Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

General discussion on Twin Peaks not related to the series, film, books, music, photos, or collectors merchandise.

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Shax
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Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by Shax »

I don't know about the rest of you but whenever I see anything to do with Twin Peaks these strong feelings of nostalgia come on real strong. When Twin Peaks came out I was in high school and I never missed a episode. I was crushed when I heard the show was gonna be cancelled it was and still is my favorite show of all time. Twin Peaks is the only show where I wish I could somehow live in that world and interact with the characters. Whenever I see something related to the show I wish I was back in high school again even though I hated most of the people there and could not wait until it was over lol. I guess its human nature to look back on the past with rose colored glasses and forget the bad stuff.

I created this thread to see if anyone else has had the same experiences or feeling towards the show.
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charles
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by charles »

more on this later...i'd go on and on if i were not at work. but ditto, ditto, ditto. i'm right there with you, shax.
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Brad D
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by Brad D »

i feel fortunate to have seen the first half when it aired summer/fall 1990. it definitely takes me back to that time. the fear, wonder, everything. i even remember the restaurant i ate at that night before leland kills maddy. i didnt see the second half of the series for another 7 years, but i still thought about the show and i think all that time built the show into something else entirely for me.
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by Smiling Bag »

Yes, I agree as well. The real trick with Twin Peaks was not just WHAT it was but WHEN it was. I was a senior in High School when it originally aired as were many of the main characters. The clothes, the hair, the clicks, everything resonated on a real level while still pulling off this completely "Surreal" experience. I also remember meals associated with watching the show or even songs I'd hear while driving home from work to catch the episode on Thursday nights. I have always said that Twin Peaks was the precursor for so many things to come in the 90's, and how those things differed from the 80's. The flannel (Before Grunge hit). The Coffee (Before Starbucks was everywhere), the obsession with the Northwest (Before Grunge, Starbucks, and Microsoft Windows ;). Another aspect was how cocaine (drug of the 80's) was emphasized earlier in the series while heroin (drug of the 90's) was eluded too LATER in the series at One Eyed Jacks. These things would be repeated, expanded, and commercialized throughout the 90's not only in pop culture, but in day to day routines. I won't even mention the influence on TV shows from then on and up to today as they are too vast for this thread. The bottom line for me is that Twin Peaks created my expectations for the 90's as I left High School and went to college that we should expect more intellectual media than what we saw in the 80's. I often wish to be able to go back and simply view MYSELF viewing the show for the first time. I was 17 then. I am 38 now and I still think that no single media event has ever shaped my life the way this show did. I have certainly converted many others to loving the show, but for me, seeing it in 1990-1991 is just not a feeling you can manufacture for others. Even though to see Twin Peaks is to usually love Twin Peaks, it's initial timing was as important as the content of the show itself.


Cheers.
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Audrey Horne
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by Audrey Horne »

great topic. and when i have time, there's so much I'd love to say about it.

The overall sense I have about it is how fresh it seemed, and thus remains. It was all about the timing. Coming out of the 80s, and starting the new decade with a 180 of what was on TV and in popular culture. It was very exciting. With 1990 it was the beginning of the end of the century, hurling us towards the 21st. It had all these beautiful elements of yesteryear yet with a slick look of great filmmaking. It had the conventional soap opera element with a new post modern spin on it. And it made you a willing participant in the narrative.

The nostolgia holds up (especially with the first half) because it still somehow has that strange mixture of both old and new meeting and intertwining.

And I can almost remember where I was during each episode, and what happened inbetween. Sigh -1990 was the best year.
God, I love this music. Isn't it too dreamy?
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GeekBoyEric74
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by GeekBoyEric74 »

Great topic, and I totally agree. I have so many potent nostalgic memories that revolve around Twin Peaks.

I was 15 when Peaks premiered, and I can remember that day like it was yesterday. I was just at the right age for something like Twin Peaks to come in and knock me on my ass. I remember sooo many things...I mostly remember that summer between seasons one and two, and my good friends (who were equally Peaks obsessed as I was) recording the first season when they re-ran it and watching the tapes over and over. Then the Cooper tapes and The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer came out that summer as well, and I have such vivid memories of my friends and I just being so titilated by the explicitness of the book (we were 16 after all) I remember having my first Peaks viewing party for the season two premiere, and how we all were scared shitless at the end with the BOB killing Laura flashback (that shit still scares the piss out of me) But most of all, I remember the BOB kills Maddy episode...I had a party for that episode as well, because we all knew that night would be the big reveal...I remember being fixated around that tv, and my friend Andrea and I were literally holding hands as the moments towards the reveal were coming. It had been 8 months at that point, we were dying to know (8 months is a long time at that age!) I don't have as vivid a memory for any tv episode as I do for that one. I remember at the viewing party, as Donna and Bobby cried and The World Spins played, and the more casual fans of the show at my party didn't get it. My friend Andrea and I had tears in our eyes too, because we understood and had to explain it to our friends didn't understand "they're crying because they realized that they really always knew who killed Laura, and we really always knew too, deep down. I couldn't have been anyone else"

Of course I also have memories of the show ending, wanting to thow my shoe at the tv as Coop said "How's Annie" and screaming about how I would never know if Audrey was dead or not. I also remember after the show ended, going to a Fangoria Weekend of Horrors convention in the early spring of 1992, and getting giddy about getting my hands on the script for Fire Walk With Me. I still remember going to a panel for Clive Barker, and totally ignoring him (and I'm a fan!) and just devouring the script. It took me a long time to adjust to the movie as it was because so much of the deleted scenes were already playing out in my head, and I never got to see them.

Peaks was such a powerful experience for me, that when I make a new significant friend in my life, I always expose them to the show as a kind of litmus test to see how cool they are. I ran through the series early last year with someone who was a new friend, and at the end (well, at the end of the Laura Palmer saga) he said "you realize you've changed me forever with exposing me to this" And I was so satisfied.
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thegreatnorthern
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by thegreatnorthern »

Love this thread, so interesting to hear everyone's perspectives and reflections ~
I (too) love the world of twin peaks!

*I really liked smiling bag's response : in reference to trend setting
*and I like geekboy's life changing litmus test story! omg it IS such a powerful experience!

Well it's february 24th and it's been a year since my last viewing of fwwm.
Just completed the series, in full pilot-29 (haven't done that for a few years now)
and let me tell you - this show is appreciating like a fine vintage!

So many new character elements, and layers of the show, previously overlooked/ignored
(and/or thought of as an annoyance) are starting to make alot of sense upon my latest
complete viewing , no longer am I looking at this with selective and favorable parts,
but as a cohesive whole - a vision and artform, revealed through time - as lynch puts it
" Pictures and sound, moving together, through time "
I can almost hear david's signature tone as he matter a'factly describes so simply,
his beautiful artistic gift. Now, I do recognize that tp is a collective effort and vision,
not of any one person or singular view, but to me, I always feel a return to the original
vision of dl. ( ex: episode 29)

Will be watching fwwm in hd (bluray) on a projector tonight and hoping to see
something new, something I've not seen before, as I usually do when
I rewatch after a period of time, so I am very much looking forward to it!

I like the idea of watching in order - the series first, then fwwm, and respecting
the chronology and sequence of actual release dates, this timing seems
to fit somehow appropriately with the intended delivery of this art form.
I almost feel there is something appropriate, destined, or purposeful
about the timing of the show, and it's reception. "Magic" - might be a
more accurate description.

Over time I have come to see that fwwm, although after the first viewing,
appears to be SO disconnected from tp. However, I see now that it is a perfect
compliment to tp, almost yin/yang in it's opposite dynamic and emotional
feel - but only when compared directly to tp's world in the viewers mind,
stand alone and isolated however, fwwm feels incomplete.
( I really under-appreciated that during the first few times I watched.)

Also I like to think of the experience as being cyclical or continuous -
Whereas at the end of fwwm I can easily rewatch the series again,
and how much it is both a beginning and a resolution.
A harmonious relationship is formed, like a perfect ( golden ) circle ;)

I think the strangest thing is how coincidental it feels when my real life events,
mirror that of the tp world, and how words cannot describe what that feels like!
It seems only a few people on earth are going to understand what I just said ;)

Just wondering who else has had a kind of evolutionary experience from rewatching
the series, in a way that has changed you / changed the way you see the world /
changed the way you see ( interpret ) tp and/or fwwm.
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birchy
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by birchy »

A wonderful topic. Love hearing all the personal accounts.

As a writer and a big nerd, I am currently attempting to weave TP into my narrative in a way that will be both essential and emotionally resonant. Of course, it could end up being neither and first time novels generally are autobiographical to a fault. Yet, TP is indeed magic as thegreatnorthern put it above--magic in those VHS tapes with the shaky tracking that got me through high school (I had to have been the only kid in school with the tapes in my backpack and a percolator in the trunk for impromptu TP fests), magic in the way that the show can be so inclusive (to those that allow it), and in the simple magic of its timing in my life all those years ago. The show has (and continues to) made me who am I am today and I hope that I can convey its importance through fiction.

One can hope.

Tonight in honor of the events of the 23rd and the 24th a few February-s ago, I will re-experience the pilot. I even made a pie. Last year I tried to watch each episode on its corresponding day, but life didn't quite allow me that much dedication. This year I'm less interested in the fiction-to-reality timeline and more in reappraising the show for its beautiful little world and what that means to my characters.

I hope that this doesn't come across too hallmark-y (or, worse, pretentious). Its just that I feel that Twin Peaks has given me so much throughout my life that I feel that I need to honor that gift and give the show back something in return. If that means a novel that never sees a life outside of my laptop, so be it!
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by mwbrindley »

I was only 10 when I watched it when it originally aired. I got sucked into the pilot immediately. It was a bonding experience for my dad and I. We both loved the show and we watched each episode together. My mom hated the the fact that he let me watch it (I kinda don't blame her - it was pretty adult). I remember being so mad at the season 1 cliffhanger and not being able to wait for the season 2 premiere, which blew me away. It amazes me now that at such a young age I was able to follow the story. I remember there was a flood the day the episode where the killer was going to be revealed was on. The river was up to our porch, so we had to leave. My dad taped the episode and we watched it together.

After Leland died, my dad lost interest, which I can understand. I kept watching until the very end. The final episode truly changed my perspective on everything. When they announced they were going to cancel the show, I wrote to ABC, pleading with them to keep it on. I had to wait to see the movie until I was like 16 or 17, because my dad wouldn't let me see it in the theater.

Overall, I truly believe watching Twin Peaks at such a young age helped me to appreciate the scarier things in life, the beauty of a well-told story and how fun it can be to disconnect yourself from reality. I'm now a journalist and I think this show shaped my passion for storytelling in a way. My dad and I still watch episodes here and there. We visited Snoqualmie while visiting my aunt in Seattle. It's something we'll always share.
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by mlsstwrt »

Wow. I have lurked on this forum for a while and really enjoyed reading the posts (especially Audrey's lovely, whimsical musings on her beloved TV series and character). I have never posted but was about to on this exact topic when, to my surprise and delight, I found I have been beaten to it.

The nostalgia is almost killing me at the moment, as wonderful as it is. Twin Peaks is a perfect moment in time that can sadly never be recaptured. Watching the Psych Dual Spires episode recently triggered this overwhelming nostalgic sadness in me, not because I loved that episode so much but because I saw the Twin Peaks actors aged 20 years in a day. Meaning that I haven't seen most of them on anything since Twin Peaks and there they were, 20 years older. They look really different. Some of them look really good but they can never be what they were in Twin Peaks again, and Twin Peaks can never be what it was. Dana Ashbrook can never be the young, cocksure but wounded high school Bobby Briggs, Audrey can never be the deeply enigmatic, blossoming beauty entranced by the arrival of a certain Special Agent........ well you get the picture.

As may already be apparent from this post I love Twin Peaks. Not in the way people say they love whatever they happen to have seen on TV during the last week which has tickled their fancy. I mean I love it, utterly. And it's over and it can never come back. And above anything, that makes me so sad. Thank God I have the DVD set, the diary and this website. It would be almost unbearable otherwise.

Oh and I agree with the comments that say it's not just Twin Peaks itself that makes it so special, but when it was shown. I was 13 at the time and was so open to its influence. It's hard to imagine anything having such a big impact at 33. I haven't introduced Twin Peaks to many friends but even those that love it will still never have the same experience as seeing it when it was first broadcast. When it blew our minds.
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TheArm
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by TheArm »

Absolutely. In a way, I feel like part of the reason these cult shows work is because they capture some sort of "lightning in a bottle," and as much as I love the show itself, the characters, the music, the mood, etc., I do also love the fact that it also captures something that was in the air at that particular time. They say you never forget the moment you fall in love, and for me that will always be the day I watched the international version of the pilot with some friends when it was released on VHS in 1991. I can honestly say that by the time the opening credits were done rolling, I was pretty much hopelessly in love with Twin Peaks, and that theme music still has the ability to transport me back to that exact day. It's very evocative for me, the pilot in particular, for that reason.

And, my apologies if this sounds far too goopy and sentimental, but what I also love is how I feel like the show has sort of been a constant companion to me through the years. I've always had the show on VHS or DVD and have always had it nearby if I need an hour or 2 to escape into its world, so it's been a nice little escape hatch for me for the past 17 or so years, whether I was an angsty teen living with my parents, a college kid finding myself living in the dorms, living abroad in the UK, or now living in Los Angeles. No matter where I've been, what I've been doing, who I was with, etc., Twin Peaks has been a constant throughout all of that. And it's been especially great because I've been able to share the show with so many people close to me over the years, whether they be family members, friends, lovers, etc., and each time allows me to see the show through new, fresh eyes.

Alright, end of soliloquy. :)
"Fire...walk...with...me...MEEE!!!"
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onesuavefolk
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by onesuavefolk »

Being a Seattle actor, I recall talk of this (then called NW Passage) in '89, & later learned that a number of folks I knew (or would know) were in the pilot. Got Floating Into The Night in Nov. '89, so I was familiar with much of the music before it was broadcast. I've attended every fest & my TP: Live trilogy has been read twice at various fests & produced in Seattle. Peaks is not nostalgia for me, as much as an ongoing fascination & annual event. It's part of my life... :D If you've seen the fest doc in the Gold Box, that's me as Partytime Leo!
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Shax
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by Shax »

Wow thanks for all the great responses guys. I'm glad I'm not the only one that still has TP pulling on the heart strings. It is depressing to see how the actors have aged, if only Sherylinn could look as good now as when she did in the show. Alas when I think about how the actors have aged it makes me think that I have as well.

Thinking back one memory stands out quite a bit. I remember watching the very last episode and being all wound up and wishing I had someone in my life to discuss it with. Sadly none of my family or friends were into the show at all. The TP community did not exist back then and the internet presence for TP was non existent. If only the internet was as big back then as it was now lol.
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by chalfont »

Shax wrote:Wow thanks for all the great responses guys. I'm glad I'm not the only one that still has TP pulling on the heart strings. It is depressing to see how the actors have aged, if only Sherylinn could look as good now as when she did in the show. Alas when I think about how the actors have aged it makes me think that I have as well.

Thinking back one memory stands out quite a bit. I remember watching the very last episode and being all wound up and wishing I had someone in my life to discuss it with. Sadly none of my family or friends were into the show at all. The TP community did not exist back then and the internet presence for TP was non existent. If only the internet was as big back then as it was now lol.
Liked this topic so much, I wanted to pick it up again :-)
" If only the internet was as big back then as it was now lol"

Maybe that was a blessing really, because it made every little flick of twin peaks in papers, magasines or even a few seconds on TV so very precious.
And every little detail wasn't discussed 'til death after every episode. It made you investigate in your own mind instead of reading blogs etc for hours until u tired.
Maybe it kept the mystery better that way...

Looking back at the time it was aired, I was around 15-16, it feels like looking back at parts of my own past - as if I actually lived in TP in those days...weird :-)
This really takes me back:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g1ytVsEA3w


Ben and I share the feeling: ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KkqAnemdMQ
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Agent Sam Stanley
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Re: Nostalgia & Twin Peaks

Post by Agent Sam Stanley »

Great topic indeed.

Twin Peaks premiered here in Brazil April 7 1991, almost one year after the US premiere.
Still remember the TV spots. I was too young to be interested, but I remember a lot of people were talking about it.
Believe it or not I found one the TV spots on Youtube. Brings back so many memories.



It wasn't until the rerun in 1994 that I got familiar with it. My parents were pretty hooked so sometimes I'd watch with them.
I got terrified at episode 8's final sequence, Ronette's nightmare with BOB and Laura so I wouldn't watch it anymore (I was only 7).

A few years later, 1997 if I'm not mistaken, some cable channel started to rerun the show again (I think it was TeleUno).
I'd forgot all about the show by then, but when I saw the TV spots I was like "Hey, that show that creeped me out when I was a kid". I watched the whole thing and I was immediately hooked. Couldn't believe when it was over. I had no Internet back then to do any kind of research, so I kept waiting for more episodes to come and they never did.
Then my dad mentioned there was a movie showing Laura's last week alive. I wanted to watch immediately but my parents wouldn't let me. I had to rent it behind their back and watch it when they were not home. I think I did the same thing with Boxing Helena. Laura's diary I also had to read without their knowledge.
I remember I didn't think too much of FWWM. It was too confusing and showed things we already knew from the show. It wasn't until I got older that I started to understand the interesting aspects of it and eventually grew to love it.

Today I'd say TP is one of my favorite things in the world.
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