A Year with Twin Peaks

Last Christmas break, I really fell in love with a television show. Unfortunately for me, it was a show that had been off the air for well over ten years.

I received the Gold Box Set of Twin Peaks as a gift on Christmas day from my parents. I had never seen a single episode from the show at that point in time. I had asked for it knowing only that crazy director David Lynch was behind the show and that I had found a great deal for the box set on Amazon. Since I was also lucky enough to get a Blu-ray player last Christmas as well, my Twin Peaks set really got the shaft for a few days. I don’t think I watched the pilot episode until three days after Christmas. However, a lot of things changed once I did.

I can remember getting up early that specific Saturday morning just to watch Twin Peaks for the first time. In a way, it was the perfect time and setting. It was an especially cold morning. The air was icy and thick. Outside, the sky was hazy and slightly overcast. Still, despite this, there was a certain warmth about my house. As the main theme kicked in over my surround sound system and that opening image of the bird on a tree limb covered my screen, something clicked inside of me. Everything just felt right.

Through that first episode, I was kept completely intrigued the entire time. I was taken in immediately by the murder mystery surrounding the death of the young but mysterious Laura Palmer, the amazing rural Northwestern Pacific atmosphere that soaked every frame, the charismatic Agent Dale Cooper (played brilliantly by Kyle MacLachlan), Angelo Badalamenti’s haunting original score and David Lynch’s skilled blend of quirky humor and nightmarish horror. From the very beginning, the show hit a certain chord with me. I knew it was something I was definitely going to enjoy. However, I never knew how much it would resonate with me for the next few days.

That very first day I watched two DVDs worth of episodes out of the ten-disc box set. Slowly, I was becoming obsessed. And, in a way, I needed to.

Last Christmas break at this point in time, I was in a pretty serious state of depression. I had had an incredibly hard semester of college where I almost lost my 4.0. During this time period, I reached my breaking point in terms of studying and working. At the same time, my obsessive compulsion disorder was raging out of control, making the whole situation much worse. By the time I got out for Christmas break, I was beyond burned out. It looked like I was getting better when a certain situation with a girl I had feelings towards went very bad. Upon this, I got sick with a bad sinus infection and got bronchitis. Because of the depression I was in, I couldn’t seem to get better.

I spent the majority of the break sick. I was still in the middle of this state of sickness and depression when I got my hands on Twin Peaks. Slowly, but surely, it became the one thing that could get my obsessive mind off everything that had been going on around me for the past few months.

That following week, all I did was watch Twin Peaks. 

And I’m not just talking about watching the series off and on. I am talking about getting up early in the morning, starting the show and finishing it up late that night. In a way, I had truly found an escape from all the things that were going on around and inside of me. Every time I turned a new episode on, it was like David Lynch was taking me on my own personal trip to the town of Twin Peaks-- the land of women with eye patches who are obsessed with drape runners, a dancing midget that visits people in their dreams and the best damn cherry pie you’ll ever taste in the USA.

There were times when the watching the show wasn’t completely enjoyable. I was watching the Season Two premiere at 2 am one morning. Without delving into big spoilers, I got to what I call the “hospital scene” at the end of the episode. This one of the first times where the character of Bob (who I’ve talked about on this site multiple times before) was really showed off in the show and the result was pretty horrific to me. I do not scare easily. I’ve seen so many horror films by this point that I’m pretty much numb. But there was something about this scene that really got to me. I was scared. A numb feeling crept in from my stomach and moved through my legs and to my toes. I felt sick. I can actually remember looking away briefly for a moment or two.

By the time the scene was over, I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping very well that night. Sure enough, I didn’t. I actually had nightmares about Bob that night. While the scene doesn’t bother me on the same level as it did that first time, I still got chills every time I revisit it. There were many moments through the show that repeated this level of horror to me, though maybe not to the same extreme.

By the time I finished the show, I was completely obsessed with it. By this point, my brother (and former YDKS Movies guest writer) Austin had started watching with me. He too was pretty engaged in the show. The closer we got to the show’s finale, the more our anticipation for the show’s grand ending became. Unfortunately for both of us, we had no idea what was in store for us.

I’m still very torn over the ending of the final Twin Peaks episode. For those unaware, the show ends on an ambiguous cliffhanger. The reason for this was that David Lynch was unhappy with the show’s direction during the second season and basically came in and sabotaged it. In some ways, the episode feels like a middle finger to the fans that stuck around through the whole show. In other ways, it almost feels fitting. It’s just as insane of some of the show’s more bizarre moments. Also, it goes the Twin Peaks route of making one think a little harder than other shows out there. After seeing the disappointing but artistically appealing Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, the show’s ending does make a little more sense in hindsight. It was disappointing the first time I saw it but, the more I’ve watched it and thought about it, the ending has grown on me.

With the show finished and done, I can remember a vast, empty feeling running over me. Now what was I going to do? There was no more Twin Peaks to occupy my mind. Quickly, I purchased the critically panned Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. This film prequel to the series quenched my Twin Peaks thirst slightly but, in the end, it didn’t do the series justice. It just didn’t have the same atmosphere and feel that the show had. It was disappointing but I still believe that it does have its moments of brilliance (if interested, you can read my full review here).

When Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me didn’t measure up to my hopes, I found myself looking for other ways to satisfy this new void in my new life. After much thought, it finally hit me— I could introduce my friends to Twin Peaks. Throughout my life, I’ve loved bringing movies I’ve loved into my friends’ lives. Watching it with them on their first viewing has, for me, always been like watching it for the first time again myself. Now, I could do this with Twin Peaks.

At the beginning of the spring semester of 2009, I brought my box set of Twin Peaks with me to college is large zip lock bag (once again, that’s my OCD kicking in). The first night we were all on campus, I got my friends Caleb, Rob, Guy and Seth together to watch the pilot episode. By the end of the viewing, they all seemed to like it. I can remember being really excited and overjoyed that I was going to get to watch the all over again and with my good friends.

Unfortunately, this feeling didn’t last. The further that we got into the first season of the show the more they seemed to dislike the show. Because of the way I had talked about being scared by the “hospital scene” over the break, they were expecting an all-out horror fest. So, when instead they got a show filled with David Lynch’s quirky humor and revolving-door love stories soaked with a dread-filled atmosphere, they weren’t pleased. By the time we reached the end of the first season, they were ready to call it quits. In the process, they (specifically Caleb) verbally belittled the show that I had come to love so much.

To be honest, the situation was beyond disappointing. In fact, it was quite upsetting. To me, there is nothing worse than two feelings in the world— getting rejected by woman and having a friend dislike a movie that I am very passionate about. So when my friends rejected Twin Peaks, I was actually pretty upset and angry.

A month or two passed where I didn’t watch Twin Peaks with anyone or by myself. Then, something special happened. My friend and former co-writer Zach read my review of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and expressed interest in watching the show itself. I had been talking to my friend and current co-writer Ellis about the show at the same time. So, one night, we three sat down and watched the pilot episode.

Immediately, they were as hooked as I had been on my first viewing. They got the humor, the atmosphere, the weirdness and the horror. We were all on the same page. As we continued to watch, our viewing turned into Twin Peaks parties. By this time, my friend and frequent commenter Blossom had joined in on the fun.

I cannot tell you wonderful the Twin Peaks parties were. There have been times this year when I’ve lamented with Zach, Ellis and Blossom about how much I miss them. We’d all get together with chips, cookies, salsa and whatever else we could get together and feast on as David Lynch’s bizarre world unfolded before us. As the episodes played, we’d offer up on our own running commentary that was usually beyond foul. I’ll be honest— some of the worst things I’ve ever heard come out of a human being’s mouth were heard during those Twin Peaks parties.

We also used to get quite worked up emotionally during these Twin Peaks parties. During one session, my RA began to knock on my door because he thought my TV was too loud. Ellis, all wrapped up in the episode, yelled, “F*ck off!” The RA then entered the room awkwardly and muttered, “Um… negative…”

When I finished watching Twin Peaks with this special group of friends, it was just as emotional for me as it was the first time I finished the show. It really felt like something special was leaving my life. The harsh ending was a little easier the second go around and, to my surprise, the guys were much more accepting of it than I had been the first time around.

With the end of Twin Peaks parties in June, my viewing of Twin Peaks had come to an end. Now, it’s December again. It’s almost been a year since I first watched the show. It’s just weird to think of all that’s changed since the first time I got my view of the small town of Twin Peaks. It’s just hard to think of my life now without having Agent Cooper or the weird old Log Lady somewhere in the back of my subconscious. It’s even scarier to think how bad my depression may have gotten last year if it hadn’t been for this amazing show to take me away for hours at a time.

As I get closer to the one-year anniversary of receiving Twin Peaks, I find myself wanting to introduce it to someone else and thus watch it all over again for a third time. It’s been making its way back into my life. Recently, I made my own personal poster for the show (which can be viewed at the top of this article) to be hung up in my dorm room and my room back home. I recently downloaded the Season Two soundtrack and Julee Cruise’s “Float into the Night” album (which features many songs that were used in the show) and have been listening to both non-stop. I’ve also been mentioning the show in subtle ways to my little sister for the past few days. Deep down, I’m hoping I can get her to watch the show and get just as obsessed with it as I’ve been.

Even if I cannot get my sister to watch the show with me, I hope that this article can maybe convince some of you out there that haven’t seen the show before to give it a shot. In fact, you can do so for free here on IMDB, which features every episode of the show minus the brilliant pilot episode, which can be found here.

If you’ve never seen Twin Peaks before, please give the show a shot. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t have written such a long article like this about my history with it if it weren’t. I only can hope that, if you do decide to give the show a shot, that your experience with it is as enjoyable, rewarding and special as mine has been. David Lynch truly created a work of art with this series. It’s deeper and more symbolic than most shows that you will encounter in your life. The easiest way I can think of describing what watching Twin Peaks is like is that it is somewhere in between having a beautiful dream and a horrible nightmare. It’s the kind of show that really puts you in a certain state of mind and mood. Watching that cold night wind blow through the dark, evil-filled forest will send goose bumps crawling up your arm. Never will you look at a ceiling fan or a streetlight the same way again. And never will you want to have a piece of cherry pie more in your life.

So I hope you all watch Twin Peaks. I hope you all get to see the budding friendship between Agent Cooper and Sheriff Harry S. Truman. I hope you learn the importance of Tibet. I hope you all get to meet the horror that is Bob. I hope you all get to take that deep trip into the dark woods at night to the Black Lodge. As you fall deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, just remember one thing— the owls are not what they seem.