How did you react to these turning points in Twin Peaks?

[Mb3]

Since I like this thread a lot, I'm trying to revive it with a few of my own memories and anecdotes (you've got to excuse my memory, my contribution won't be as fruitful as some of the other ones on here).

Around 1991 TP aired on german television, I was eleven years during that time and barely watched any kind of tv shows. My main interests during that time was sports (soccer and basketball). My cousin who's three years older than me told me about a show with some quirky and strange characters called Twin Peaks and that she watched it regularly. I remember that I caught a glimpse of some TP episodes by switching through the Tv program and my thoughts back then were: "damn this is another one of these soap operas, no wonder my cousin likes it so much, it's girls stuff". I guess I was just to immature back then and that was the main reason for my thinking.

In 2008, I'm 28 now and still not a big fan of tv series but I already own nearly all of David Lynchs films on dvd except for Twin Peaks and Inland Empire. So since the Gold box edition just came out some months ago and also the Inland Empire dvd I finally had to expand my collection. I also bought the movie FWWM.
I took some days off from work and watched all of the episodes and FWWM together with my brother (who also loves Lynchs work).
Of course we both loved it or else I probably wouldn't be sharing my thoughts on this forum.

I remember after watching the whole Red room part from episode 2 we both agreed with each other that this was some typical Lynch idea. I wonder how I'd have reacted about it without already knowing some of his later works like Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive.
Episode 14 and the final one are my favorites of the whole show. I might be in the minority but I liked FWWM after watching it for the first time. It definetly has some flaws as mentioned many times before but so does a stretch of episodes from the second season and still I somehow like it the way it is. But I can imagine how frustrating some of the changes( the show felt too hilarious sometimes) after the revelation of the killer were for the folks who were watching it during it's original TV run.

I hope this isn't too boring to read but that's all I could think of right now.

[LostInTheMovies]

Since I like this thread a lot, I'm trying to revive it with a few of my own memories and anecdotes (you've got to excuse my memory, my contribution won't be as fruitful as some of the other ones on here).

Around 1991 TP aired on german television, I was eleven years during that time and barely watched any kind of tv shows. My main interests during that time was sports (soccer and basketball). My cousin who's three years older than me told me about a show with some quirky and strange characters called Twin Peaks and that she watched it regularly. I remember that I caught a glimpse of some TP episodes by switching through the Tv program and my thoughts back then were: "damn this is another one of these soap operas, no wonder my cousin likes it so much, it's girls stuff". I guess I was just to immature back then and that was the main reason for my thinking.

In 2008, I'm 28 now and still not a big fan of tv series but I already own nearly all of David Lynchs films on dvd except for Twin Peaks and Inland Empire. So since the Gold box edition just came out some months ago and also the Inland Empire dvd I finally had to expand my collection. I also bought the movie FWWM.
I took some days off from work and watched all of the episodes and FWWM together with my brother (who also loves Lynchs work).
Of course we both loved it or else I probably wouldn't be sharing my thoughts on this forum.

I remember after watching the whole Red room part from episode 2 we both agreed with each other that this was some typical Lynch idea. I wonder how I'd have reacted about it without already knowing some of his later works like Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive.
Episode 14 and the final one are my favorites of the whole show. I might be in the minority but I liked FWWM after watching it for the first time. It definitely has some flaws as mentioned many times before but so does a stretch of episodes from the second season and still I somehow like it the way it is. But I can imagine how frustrating some of the changes( the show felt too hilarious sometimes) after the revelation of the killer were for the folks who were watching it during it's original TV run.

I hope this isn't too boring to read but that's all I could think of right now.

Thanks! I love reading these so hopefully some more people contribute. I discovered the series at the same time as you, in 2008 (I was too young to watch it when it was on). The soap opera thing is funny. It never fails to fascinate me how Twin Peaks IS a soap opera and yet also one with the Red Room thrown in. Even in the current golden age of TV, it would be difficult to find a show this bold in mixing genres.

Episode 14, the finale, and Fire Walk With Me are definitely my favorite pieces of Twin Peaks as well, without a doubt. I'd even The Missing Pieces as #4 before even some of the best episodes - I watched it again recently and just love a lot of those scenes; particularly, there was one stretch in the Convenience Store sequence I just kept watching in a loop (around the time the Jumping Man is rising and there's this incredible arhythmic cutting as people are stretching their arms out and the sound design goes into overdrive and then Bob is leaning forward saying, "I have the fury of my own momentum"...getting shivers of joy just writing this). I love Lynch at his most brazen and abrasive.

By the way, might as well share one of my own recent experiences here: I recently attended a small screening of FWWM, the first time I'd seen the film shown publicly. I was a bit nervous about how people would react - knowing how poorly it was received when it came out - but for the most part people seemed to like it. That said, I noticed that EVERY single surreal/supernatural moment got a laugh (even the last visit to the Lodge, with the garmonbozia), I guess as they provided release valves for all the tension in the other scenes (I'm pretty sure a lot of these people hadn't seen the movie before, and were coming fresh from viewing the series). Also just kind of a natural reaction to "what the fuck?" moments.

[BOB1]

It is a first class thread and it will be my pleasure to add some of my memories, too. Very old memories from 25 (make it 23) years ago...

pilot - the music, the river flowing lazily by, the face of the dead girl... and I was totally captivated... and then the image of Leo's truck as Shelly and Bobby see it out of a sudden. I could never later quite understand why this truck made such an impression on me the first time.

The appearance of Bob in episode 1 - strange enough, I don't remember any reaction! But I do remember that by the time Episode 4 had its premiere, when Andy is drawing a portrait from Sarah's vision, the shadow of BOB was deep within me...

The Red Room dream in episode 2 - the dream itself made me something like "oh! how cool!" without giving it any deeper thought. However Cooper's revelation of "I know who killed..." was a real shock. And then a week later it was so WHAAAAAT?! to see that he simply doesn't remember

The season finale - the fact that Laura's killer was not revealed
The season finale - Cooper being shot
I think it was becoming more and more obvious that the deeper we sink into the mystery, the more mysterious it gets So I probably didn't expect revealing the killer. However, Cooper shot, was a blast and let us (a group of fans at school) develop a range of theories including Coop's twin brother and such stuff!

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer - did you read it before watching season 2? Did it point you in a certain direction?
Yes.
No. (But I never guess anything in any crime story)
I read it with unbelievable excitement.
Even more unbelievable, I still read it with equal excitement!

The season 2 premiere - the very long opening with the waiter
The season 2 premiere - the appearance of the giant (which certainly takes the vaguely supernatural air of the show in a new direction)
The season 2 premiere - the violent flashback to Laura's murder, with Bob making his first sustained appearance
Myself - I loved the waiter and giant from the first sight. But I went to school, started asking friends and... a look of unfortunately. Good thing I was just ending that school and soon after holidays I'd meet a pack of new friend who appreciated the supernatural Twin Peaks more than anything in the world!
What I find very strange is that I don't remember any first reaction to the ending of Ep.8 at all. I think I was sopreoccupied with the Giant and his prophecies that the graphic and explicit images of BOB somehow were too graphic and explicit. I'd rather see BOB but not the body

The killer's reveal in episode 14 - the fact that it was Leland
The killer's reveal in episode 14 - the fact that it was also Bob
The killer's reveal in episode 14 - Maddy's murder (maybe the most disturbing thing I've seen in a TV show or even movie)
SHOCK SHOCK SHOCK MORE SHOCK SHOCK SHOCK
etc.
I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing when Leland was standing in front of that mirror

The way the discovery & capture of Leland/Bob is handled in episode 16
Here I'd love to disagree with both the honourable creator of this thread and the honourable main contributor to this thread Ep.16 was for me from the first time - pure perfection. And the roadhouse scene - brilliant. The interrogation scene - mesmerizing. Leland's confession and Cooper's speech with water sprinkling and Laura Palmer's Theme playing - best ever.

Leland's wake in episode 17, with the comic subplots emerging and the writers trying to move past the mystery
How EMBARASSING!! How can Twin Peaks be so stupid. My family who had been watching me and my growing fascination for the past weeks now must be looking at me and secretly mocking me... that twin peaks of his is sort of dumb, ain' it?... Oooh.

The realization that the Cooper-Audrey storyline was not going to play out
It was quite unimportant for me at that time.

The stretch of episodes 17-23 (you know the ones)
Now like I wrote above, I went to a new school and was lucky to meet a bunch of twin freaks. And that was at the time of that "stretch", say starting around Ep.19 which was definitely after the beginning of the schoolyear. So for me it was no stretch - every episode we would record, rewatch, rediscuss... on and on and on... perhaps that is why I still like those episodes
And then BOB's reappearance on Josie's death bed made me crazy with excitement as pointless as it actually is I even have a proof in written: at this time I was writing a diary for my mom who was away for 2 months. It says something like: "and now the most important news of the week: BOB is back, hooray!", he he.

The finale - one of the most exciting moments of my life. For the record: in Poland Ep.28 was screened normally, a week earlier, and then there was this last week... hell, the TV programme says it's gonna be just 45 minutes. How is it possible to end such a plotline in 45 minutes? And then... directed by David Lynch... my heart's going up my throat, the pulse is getting wild, yes! it's gonna be SOMETHING, I know it. And then... under the sycamore trees.... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! This! it is THIS This floor, these curtains, this little man. It felt whole and it was.

[LostInTheMovies]

It is a first class thread and it will be my pleasure to add some of my memories, too. Very old memories from 25 (make it 23) years ago...

pilot - the music, the river flowing lazily by, the face of the dead girl... and I was totally captivated... and then the image of Leo's truck as Shelly and Bobby see it out of a sudden. I could never later quite understand why this truck made such an impression on me the first time.

The appearance of Bob in episode 1 - strange enough, I don't remember any reaction! But I do remember that by the time Episode 4 had its premiere, when Andy is drawing a portrait from Sarah's vision, the shadow of BOB was deep within me...

The Red Room dream in episode 2 - the dream itself made me something like "oh! how cool!" without giving it any deeper thought. However Cooper's revelation of "I know who killed..." was a real shock. And then a week later it was so WHAAAAAT?! to see that he simply doesn't remember

The season finale - the fact that Laura's killer was not revealed
The season finale - Cooper being shot
I think it was becoming more and more obvious that the deeper we sink into the mystery, the more mysterious it gets So I probably didn't expect revealing the killer. However, Cooper shot, was a blast and let us (a group of fans at school) develop a range of theories including Coop's twin brother and such stuff!

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer - did you read it before watching season 2? Did it point you in a certain direction?
Yes.
No. (But I never guess anything in any crime story)
I read it with unbelievable excitement.
Even more unbelievable, I still read it with equal excitement!

The season 2 premiere - the very long opening with the waiter
The season 2 premiere - the appearance of the giant (which certainly takes the vaguely supernatural air of the show in a new direction)
The season 2 premiere - the violent flashback to Laura's murder, with Bob making his first sustained appearance
Myself - I loved the waiter and giant from the first sight. But I went to school, started asking friends and... a look of unfortunately. Good thing I was just ending that school and soon after holidays I'd meet a pack of new friend who appreciated the supernatural Twin Peaks more than anything in the world!
What I find very strange is that I don't remember any first reaction to the ending of Ep.8 at all. I think I was sopreoccupied with the Giant and his prophecies that the graphic and explicit images of BOB somehow were too graphic and explicit. I'd rather see BOB but not the body

The killer's reveal in episode 14 - the fact that it was Leland
The killer's reveal in episode 14 - the fact that it was also Bob
The killer's reveal in episode 14 - Maddy's murder (maybe the most disturbing thing I've seen in a TV show or even movie)
SHOCK SHOCK SHOCK MORE SHOCK SHOCK SHOCK
etc.
I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing when Leland was standing in front of that mirror

The way the discovery & capture of Leland/Bob is handled in episode 16
Here I'd love to disagree with both the honourable creator of this thread and the honourable main contributor to this thread Ep.16 was for me from the first time - pure perfection. And the roadhouse scene - brilliant. The interrogation scene - mesmerizing. Leland's confession and Cooper's speech with water sprinkling and Laura Palmer's Theme playing - best ever.

Leland's wake in episode 17, with the comic subplots emerging and the writers trying to move past the mystery
How EMBARASSING!! How can Twin Peaks be so stupid. My family who had been watching me and my growing fascination for the past weeks now must be looking at me and secretly mocking me... that twin peaks of his is sort of dumb, ain' it?... Oooh.

The realization that the Cooper-Audrey storyline was not going to play out
It was quite unimportant for me at that time.

The stretch of episodes 17-23 (you know the ones)
Now like I wrote above, I went to a new school and was lucky to meet a bunch of twin freaks. And that was at the time of that "stretch", say starting around Ep.19 which was definitely after the beginning of the schoolyear. So for me it was no stretch - every episode we would record, rewatch, rediscuss... on and on and on... perhaps that is why I still like those episodes
And then BOB's reappearance on Josie's death bed made me crazy with excitement as pointless as it actually is I even have a proof in written: at this time I was writing a diary for my mom who was away for 2 months. It says something like: "and now the most important news of the week: BOB is back, hooray!", he he.

The finale - one of the most exciting moments of my life. For the record: in Poland Ep.28 was screened normally, a week earlier, and then there was this last week... hell, the TV programme says it's gonna be just 45 minutes. How is it possible to end such a plotline in 45 minutes? And then... directed by David Lynch... my heart's going up my throat, the pulse is getting wild, yes! it's gonna be SOMETHING, I know it. And then... under the sycamore trees.... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! This! it is THIS This floor, these curtains, this little man. It felt whole and it was.

Thanks, Bob1 - glad the thread still has takers. Out of curiosity, how old were you at the time? I was going to ask some questions about when it aired in Poland but then Google led me to another thread on dugpa so...question answered.

Btw, you mention ep. 16 airing on Aug. 16 and ep. 29 on Nov. 29. Here's some more spooky numerology for you...

I was looking through my old Netflix records a little while ago to figure out when I first saw Twin Peaks...if it was 2006 or 2007. What happened is I rented the Artisan set and stopped after ep. 2 because I couldn't get my hands on the pilot. In 2008, I started again now that the Gold Box was out.

To my surprise I discovered that disc 1 of Twin Peaks was sent to me July 11, 2006...and that two years later to the day (July 11, 2008) I had it sent to me again. On top of that, I realized I had first watched Episode 14, the killer's reveal, exactly 6 years before the much-anticipated Entire Mystery/Missing Pieces blu-ray was released (July 29, 2008). All of which is entirely meaningless yet still kind of spooky...

[euro]

I was 16 when I saw Twin Peaks for the first time, long time ago, i try to remember:

1. The pilot

I started with Episode 2. The First time I saw the Pilot was 6 Months later. So I was wondering, why Audrey had shorter hairs in the Pilot. It was strange, that some Locations where different from the later Episodes (Leo's House, Ed's Gas Station etc.)

2. The appearance of Bob in episode 1

Same as the pilot, watched it later ..........

3. The Red Room dream in episode 2

The Twin-Peaks fever got me in two scenes. Audreys Dance at the Double-R ... (I felt in Love with her *g*) and The Red Room Scene. Mystic, Scary, Awesome. And I loved the Music.

4a. The season finale - the fact that Laura's killer was not revealed
4b. The season finale - Cooper being shot

In Germany Season 2 started right after the End of Season 1 so it was not really a Cliffhanger for me.

5. The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer - did you read it before watching season 2? Did it point you in a certain direction?

Read it after the Final Episode. I loved the book

6a. The season 2 premiere - the very long opening with the waiter
6b. The season 2 premiere - the appearance of the giant (which certainly takes the vaguely supernatural air of the show in a new direction)
6c. The season 2 premiere - the violent flashback to Laura's murder, with Bob making his first sustained appearance


What the Hell is going on here ???? The Flashback of Lauras Murder was great...


7. Bob crawling over the couch in episode 9

Yeah, thanks Bob. This was in the Just-You-And-I-scene, or ? I didn't like that song, I really hate it. So Bob finished the rercording-Session of this stupid song. Well done.


8a. The killer's reveal in episode 14 - the fact that it was Leland
8b. The killer's reveal in episode 14 - the fact that it was also Bob
8c. The killer's reveal in episode 14 - Maddy's murder (maybe the most disturbing thing I've seen in a TV show or even movie)

I thought, Benjamin was the Murder. So I was really suprised and shocked. The Scene was brilliant. While I was hearing The World Spins it must be the first time I had tears in my eyes while watching a tv-serial.

9. The way the discovery & capture of Leland/Bob is handled in episode 16
Ray Wise plays great

11. The realization that the Cooper-Audrey storyline was not going to play out

Never understood that. I really loved Audreys Character during the first Season. From Bitch to Angel.

12. The stretch of episodes 17-23 (you know the ones)
The Subplots were boring and unnessecary. James & Evelyn Marsh. Bejamin Hornes Civil War. The Packard-Eckard Story. Nadine loves Mike. The Leo Scene. Until Episode 16, Twin peaks was extremly suspensful, not only the Laura-Palmer Plot, the other subplotts thrilled me, too. After Seaseon 16 Twin Peaks was either a Comedy-Soap than A Mystery-Soap.

13. Where you felt the show picking up again
After the arrival of Windom Earle.

14. The finale (and I know it was a 2-parter in '90 but I'm particularly keen to hear how the Lynch half played)
Shocking and Disapointing. I really hate it. And I didn't understand it. No Chance. I didn't expect a happy ending. I was afraid of another Cliffhanger like the ending of Season 1. But WTF was that ? Agent Cooper Running through Red Curtains, Jimmy Scott sings Sycamore Trees ?!?! Was this the Black Lodge ? The White Lodge ? The Waiting Room ??! Why did Agent Cooper fail ?

15. Fire Walk With Me
I've seen the Film at the cinema. Think, I was the only person, who loved the movie. Watched Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart just before FWWM. So, FWWM was a typical Lynch-Movie.

In Germany Twin Peaks ended after Episode 20. The remaining episodes started a few weeks later on another TV Channel, which could only recieved via Sat. So I had to find someone who could record me the Episodes on VHS. Something wrent wrong and so I missed Episode 27 + 28. So without seeing those two Episodes, how should I understand the End-Scenes in the Black Lodge ?? The First Time, I saw Twin Peaks complete was right after the DVD-Release.

And of course, any other points you want to mention!

Not only the Turning Points. The whole atmosphere. The wind blowing in the trees, the music, the strange characters. When autumn comes, it's time for Twin Peaks.

[DirkG]

1. The pilot
I remember thinking it was an alright detective plot but nothing very special. I remember thinking it was quite long (since I watched it on TV I didn't expect it to be feature length). I decided to keep watching but I wasn't hooked.

2. The appearance of Bob in episode 1
I didn't react too strongly to this. Also I saw episode 2 before 1 because I missed it. But since 2 hooked me I went back and saw episode 1 on Youtube.

3. The Red Room dream in episode 2
My thought was: this is art. This is where I realized twin peaks was something special.

4a. The season finale - the fact that Laura's killer was not revealed
I remember thinking there were lots of cliffhangers here but I also found Mark Frost's direction to be a bit dry. The last part can be a later reconstruction I'm not sure if I was thinking it the first time around or not. I didn't even expect the killer to be revealed obviously, since I didn't watch it in the 90's and knew there were lots of episodes to come.

4b. The season finale - Cooper being shot
Same as above. One cliffhanger among others. I didn't expect the final scene to be weaker than the rest.

5. The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer - did you read it before watching season 2? Did it point you in a certain direction?
I still haven't read it! I've read Coopers biography but not the diary. I think I'll have to finally do so soon.

6a. The season 2 premiere - the very long opening with the waiter
Oh god did I love it. This was when I knew Twin Peaks was one of my favorite series. Up until that point I had appreciated it but not yet truly loved it. Brilliant art.

6b. The season 2 premiere - the appearance of the giant (which certainly takes the vaguely supernatural air of the show in a new direction)
I appreciated the path but don't remember if I had any deeper thoughts about it.

6c. The season 2 premiere - the violent flashback to Laura's murder, with Bob making his first
sustained appearance
Great stuff. I also loved the contrast with the piano outro scene with Gersten Hayward that comes right afterwards. I really like episode 8.

7. Bob crawling over the couch in episode 9
I don't remember my thoughts here.

8a. The killer's reveal in episode 14 - the fact that it was Leland
The way it was revealed was epic. I hadn't had any theories about the killer so I didn't react one way or another. I remember thinking it was a bit odd that the revelation came so early with so many episodes to go.

8b. The killer's reveal in episode 14 - the fact that it was also Bob
I don't remember my exact thoughts.

8c. The killer's reveal in episode 14 - Maddy's murder (maybe the most disturbing thing I've seen in a TV show or even movie)
That it was great and surprisingly violent but in a good way.

9. The way the discovery & capture of Leland/Bob is handled in episode 16
I really liked that scene with the sprinkling water. But I came to appreciate it even more later. I might have thought that Coop was a bit too much of a hippie in that scene initially but I grew to really like it.

10. Leland's wake in episode 17, with the comic subplots emerging and the writers trying to move past the mystery
I appreciated the change of pace in episode 17. But I would have liked it if episode 18 would had managed to pick up it again. But my original thoughts of 17 is nothing but positive.

11. The realization that the Cooper-Audrey storyline was not going to play out
I found it refreshing. I honestly thought they chose to do it like that to make the show even less cliché and predictable ('handsome main charachter doesn't get the beautiful girl') and I loved it.

12. The stretch of episodes 17-23 (you know the ones)
I was prepered for it. Truth to be told I had abstained from TP for so long at that point so that any new material was awesome for me. At this point I had become a fan, and gone from watching it on tv and youtube to watching it at DVD. So I had to wait for the second box of the second season to come out.

13. Where you felt the show picking up again
The first hint for me was when Ben Horne expressed his doubts with being 'good'.

14. The finale (and I know it was a 2-parter in '90 but I'm particularly keen to hear how the Lynch half played)
I expected something great because I had heard nothing but ravings about it. I wasn't disappointed it was one of my best 45 minutes of TV ever. I had mixed feeling about the fate of Cooper though. I slowly grew to love every aspect of the finale though, even Coopers fate, and it became my favorite episode.

15. Fire Walk With Me
Disappointment. The treatment of the Black lodge was too heavy handed and unsubtle. Adding nudity to Twin Peaks felt unfamilar and wrong as well. FWWM slowly grew on me because of the many individual great scenes though. The infamous scene with Philip Jefferies is now one of my favorite Lynch scenes of all time for example.

[LostInTheMovies]

The Twin-Peaks fever got me in two scenes. Audreys Dance at the Double-R ... (I felt in Love with her *g*) and The Red Room Scene. Mystic, Scary, Awesome. And I loved the Music.

So many great scenes in this one. Those are probably the two best although I also love Jerry's entry to the Horne family dinner and the visit to One-Eyed Jack's (not to mention Tibet, Leland dancing with Laura's portrait, could go on and on...)

12. The stretch of episodes 17-23 (you know the ones)
The Subplots were boring and unnessecary. James & Evelyn Marsh. Bejamin Hornes Civil War. The Packard-Eckard Story. Nadine loves Mike. The Leo Scene. Until Episode 16, Twin peaks was extremly suspensful, not only the Laura-Palmer Plot, the other subplotts thrilled me, too. After Seaseon 16 Twin Peaks was either a Comedy-Soap than A Mystery-Soap.

Yes if I was to boil what's missing from these subplots in 3 points it would be: lack of connection to Laura, lack of connection to each other (think how interconnected everything was in season 1), lack of suspense/tension. Even the comical stuff in season 1 had an element of mystery (though it wasn't THAT hard to figure out what was going on with Lucy!).

14. The finale (and I know it was a 2-parter in '90 but I'm particularly keen to hear how the Lynch half played)
Shocking and Disapointing. I really hate it. And I didn't understand it. No Chance. I didn't expect a happy ending. I was afraid of another Cliffhanger like the ending of Season 1. But WTF was that ? Agent Cooper Running through Red Curtains, Jimmy Scott sings Sycamore Trees ?!?! Was this the Black Lodge ? The White Lodge ? The Waiting Room ??! Why did Agent Cooper fail ?

15. Fire Walk With Me
I've seen the Film at the cinema. Think, I was the only person, who loved the movie. Watched Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart just before FWWM. So, FWWM was a typical Lynch-Movie.

Very interesting - I don't think I've encountered someone who liked FWWM but NOT the finale (though I've encountered the reverse as well as people who don't like either). Has the finale grown on you, or does it still burn? I'd imagine now with recent news, it would burn a little less.

The whole atmosphere. The wind blowing in the trees, the music, the strange characters. When autumn comes, it's time for Twin Peaks.

Have you watched the Entire Mystery blu-ray (what's the availability like in Germany)? The atmospherics on it are beautiful and capture this quality perfectly.

[LostInTheMovies]

3. The Red Room dream in episode 2
My thought was: this is art. This is where I realized twin peaks was something special.

Me too though the Bob appearance in #1 was my first clue (I couldn't see the pilot at the time).

4a. The season finale - the fact that Laura's killer was not revealed
I didn't even expect the killer to be revealed obviously, since I didn't watch it in the 90's and knew there were lots of episodes to come.

So I take it you saw it in a TV re-airing? That's a very interesting way to experience it - it seems like most of the people I know either watched it on TV at the time or later on video/DVD - only exception being on Bravo in the early 90s (quite a few fans seem to have come to it through that) but you mentioned not watching in the 90s so I guess that wasn't it.

6a. The season 2 premiere - the very long opening with the waiter
Oh god did I love it. This was when I knew Twin Peaks was one of my favorite series. Up until that point I had appreciated it but not yet truly loved it. Brilliant art.

I think this was how I felt the first time I saw this episode too though later I've seesawed on it because of the heavy-handed exposition. But at the time it was like, oh boy, it's only going to get stranger and stranger - I can't wait!

11. The realization that the Cooper-Audrey storyline was not going to play out
I found it refreshing. I honestly thought they chose to do it like that to make the show even less cliché and predictable ('handsome main charachter doesn't get the beautiful girl') and I loved it.

Here's the thing: I agree that a full-on consummation probably would have been too much. But I would have liked to see the flirtation/chemistry continue. I mean, hell, if they could perpetually delay the Laura Palmer resolution, why not Coop/Audrey's romance?

15. Fire Walk With Me
Disappointment. The treatment of the Black lodge was too heavy handed and unsubtle. Adding nudity to Twin Peaks felt unfamilar and wrong as well. FWWM slowly grew on me because of the many individual great scenes though. The infamous scene with Philip Jefferies is now one of my favorite Lynch scenes of all time for example.

First time I watched it I was really troubled by it in a lot of ways and had a feeling it didn't "work" because it was so difficult to digest the mythology alongside the personal tragedy. But like you, the memory of those brilliant setpieces was unshakeable and a quickly decided a movie with such spectacularly effective scenes (Pink Room, traffic jam, "Wash Your Hands", Laura's dream, and so on) had to be a masterpiece, however flawed. Since then I've come to appreciate things I thought were flaws but even if I hadn't I'd still have to call it a great film.

[BOB1]

Out of curiosity, how old were you at the time?

I was 15. And if you like stories about how different people experienced their first times with Twin Peaks, I do recommend a thread I once made... It's called Passing Twin Peaks to the next generation


p.s.

Btw, you mention ep. 16 airing on Aug. 16 and ep. 29 on Nov. 29. Here's some more spooky numerology for you...

Dunno about numerology but it sure worked as a great mnemonic!

To my surprise I discovered that disc 1 of Twin Peaks was sent to me July 11, 2006...and that two years later to the day (July 11, 2008) I had it sent to me again. On top of that, I realized I had first watched Episode 14, the killer's reveal, exactly 6 years before the much-anticipated Entire Mystery/Missing Pieces blu-ray was released (July 29, 2008). All of which is entirely meaningless yet still kind of spooky...

Love that kind of meaningless stuff


And now on to reading what more people wrote about their old days!!

[BOB1]

Very interesting - I don't think I've encountered someone who liked FWWM but NOT the finale (though I've encountered the reverse as well as people who don't like either).

yeah, the reverse is just in the other post, isn't it? very interesting for me, too, as these two things (29 and FWWM) were probably my two favourite things at first sight... I was a bit like, the weirder the better, and anything with lodge of whatever colour, BOB etc.etc. was my instant favourite

Still haven't told you about Fire Walk With Me. My own experience is not very interesting. I mean, I was flabbergasted and delighted and all, and I went to see it in the cinema once again (you can imagine that it was no hit so must have stayed on screens for a rather short time) - this time inviting for this experience the girl I was in love with all high school through. The situation between us was rather clear. She knew I loved her, she never pretended to share my feelings but we were good friends and spent quite a lot of time together. It was also clear that I am a huge Peaks-fan even though it had been a long time since the show's end. She used to watch it, too, of course, but like a regular viewer, not a freak Well anyway, I told her there was this Twin Peaks feature film and I loved it so let's go and see. So we went. Well we never really got to talk about it too much. It seemed she was taken aback. I remember one thing she said right afterwards: wow, she said, that doesn't look like a film I wanna see ever again in my life. But it didn't have to mean "I hated it". I don't suppose I want to see Trainspotting ever again and still I find it to be a masterpiece. I can very well understand that FWWM can be so emotionally shocking and morally challenging that it is hardly bearable.
Personally I did not have this problem. It's the film by Lynch that I've watched the most times I suppose

[LostInTheMovies]

My own experience is not very interesting.

Disagree - I thought that was pretty interesting!

I got to see it for the first time with an audience this year after watching it numerous times in the spring and summer (I first saw it 6 years ago, and didn't watch it again for about 5 years - it was one of the most powerful experiences I've ever had watching a movie, and I almost didn't watch to touch that memory for a while). It was screened at a local library with a costume contest, cherry pie, and coffee etc. A very festive atmosphere. As you can imagine, quite a few people (it was mostly a younger crowd) were coming from recent viewings of the series and hadn't seen the film yet. One person I met there (whom I'd gone to school with) said he had to stop the series a few times because it scared him too much. I told him the film was even more disturbing and he look worried and said "I might have to leave before it's over!" He stuck it out, and actually said he thought it was quite good.

During the Deer Meadow scenes there was a lot of laughter, which is good because that sequence is very funny in an absurdist way. But I was worried about how the viewers would adapt to the shift in tone when Laura comes onscreen. They laughed a lot in some of her earlier scenes - the long dreamy stares with James and Donna - and I found myself wincing. It's a film I feel really passionate about, moreso than any other probably, and I tend to have low tolerance for people who dismiss it (having a negative reaction is fine, and understandable, but I hate when people don't "get" what it's actually doing, as virtually none of the critics did at the time). Fortunately everyone was quiet during the darkest stuff but I did notice that laughter rippled through the audience whenever anything supernatural happened, like this was their release valve to let off tension. All very interesting from a sociological perspective, I guess. Anyway, when it was over the lady who organized us seemed a bit shaken and almost apologetic: "Wow that was tough - I almost had to leave a few times" but in a good way.

Oh one other funny thing: before it started, another librarian was lowering the shades. As I said it was a costume event and she had come dressed as Nadine, eye patch and all. As she struggled with one of the curtains she realized the absurdity of the image and turned around and shouted, "My drapes!" Everyone had a good laugh at that.

[LostInTheMovies]

Passing Twin Peaks to the next generation

Woah boy, this is my cue to check out now and save this for later, before I lose the rest of the night to the internet! I have another chapter of my Peaks video series to finish by tomorrow (fair warning: it's somewhat harsh on one of your favorite episodes but as they say, it's just one guy's opinion...).

Can't WAIT to read this though.

I'm also making my way through what I can access of the alt.tv.twin-peaks archives and hoping to round-up some of the more interesting ones for an upcoming blog post. As you can tell by me starting this thread I really, really, really dig that kind of stuff.

[BOB1]

So do I
And the librarian with drapes - that was a good one!

Disagree - I thought that was pretty interesting!

but that was the second viewing, the first one was just "wow, that was cool" (strangely enough, I didn't get such a strong emotional impact at once, it came with time)

I have another chapter of my Peaks video series to finish by tomorrow.

Yeah, and I have this thread of yours to read/watch and a couple of others, too, so I better log out and save it for later before I lose the rest of the night to the internet!
Goodnight!

[euro]

Very interesting - I don't think I've encountered someone who liked FWWM but NOT the finale (though I've encountered the reverse as well as people who don't like either). Has the finale grown on you, or does it still burn? I'd imagine now with recent news, it would burn a little less.

I was totally shocked after the Last Episode. Audreys died ???? Agent Cooper failed ?!?! FWWM "is like" Titanic. You know how the film would end. The Twin Peaks Episodes were my first experiences with the Director David Lynch. Before FWWM I watched Wild at Heart and Blue Velvet and Eraserhead. Eraserhead at the little Midnight-Movie in my Hometown. I didn't understand Eraserhead, too. But I was enchanted by the pictures and the atmosphere.

The lesson I learned from the Last Twin Peaks Episode: Don't try to understand movies by David Lynch, when you watch them for the first time.

[Mb3]

The lesson I learned from the Last Twin Peaks Episode: Don't try to understand movies by David Lynch, when you watch them for the first time.

That's a very good lesson. It took some time until I figured out it's better to just enjoy his movies on the first view and then later by rewatching them try to find out what's it all about.