Twin Peaks

Overview

Twin Peaks tells the story of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper and his investigation into the murder of a popular young local girl Laura Palmer. The programme portrays small-town America via an imaginary tight-knit community of unsophisticates. The pilot was filmed in the real-life towns of North Bend and Snoqualmie, not far from Seattle, Washington, in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

Related Topics:
FBI - Dale Cooper - Laura Palmer - America - North Bend - Snoqualmie - Seattle, Washington - Cascade Mountains

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The gradual unraveling of the tale necessarily exposes each Twin Peaks inhabitant to unwelcome scrutiny from Agent Cooper and men from the Sheriff's Department. As with much of Lynch's other work (such as Blue Velvet), Twin Peaks explores the relationship between the veneer of respectability and the seedier layer of life beneath it. The programme borrowed generously from American soap operas in its melodramatic presentation of its characters' morally dubious activities. However, like all Lynch's previous and subsequent work, there exists a strong moral seriousness that informs the totality of the production.

Related Topics:
Blue Velvet - Soap operas

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Twin Peaks is particularly memorable for Kyle MacLachlan's performance as Special Agent Dale Cooper, who uttered one of the more popular lines in the series which became a catch phrase: "Damn fine cup of coffee."

Related Topics:
Kyle MacLachlan - Catch phrase

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other catch phrases were: "There's a fish in the percolator," and "She's dead! Wrapped in plastic!" (which became the title of the long-running fan magazine).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The series was set in 1989, with each episode--barring occasional exceptions--representing a single day in the chronology.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Surprise hit

Twin Peaks started life as an off-beat project for David Lynch and Mark Frost. They filmed the pilot with an agreement with ABC that they would shoot an additional "ending" to it so it could be sold directly to video in Europe as a feature if the TV show wasn't picked up. Such was the inauspicious beginnings of Twin Peaks.

Related Topics:
David Lynch - Mark Frost - ABC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the first season it was the search for Laura Palmer's killer that drove the show and caught the public's imagination, although the creators admitted this was a macguffin designed to keep the audience coming back for more, as each episode was really about the townsfolk and the sinister underbelly of the seemingly idyllic town.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first season contained only seven episodes and was considered technically and artistically revolutionary for television at the time, working hard as it did to reach the standards set by film. It has been said that Twin Peaks started the accomplished cinematography now commonplace in today's television dramas.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The interesting elements, charming style and intelligent writing made Twin Peaks a huge and surprising hit. People loved the quirky characters, not least Kyle MacLachlan's Special Agent Dale Cooper, and humor. Soon after the cliffhanger ending of the first season, the show's popularity reached a fever pitch, and "Peaksmania" was born. Suddenly everybody knew about Twin Peaks and it began to seep into mainstream popular culture (such as Saturday Night Live) and its cast and creators were seen regularly on talkshows and in interviews. ABC began to take a lot more notice of its quirky new show. Twin Peaks was hotly tipped to sweep the Emmys in 1990, being nominated for no less than eight non-technical awards, but to the shock of most (especially the show's creators), it didn't win a single one.

Related Topics:
Kyle MacLachlan's - Special Agent Dale Cooper - Saturday Night Live - ABC - Emmys

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The second season

Soon after this success (both critical and financial) of the first season, ABC ordered a second season, this time expanding the number of episodes dramatically to 22. It was during this time that ABC put pressure on the writers to reveal the killer of Laura Palmer in the new season. This was at odds with David Lynch's sensibility who wished it to remain a secret forever, but he was overruled by the network executives and his fellow creator Mark Frost, with them fearing the audience would get bored with the mystery if it was not resolved soon.

Related Topics:
ABC - David Lynch - Mark Frost

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For the longer second season new writers were hired, along with new directors, and David Lynch began to drift away from the show. During the second season's production he decided to make the film Wild at Heart.

Related Topics:
David Lynch - Wild at Heart

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With the second season finally revealing the killer, many fans of the show felt let down with its resolution, as the show's previously hinted at ethereal and "weird" side came fully to the forefront. Also around this time a major storyline involving a romance between Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) was vetoed by Kyle MacLachlan (some said with pressure from then-girlfriend and co-star Lara Flynn Boyle), as he felt his character, who was known for his strong morals, would never become involved with a high school student. Since no agreement could be reached, the writers unhappily had to take evasive action and bring minor subplots (which were never intended to dominate the show) into the foreground to cover the missing story.

Related Topics:
Kyle MacLachlan - Sherilyn Fenn - Lara Flynn Boyle

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Declining ratings

With the unpopular resolution of the show's main drawing point (Laura Palmer's murder) and with the storylines becoming more drawn out and farcical, public interest finally began to wane and "Peaksmania" seemed officially over. Many believed the show's new overt oddness had made it a parody of itself and was far removed from the first season's charm and intelligence. This malcontent, coupled with ABC changing its timeslot over a number of occasions, led to a huge drop in ratings and, on February 15, 1991, ABC announced that the show had been put in "indefinite hiatus"--a move which usually leads to cancellation.

Related Topics:
ABC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This wasn't quite the end, though, as there was still large enough interest in the show for fans to begin their own letter-writing campaign, dubbed C.O.O.P (Coalition Opposed to Offing Peaks). The campaign was a huge success and ABC agreed to another six episodes (to finish the season).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With the creators knowing this was possibly the end for the show, they made a last ditch effort to revitalise it. Agent Cooper was given a love interest, the 18 year-old Annie Blackburn (Heather Graham) (with no objections from Kyle MacLachlan this time around). With the season finale they hoped to spark more interest in the show with a dramatic cliffhanger ending (the same way the previous season had). Unfortunately it did not boost interest sufficiently and the show was not renewed for a third season leaving fans with a completely unresolved storyline that would continue to be debated on fan websites to this day.

Related Topics:
Annie Blackburn - Heather Graham - Kyle MacLachlan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later, David Lynch, having been long unhappy with ABC's "meddling" during the second season, sold the whole show to Bravo for a small sum, finally taking it from their hands. Bravo began airing the show from scratch again, but even with David Lynch shooting special 'Log Lady introductions' for each episode, it never caught the public interest the way it did the first time around.

Related Topics:
David Lynch - ABC - Bravo

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Aftermath

David Lynch was not quite finished with Twin Peaks, though, and in 1992 ', the Twin Peaks motion picture, was released to eager fans. It focused on the subject David Lynch had initially been interested in: the story of Laura Palmer. The film was a prequel to Twin Peaks, showing Laura's murder and the events immediately preceding it. Unfortunately many people, both fans of the series and critics, were disappointed by the film, which was more disturbing and less humorous than the series and did not resolve the cliffhanger ending of season two. Another large complaint at the time was its incomprehensibility to those who were not familiar with the series.

Related Topics:
David Lynch - 1992

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In time, Fire Walk With Me has become more accepted, especially by fans, but also more surprisingly by critics who have come to appreciate its merits.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Twin Peaks legacy can be seen in the slew of "quirky" TV shows that followed it, such as Northern Exposure, Wild Palms, Eerie, Indiana, Picket Fences and Carnivàle.

Related Topics:
Northern Exposure - Wild Palms - Eerie, Indiana - Picket Fences - Carnivàle

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~