Twin Peaks

johnny_ultimate

Have recently watched the entire Twin Peaks series and well over a decade later it still stands out as one of the most accomplished, funny, artistic, intelligent oddities to ever grace television. Even today - which is a fantastic time for TV - little comes close. From the great characters (Cooper, Lynch's madcap occasional cameo appearances, the always sultry Audrey Horne) to the memorable settings, everything is unique. And while some of the subplots tend to drag (Nadine as a cheerleader springs to mind) especially

after Laura's murder is solved

, it remains engaging up to the finale which could well be my favourite single television episode every made (the imagery in

The Black Lodge

is nothing short of jaw dropping / terrifying).

Anyone else have any standout moments from this fantastic series?

FruitLover

I actually loved the very end moment of the series (mirror), despite the fact that this was the rushed ending, not the one David Lynch wanted to do.

Heckler

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Have recently watched the entire Twin Peaks series and well over a decade later it still stands out as one of the most accomplished, funny, artistic, intelligent oddities to ever grace television. Even today - which is a fantastic time for TV - little comes close. From the great characters (Cooper, Lynch's madcap occasional cameo appearances, the always sultry Audrey Horne) to the memorable settings, everything is unique. And while some of the subplots tend to drag (Nadine as a cheerleader springs to mind) especially

after Laura's murder is solved

, it remains engaging up to the finale which could well be my favourite single television episode every made (the imagery in

The Black Lodge

is nothing short of jaw dropping / terrifying).

Anyone else have any standout moments from this fantastic series?

Audrey Horne twisting the cocktail stick in a knot with her tongue.......Nice !! That aside Twin peaks was one of the most original, talked about shows ever. Not of its time or anything, just ever. Sheer briliance. I've yet to get the box set ( i presume there is one). From the haunting soundtrack and intro its such a nostalgic piece for me I can't wait to see it again and introduce it to some others who have the misfortune of not having seen it. Perfect TV.

IanCurtis

I couldn't understand what the hell was going on when I first watched Twin Peaks!

Gonna give it another go!

johnny_ultimate

Heckler wrote: »

Audrey Horne twisting the cocktail stick in a knot with her tongue.......Nice !! That aside Twin peaks was one of the most original, talked about shows ever. Not of its time or anything, just ever. Sheer briliance. I've yet to get the box set ( i presume there is one). From the haunting soundtrack and intro its such a nostalgic piece for me I can't wait to see it again and introduce it to some others who have the misfortune of not having seen it. Perfect TV.

The second season isn't available on region 2 DVD for some bizarre reason (probably to do with owls not being as they seem) but I picked up the region 1 Gold Box and it is excellent: all the episodes plus a great disc of extras. Only problem is trying to get my hands on Fire Walk With Me, which seems to have been discontinued.

And yeah the soundtrack is fantastic. As you say the intro is great, the peaceful, picturesque landscape contrasting beautifully with the darkness that tends to follow. What amazes me is that it was so popular: it really is great that such an unusual experiment - which in many ways is as complex (if a bit more linear) than the rest of Lynch's material - managed to win over such a large audience. It really is a once-off in that sense (although you could argue that Lost - although ultimately not as intelligent or satirical - is currently a descendent of the whole Twin Peaks WTF popularity).

Ckal

I have only seen bits of it, but I did buy the Season One boxset in HMV last Monday for €19.99. It looks totally awesome.

themadchef

Yeah I really liked it.... very compelling viewing.

Wonder why they don't re-run it? Would no doubt pull in a fair amount of viewers.

I think the "Lost" generation would love it, and at least there's an ending to it!

ixoy

Watched the full run about three times now, most recently finishing up a few months ago.

So many great things about this show - plot, characters, and one of the first shows to bring the 'WTF?!' to a TV audience for a US show. A lot of people thought the show dipped in quality in the second season but I don't really think that's the case as the Wyndham Earle storyline was very strong. The final scene is very frustrating, especially as it doesn't have any real conclusion in the prequel movie (which is well worth seeing only after you've watched all the episodes - important that!).

Soundtrack is superb - I've acquired both the first soundtrack and the second one, featuring music from the second season. Indeed I've got one of them as my mobile ring - Packard's theme (the very dark piece that plays for Josie's scenes).

Lots of great imagery in there too and I'd argue strongly that BOB is the scariest character committed ever to television. He freaks me out!

It's a shame it didn't get a proper conclusion but I do believe that without "Twin Peaks" laying the groundwork, shows like "Lost" would never have come about as they have.

johnny_ultimate

ixoy wrote: »

So many great things about this show - plot, characters, and one of the first shows to bring the 'WTF?!' to a TV audience for a US show. A lot of people thought the show dipped in quality in the second season but I don't really think that's the case as the Wyndham Earle storyline was very strong.

While the central storylines remain fantastic, I do feel some of the characters burn out in the last ten episodes. There is a lot of good (Audrey seems to return to form after the One Eyed Jacks storyline rendered her a little redundant) but others just seem like a waste of the characters (James' plotline seems pointless in many respects). That said, I still think for the most part the drop in quality was only really evident in the first few episodes following the solving of the mystery, but once they find direction again it does find its flow again. And as you say, since there is such a strong finale it is a shame the series didn't continue and ended on a cliffhanger that promised so much (

and the defeat of Cooper's goodness by the Black Lodge is a really bold decision which could have created a fascinating third series

), especially as the series finally seemed to know where it was going without the Palmer mystery to propel it.

Lots of great imagery in there too and I'd argue strongly that BOB is the scariest character committed ever to television. He freaks me out!

Definitely. The crazed look on his face is just terrifying. His appearance always creates a very dark atmosphere, his manic giggling a horrific sound. A truly great badguy who really does pose a threat.

Omnipresence

Still my favorite tv show ever bar none.... I would urge anyone who hasn't seen this and are into a bit of left of center to check this out.

Have to agree with the Bob thing.. forget your fake ass monsters etc in films ... this was a bit too close to home...

I grew up in wood and had to walk home down a lane of trees to get home... haven't done that at night since I watched Twin Peaks.. even day time now its pretty freaky... Thanks a bunch Mr Lynch ;-)

Still though .. massive David Lynch fan ever since.... watching anything he has done manages to set a certain "mood" that no other director seems to be able to do... perhaps as it's always so unnerving watching his stuff..

So may cooper one-liners too...

Dolbert

I ordered Series 2 from Amazon.de, it comes on two separate discs and only took a few days to arrive

Sandwich

Heckler wrote: »

Audrey Horne twisting the cocktail stick in a knot with her tongue.......Nice !!

Havent seen it since it aired but that bit sticks in my mind too - but I thought she knotted a cherry stalk?

It was a great show. GREAT, but flawed. Its greatness came from the freedom of not having to worry about overall plot coherence and the freedom that gave to follow any flight of fancy for the sake of a good scene or image. But that was also its flaw. Pretty early on, it was clear that there was no consistency in the plot and that really it could just wander on for ever without getting anywhere. The whole thing was just one big ACT I, where an extraordinarily complicated situation was set up - a setup we went along with because we are instinctively used to an ensuing resolution. But there was no resolution. There couldnt be - that was what enabled the setup to be so bizarre, puzzling, complicated, etc. But in a way that made it just a cheat. It was a great ACT 1 while it lasted, but kinda left you feeling conned that after a fantastically tasty appetizer you are told the restaurant doesnt do main courses.
Looked super, had some great creativity, score was very appropriate, good acting. And, as mntioned by a previous poster, it is the seminal WTF - it invented the genre.

\i must get a copy.

FiddlersElbowfi

A genuinely cracking show, though I was a little young to appreciate it properly at the time, there were so many wtf? moments and so much creepy trippy stuff going on. I remember watching the scene where

Bob kills the cousin

and just not being able to go to bed after it, a truly creepy five minutes of TV. Also a scene in the woods where a character, I cant remember who exactly, comes out and is shocked to muteness (I think, something like that anyway) was chilling at the time.
It's been on the must watch again list for a while now. Really must dig out the dvd for a night or two of being freaked out!