The Secret History of Twin Peaks

[Audrey Horne]

Am I reading this right - Briggs in his final rundown of events does not mention being abducted by Windom Earle at all, correct? And that Cooper has disappeared into the woods -but does not seem Miss Twin Peaks events are what precipitated it at all. Surely Briggs' "save the queen" would be on his mind at the time of writing it.

[LonelySoul]

Perhaps the haloperidol messed with his memory?

[hopesfall]

Getting a tad further in.

Now feel like I'm listening to an X-Files or Dark Skies spin-off.

I'm quite familiar with the lore of these shows and I really feel like I'm listening to stuff I've heard before....

I thought the same; probably one of the only parts (besides aforementioned discrepancies) that irked me somewhat, but it lifts up again rather swiftly. What do you think to the way they handled the Dougie interview in audio form? Any parts of the (hi)story that you've enjoyed a lot so far?

[bowisneski]

As to why some characters have knowledge they shouldn't, perhaps they were informed by other characters of events after the fact? I haven't read the book yet, but a character doesn't have to have experienced everything firsthand to have knowledge about it.

That actually would work for Coop and the info he provides. While there is no one he really could have gotten the info from, barring Catherine, he is a first class FBI man and he could be making deductions.

The only real issue on that front is Harry because he claims to have been there when we know he wasn't. Which could just be Harry lying, but...

"I was there, Coop. Andrew told her he forgave her cause he couldn't help himself, he still loved her and that Eckhardt was coming to take her away and help her escape the law, with his blessings. Maybe she believed him, I don't know.

Then Eckhardt showed up, and Andrew told him that Josie warned him about the attempt on his life years earlier, betraying Eckhardt. Like that was the only reason he'd survived in the first place."

Also, I remember discussing the sale of the Mill and my thought that Catherine sold it after the bank explosion. This one is interesting because of the way it is presented. According to the "Assignment of Contract Sale of Real Estate" Catherine sold the Mill to Ben on March 23rd 1989 which is both typed on the page as well as stamped by notary Mary Jo Plutnik with the date of March 23 1989. I feel this could have easily been a typo so the Twin Peaks Registrar also fudged the notary stamp for records since it probably didn't matter.

The thing I find interesting is that this seems to be the case via what is presented(selling after the explosion) but it also appears there was another Mill fire if that is the case. Which leads me to wonder did Ben go in to burn it down again, was it Catherine, or an unfortunate accident.

She was the only resident of Blue Pine Lodge now, and with no living heirs or relations, Catherine became a recluse. She never spoke or wrote about what had happened, so one question remains unanswered: Who exactly was she grieving for? All of them, perhaps; brother Andrew, certainly; husband Pete, for all his shortcomings -- at least in her eyes -- probably; maybe even Josie, the worthy opponent who had tested her like no other. 2

2 As the last of the old-growth forests were harvested, the lumber industry around Twin Peaks has been declining for years. Soon after, Catherine abruptly closed the Packard Mill - the town's largest employer throughout the 20th century - after a fire, strangely, gutted its central facilities. As the town's largest employer, the mill's closing dealt a devastating blow to the local economy.
A few weeks after the fire, Catherine sold the mill and its associated properties to her former paramour, Benjamin Horne, and his investors in the Ghostwood Development, the plan he'd been pursuing for years.

Agent Preston putting the above note post the bank explosion is what leads me to believe there was a second fire.

Strangely, unlike all the other annotation, Agent Preston does not end this notation with "-TP"

This would also imply that Briggs continued chronicling for at least a month after his visit from Cooper.

There's just so much to unpack.

[hopesfall]

Perhaps the haloperidol messed with his memory?

At this point, it would not surprise me if that is indeed what they're going for!

[bowisneski]

Oh, and did anyone else notice that the photo on page 118-119 is of the Hanford nuclear facility, yet it is cited at the beginning as "Photograph of the smoke plume from the Tillamook Burn as seen from an aircraft, in August 1933" which is this photo http://offbeatoregon.com/assets-2014/14 ... r-1800.jpg that is found nowhere in the book. Not sure of any significance this could have but I thought it was interesting.

Also wanted to bring this up again as more people are getting the book and I still find it interesting

[FrightNight]

Just out of curiosity, how do you put people on ignore here? Not to single anyone out but I would like to enjoy this thread without that constant negativity and hostility. Its been quite a wonderful, mature discussion otherwise. Thanks.

Can't help but think this post is in part due to my rantings on here.

Let me clear the air a bit. Look, I know my opinions about the book are unpopular. But I've had some more time with it and, while I don't think I'll ever elevate the book to canon and instead keep it around the same level as the other tie-in books, I'm not as upset about it as I was before.

I've deleted my less-than-chipper tweets to Frost (although the image still remains on these boards). You all are right - it's no way to be toward someone else.

I'm used to having unpopular opinions about this show. It's funny - I have spent a good amount of time being unpopular for liking latter season two and now I'm spending time being unpopular for not liking the latter portion of this book.

I just really wanted this super-immersive experience where Frost lovingly crafted this wonderful book that paid attention to all the details from the original run of the show. And we got most of what that previous sentence described, with the exception of the details part. A lot of the book is really cool (the Denver Bob stuff, the Lewis and Clark stuff, etc.). I love historical fiction, so that stuff sat well with me. And the rest of the book is well written and engaging, it's just the details that get under my skin.

It does make one wonder though - if whole characters, story arcs and other details that were (are...ish?) canon can be written over and many fans are totally okay with it, why have canon or continuity at all? Does it even matter what happens on the screen or in the pages now? After all, Lynch or Frost could just decide to change stuff and apparently no one here would mind. Is it just because people care less about Vivian or some of the other stuff that they're okay with it? What if, for example, the book reported that Cooper threw pine cones instead of rocks, or that he liked tea instead of coffee? Would people care then?

These aren't accusations, just genuine questions. When do retcons/changes/etc. become a problem?

Anyway, I feel the need to say that while I've been a thorn in some of your sides, I really enjoy being able to talk to other fans about the universe. I've made good friends with others in the fandom through podcasts and things like the Fest and I want to keep it that way. I'll just have to live with my bitterness and allow myself to talk about the book and upcoming show without being so lame about it.

Cheers, friends.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that since Frost has stated in so many words that he did go back and review stuff and we still have these errors that he is more or less just admitting to not caring about some details and carrying on anyway. While I don't like this, he at least acknowledges it and I respect that.

As one Season 2 admirer to another, I certainly didn't/don't think you said anything wrong or shameful during your "rantings" about the book; moreover, whatever you said referred strictly to the contents, it was never on any personal level (not regarding the author nor regarding the other fans who didn't share your views) and was always sufficiently, validly argumented. If you got a little emotional at times, expressing your disappointment, so what? Others are free to dance with joy regarding the book and I don't see anyone taking them up on it. This is, after all, the show a regular member here cares deeply about and I feel one shouldn't be brought into a position where he thinks he has to apologize to anyone for not liking a certain product that came from the TP universe and saying so on a message board dedicated to the said universe. If one cannot freely speak - of course, adhering to certain rules of acceptable social behaviour - of such things here, hey, then where?

[FrightNight]

In addition (to LonelySoul), I'm sharing each and every one of your worries regarding such loose attitude to canon (on the creators' side, of course).

[wAtChLaR]

it's packaged nicely
and just delving in to the book i immediately went to the audio cd...some of it is difficult to read and i really don't like the red text (old eyes)
only finished disc 1 and thought some things were interesting and obviously this offering is for the hardest core of fans...i'm not seeing a cross over appeal though which i find interesting

[Dalai Cooper]

Can't believe nobody has mentioned the brief reference to the most important cornerstone of twin peaks mythology, viz the PINE WEASEL

[sneakydave]

Can't believe nobody has mentioned the brief reference to the most important cornerstone of twin peaks mythology, viz the PINE WEASEL

I did have a chuckle at that, I must admit.

[sneakydave]

Getting a tad further in.

Now feel like I'm listening to an X-Files or Dark Skies spin-off.

I'm quite familiar with the lore of these shows and I really feel like I'm listening to stuff I've heard before....

I thought the same; probably one of the only parts (besides aforementioned discrepancies) that irked me somewhat, but it lifts up again rather swiftly. What do you think to the way they handled the Dougie interview in audio form? Any parts of the (hi)story that you've enjoyed a lot so far?

I loved the whole section about the scouting trip and the lights in the woods and the figure in the trees. Just got to the part where Dougie is back at owl cave and sees the three children being 'abducted'. That gave me a wee tingle.

I was less keen on the Kenneth Arnold, Roswell and flying discs stuff. It just seemed very generic.

I'm just finding it difficult to imagine season 3 going down the road of alien crafts and abductions etc. I don't think it WILL and that this is just giving us an enriched narrative of the sort of paranormal events that plague the area. I really don't see BOB flying about in a saucer shooting beams of lights at passing yokels.

At this point, I'm having difficulty marrying the nuts and bolts of the UFO phenomenon with the show as it stands (even WITH the mention of project blue book already set in canon).

Still enjoying it though. I think.

[Soolsma]

Nah, I don't think the lodges and it's spirits will ever get a rational explanation like being from outer space if it's up to Lynch, the suggestion might be there but mark my words; after S3 we'll still be discussing the nature of all the surreal weirdness that'll be bestowed upon us next season, at least for another 25 years

[N. Needleman]

I take the bulk of the "alien" discussion in the book to relate to the same things it did in S2 - not aliens, but the extradimensional Lodge entities Bluebook was investigating that sometimes present similarly. Some of the other things, like the craft Briggs theorizes about, were IMO likely experimental aircraft just as he suggests (then dismisses, but again, unreliable narrator). Other things, like Milford's description of the child abduction, has either Briggs or Preston going out of their way to indicate that he never saw any craft, just a darkness. That to me indicates this is not about aliens, just the mistaken perception of visitors from outer space, versus what the show truly has, visitors from another place.

[bowisneski]

The only UFO/alien part I'm not sure about is when Dougie, Nixon, and Jackie Gleason have their encounter at Homestead Air Force Base. That was a little too connected to real aliens and disconnected from the show and the implications of TSHoTP for me.