, directed by Caleb Deschanel
Lucy Moran's abrasively obnoxious sister shows up for a couple scenes to chatter about babies, white guilt, and sperm guns.
Mr. Zipper, the plumber (Clive Rosengren)
Episode 16, written by Mark Frost/Harley Peyton/Robert Engels, directed by Tim Hunter
Mugging in the background of a comic-relief Lucy-Deputy Andy scene, Zipper's installation of a sprinkler system will actually play a major role in the series narrative.
Vice Principal Greege (Don Calfa)
Episode 17, written by Tricia Brock, directed by Tina Rathborne
Incredulous when presented with a 35-year-old "high school student," the official nonetheless rolls with the punches and enrolls Nadine Hurley, for therapeutic purposes.
Physical Education Teacher (Lisa Cloud)
Episode 17, written by Tricia Brock, directed by Tina Rathborne
Present for perhaps the most ridiculous moment of the entire series, the perplexed P.E. teacher watches Nadine toss a jock into the air at cheerleading tryouts.
Samantha (Susan Sundholm)
Episode 17 & 20, written by Tricia Brock, directed by Tina Rathborne & improvised by Todd Holland
Ben's traumatized assistant flees his mock-Civil War carnage. Though only listed for episode 20, that also looks like her denying Bobby entry to Ben's office in 17.
Judy Swain (Molly Shannon)
Episode 19, written by Harley Peyton/Robert Engels, directed by Caleb Deschanel
Easily the biggest name on this original series list, future SNL alum (just four years shy of creating "Superstar" Mary Katherine Gallagher) pops up as Little Nicky's caseworker.
Col. Riley (Tony Burton)
Episode 19, written by Harley Peyton/Robert Engels, directed by Caleb Deschanel
Rocky veteran Burton drops hints about Maj. Briggs; perhaps more than any other single scene, this points forward to Mark Frost's book The Secret History of Twin Peaks (2016).
Episode 17 & 20, written by Tricia Brock, directed by Tina Rathborne & improvised by Todd Holland
Ben's traumatized assistant flees his mock-Civil War carnage. Though only listed for episode 20, that also looks like her denying Bobby entry to Ben's office in 17.
Mr. & Mrs. Brunston (Will Seltzer & Patricia Dunnock)
Episode 20, written by Harley Peyton, directed by Todd Holland
The couple, delighted to adopt a child from the local orphanage, is shocked to discover that little Donnie is dead...dead tired.
Eric Powell (Craig MacLachlan)
Episodes 20 & 21, written by Harley Peyton & Scott Frost, directed by Uli Edel
Presented with a transient's corpse, Cooper senses Windom Earle is sending him a message. No wonder: the dead man is played by Kyle MacLachlan's brother.
Jeffrey Marsh (John Apicella)
Episodes 19 & 21, written by Harley Peyton/Robert Engels & Scott Frost, directed by Caleb Deschanel & Uli Edel
We hear terrible things about Jeffrey but when we finally meet him he doesn't seem so bad. Does he put on a good front or was he set up? We don't have long to find out, as his car crashes immediately after he first appears.
Episodes 19 & 21, written by Harley Peyton/Robert Engels & Scott Frost, directed by Caleb Deschanel & Uli Edel
We hear terrible things about Jeffrey but when we finally meet him he doesn't seem so bad. Does he put on a good front or was he set up? We don't have long to find out, as his car crashes immediately after he first appears.
Wallie's Bartender ( Gérald L'Ecuyer)
Episodes 21 & 22, written by Harley Peyton/Robert Engels, directed by Uli Edel & Diane Keaton
A silent presence in an earlier episode, the barkeep becomes a glowering, ominous character when James Hurley and Donna Hayward attempt to hide from the law.
Episodes 21 & 22, written by Harley Peyton/Robert Engels, directed by Uli Edel & Diane Keaton
A silent presence in an earlier episode, the barkeep becomes a glowering, ominous character when James Hurley and Donna Hayward attempt to hide from the law.
State Trooper at Marsh House (Matt Battaglia)
Episode 22, written by Harley Peyton/Robert Engels, directed by Diane Keaton
The bumbling cop who can't spell "Jaguar" flits in and out of a goofy subplot. The end, right?
• For the character, yes, for the actor, no - see below.
• Pine Weasel
Episode 24, written by Barry Pullman, directed by James Foley
Briefly a mascot for the Stop Ghostwood campaign, he bites Dick's nose, causing a minor riot at the Great Northern fashion show, and is never seen again. Maybe Jerry got ahold of him.
• For the character, yes, for the actor, no - see below.
Episode 24, written by Barry Pullman, directed by James Foley
Briefly a mascot for the Stop Ghostwood campaign, he bites Dick's nose, causing a minor riot at the Great Northern fashion show, and is never seen again. Maybe Jerry got ahold of him.
Episode 27, written by Harley Peyton/Robert Engels, directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal
This weepy guy, mourning the death of his best friend in a giant papier-mache pawn piece (don't ask), always reminded me a bit of Paul Simon.
Episode 29, improvised by David Lynch
In a hilarious sight gag, an old woman is fast asleep at the "New Accounts" desk, setting the tone perfectly for the slow-paced geriatric scene to follow.
Episode 29, improvised by David Lynch
"It's a boy!" crows the very last character to be introduced in the original Twin Peaks TV series, after picking up the phone and before the bank explodes. By causing Audrey to turn away from the vault, he may have helped save her life.
Fire Walk With Me/The Missing Pieces is written by David Lynch/Robert Engels, directed by David Lynch
Fire Walk With Me
You figure it out! (interview w/ Roberts)
Fire Walk With Me/The Missing Pieces
The anti-Lucy receptionist can't stop giggling.
Fire Walk With Me
A logger-looking fellow and his French paramour are perhaps the Bizarro Pete/Josie.
Fire Walk With Me/The Missing Pieces
The FBI employee seems very unperturbed as he prepares to transport a corpse (which somehow requires a fistfight to access).
Fire Walk With Me
"Hot water, Carl," this Fat Trout Trailer Park denizen demands; Valium she gets.
Fire Walk With Me
This guy seems hilariously unconcerned with Cooper's double appearance on the security monitor.
Fire Walk With Me/The Missing Pieces
• Parts 7 & 11, also written by Mark Frost
Although he confusingly shares a name with a regular RR patron, his place is in the kitchen. The actor passed away days after shooting his brief appearances in The Return.
Fire Walk With Me
Quite a sight, quite a sound.
Fire Walk With Me
The stutterer flits comically around the far edges of a somber scene, like one last refugee from Wild at Heart.
• (...son of Michael Parks, aka Jean Renault)
The Missing Pieces
When Agent Jeffries asks if Miss Judy asked for him, this concierge hands over a note from a young woman.
The Missing Pieces
Shocked by Jeffries' dis- and reappearance, the hotel staff reacts memorably.
The Missing Pieces
Hooked up with Laura by Leo, this man passing through Twin Peaks trades drugs for sex.
• (from this point forward)
The Return is written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
(*"top 10 of this episode" refers to whether the character, however minor overall, has enough screentime to rank in the top 10 of a given episode)
The Return is written by Mark Frost/David Lynch, directed by David Lynch
(*"top 10 of this episode" refers to whether the character, however minor overall, has enough screentime to rank in the top 10 of a given episode)
Part 1 - top 10 of this episode
Perhaps a backwoods godfather in his own right, perhaps a mere underling manning a lonely outpost of the doppelganger's vast criminal empire, he's the only character to dub his boss "Mr. C."
Part 1
Easily the most memorable character with such scant screentime, this bathrobe-clad associate of Mr. C quips (glancing at a broken, bloody underling) "It's a world...of truck drivers."
Part 1
With his fear of police, talk of mysterious "Chip" and "Harvey," and suggestively larcenous phone conversation, Hank hints at an emerging intrigue...that stops right there, the first evidence of this Return tendency.
Parts 1 & 11
When her head is found atop another corpse, Ruth potentially becomes the new season's Laura Palmer. Later the FBI discovers her decapitated body in a field. Apparently, she is played by Lynch's sister-in-law.
Parts 1 & 4
Mostly a background presence, Boyd speaks up to smooth relations between the state investigator and his own detective, and also to emphasize the backwater nature of Buckhorn, South Dakota.
Part 2
The picture of WASP composure, this lawyer begins to lose his cool when he discovers his extramarital affair is no longer a secret. He will be arrested offscreen, implicated (incorrectly) in his lover's murder.
Parts 2, 13 & 15
Duncan Todd's assistant wonders why his boss lets his boss' boss "make you do these things"...a few days later both will be consumed by the same violence they've unleashed.
Part 3 - top 10 of this episode
Is this Ronette Pulaski displaced to a different dimension? Another character/entity altogether, a way for Lynch to nod to the original series while going a new route? A vessel for Laura? You decide.
Parts 3 & 5
A couple hitmen working for Lorraine miss their opportunities to kill "Dougie" (and, accidentally, a child) with gun and bomb thanks to cosmic coincidences.
Part 3
In one long take, members of the South Dakota Highway Patrol pull up next to the doppelganger's crashed car, catch a whiff of what he threw up, and nearly puke themselves.
Part 3
Running the gamut (in less than a minute) between gently welcoming, perplexed, and concerned, she is one of the first characters to engage with the newly-minted "Dougie."
Part 3
The Mr. Show veteran makes a brief cameo in the Vegas casino, never once looking at Cooper as he inspires one of the new series' most memorable catchphrases: a victorious "Hellllooooooo-oooo!"
Parts 3 & 4
Joining Lynch and Frost to play a meta-role herself, the show's executive producer appears as a determined pro attempting to get a handle on a rapidly unfolding crisis.
Part 4
Garrulous Bill, of Allied Chemicals, and increasingly concerned Candy encounter a pal who hardly seems to know who they are, who he is, and especially where he lives.
Part 4
Secretary to FBI Chief of Staff Denise Bryson, Bill has a brief, humorous exchange with Gordon Cole about a problematic man who is now "in the North Pole" (which cheers both of them).
Parts 4, 5 & 7
An ordinary South Dakota cop is confronted by a deeply strange ex-FBI prisoner as well as the prisoner's also eccentric associates.
Parts 4, 6 & 11
As dispatcher for the Twin Peaks sheriff's department, Maggie has her hands full but no professional duty is more difficult than working alongside Deputy Chad.
Parts 5 & 6
Working for Mr. C, Lorraine has three things to do: fret that "Dougie" hasn't been killed, send a Blackberry message (probably to Argentina), and then die herself in one of the show's grisliest murders.
Parts 5 & 6
Frank's harried, harrying wife is perpetually stressed out and blaming her husband (we learn offscreen that their son, a traumatized veteran, took his own life).
Part 5
The world's least subtle thieves come to an unsubtle end. Dougie's car explodes and destroys three of them while two escape. At least they inadvertently save a little kid.
Parts 5 & 7
In her brief but memorable turn, this Lucky 7 saleswoman rejects a married co-worker, teases a desperately bursting "Dougie" (revenge for the old Dougie's overtures?), and escorts detectives into the office.
Part 5 - top 10 of this episode
Begrudgingly settling for a green tea latte rather than his obligatory morning coffee, this Lucky 7 salesman is one of many characters whose initially annoying brush with "Dougie" yields unexpected bliss.
Parts 5 & 7
The veteran Ghostbuster makes another foray into the paranormal when he discovers that the corpse of a fellow officer has re-emerged after twenty-five years, looking no older than when it disappeared.
Part 5
The Roadhouse employee just wants to do his job and ends up luckier than another character this actor played (the hitman's friend in Mulholland Drive). He is merely ignored and dismissed rather than killed.
Parts 5 & 6
The sympathetic patrolman warns "Dougie" against loitering and later wonders if he's drunk or high, but ultimately just takes the dazed man home (all he's got to go by is a red door).
Part 6
In a scene written by Lynch just before shooting, this trailer park resident hitches a ride in Carl Rodd's van. He mentions his wife Linda, a wounded veteran whom the government isn't treating right.
Part 6
A playful game between mother and son turns tragic when he is run down in a crosswalk and instantly killed. Carl comforts her in her immeasurable grief.
Part 6
Two small-time hoods collect a degenerate gambler's debt and are intimidated and impressed by his angry wife Janey-E Jones ("touuugh dame...").
Part 7
Frantically trying to get Deputy Andy away from his property after his truck runs over a little boy, he agrees to meet up later. He never will, and an ominous shot of his door ajar suggests the worst.
Part 7
Some bit parts exist only to add brief, broad color - others feels like they could carry an entire series themselves. Beverly's husband, haunted by both illness and infidelity, belongs to the latter type.
Part 10
"Dougie"'s physician must not only check pulse and blood pressure but keep his curious patient from grabbing the stethoscope. He is quite impressed with the physiological improvement.
Part 11
The family that hunts together shoots up the RR Diner together.
Part 11
An angry driver's outburst gives way to perfectly punctuated "Aaaaah"s as a zombie-like girl lurches forward, gurgling green vomit - both agitating and hilarious.
Part 12
The astonished cashier and bagger witness Sarah's jerky-induced meltdown at Keri's Handi-Mart; Oscar suggests bringing her abandoned bags to her house.
Part 12
Prevented by Carl from selling his blood, the Fat Trout resident is reminded of all the help he provides his neighbors and asked not to pay to rent this month. "You've given enough," Carl tells him.
Part 12
There are characters who appear in five episodes of the original series yet have less screentime than Gordon's paramour when she leaves a hotel room.
Part 13
In his most surprisingly brief appearance since Do the Right Thing and The Godfather Part III, the star of The Deer Hunter conveys a convincingly world-weary contempt for Anthony as he helps him acquire poison.
Part 13
Although listed only as "Szymon Waitress" in the credits, a Lynchian waitress always sports a nametag. Leslie is bemused and benevolent while offering "Dougie" a piece of pie.
Part 14
The European screen icon pops up inside Gordon Cole's dream to assert, "We are like the dreamer who dreams and then lives inside the dream," before leaning in for the key question: "But...who is the dreamer?"
Part 14
Stewing in his rage over a beer, this bar patron makes the fatal mistake of viciously harassing Sarah - who takes off her face before ripping his throat wide open.
Part 15
Renee's husband freaks out when James greets her in the Roadhouse, but a powerful green-gloved fist to the face sends him to the hospital before he can do too much damage. Is this Audrey's "certifiable" Chuck?
Part 15
One of Hollywood's most infamous directors, DeMille played himself in the 1950 classic Sunset Boulevard, mentioning - offhand - a certain Gordon Cole whose name, spoken via a television set, stirs Cooper.
Polish accountant, with Zawaski Accounting, Inc. (John Coyne)
Part 16 - top 10 of this episode
The Jones' guardian angel is, most likely, just an anal, angry and armed numbers-cruncher who refuses to yield to the slightest infringement of a property line.
Part 18 - top 10 of this episode
Three belligerent diner customers are kicked, shot, and cajoled to the ground in Odessa, Texas. And yes, the tall one is played by the "Jagwar" cop from the Evelyn Marsh story.
Part 18 - top 10 of this episode
This second alt-Mrs. Tremond, current (?) resident of the Palmer (?) home, is the final new character introduced onscreen in Twin Peaks. She is played by the woman who actually owns this house in real life.
Next (available now): Top 30 "Hidden" Characters
•
Previous: (Extremely) Brief Appearances
Read the original discussion under the earlier, unrevised version of this entry.
To immediately read a month of upcoming entries, updated weekly to stay a month ahead...
(at the time of publication, this includes a round-up of runners-up from season three, revised full entries on bonus characters, and full entries on new or revised characters among #86 - 52)
No comments:
Post a Comment