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Can anyone explain David Lynch's Twin Peaks?
- Thread starter Brimstone
- Start date
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heavy liquid
Member
There's a fish in the percolator...
Randam_Hajile
Member
First of all, Brimstone, you should spoiler tag your post. ^_~
Twin Peaks, IMO, is one of the best shows to ever air on American television. I've watched the entire series from beginning to end more times than I can remember and I've never thought that any of it was left unexplained. Now if you're feeling confused about the ending or (as it sounds) you're looking for some sort of closure, you should know that Twin Peaks was cancelled at the end of it's second season but was followed up with a movie in '92.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is a prequel to the series following the events that lead up to Laura Palmer's death, but also gives insight on the events that take place in the final episodes of season two. If you haven't seen it yet, you may want to check it out.
Over the past few years, David Lynch has expressed interest (multiple times) in producing more Twin Peaks. Hopefully, one day, we can see the rest of his vision.
If you're still confused, or if you just want some more information on Twin Peaks, check out the following sites:
http://www.glastonberrygrove.net/main_l.html
http://www.twinpeaks.org/
Twin Peaks, IMO, is one of the best shows to ever air on American television. I've watched the entire series from beginning to end more times than I can remember and I've never thought that any of it was left unexplained. Now if you're feeling confused about the ending or (as it sounds) you're looking for some sort of closure, you should know that Twin Peaks was cancelled at the end of it's second season but was followed up with a movie in '92.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is a prequel to the series following the events that lead up to Laura Palmer's death, but also gives insight on the events that take place in the final episodes of season two. If you haven't seen it yet, you may want to check it out.
Over the past few years, David Lynch has expressed interest (multiple times) in producing more Twin Peaks. Hopefully, one day, we can see the rest of his vision.
If you're still confused, or if you just want some more information on Twin Peaks, check out the following sites:
http://www.glastonberrygrove.net/main_l.html
http://www.twinpeaks.org/
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
Season 1: Great, great stuff.
Season 2: Mixed bag
Movie: AUGH MY EYES AND EARS! MAKE IT STOP!!
(Or, in other words, make mundane and/or stupid anyting good from the series)
Season 2: Mixed bag
Movie: AUGH MY EYES AND EARS! MAKE IT STOP!!
(Or, in other words, make mundane and/or stupid anyting good from the series)
Ignatz Mouse said:
I don't like the movie either, but I know some fans who do. Season 2, OTOH, is great (e.g. Windom Earle,
all the Black Lodge stuff
Oh...
...Albert rules.
Randam_Hajile said:
Everytime I think of Twin Peaks I remember that Simpson's episode where Homer is watching an episode. I think a horse is dancing on screen (or some such nonesense) and Homer says something to the effect of "Brilliant, brilliant...I have no idea what just happened"
Your raving about the show reminded me of that Simpson's episode.
Manics said:Everytime I think of Twin Peaks I remember that Simpson's episode where Homer is watching an episode. I think a horse is dancing on screen (or some such nonesense) and Homer says something to the effect of "Brilliant, brilliant...I have no idea what just happened"
Your raving about the show reminded me of that Simpson's episode.
Oh if only they would have ended Simpsons abruptly that season (9) like they ended Twin Peaks. But that's another story for another day.
I'm curious about something.....I have the first (if there are any more) TP DVD boxsets. What else do I need to get the complete TP experience? Just the FWWM movie prequel? Or is there something else, or more that hasn't been released yet?
Maxwell House
Member
Twin Peaks is the best television series EVER. They need to hurry about and release the rest of the episodes on DVD already.
My, how I wish the thread starter would spoiler-tag his post. Some would consider that to be just about the biggest spoiler in the history of television.
I saw those episodes on ABC when they were initially televised, and I haven't been hooked on a show that badly since--not even 24 or Alias. I have the crappy VHS boxset--once the rights to Season Two get untangled, I'll buy the whole shebang on DVD.
www.dugpa.com has been keeping up with the Season 2 DVD rumors. Posted Monday:
I saw those episodes on ABC when they were initially televised, and I haven't been hooked on a show that badly since--not even 24 or Alias. I have the crappy VHS boxset--once the rights to Season Two get untangled, I'll buy the whole shebang on DVD.
www.dugpa.com has been keeping up with the Season 2 DVD rumors. Posted Monday:
FortNinety
Member
Guess I'll also chime in to say the show was simply brilliant. Most people seem don't realize how influential the show was. Without it, we wouldn't have gotten X-Files, Buffy, and a whole slew of others.
I'd get the first season DVD box set, but doesn't it not have the two hour season premiere? The thing that sets everything up, as well as being the very best series opener ever?
Plus, anyone here ever catch the follow up sitcom Lynch did called On The Air? It starred quite a few folks from Twin Peaks and was seriously amazing. Though it lasted only six or so episodes.
I'd get the first season DVD box set, but doesn't it not have the two hour season premiere? The thing that sets everything up, as well as being the very best series opener ever?
Plus, anyone here ever catch the follow up sitcom Lynch did called On The Air? It starred quite a few folks from Twin Peaks and was seriously amazing. Though it lasted only six or so episodes.
FortNinety said:
The Artisan first season boxset is indeed missing the season opener, but a Region 0 DVD of the opener is widely available on eBay.
Do not confuse this with the movie that's simply called "Twin Peaks," as that's a recut version of the opener that's meant to be self-contained, and therefore spoils everything.
F
Folder
Unconfirmed Member
I think it was for fifteen year old boys to wank to...Prospero said:
DarienA said:
Without going into spoilery detail, Twin Peaks was a soap opera - filtered through the high weirdness that is David Lynch and tempered by the grittier realism of Mark Frost. Most of the series is dedicated to solving a murder, but after a while it tends to fade into the background; you're really there to see the oddball cast bounce off each other in interesting ways. I've heard it called a gothic soap opera, and while that makes me think of Dark Shadows, it's not a bad description. There are supernatural elements that are genuinely creepy, the cast is fantastic, and the episodes range from quirky to friggin' brilliant, especially when Lynch is directing. I consider the last five minutes of episode 2 to be some of the best television ever made.
Thanks to Artisan, it looks like we have to wait until sometime next year for a proper DVD release. Meanwhile, if you can find the VHS tapes to rent, give it a shot; just make sure that you a) watch the two-hour pilot movie first and b) you stop the tape at the right point. Briefly, the pilot was turned into a self-contained movie by tacking on about 15 minutes of footage. From the FAQ:
About 90 minutes into the movie, after Sheriff Truman introduces Cooper to Lucy's nightly donut spread, and the jail scene with James, Bobby, and Mike, there is a scene where the Sheriff visits Josie.
"It must have happened right around this time yesterday," Truman says to Josie.
"I'm afraid," Josie says.
Next there is a shot of the traffic light, blowing in the breeze.
Stop the movie at the next scene where we see Laura's mother sitting by herself on the sofa, smoking. Up until this point, the movie and broadcast pilot are identical.
The rest of the movie-adaptation of the pilot proceeds to spoil the big murder mystery storyline that takes up the majority of the series. So does the prequel film, Fire Walk With Me (which isn't particularly good anyway) so avoid that if you're planning on watching the whole series.
FnordChan
Randam_Hajile
Member
The pilot with the alternate, self-contained ending is usually referred to as the European pilot. The original pilot without the ending is available on Region 0 DVD all over the net.
The watching order should be pilot, series, movie, and pilot again to see things in a new light.
For anyone who has not seen Twin Peaks, another selling point that should be noted is this:
Agent Cooper is the greatest TV character ever created! Agreed?
The watching order should be pilot, series, movie, and pilot again to see things in a new light.
For anyone who has not seen Twin Peaks, another selling point that should be noted is this:
Agent Cooper is the greatest TV character ever created! Agreed?
Foreign Jackass
Member
I haven't watched this series, but, most of the time, David Lynch is a freakin hack. Only two good movies he did, writing and structure-wise, were The Straight Story and Elephant Man. I liked Mulholland Drive for the dreamy experience, but I wouldn't watch it again.
They're also the most overanalyzed flicks ever, by the way, especially Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway which was a complete mess.
They're also the most overanalyzed flicks ever, by the way, especially Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway which was a complete mess.
Ceb said:
Short version: When Artisan released the first season of Twin Peaks on DVD in the US, they couldn't get the rights to the two-hour pilot, which was owned by someone else entirely for reasons I forget. I believe the VHS release was similar: a big box set with all the episodes came out, but you still had to buy the pilot seperately. The VHS pilot featured the European theatrical cut, which added an ending that spoiled the rest of the series, thus the instructions above. There is also a bootleg DVD floating around:
This contains the original pilot episode without the European ending.
As it stands now, the only Twin Peaks officially available on DVD in R1 is the Artisan set. It's a nice set...except that it's missing the pilot, only has the first seven episodes, and Artisan lost the rights to release any more...or, at least, they revert back to Paramount in 2005, and Artisan doesn't look to be doing anything about it before then. Paramount already has the rights to the pilot, so whenever they get around to releasing DVDs, we should finally get the whole shebang.
I dunno exactly how this applies to the rest of the world, but that's how things stand for R1. Plenty more info is available at dugpa.com.
FnordChan With Me
Ceb said:
The rights to the TV series in the US are tangled all to hell, and were owned by something like three different companies at one point. Each one would publish whichever episodes they had the rights to, and I think the US release of the movie made out of the first episode was contingent on not releasing the original pilot. So I've got a VHS of the TP movie on Warner Brothers, and a "complete" box of all the other episodes from Worldvision. Then there's the Artisan DVD of Season 1, the Republic Region 0 DVD of the first episode, and now I think Paramount is acquiring the rights to the entire series. What a mess.
DarienA said:
It would take longer for us to spoil the show for you than it would for you to watch the show. Alternatively, I could just tell you who Laura Palmer's killer was (which is kind of the McGuffin of the show), but I really, really don't want to do that.
Alternatively, you could read Raymond Chandler's novel The Lady in the Lake, which is similar to the main plotline of the first few episodes.
DarienA said:
I'm with Prospero, so I'll give you the "slightly more detail" version instead: A teenage girl named Laura Palmer is found murdered in the Pacific Northwest logging town of Twin Peaks and it's up to FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (who is outgoing, hyper-competant, pretty fucking weird, and played to the hilt by Kyle MacLachlan) and Sherrif Harry S. Truman (who is quiet, far more down to earth, not quite as competant but definately holding his own, and played somewhat less to the hilt by Michael Ontkean) to find the killer. All this takes place as a large, quirky cast interacts in true (though self-aware) soap opera fashion.
The appeal of the show is in the oddball cast and the genuine creepiness of the more supernatural moments. The writing is generally pretty great, the rotating directors to a job ranging from decent to absolutely inspired (with Lynch pulling off the later on a regular basis), and it's atmospheric as all hell. We could spoil the ending, but it's kinda missing the point - it's interesting to see how they solve the mystery, but that's not exactly what you're watching the show for.
A good local rental store should have the pilot as the VHS European Cut I mentioned above. (A really good local rental store should have the DVD pilot.) Go rent it and see what you think (keeping in mind that you need to stop the tape at some point during the European cut).
FnordChan
I just finished watching through the Season 1 DVD set, and I am most displeased at the last shot considering the lack of a Season 2 DVD set. Fuck. But I read somewhere that the S2 set is due out by September 2005 for so. Anyone know if this is a fact?
Great fuckin show by the way. Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Dale Cooper rocks.
Great fuckin show by the way. Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Dale Cooper rocks.
keeblerdrow
Member
I think I'm missing some part of Twin Peaks. I bought the first season DVD totally on recommendation and watched about 6 episodes before putting it down. Besides the detective, I didn't find anything interesting going on in the series. I've heard many great things about this series and really want to enjoy it. Can anyone clue me into something I might be missing so I can get this show?
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