What did you see first, The movie or the series?

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

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TheArm
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Re: What did you see first, The movie or the series?

Post by TheArm »

Awesome post, Audrey!!

I was pretty young (11) when the show first premiered in 1990, and I remember being thoroughly creeped out by the ABC ads. I still remember the slogan, "It's a nice place to live but you wouldn't want to die there," or something along those lines. Even at that young age, I was already into pretty weird TV, though at that point primarily in the form of DOCTOR WHO, THE PRISONER and the like. But then my friends who were also into these shows started getting into it and the more I heard, the more intrigued and fascinated I was. I asked my parents if I could stay up late and watch it. They said they'd try watching an episode and if they thought it was appropriate, then ok. So they watched and they came back to me with a firm "NO." I was persistent and begged and hoped to wear them down, and one day I remember my Dad coming home and throwing the LIFE section of USA TODAY at me and said "Her dad did it; there, now you don't have to watch it." :(

Then in '91 I remember the international version of the pilot was released on VHS and a friend got it and showed it to me. I was absolutely, positively mesmerized from the opening credits onward. I thought the credits sequence was beautiful and mysterious and the music was the most haunting thing I'd ever heard. I saw BOB at the end, the red room dream sequence, Laura whispering into Cooper's ear, etc. I was completely and totally in love with it and didn't want it to end, I thought it was absolutely, utterly unlike anything I'd ever seen, and it exceeded my expectations. I couldn't stop thinking about it and was up all night that night, terrified that BOB was crouching at the foot of my bed (I'm not kidding here).

The series proceeded to haunt me for the days and months that followed. I think in particular it resonated with me because in the summer of '89, a murder not entirely dissimilar to Laura's happened in the Northern Virginia suburb I was living in (a girl only a year or two older than me disappeared around July 4, only to turn up 1 or 2 days later having been sexually assaulted and asphyxiated, her body in a roadside ditch, and the rapist-killer was never caught). I remember how scared everyone was, how nobody would let their kids play outside even though it was the middle of summer, and how eerie and quiet our neighborhood was. It was hard for me to fathom how such a darkness could exist in my pretty, safe, leafy green suburban paradise, and I was really moved by how well David Lynch captured that same mood in TWIN PEAKS.

Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall for TP and it was only sporadically on TV, so it was until a couple years later that I really finally began to start watching it. It was late '93 and Bravo was airing reruns of it on Friday nights at 8 o'clock, which was perfect as it was just before this other cool new show on Fox I was really excited about, THE X-FILES, which had reminded me quite a bit of TWIN PEAKS, and I figured it would probably last just as long, if that. I actually came into the repeats in the middle of Season 2 (post-Leland's death, i.e., the lousy part), but I didn't care. I was hooked. Friday nights became pure bliss for this 14-year-old. TWIN PEAKS at 8 and THE X-FILES at 9.

I watched the entire series through on Bravo, and remember being particularly devastated with the series finale. After watching "How's Annie?," I thought, "no, obviously there's at least one more episode." Imagine my horror to find that that was it. I couldn't believe it! I was mortified, though of course I've come to adore it and wouldn't want it any other way. They re-started the series from the pilot, and I remember being absolutely horrified by episode 14 and Maddy's death. My 2nd sleepless night, thanks to TWIN PEAKS. I couldn't look in the mirror that night, BOB freaked me out so much.

And I finally caught FWWM when I looked in the cable guide and saw Showtime was airing it in the middle of the night. I knew my parents wouldn't be crazy about it, so I watched it huddled up close in the dark with the volume turned down. I was so thoroughly disturbed by it that I popped in a tape and recorded the second half because I found it too difficult to watch all the way through. I eventually taped the entire Bravo run and I began begging my friends at school to give it a try and would lend them the tapes. I felt like a drug dealer, especially as my friends would tell me how they'd have to hide their viewings of the show from their parents, who would hate it. I shared the tapes around through high school and then into college. I helped create lots of Peaks Freaks in Ohio in the mid-to-late '90s!
"Fire...walk...with...me...MEEE!!!"
Gozu
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Re: What did you see first, The movie or the series?

Post by Gozu »

Over here in England I only came to watch Twin Peaks after being asked to video tape the final 2 episodes for my sister (who had watched the series from the start) while she and the rest of my family were on holiday. Whilst taping them I got drawn in and that is how I got started with Twin Peaks- from the final 2 episodes! - bit of a different story to most people I suppose! - I had to wait a few months after those episodes were shown until the VHS video series was released so that I could see it all from the start. I think I might have purchased the pilot on VHS just before they came out. I then saw FWWM about half a dozen times at the Tyneside Cinema when it was released - a cinema which had lovely red curtains must like somewhere else :)
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