Twin Peaks Unwrapped - 5th anniversary celebration

image by Robert Farkas

This week, the Twin Peaks Unwrapped podcast celebrates its fifth anniversary. When Ben and Bryon kicked off their endeavor in 2015, they used an introcast format with veteran Ben guiding novice Bryon through the series for the first time (and desperately trying to keep him from skipping too far ahead). Since then, they've expanded their approach to include segments on a variety of subjects, community rewatches of the original episodes, year-end round-ups, and even a book collecting old and new work alike. And of course, one of their specialties has been conversations with cast/crew and fellow fans - my own first appearance was very early, just after they'd spoken to Catherine Coulson (a humbling precedent) in what I believe was her last interview. Since then I've made numerous guest appearances, and now I've joined them again, just in the nick of time near the end of an hour-plus Zoom meet-up in which they discussed the series and laid out their own plans (the coronavirus disrupted their commitment to conclude the podcast in 2020). There were many guests beforehand, whom I'm looking forward to hearing myself. When I popped in, we talked about my Journey Through Twin Peaks videos (and behind-the-scenes character series work), our meet-up last fall, and the prospect of more Twin Peaks. I'm also psyched to join them soon for some key rewatches and (perhaps most of all) for another glorious/ridiculous "Twin Peaks madness" bracket game - this time for season three.

You can watch/listen here:

By the way, from now on rather than posting every Wednesday I will post on whatever day of the week my given entry aligns with. Monday, as was the case last fall, will be reserved for Mad Men viewing diaries (I'm just kicking off season four now); my latest video essay(s) will be shared on Tuesday; any random review will publish on Wednesday; and a podcast episode, including my monthly Patreon round-up, will be cross-posted on Thursday. I'll reserve Friday for anything else. Usually there will only be one, maybe two entries going up in a week - but there will always be at least one. And I'll schedule these for 8am most days but today I wasn't sure what time the Unwrapped video would go up, so this may be timed a little later.

Patreon update #36: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Parts 17 & 18

This was a long one. And indeed it still is, clocking in at two hours and forty-two minutes, just ten minutes shy of my record with the Part 14/Sorry to Bother You opus a few weeks ago. But that's after I shaved off an entire section (in which I read my 2015 review of The Wizard of Oz, which will have to wait for another week); originally, Episode 36 topped three hours and the file was so large that Patreon couldn't even upload it. As a result, this is my first podcast episode entirely focused on one topic. Even the intro, update, and outro sections have been excluded, let alone the film in focus, other topics, listener feedback, and opening the archive. Tonight, on the one-year anniversary of The Return's controversial, unforgettable two-part finale, we're going all in on Twin Peaks.

Because, in my rambling way, I tend to go off on particular tangents in the middle of broader topics, my line-up includes timecodes for individual "highlights," with a lot of emphasis on the character of Diane and the finale's relationship to Fire Walk With Me. Please share your own thoughts as well - when I come back on September 17 (after taking a much-neededed podcast break next week), I'll record a long feedback session to share everything I've been receiving. Meanwhile, this site will be quite active in the interim - I am publishing some of my older Twin Peaks commentary that's never been shared outside a couple forums before, featured in one big post this Wednesday followed by several dozen hourly posts next Monday and Tuesday. See you then; until then, enjoy the conclusion of my Return rewatch.

Episode 36: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Parts 17 & 18


Line-up for Episode 36

This week consists entirely of TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS Return Rewatch Pts. 17 & 18

The feel & structure of the episode

Desert highway

Twin Peaks - Cooper investigation/Jerry/Chad in jail/Freddie/Laura in 1989/Sarah/Roadhouse 
*highlights: Diane's connection to Cooper, Lynch's foot in both worlds w/ FWWM footage, Cooper as a symbol of "positive" patriarchy, Sarah & the Laura portrait

FBI in South Dakota

Mr. C

Las Vegas - Dougie at work/Dougie at home/The search for Cooper/Assassination/Mitchums/Jade & the key

Spirit World - Zone Spiral/Purple World Tower/Convenience Store & Motel/Red Room 
*highlights: the flashback isn't a flashback/when does "Richard" emerge?/Leland & Cooper

The other side - Desert motel/Odessa & alternate Twin Peaks 
*highlights: Diane sees herself when Cooper's not there, the significance of Diane's departure & Cooper's Laura quest w/ reference to Martha Nochimson, meta-aspect of Pt. 18's alienation, the relationship of FWWM, Missing Pieces, and s3

Character introductions & re-introductions/screentime rankings/timeline of events

Coffee, pie, and donuts

Lodge lore

Laura Palmer

BECOME A PATRON

update 2022: When I made this a public episode, I wanted to use the same image I had originally used for this post, but didn't want it to top two different posts. So I added the one now seen above. This is the original image that topped this post:

Patreon update #35: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 16 / film in focus: Medium Cool (+ Sarah Palmer's inner smile, late cinematic popularity, podcast recommendations & more) and preview of Fire Walk With Me & season 2 episodes

Exactly fifty years ago, on August 26 - 29, the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention (and accompanying street protests/riots) unfolded in Chicago. Haskell Wexler was there to capture it on camera for his film Medium Cool, a disorienting mixture of documentary footage and a fictional narrative unfolding in and around this momentous event. Starring Twin Peaks' own Robert Forster as a young cameraman too absorbed in his craft to take account of its political implications, the film is a fascinating document to pick apart and reflect upon. I've known for months that I wanted to make this my film in focus for the big anniversary, and it was compelling to revisit the film at this particular political moment as well (the last time I saw it was around the end of the Bush era, when the left was far more inert than it is now).

This episode also covers one of the most important episode of The Return; Cooper awakens, Diane breaks down, Audrey dances, and Richard goes up in smoke in Part 16. I have a lot to say about all of this, especially the fascinating, pointed juxtapositions of Cooper's story with Diane's (and Audrey's). Twin Peaks discussion continues in listener feedback as I correct something from a previous podcast: the smile we see inside Sarah Palmer's face is not Laura Palmer. But who is it? We have a pretty good idea...

Elsewhere I recommend dozens of podcasts, ask what it takes for forgotten films to become beloved classics, and - for my second tier biweekly preview - draw connections between Fire Walk With Me and several Twin Peaks episodes from the second season.

Fire Walk With Me & Twin Peaks season 2 (August "See the Future" Preview #2 - 2nd tier reward)

Episode 35: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 16 & film in focus: Medium Cool (+ Sarah Palmer's inner smile, late cinematic popularity, podcast recommendations & more)

Line-up for Episode 35

INTRO

WEEKLY UPDATE/Patreon - 2nd tier biweekly preview: comparing Fire Walk With Me to individual season 2 episodes

WEEKLY UPDATE/works in progress - republishing Twin Peaks episode comments from dugpa & Reddit, archive, reviewed Black Panther & Get Out

TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS Return Rewatch Pt. 16
The feel & structure of the episode
Twin Peaks - Richard's parents/Hit and run/Jerry/Ben & Beverly/Roadhouse/Audrey's world
FBI in South Dakota (including an aside on the Diane/Cooper juxtaposition)
Mr. C
Las Vegas - Cooper is back/Dougie at work/Dougie at home/The search for Dougie/Assassination/Mitchums
Spirit World - Red Room
Character introductions & re-introductions/screentime rankings/timeline of events
Lodge lore
Laura Palmer

FILM IN FOCUS: Medium Cool

OTHER TOPICS: Podcast recommendations

LISTENER FEEDBACK: Pt. 14 feedback including the green glove, Diane & Janey-E as sisters, and whose smile is inside of Sarah?

OPENING THE ARCHIVE: Popular, eventually...

OUTRO

BECOME A PATRON

Patreon update #34: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 15 (+ Let Me In, Spielberg biography, the era of the mix CD & more)

The Return rewatch is approaching its conclusion with Part 15, in which Mr. C enters the strange convenience store/motel space to ask the Jeffries kettle about Judy; Dougie-Cooper watches Sunset Boulevard and decides to electrocute himself; Jacoby, Nadine, and Otis Redding finally bring Norma and Ed together after a half-century of quiet frustration; and we all bid a poignant farewell to the Log Lady. Elsewhere, this podcast episode features some spillover from last week's epic entry (my longest yet); I recorded the "other topics" section as part of a longer section for Episode 33, but it was too long so I moved it here (there's still more to come next week). This includes some musings on the short window of the "mix CD" phenomenon in the late nineties and early zeroes (as well as my own first comical attempt to make a mix), brief reflections on a TV episode I watched (Colony) and a book I've been reading (Steven Spielberg: A Life in Film by Molly Haskell), and my ambivalent reaction to some recent elections and the media response. "Opening the Archive," meanwhile, concludes the vampire-film essay I began reading last week. There's no listener feedback or film in focus this week, and I also had virtually no updates, so this is a much shorter podcast than last time. Incidentally, however, I do plan on posting quite a bit on this site in the next few days, as I revive some Twin Peaks content that I published on other sites a few years ago...so stay tuned for that.

Episode 34: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 15 (+ Let Me In, Spielberg biography, the era of the mix CD & more)

Line-up for Episode 34

INTRO (including brief mention of the archive pages as works in progress)

TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS Return Rewatch Pt. 15
The feel & structure of the episode
Twin Peaks - Cooper investigation/Jacoby + Ed & Norma + RR Franchise/Richard's parents/Steven & Gersten + Becky/James + Freddie + Roadhouse/Audrey's world/standalone scenes
Mr. C
Las Vegas - Dougie at home/The search for Dougie/Assassination
Spirit World - Convenience store & motel
Character introductions & re-introductions/screentime rankings/timeline of events
Coffee, pie, and donuts
Lodge lore
Laura Palmer

OTHER TOPICS: Colony, the era of mix CD, Molly Haskell's biography of Steven Spielberg, left-wing candidates - centrist analysis & available electorate

OPENING THE ARCHIVE: Let the Right One In (2 of 2) - Let Me In, the U.S. remake

OUTRO

BECOME A PATRON

Patreon update #33: DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES • Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 14 / film in focus: Sorry to Bother You (+ Let the Right One In, abuse in Mulholland Drive, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Incredibles 2 & more) and preview of Walter/Pianist/Bleeding Drunk character studies

"We are like the dreamer who dreams and then lives inside of the dream. But...who is the dreamer?" "I had a dream about this place..." "Somebody spoke and I went into a dream..." "Don't...fall...asleep..." "Hey baby wake up, come and dance with me!"

This is my longest episode yet, even longer than the last time I featured a film in focus (Holy Smoke! in June) despite that previous episode including special guests (Em and Steve of No Ship Network) and the most acclaimed part of the new Twin Peaks (Part 8). In some ways, however, Part 14 is even denser than Part 8, including not only a motherlode of mythology (Gordon's dream, the trip to Jack Rabbit's Palace and Andy's vision, Freddie's origin story, Sarah's face trick) but important ongoing plot points as well. Certain subjects - the inclusion of the Upanishads, Sarah's place in the narrative, the nature of Judy, even an aside on the Throbbing Gristle album Giftgas - required extended treatment. Additionally, I had a lengthy piece of listener feedback onhand, one that I'd been holding off until Monica Bellucci's appearance (the listener uses "Who is the dreamer?" as the springboard to discuss that recent "Is Cooper the guilty dreamer?" essay and theories about Mulholland Drive as an allegory for childhood trauma). This feedback inspired my own long reply, which detours into Rita Hayworth's traumatic history as well as something I once witnessed at a hypnotist's show. And finally, my film in focus takes up a good chunk of the episode; Sorry to Bother You, the acclaimed new surrealist/sci-fi/satirical comedy from Boots Riley, is the rare new release I felt compelled to seek out and discuss. Its explicitly political - explicitly Marxist - message resonates with the current moment and I wanted to relay my own roller coaster experience on this first viewing (I loved the early scenes, felt a bit lost during the middle section, and was back on board by the ending).

In fact, I recorded so much material that the podcast originally ran well over three and a half hours and had to be cut down. This includes splitting up the originally mammoth "Other Topics" section - this week, I'm sharing a number of other podcasts about Sorry to Bother You (including some excellent interviews with Riley) as well as some thoughts on Incredibles 2, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and a childhood alarm clock. However, a dozen other podcast recommendations, along with discussions of the brief mix CD era and a Spielberg bio I'm reading, will have to wait for later episodes. Episode 33 concludes with a new "Opening the Archive" subject (also to be continued next week), focused on the vampire film Let the Right One In as well as the book it's based on. Finally, for my biweekly preview I shared three quick character sketches: Walter, the manager of Norma's Double R franchise; the mysterious Pianist who accompanies Cooper's dinner at the Vegas restaurant; and the Bleeding Drunk, whose annoying presence inspired one of my stronger little studies.

Oh, and there are loads of links in the show notes.

Twin Peaks characters: Walter, the Pianist, and the Bleeding Drunk (August "See the Future" Preview #1 - 2nd tier reward)

Episode 33: DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES... Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 14 & film in focus: Sorry to Bother You (+ Let the Right One In, abuse in Mulholland Drive, Rita Hayworth, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Incredibles 2 & more)


Line-up for Episode 33

INTRO

WEEKLY UPDATE/recent posts: added "5 from Fandor" video to Back to the Future post from 2015

WEEKLY UPDATE/Patreon: 2nd tier biweekly preview - Walter/Pianist/Bleeding Drunk character studies

WEEKLY UPDATE/works in progress: archive, 4 Ways to Watch Fire Walk With Me (discussion of Nightmare on Elm Street 4 - subject returns in "Other Topics")

TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS Return Rewatch Pt. 14
The feel & structure of the episode
Trinity test site in New Mexico desert
Twin Peaks - Cooper investigation/Frank's family/Chad in jail/Hit and run/Drugs/Freddie/James/Ben & Beverly/Sarah/Roadhouse
FBI in South Dakota
Mr. C
Las Vegas - Dougie at home/The search for Dougie
Spirit World - Red Room/Purple World Tower/Convenience Store/Zone Spiral
The Other Side - Odessa
Character introductions & re-introductions/screentime rankings/timeline of events
Coffee, pie, and donuts
Lodge lore
Laura Palmer

FILM IN FOCUS: Sorry to Bother You

OTHER TOPICS: Sorry to Bother You podcasts, Incredibles 2, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 as a very 80s movie, rock n roll chicken alarm clock

LISTENER FEEDBACK: Twin Peaks pianist, different types of UK football, old Epcot rides, Cooper as the guilty dreamer in The Return & sexual abuse as the secret of Mulholland Drive - followed by my reply about the Mulholland Drive theories & Rita Hayworth's traumatic history

OPENING THE ARCHIVE: Let the Right One In (1 of 2) - the book & Swedish film

BECOME A PATRON

Patreon update #32: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 13 (+ This Sporting Life, living in 3 centuries, the decline of Hollywood, Richard and Audrey Horne & more)

Cooper is back with a vengeance; the first half of Part 13 is almost entirely dominated by both of his incarnations. Among other topics, this podcast episode digs into the nature of Mr. C and his juxtaposition not with the "whole" Cooper but with the equally partial "Dougie." Listener feedback encourages further discussion on the decline of Hollywood as the physical (and spiritual) center of the film industry as well as the Horne family's purpose in the Twin Peaks' third season. My Opening the Archive reading of the British New Wave essay ends with a review of This Sporting Life. (I actually forgot to mention what the next archive highlight will be, despite teasing it at the end of this episode - it's my essay on Let the Right One In as a novel, Swedish film, and American remake.) And just for fun, I'm re-visiting a Twitter thread, and some replies, from a while back in which I explored how close certain events are to past eras compared to today, a nineteenth-century president whose grandchildren are still alive, and a woman whose life spanned three centuries (meaning that she lived at the same time as people who were alive in the 1600s and also people still alive today).

Episode 32: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 13 (+ This Sporting Life, living in 3 centuries & more)

Line-up for Episode 32

INTRO

WEEKLY UPDATE/works in progress: archive, Twin Peaks character runners-up

TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS Return Rewatch Pt. 13
The feel & structure of the episode
Twin Peaks - Cooper investigation/Richard's father/Becky/Ed & Norma/RR Franchise/Jacoby/Sarah/James/Roadhouse/Audrey's world
Mr. C
Las Vegas - Dougie at work/Dougie at home/Assassination/Mitchums
Spirit World - Red Room
Character introductions & re-introductions/screentime rankings/timeline of events
Coffee, pie, and donuts
Lodge lore
Laura Palmer

OTHER TOPICS: The Passage of Time & Lifespans - how close events are to the present and earlier events, living in 3 centuries, generations close together & far apart

LISTENER FEEDBACK: Pt. 10 feedback including Audrey Horne's original storyline, Pt. 12 feedback, Richard Horne's importance

OPENING THE ARCHIVE: British New Wave (3 of 3): This Sporting Life

OUTRO, including the possibility of making some older segments public on YT

Her lifespan overlapped with people who experienced both the Glorious Revolution and the 2012 Olympics pic.twitter.com/H4OZHW72qA

— Joel Bocko (@LostInTheMovies) June 5, 2018

BECOME A PATRON

Patreon update #31: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 12 (+ Billy Liar, The Great Movie Ride & more) and description of Laura character study, pt. IV

After two long episodes (especially last week), this one's a nice little digestible nugget - it comes in at almost exactly an hour. There's no film of focus; however, for the first time the Opening the Archive section emphasizes a particular title as I read aloud my review of Billy Liar from 2010 (part of a longer essay which I'll conclude next week with a review of This Sporting Life). My Return rewatch reaches Part 12, widely considered a disappointment at the time although I found it really rich to explore on this viewing. I also read some feedback on Part 9 and talk about Disney World's late Great Movie Ride which I was compelled to bring up for some reason. For my biweekly preview, the Laura character structure finally reaches the most interesting section, in which I organize the scenes that feature her "spirit" in one way or another.

Incidentally, this weekend I saw Sorry to Bother You, a major new release that will definitely be featured as a film in focus in August. This will probably be the week after next week so I have more time to read some other takes on it and dialogue with them. Quick take is I thought it was funny, fascinating, and flawed, and that it offered an extraordinarily and unusually deep well to draw from.

THE SPIRIT OF LAURA PALMER: Telling Laura Palmer's stories, part 4 (July "See the Future" Preview #2 - 2nd tier reward)

Episode 31: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 12 (+ Billy Liar, The Great Movie Ride & more)

Line-up for Episode 31

INTRO

WEEKLY UPDATE/recent posts: comments from limbo, fixed Wire images

WEEKLY UPDATE/Patreon: 2nd tier biweekly - Laura Palmer character study structure Pt. IV ("Spirit")

WEEKLY UPDATE/works in progress: the full archive

TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS Return Rewatch Pt. 12
The feel & structure of the episode
Twin Peaks - Cooper investigation/Jerry/Sarah/Fat Trout/Hit and run/Richard's father/Ben & Beverly/Jacoby/Roadhouse/Audrey's world
FBI in South Dakota - Yankton/Buckhorn
Las Vegas - Dougie at home/Jade & the key
Character introductions & re-introductions/screentime rankings/timeline of events
Lodge lore
Laura Palmer

OTHER TOPICS: The Great Movie Ride in Disney World

LISTENER FEEDBACK: Pt. 9 feedback including the Search for the Zone site and the Hornes & the waterfall

OPENING THE ARCHIVE: British New Wave (2 of 3): Billy Liar

OUTRO

BECOME A PATRON

Patreon update #30: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 11 (+ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the British New Wave, Twin Peaks as a meditation on art and creativity, podcast recommendations & more)

This ended up being a surprisingly long podcast (as well as a surprisingly late one - I got the actual episode up within an hour of its schedule, but the show note links, this cross-post, and other details took a bit longer). The Return rewatch, which resumes this week with an exciting, acclaimed episode, isn't much longer than usual and there's no film in focus, so I guess it was mostly the "other topics" section (with a little bit of help from some in-depth listener feedback) that stretched things out. This was my first opportunity to discuss the lightning-fast rise of Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - I address the success of her campaign, the differences between democratic socialism and social democracy, some of the left's criticisms of her recent statements, the unsurprising but still amusingly frantic reaction of both the right and the center, and more. As if that wasn't already enough, I also round up a number of podcast episodes (including several that address Ocasio-Cortez's win) plus a few videos, shows, and films that I've watched since June - so all in all, this section is about as long as it's ever been.

Afterwards, I feature some feedback on my Part 8 episode from listeners/patrons, including a long comment from Jake and an even more extended analysis of how Twin Peaks relates to art and creativity as indirect subjects, from Laurence. Finally I kick off a new era on "Opening the Archive" - from now on it will be a sort of reading series, in which I share older pieces from this site. Longer essays will be divided over several episodes, as is the case here; in anticipation of my Billy Liar and This Sporting Life reviews in the next two weeks, I lay out the history of the British New Wave and the cultural context of 1963, when both films were released.

Episode 30: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 11 (+ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the British New Wave, Twin Peaks as a meditation on art and creativity, podcast recommendations & more)

Line-up for Episode 30

INTRO (including recent visit to Twin Peaks locations)

WEEKLY UPDATE/recent posts - correction of previous podcast, cross-posted 25 Years Later, "Greeting from Twin Peaks" photos

WEEKLY UPDATE/works in progress - videos of locations for Journey series

TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS Return Rewatch Pt. 11

The feel & structure of the episode

Twin Peaks - Cooper investigation/Hit and run/Becky/RR Franchise/Steven & Gersten/Shelly & Red/Ed & Norma/standalone scenes/mood of the town

FBI in South Dakota - Buckhorn

Las Vegas - Dougie at work/Debt/Assassination/Mitchums

Spirit World - Red Room (glimpse)/Convenience Store/Zone Spiral 

Character introductions & re-introductions/screentime rankings/timeline of events

Coffee, pie, and donuts

Lodge lore

Laura Palmer

OTHER TOPICS, Pt. 1: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (her victory, definitions of social democracy vs. democratic socialism, left-wing criticism of her Israel statements, right-wing and centrist attacks)

OTHER TOPICS, Pt. 2: podcast recommendations (including some about left electoralism & Ocasio-Cortez), John Oliver on Venezuela (& the debunking video), Eric Andre, High Maintenance, Sweetie, North Shore

LISTENER FEEDBACK: Pt. 8 feedback including a lengthy passage on Twin Peaks, art, and creativity

OPENING THE ARCHIVE: British New Wave (1 of 3): 1963 & "Whaddya got?"

OUTRO

BECOME A PATRON

Patreon update #28: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 10 (+ Chilean Revolution, my spring viewing diaries & more)

As we take a break from films in focus the episodes are getting shorter again. This one is particularly slim, just over an hour, which suits its central subject: Part 10 was a surprisingly light "hour" that actually ran only about fifty-four minutes (excluding the longest musical number of the series, the nearly seven-minute "No Stars") . I mean "light" primarily in terms of runtime of course; while this episode does indulge the more comic side of the Mitchums, and effectively introduce the delightfully daffy Candie, Part 10 is a very dark affair - indulging in shocking violence, meditating on loss, grief, and trauma, and taking place largely at night. Suiting that mood, my "Other Topics" section uses a recent Revolutionary Left Radio podcast as a springboard to discuss the Chilean revolution of the early seventies, which ended in a brutal U.S.-backed coup. To close the episode, I finish my twenty-eight-part "Opening the Archive" series which has surveyed my work over ten years (in the future this section will focus on a single piece at a time, usually reading the full text of a written piece or playing the audio track from a video essays that work on those terms as well).

Episode 28: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 10 (+ Chilean Revolution, my spring viewing diaries & more)

The catching-up of the Archive series to the present brings us to the reason that, for the second week in a row, the rewatch series is taking advantage of 2017's two-week break between Parts 9 and 10 to present an episode a week ahead of when it aired. (The break will be observed next week instead, so that when the rewatch resumes with Part 11 July 23 we will be in sync again.)

Patreon update #27: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 9 (+ Bob Dylan's Pretty Saro music video & more) and description of Laura character study, pt. II

This week's mellow, meditative episode pairs my analysis of the quiet Part 9, a surprisingly low-key return to Twin Peaks after the revolutionary Part 8, and my reflections on a Bob Dylan music video I discovered on Twitter a while ago. "Pretty Saro" was a Dylan cut so deep it never even appeared as a bootleg (it was recorded for, but excluded from, his 1970 album Self-Portrait). Created for a special release five years ago by the filmmaker Jennifer Lebeau, and tweeted again recently to celebrate the singer's seventy-seventh birthday (which is how I found it), the video uses many midcentury snapshots and home movies from the Library of Congress to paint a powerful portrait of a time just recent enough to feel like part of the collective memory, yet just old enough to feel like a dream that has mostly slipped away. I dissect the history of the song itself, the context of the recording, and the reasons why these images resonate. For reference (and the enjoyment of readers, including those who are not patrons), I've embedded the video beneath the following line-up. If you have comments or impressions you'd like to share, please do and I'll present them on the podcast. For whatever reason, this very random piece struck a chord with me and also gelled with a particularly subdued, vaguely melancholy Twin Peaks episode.

Finally, now that I'm cross-posting on Mondays, biweekly previews will be linked in odd-numbered Patreon updates going forward. This edition continues to outline how I'm approaching Laura's narrative in my future character study, in this case organizing scenes from the first season when she is either mentioned by other characters or present as a corpse or disembodied voice. As these outlines are longer than initially expected, the next preview should conclude this format (an overview of how I'm organizing Cooper's story will follow afterwards).

Telling Laura Palmer's stories, part 2 (June "See the Future" Preview #2 - 2nd tier reward)

Episode 27: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 9 (+ Bob Dylan's Pretty Saro music video & more)


Line-up for Episode 27

INTRO

WEEKLY UPDATE/mostly Patreon: main site cross-posts now go up on Monday (brief X-Files/Wire mention, no work in progress)

TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS Return Rewatch Pt. 8 

The feel & structure of the episode

Twin Peaks - Cooper investigation/Hit and run/Jerry/Ben & Beverly/Beverly's marriage/Roadhouse/standalone scenes

FBI in South Dakota - Yankton/Buckhorn

Mr. C

Las Vegas - Dougie at work/Dougie at home/Assassination plot

Spirit World - Zone (mentioned)

Character introductions & re-introductions/screentime rankings/timeline of events

Coffee, pie, and donuts (and cigarettes!)

Lodge lore

Laura Palmer

OTHER TOPICS: Pretty Saro - Bob Dylan music video

OPENING THE ARCHIVE: "Podcasting for Patreon" (January - April 2018), this week's highlight: Patreon podcast, episode 11: Connecting Eraserhead & Inland Empire (+ Blue Velvet)

OUTRO

BECOME A PATRON

Patreon update #26: "Gotta light? HOLY SMOKE!" - guests Em & Steve of No Ship Network/Sparkwood & 21 discuss Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 8 & the final film in focus...for now (+ Too Many Cooks, podcast recommendations, my Return viewing diary & much more)

Believe it or not, I didn't realize the perfect pairing of "Gotta light?" and Holy Smoke! until I put those two images together. It's one of those serendipitous accidents that we discuss in the episode itself. This is a big entry - by far my longest (two and half hours), covering the most celebrated episode of The Return alongside my final patron-recommended film in focus (Jane Campion's 1999 film starring Kate Winslet as a cult member and Harvey Keitel as her cocky deprogrammer), and featuring my first double guests, here to discuss not just a movie but a Twin Peaks episode. This will also be the third time I've publicly shared an episode or part of an episode on YouTube - in this case, I'm uploading eighteen minutes of our Part 8 discussion, focusing on the New Mexico sequences of the atomic bomb blast and the Woodsmen-led invasion of a small town eleven years later. If you enjoy this conversation, I encourage you not only to subscribe to my own Patreon but that of No Ship Network, where you can support the fantastic and prolific work of this week's guests Em and Steve (who host the Sparkwood & 21 podcast on Twin Peaks, among many other ventures).

I'm also using the occasion to change how I publish my Patreon updates on this site; from now on, I will be cross-posting new podcast episodes an hour after they go up each Monday instead of waiting until the end of the week. My original reasons for updating on Saturdays became irrelevant long ago, and I was already planning to switch to Mondays in time for the site's tenth anniversary in three weeks (which I will celebrate with a special podcast episode marking a one-week break from the Return rewatch). After that, I'll probably stick to this schedule at least through the end of the rewatch, maybe until I have a public series/backlog of pieces to go up on those days for the foreseeable future. This spring has been pretty nonstop, so I imagine it will take a while to get to the point where I have a backlog again, but meanwhile the podcasts will remain steady throughout the year.

As for this week, there's a biweekly preview coming out Wednesday but I'll save that for the next update. There's already plenty to dive into with this podcast alone: aside from the Peaks episode and Campion film (one of Em's favorites, which I was seeing for the first time based on her tip), I loaded up an "other topics" section with recent non-site-related activities: YouTube videos I watched - including, finally, the viral 2014 sensation Too Many Cooks; a couple political articles I read; rock albums I listened to; a dash of Twitter drama; and, of course, a whole lot of podcast recomendations. After some brief listener feedback on Dougie's unusual arm gesture, "Opening the Archive" explores the recent past, recapping my summer of Twin Peaks: The Return that we're now reliving with my rewatch series. These first reactions were a lot of fun to write, and hopefully still helpful to read, but my highlight ended up being a more comprehensive piece I wrote after the third season ended, in which I covered all three seasons at length. And of course, the show notes provide a bevy of links to accompany and extend these discussions.

Drink full and descend...

Episode 26: "Gotta light? HOLY SMOKE!" - guests Em & Steve of No Ship Network/Sparkwood & 21 discuss Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 8 & the final film in focus...for now (+ Too Many Cooks, podcast recommendations, my Return viewing diary & much more)

Patreon update #25: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 7 (+ The Rolling Stones early albums & more)

Part 7 of Twin Peaks' third season is driven by investigation and discovery: Deputy Hawk and Sheriff Truman examine Laura's secret diary, Ben and Beverly go looking for the source of the magical Great Northern hum, Mr. C mysteriously blackmails a prison warden to plan his escape, and we finally get to know Diane - and come to realize all we don't yet know about her. Part 7 was one of my favorite episodes at the time it aired, although of course it would quickly be dwarfed by the follow-up (a very different episode). Elsewhere in this entry, I linger over the early discography of the Rolling Stones, from the American version of their cover-heavy rhythm and blues debut (England's Newest Hit Makers) to the fully-realized masterpiece they recorded nearly a decade later (Exile on Main Street). In between, they dabbled in raucous rock and roll, airy pop, and experimental psychedelia, before returning to their roots with renewed vigor and songwriting maturity. As I describe the various eras they experienced, I play short clips from many songs; in the show notes on Patreon, I've listed each one by timestamp, in case you're curious. As for Opening the Archive, I'm diving into the original character series - we're now almost a year away from the present, having traversed my entire back catalog up until my Return viewing diary last summer.

Episode 25: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 7 (+ The Rolling Stones early albums & more)

Film in Focus update...

Patreon update #24: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 6 / film in focus: Before Sunrise (+ Homeland & centrism, listing favorite films & more) and description of Laura character study, pt. I

Although I watched Before Sunrise back in April, I knew I had to save this episode for June 16 - today is the twenty-fourth anniversary of the morning that the characters parted ways (and made plans to meet again). My coverage of this, the second-to-last patron recommendation (and the last in a long run as next week I'll be choosing my own Film in Focus), addresses the passage of time, Linklater's ability to fuse a casual, relaxed air with inventive structural conceits, and the real woman who inspired Before Sunrise and died tragically a year before it was released. For much of this podcast, I discuss a Twin Peaks episode also marked by violent death - the brooding, concentrated Part 6. I also comment on some films/TV episodes I watched recently, including the peculiar political vision of the Homeland finale, and open the archives to a time when I completed my Favorites series (the line-up lists my 58 favorite films, at least according to my mood on New Year's Eve 2011, when I composed said list).

And in an unusual biweekly preview, I describe my approach to a very important entry in my upcoming character series. How to lay out Laura's narrative, with its many tangents and manifestations? I really enjoyed assembling her material into a fragmented timeline that works for me - what do you think?

Telling Laura Palmer's stories (June "See the Future" Preview #1 - 2nd tier reward)

Episode 24: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 6 / film in focus: Before Sunrise (+ Homeland & centrism, listing favorite films & more)

Line-up for Episode 24

INTRO - concluding the patron recommendations

WEEKLY UPDATE/mostly Patreon: 2nd tier biweekly preview - Laura Palmer's character study structure (mention X-Files series & character runners-up)

TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS Return Rewatch Pt. 6
The feel & structure of the episode
Twin Peaks - Cooper investigation/Hit and run/Frank's family/Roadhouse/Drugs/Fat Trout/ standalone scenes
FBI in South Dakota - Yankton
Las Vegas - Dougie at home/Dougie's debt/Dougie at work/Assassination plot/Jade & the key
Spirit World - Red Room
Character introductions & re-introductions/screentime rankings/timeline of events
Coffee, pie & donuts
Lodge lore
Laura Palmer

FILM IN FOCUS: Before Sunrise

OTHER TOPICS: The Peanuts Movie, Homeland finale

LISTENER FEEDBACK: Twin Peaks Pts. 1 & 2, 3 & 4

OPENING THE ARCHIVE: "Finishing the Favorites" (May 2016 - January 2017), this week's highlight: Black/White video essay

OUTRO

BECOME A PATRON

Patreon update #23: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 5 / film in focus: The Wrestler (+ my 2016 video essays, Anna Karina & more)

From now until the finale, my Twin Peaks rewatch will deal with one episode at a time. Nonetheless, this podcast is still packed with analysis and reflection. Part 5 was a favorite at the time, and it still seems really rich and underrated to me. I also revisit The Wrestler for the first time in years (I think this was my second viewing) - now it feels almost like a period piece, in addition to its other qualities. Further topics include my earliest experiences with The X-Files (or what I thought was X-Files), the last batch of political podcast recommendations, feedback on The Devil Rides Out and the two-hour premiere of Twin Peaks' third season, video essays I created during a particularly active period in 2016, and (related to that last subject) the onscreen relationship of Anna Karina and Jean-Luc Godard.

Episode 23: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Part 5 / film in focus: The Wrestler (+ my 2016 video essays, Anna Karina & more)

Line-up for Episode 23

INTRO

WEEKLY UPDATE/recent posts: finished Veronica Mars series, started X-Files series (memory of trying to watch an X-Files episode as a kid)

TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS Return Rewatch Pt. 5

The feel & structure of the episode

Buenos Aires

Twin Peaks - Cooper investigation/Becky/Double R franchise/Frank's family/Jacoby/Roadhouse/Drugs

FBI in South Dakota - Yankton/Buckhorn

Mr. C

Las Vegas - Dougie's home life/Dougie's debt/Dougie at work/Assassination plot/Mitchums/Jade & the key

Spirit World - Red Room

Character introductions & re-introductions/screentime rankings/ timeline of events

Coffee, pie, and donuts

Lodge lore

Laura Palmer

FILM IN FOCUS: The Wrestler

OTHER TOPICS: Political podcast recommendations

LISTENER FEEDBACK: The Devil Rides Out, Twin Peaks Pt. 1 & 2

OPENING THE ARCHIVE: "Paris, Portmeirion, and Other Planets" (December 2015 - April 2016), this week's highlight: The Passion of Anna K. video essay

OUTRO

BECOME A PATRON

Patreon update #22: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Parts 3 & 4 / film in focus: Swing Time (& more) and preview of New Mexico Townspeople character study

What a cheerful bunch! This was a fun image to compile. After a series of somber and/or surreal films in focus, a Hollywood musical comedy swoops in to lighten the mood. Likewise, this week's Twin Peaks pair (the last time two episodes will be conjoined until the finale) has a fairly comedic flair - alongside some genuinely trippy material, of course. The Return Rewatch continues with Parts 3 and 4, followed by my reflections on Swing Time, some more podcast recommendations, and a tour through a Neon Genesis Evangelion-heavy archive period. By the way, if you're wondering why I haven't yet shared your comments on the last episode (or previous ones), worry not; I wasn't able to incorporate them into listener feedback this week, but they'll definitely be read next time around. Also, apologies for the rough quality of the "podcast recommendations" section once again. See you again next week for more Twin Peaks, and a bit of Mickey Rourke.

The New Mexico Townspeople (May "See the Future" Preview #3 - 2nd tier reward)

Episode 22: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch - Parts 3 & 4 / film in focus: Swing Time (& more)

Line-up for Episode 22

INTRO

WEEKLY UPDATE/recent posts: Veronica Mars series

WEEKLY UPDATE/Patreon: 2nd tier biweekly preview - New Mexico townspeople

 TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS Return Rewatch Pt. 3 & 4
The feel & structure of the episode
New York
Twin Peaks -Cooper investigation/Jacoby/Roadhouse/Drugs/standalone scenes
FBI in South Dakota - Philadelphia/Yankton/Buckhorn
Mr. C
Las Vegas - assassination plot/meeting Dougie/Dougie at home/Mitchums
Spirit World - Red Room/Purple World Tower
Character introductions & re-introductions/screentime rankings/timeline of events
Coffee, pie, and donuts 
Lodge lore 
Laura Palmer

FILM IN FOCUS: Swing Time

OTHER TOPICS: Political podcast recommendations

OPENING THE ARCHIVE: "A World Without Uncertainty" (August - December 2015), this week's highlight: Side by Side video essay on Neon Genesis Evangelion & Twin Peaks

OUTRO

BECOME A PATRON

Patreon update #21: Twin Peaks season 3 rewatch (public video) - Parts 1 & 2 / film in focus: Radio On (+ Josie Packard as a character, my video essay Learning to Look & more)

After months of hype, the Return rewatch series has begun! From now through September 3, I will publish a new podcast entry every Monday on Patreon at 6pm in honor of the third season's first anniversary. I knew that "Twin Peaks Reflections" would become a more ambitious segment  with the dawn of this approach, but I was surprised by how lengthy, comprehensive, and structured the new section ended up being. My coverage of the two-hour premiere - Parts 1 & 2 - runs for over an hour. It explores every nook and cranny of the show, and does so through a format I will follow week to week: looking at the feel and structure of each episode, breaking the plot into story sections (New York and other random locations, Twin Peaks, the FBI in South Dakota, Mr. C, Las Vegas, and the Spirit World), analyzing statistics (characters introduced or re-introduced, ranking screentime, and determining a plausible timeline for the out-of-order scenes), and finally digging into three different areas: coffee/pie/donuts, Lodge lore, and Laura Palmer. It's going to be a blast re-visiting the Showtime series this way.

Despite the overwhelming dominance of Twin Peaks at this point, the rest of the podcast chugs along at its normal pace, making this by far the longest episode so far. From now on, each episode will run closer to two hours than just an hour. My Film in Focus is the second in a row from the UK, the third in a row from the British Isles, the fifth in a row from Europe, and the ninth non-American film in a row, if we discount exile Stanley Kubrick's last film (next week's Hollywood classic will break this streak!). It's also yet another movie, following A Man Escaped and Spirited Away in the past few months, that I first reviewed in the summer of 2008, the earliest days of my blog, but haven't seen since then. Radio On is a captivating musical journey from London to Bristol, and I focus on its strangely political apolitical outlook, its German influence (and possible influence on Jim Jarmusch), and even its early use of video games.

In the "other topics" section I dig into several really absorbing podcasts I've listened to recently, and in listener feedback I hear from one patron who had their own thoughts going into season 3 and another whose take on Josie Packard is at least as comprehensive as what I shared in my biweekly preview last week. Apologies for the strange audio quality in these sections; I think once again the phone itself, rather than my headphone mic, was picking up my voice - hopefully it's still listenable for you. Finally, in "Opening the Archives" I move into the post-Journey Through Twin Peaks era on my site (which feels like a step into the present), when I kicked off my viewing diary approach with True Detective, resumed the Evangelion episode guide, and began creating regular video essays for Fandor. My archive highlight this week is an exploration of eye contact in an iconic sales film, resulting in one of my favorite video essays that I created.

Finally, I've also decided to post the Twin Peaks part of this episode publicly on YouTube for non-patrons to enjoy. If you like it, and can do so at the present moment, consider becoming a patron so that you can hear the rest of my series coverage. Only three more patrons to go, and I'll hit fifty!