In a year where I hoped to conclude all of my Twin Peaks work, I finally renewed the TWIN PEAKS Character Series, begun early in 2017 and now updated to reflect the third season and Mark Frost's novel The Final Dossier. The winter and early spring were dominated by these entries - some of which had been previewed as early as five years ago (a practice I continued on Patreon throughout this period). I reached #46 before taking a breather, resulting in one of the busiest periods on my site in a while, even as I also wrapped up a few other loose ends.
On Patreon I offered a sprawling 2010s commentary mostly covering titles I hadn't seen yet (although they were all released during a decade in which I was offering online film commentary); on my public feeds I dug into the differences and similarities of Blue Velvet vs. Twin Peaks as well as the immersive mid-eighties vibe of a Velvet behind-the-scenes doc; and notable character entries included a round-up of all the one-off Road House patrons as well as a study of Carrie Page, who is either among the most marginal or central season three characters, depending on your standpoint.
Although written (and initially presented to patrons) many years ago, the now-public Top 30 Runners-Up of the New TWIN PEAKS (4th Preface to TWIN PEAKS Character Series) offers the broadest and maybe even most in-depth exploration of the new material, exploring short-screentime characters and the actors who played them.
JANUARY
At long last, the character series kicks off with an extensive exploration of its rules and revisions
A new line-up, visual only, of notable extras or walk-ons in all three seasons and the film
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Sofia Coppola's royal riff launches a new season anchored broadly in twenty-first cinema while also echoing the previous season's finale (on the 1938 version of this story)
The first entry updated to incorporate The Return includes many blurbs on season three characters alongside the old series quickies
Notes on an unmodified original entry, covering a variety of supporting characters (including a couple who'd earn independent entries of their own based on the new material)
With my modified criteria of ten-minute screentime, many new characters just missed the cut for official consideration while earning a paragraph (or two or more) in this line-up
Notes on the many characters with dialogue in three scenes (the old criteria) but under ten minutes of screentime, grandfathered into the series as bonus entries
Because of her third season scenes, this less-than-ten-minute diner waitress gets an expanded entry
Thanks to The Final Dossier, the entry for Norma's mother(?) gets a little longer
This podcast also kicks off a new season while echoing the previous season finale, exploring connections between Lynch's film and TV work while continuing the "disordered stories" theme
One more old series bonus updated to reflect the disabled character's sad fate in season three
The official line-up begins with the first character onscreen for ten minutes, the scuzzy son-in-law of Bobby and Shelly
Cooper/Dougie's office assistant - or just a junior employee happy to lend a helping hand
Audrey's mom gets more screentime in the third season, dealing not with her daughter but her terrorizing grandson
Notes on three original series characters: a corrupt, dastardly villain; a charming and well-meaning but misguided justice; and a pathetic antagonist
FEBRUARY
Mostly replaced by another actor in season three, David Bowie's signature character gets to blow off some steam
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Laurie Anderson's memoir/documentary spans space, time, and style
Promoted from "hidden" character to official entry, Donna's sister is one of the few Haywards to make it to season three but she's fallen far since her piano days
Catching up with the previous month's episode, I chat with one of the most enthusiastic chroniclers of both Peaks itself and the Peaks fandom
Ben's secretary and potential lover, whose performer had a very significant 2017 outside of this series
She's speechless in her first couple scenes, but Mr. C's henchwoman becomes unforgettable in her final appearance
A comic relief trio underscores the teasing nature of the Las Vegas storyline
A whole ensemble of one-off characters and actors are explored in this omnibus entry
New to the Showtime series but with ancestry routed in the original, Becky is a character constantly skating along the edge of danger
Lynch's first, extremely spare (but atmospheric) feature links up to the sprawling universe of Peaks, with particular attention to the newest season
Speaking of Eraserhead, the youthful Mary X aged into a wise elder by 2017, in an entry expanded to include the brief but important role Bobby's mother plays in The Return
Notes on an original series femme fatale
Twin Peaks' trans trailblazer returns for an updated entry encompassing her Return cameo
Moved from Deer Meadow to Twin Peaks, Carl earns an update to reflect his wizened, graceful presence in season three
An episode shy of the podcast finale, I leap into an explosion of teens cinema and a taste of the fifties (crowned by a sci-fi and melodrama, respectively), while wrapping up work updates, listener and viewer feedback, and podcast recommendations once and for all
Notes on the absentee town father, un-updated since the original series
MARCH
A very Tarantino-esque duo who pass their time on the road bantering back and forth
Shot in the eighties but assembled and scored in the teens, this behind-the-scenes glimpse of Blue Velvet offers ample material to meditate upon
New Yorkers ensnared in Twin Peaks' continent-(and universe-)spanning web
TWIN PEAKS CONVERSATIONS #19 w/ "Twin Peaks Grammar" (YouTube & extended PATREON)
A Socratic method applied to the Peaks mythology by a guest who watched the show relatively recently and has lots of questions
Deputy Chad Broxford (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #66)
A cop liked by nobody, Chad crosses several storylines
Ernie Niles (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #65)
Although finished in season two, Ernie's presence in The Final Dossier inspires an expanded entry
*Link to Jacques Renault (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #64)
Notes on a character whose actor returns (as someone else) in the third season
February 2023 Patreon round-up including 3 TWIN PEAKS Character Series advances & Twin Peaks Conversations podcast
A Socratic method applied to the Peaks mythology by a guest who watched the show relatively recently and has lots of questions
A cop liked by nobody, Chad crosses several storylines
Although finished in season two, Ernie's presence in The Final Dossier inspires an expanded entry
Notes on a character whose actor returns (as someone else) in the third season
With the patron podcast mostly concluded, there's not much to offer for this round-up except some advance character entries (to go public within a couple months), and repeat sharing of the monthly conversation
Freddie Sykes (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #63)
The green glove of destiny leads an Englishman to the Pacific Northwest
The Singer (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #62)
The Road House chanteuse appears only fleetingly in season three
Blue Velvet as Twin Peaks Cinema #23 - The Lynchverse (podcast)
The Lumberton/Twin Peaks link wraps a season tracing the Peaks connections across Lynch's three most iconic films
*Link to Ronette Pulaski (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #61)
Notes on another character who does not return in The Return (arguably, since the actress comes back)
Charlie (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #60)
Audrey's counterpart frustrates her for reasons that may have more to do with herself
Sonny Jim Jones (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #59)
Cooper's quiet, thoughtful son (kind of) is one of the few children in Twin Peaks
*Links to Jean Renault // Mayor Dwayne Milford // Lana Budding Milford (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #58 // #57 // #56)
Notes on a trio of (very much) old season figures: a devious Canadian plus the mayor and his mistress
Carrie Page (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #55)
Is she Laura, or someone else only partially related?
Candie (as well as Sandie and Mandie) (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #54)
Along with her quieter colleagues, the Mitchums' assistant is a beautiful if daffy soul
*Link to Phillip Gerard (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #53)
Notes on another character who's presence/non-presence in season three is questionable; someone who looks like him is back, but who is that?
TWIN PEAKS CONVERSATIONS #20 w/ 25 Years Later publisher Andrew Grevas (YouTube & extended PATREON)
APRIL
The proprietor of a Peaks website discusses his experiences as an online voice in the fandom as well as his very unique first encounter with the series - as a five-year-old watching it during the original run
Eileen Hayward (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #52)
Though she isn't in The Return, Eileen's poignant updates in The Final Dossier require a revised entry
Bill Hastings (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #51)
An ordinary man in way over his head, this high school principal is enmeshed in and crushed by a mythos he can't understand
The Power of Nightmares (LOST IN THE MOVIES podcast #52)
Around the time of the Iraq War's twentieth anniversary, I share my commentary on a Bush era documentary
Anthony Sinclair (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #50)
Comically pathetic, this insurance agent has one of the most complete, redemptive arcs in The Return
March 2023 Patreon round-up including Podcast Episode 100 Archive + 6 TWIN PEAKS Character Series advances & Twin Peaks Conversations podcast
Although the new material won't be ready for months, my final patron podcast kicks off with archive readings on earlier decades of cinema - alongside my biggest round-up of character advances yet
*Links to John Justice Wheeler // Harold Smith (#49 // #48)
Notes on a couple potential romantic interests for Laura's peers, whose fates diverge quite starkly
Perhaps the most odious figure in the new series, he's as humiliated as he is domineering
*Link to Evelyn Marsh (TWIN PEAKS Character Series #46)
Notes on a character whose performer was one of many to pass away in the early twenties
The TWIN PEAKS Character Series (directory)
Hitting pause on the series, I move the constantly-updated line-up from the intro to its own independent post
(in which I struggle to keep up and catch up with monthly commitments while delaying my most important projects)
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