For half a year my site was entirely devoted to Twin Peaks; no other subject stole the spotlight between a quick status update in the spring and a podcast on, well, another David Lynch film in the fall. Podcasts, by the way, became quite a staple during this time - I appeared on seven different programs (including good old stalwarts Obnoxious & Anonymous and Twin Peaks Unwrapped) and was also invited to publish Peaks pieces on three different sites. Along with the most active comments sections I've ever hosted and, of course, the weekly night-of viewing diary in which I recorded my immediate reactions as Showtime aired eighteen new episodes, all of this made for a very satisfying outcome after years of waiting for this moment.
Subjects include the whirlwind ride of Part 8, celebrating Fire Walk With Me's entry into the Criterion Collection, Lost Highway in the midst of the #MeToo moment, studying the connections between Mark Frost's Secret History and the third season, and an unexpected group interview with Peaks producer Sabrina Sutherland on the eve of the new finale.
Although it's tempting to choose something from my Return viewing diary (I'll cheat by pointing to my piece on the two-part finale), my highlight for this period is actually TV Countdown - Twin Peaks, in which I return to the old stomping ground of Wonders in the Dark for my extensive, first-ever study of all three seasons of Twin Peaks.
MAY
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 a 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
(I covered this period on Episode 26 of my Patreon podcast)
Next: Packing the Podcast (January - March 2018)
(in which the Patreon podcast launches with multiple films in focus per episode)
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Previous: Characters Everywhere (January - May 2017)
(in which the Patreon podcast launches with multiple films in focus per episode)
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Previous: Characters Everywhere (January - May 2017)
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