LostInTheMovies

I love this one so much. It's my favorite episode of Twin Peaks, and probably of TV, period. Really excited to read the responses, especially first-timer's. I'll have more to say later.

Ah great, I was worried I put that post up too late for anyone to respond! Really enjoyed reading your thoughts - one of my favorite things about this (ironically titled) Rewatch podcast has been the ability to see the show unfold through first-time viewers' eyes. I won't say too much more at the moment since it would mostly involve spoilers but I can sympathize with a lot of this and look forward to your response, and other newcomers, to the finale and film which are my favorite parts of the Twin Peaks experience. At the very least, both provide endless fodder for discussion. Also, reading about your thoughts on Lynch films makes me really hope Chris & Jake will continue the podcast with Lynch film episodes after FWWM. Maybe not every week, but like maybe once a month would be cool with new threads on the forum to discuss each episode. I've enjoyed interacting with this community and think it would be really great to hear both their thoughts and other users' on stuff like Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway. I think they're probably (understandably) ready to move on though. If unfortunately we can't get any more podcasts, what about threads to discuss the various films on this board, once the podcast is over? And then if/when they do decide to do Lynch episodes they could maybe incorporate some of the ideas thrown around on the thread. Just a thought. Could also provide a good bridge into a 2016 podcast if we EVER had the good fortune to find it's gonna happen (ugh, don't get me started on that...)

In Brad Duke's book Reflections, I think Tim Hunter (who directed this as well as two previous episodes) says that when he came back for this episode everyone's spirits seemed really down. He particularly noticed that Kyle MacLachlan was uncharacteristically cynical about where the show had gone. Don't have the book onhand but somebody who does should post the relevant passage if they can find it!

Haven't done this in a while, but I'm curious to hear newcomers' take at this point in the series, with one episode & the film to go. So...some questions for first-time viewers: - Do you feel the series improved in the last 4-5 episodes or do you feel these have been just as weak as the mid-season? If there was a turning point in quality for you, when was it reached? How do you think they stacked up against the first half of the show? - Do you have any thoughts on why/how the series changed course so drastically? Do you stand apart from the general opinion and feel that these episodes were more enjoyable than their reputation? - What do you make of the turn toward "lore" which has been discussed a lot by Chris & Jake, the decision to codify the mythology which was very abstract and vague up through Leland's death? - What have been the bright points of these episodes for you? The low points? - Did you find your interest flagging at any point, where you almost stopped watching? - Do you care for Windom Earle? What did you expect when he was first hinted at, way back in the later days of the Laura mystery? - Did you expect threads from the Laura Palmer mystery to continue even after the investigation was concluded? Were you disappointed when the show basically moved on to new subject matter? - Josie in the drawer pull: approve? Disapprove? Just utterly baffled? - Did Bob's and the Little Man's reappearance in that episode work for you, or did it seem like Twin Peaks was desperately grasping at former glories (that wording may betray my own prejudice...)? - Has the quality of the show's second half impacted your enjoyment of the first half in retrospect? - Since Lynch's reappearance as director has already been spoiled by the podcast and pretty much everyone on the forum (including me) what are you expecting from the finale? - What do you WANT to see in the finale? What would excite you and what would disappoint you? - Same questions for the films. I think it's been pretty well-established what the subject of the movie is but if I'm wrong about that, I won't say anymore. What are you expecting it to be like, what do you want to see, what do you not want to see? - Had you seen any Lynch films before watching Twin Peaks? If so, how did the show play out based on your expectations from that? If not, what's your impression of him from watching these, and are you now more/less interested in watching other Lynch works than you were before? - On the show in general: who were your favorite characters? Favorite moments? Favorite part of the show? Did you think the first part of the second season (up to the killer's reveal) was as good as season one, or did you see a dropoff in quality even before the mystery plot ended? What did you expect going in and how were those expectations fulfilled/disappointed so far? - Do you think we will see any familiar sights/characters we haven't seen in a while in the finale or do you think it will continue on the different trajectory of season two, or do you think it will find a way to combine both? - What are you expecting from the Black Lodge? - How's Annie?

Re: the spoiler discussion on FWWM,

Yeah, an earlier Twin Peaks Podcast (called, appropriately enough, the Twin Peaks Podcast) covered all of Lynch's films after they did Fire Walk With Me, but the episodes were spread out over months, basically when it was convenient for them to tackle each film on their own schedule. If Chris & Jake want to take that approach it would be awesome. I'd love to hear their thoughts on Lynch's work - and to hear the forums discuss them too.

Not a very good episode. In fact this is my least favorite outside of the mid-season block of terror (roughly ep. 18-24). It's "better" than those in the sense that it actually has a plot function to serve but it puts no heart into it whatsoever. There are a few good bits - Windom's creepy face most of all. And keep your eagle eyes sharp for Shelly and Donna (or maybe just Madchen Amick & Lara Flynn Boyle) goofing off in the back of the chorus line during rehearsals. Also, we get the first Laura Palmer reference in a few episodes and the first of any real substance since Leland died (setting up the idea that the community is still haunted by her death even though they've appeared to move on). Note that the contestants dance the opening number wrapped in plastic (raincoats). Mostly the value of this episode is to serve as such a pointed contrast to the next one. When Lynch returns to the director's chair it's like switching from some really diluted narcotic to the pure stuff, uncut. What a shock to the system. True, although I would have been even more insulted by the lecherous gropes of Mr. Pinkle. And to think

Brilliant! Just shared this on another Twin Peaks forum.

Did anyone mention JJW's ridiculous sweater-tucked-into-pants getup? I can't remember if that was this episode or the previous one. And he's wearing glasses too as I recall, for no particular reason. Maybe the costumer hated him.

Really enjoyed your podcast this week - every week it's a fun listen, especially your verbal head-scratching when it comes to Windom Earle (your musings about the casting/costumes this week had me laughing out loud) but you've got me a bit worried with the episode shrinkage lately (each week it's getting shorter and shorter it seems)! We'll be back to the old hour+ format for the finale and FWWM, right? A lot of garmonbozia to digest there (I'm not spoiler-tagging that - newcomers, you have some interesting stuff upcoming is all I'll say). So...more Chris & Jake, please.

That's the next episode. I think it's the highlight of that episode and also the best Earle moment overall. And it seems like something Lynch ended up borrowing himself for FWWM (though he didn't come up with it). Then again, it could've been a callback to the makeup he used 20 years earlier in The Grandmother and The Alphabet. According to Reflections, director Tim Hunter got the idea from all the Mizoguchi films he'd been watching, with characters in Don't know what it means in Twin Peaks, but it's cool as hell!

I like this episode. Aside from the horse costume, this is one of Windom's best episodes where he actually comes off as somewhat menacing. I quite like that video of him too. In the annals of Twin Peaks attempting to be Lynchian without Lynch, Stephen Gyllenhaal (yes, that Gyllenhaal) comes closest to the mark with a lot of moments here and the closing montage is great set-up for what's to come. Well, 2 more episodes. The next is a dud imo. But the on after, whoo boy. Hopefully Lynch will return to present Twin Peaks before we get to his return on past Twin Peaks.

Has this been posted here before? I don't think so, but apologies if I'm wrong. Aired around the time of the episodes we're watching now (though the writers naturally seem more interested in the early touchstones of the show than, say, Windom Earle):

Incidentally, this is the first time in 10 episodes (since Leland's death) that Mark Frost gets a writing credit. I guess he wanted to be onhand for the Lodge lore (especially Windom's link to it) and Coop's romance with Annie (although that really gets introduced last episode, so I don't know). It's kind of random that this is one of the few episodes he writes in the entire second half of the show.

And I love Coop's straight-faced correction of JJW's smarmy Hindu gibe.

Just one person murdered actually, in a giant papier mâché pawn piece. No, I'm not kidding and yes, he is inside the pawn piece already when he is shot (with an arrow). I believe he is listed in the credits as "Heavy Metal Dude" though he does have a name and someone has written a song about him:

Agreed. Well - it kind of was casting couch-y, according to Lynch himself on the Slice of Lynch feature on the Gold Box/blu-rays (in which we also learn that he doesn't know what Baywatch is). I think Lynch definitely had a thing for Madchen Amick. For one thing in Fire Walk With Me, a good deal of the cast was cut from the film yet she gets two (honestly pretty much irrelevant) scenes. However, it seems to have been fairly harmless flirtation. And God, is it a relief after all the drag-y character interactions on the previous episodes. Speaking of which... I'm probably in the minority with this, but I'm kinda ok with Annie (Billy Zane...no). It's forced - especially when you realize she was pretty much a last-minute replacement for Audrey - but has a certain charm to it I think. I like that their interactions are so damn awkward, almost unapologetically so (the comment about them digging up an ex-nun to find someone as childlike as Cooper is pretty accurate). It's one of the late-season developments, like Owl Cave, that I'm easy on because it feels a bit more alive than so much of what's been happening. Josie, you are not missed. Thanks! I hope I have a reason to make a Part 5. :/ #SaveTwinPeaks

Just finished the listening to the podcast. The Indiana Jones connection is definitely strong (though I didn't totally register just how closely it echoes the plot points of Raiders until you pointed that out). Definitely pretty cheesy (especially the fake-looking owl and the wall that looks like a bunch of stagehands are shaking it) but I hind it pretty fun. It helps where it's placed in the series: at this point it's a relief to get any real lore, and as you note Lynch is able to make some surreal use of it eventually. A couple clarifications: - The gap in Twin Peaks timeline was actually only 3 days, not 3 weeks! Which means we are about 28 days past Laura's death at this point, not even a full month. Yes, that is crazy. - Apparently ABC demanded this the population on the welcome sign read 51,201 because they believed TV audiences would not be interested in a town that was too small. That seems strange to me - aren't small towns (like Mayberry) a TV staple? But it's deinotely been reported many times (most recently in Reflections I think) so it's either true or one of those David-Lynch-was-directing-Wild-at-Heart type myths that even the people who were there come to accept. Anyway the Twin Peaks Access Guide (which was published around the time of this episode) makes a humorous attempt to fix this, claiming that the sign painter goofed up and the actual population is...5102.1.

It isn't as easy with everything else. But that's the first moment where Twin Peaks goes kind of batshit - and it's relatively tame batshit compared to what comes later!

Yes (sort of). Yes (definitely). Let me explain... The co-creators claim that the mystery's resolution was planned at a very early stage, and I believe them. However, most other details were conceived on the fly. For example, a significant character/image was discovered by accident when a set dresser was caught on camera, a dream sequence was invented as a standalone scene before it was incorporated into the mystery as a dream (after which the dream images became substantial parts of the show's lore), and the actress who was hired just to play the corpse was so impressive they wrote a new part for her. Here's the thing though: these and other on-the-fly decisions are arguably the best parts of the whole series. Had everything been neatly planned in advance and adhered to, Twin Peaks would be a much less interesting show. The reason is David Lynch, who works off intuition and has a mainline to his - and seemingly the viewers' - subconscious. Twin Peaks is ultimately more about mood than plot which is why it's so necessary for him to come back if the Showtime series is going to happen. On the other hand, most of the post-mystery stories were made up as they went along in a bad way, i.e. not by Lynch. He took a powder until the final episode, in which - yet again - he threw out the script, improvised uncanny images based on instinct, and came up with arguably the best episode of the whole series. So the second half of the series is pretty rough but you'll definitely want to stick around for the finale. Twin Peaks is far from perfect but it's extremely powerful. Whether or not you'll enjoy it depends on which quality you find more important. My advice? Give it the first 3 episodes. If you aren't hooked by the dream sequence at the end of the 3rd it's probably not for you.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who laughs at the penguin punchline.

Not me, but I agree! Especially evident in the original script for the finale. And yes, he is wearing glasses in the station - and not when he's actually in the dark cave. Go figure...

Well, it's nice to see David Lynch returning to SOMETHING.

To cheer everyone up, courtesy Twin Peaks Archives:

Though I can never find the proper attribution, so maybe it was just apocryphal (though I doubt it), David Chase supposedly said he wanted The Sopranos to be "like Twin Peaks in New Jersey." The most notable influence is probably on the dream sequences.