Heading into the last stretch of my first full decade, I knew that I wanted to establish a sturdy course for years to come. To build up a backlog of work and establish a reliable structure, I needed to slow down my Patreon approach, but this took some time to figure out - not only podcasts but eventually updates needed to be reduced to once a month (even as I added an extra podcast for a higher tier). Meanwhile the unexpected advent of a new True Detective season, along with foreshadowing of a Veronica Mars revival in the summer, kept me busy and prevented me from jumping right into my long-awaited Journey Through Twin Peaks video series follow-up.
Nonetheless, subjects included finally carving that "path to Journey" in the spring, alongside Twin Peaks Unwrapped's wacky attempt to rank David Lynch's films, my extensive overview of the Lynch books I'd read in the past five years, a belated celebration of First Reformed - a rare new release that I not only saw but considered an all-time great, and the unfortunately timely review of a documentary about a Venezuelan coup.
Highlighting this period is a behemoth Patreon omnibus podcast (deep breath) - The Last Weekly Patreon Update: John Thorne conversation, Pt. 1 / Before Midnight & Boyhood (+ Kevin B. Lee/video essay history, La Vieja Memoria, La Haine, Lost in Translation, Celine and Julie Go Boating, Dogville, Persona, Death by Hanging, All the President's Men, Emak-Bakia, Faust, Cria Cuervos, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Cold War, BlacKkKlansman, La Religieuse, Mary Sweeney's short film, AOC hits Congress, podcast recommendations & much, much more) which was supposed to launch an ambitious new approach to my monthly podcast but instead served as an overwhelming swan song.
JANUARY
Preparing for 2019 on Patreon, although I'd simplify again in a month.
Keeping track of my ongoing activities with Patreon journals over a month
To my surprise, a new True Detective emerged in the depths of winter - so my viewing diary resumes to cover this Arkansas mystery
I introduce my Lost in Twin Peaks podcast to patrons with an episode on the deleted scenes from Fire Walk With Me
The two detectives begin to notice some odd details in the disappearance of two children, and we follow their investigation across three timelines
My last weekly Patreon update includes a new video intro for 2019
Nic Pizzolatto's directorial debut builds the show to a dramatic mid-season climax as suspicion settles on a few individuals
FEBRUARY
My most massively packed podcast episode ever, anchored by an interview with the Wrapped in Plastic editor, a guide to the past ten years of video essays, full reviews of two Richard Linklater films, a dozen or so film capsules, #100 - 90 of my favorite movies, and jumping into politics at the start of 2019
Perhaps the best episode of the season begins with explosive action and ends with an emotional conversation
Unlike past episode sixes, this season propels the plot forward - all the way to the pink rooms...
Moving toward its finale with muted maturity, this episode reveals the act that haunted its heroes for decades
The show's comeback season concludes in mellow fashion, ending not so much with a bang or whimper as with a sigh
MARCH
In the midst of a new U.S./Venezuela crisis, I review a once-prominent, now all-but-invisible documentary about the 2002 coup against Hugo Chavez
In which the podcast hosts, another guest, and I determine the auteur's top film through "March Madness"-style brackets (seriously!); as they say, you won't believe what happens next...
After a couple years of making vague promises, I lay out the clear steps needed to reach new Twin Peaks videos and keep updating the progress of these projects
APRIL
In which Thorne and I come together for one more follow-up podcast, exploring his theory of season 3 shaped by the protagonist's perception
MAY
In my last completely random "Twin Peaks Reflections" for the Patreon podcast, I gather books on my favorite show and its creator
(in which my viewing diary of Veronica Mars leads up to the new season on Hulu)
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