Twin Peaks: The Review Run

[Joe Washington]

I'm thinking of watching all episodes of Twin Peaks from the first episode to the last and then watch Twin Peaks: Walk With Fire as the show's coda. While I'm doing this, I'll be making mini-reviews of the episodes and the movie like the Babylon 5 thread which commented on each B5 episode or the Supernatural thread a while back ago that commented on episodes of the first season. Post a reply if you want to share some thoughts on aspects of the Twin Peaks show or the specific episodes I'm reviewing.

[Forbin]

Just make sure you have plenty of either medication or alcohol handy while watching!

[Kirkman1987]

I will have plenty of comments.
We watched the pilot a few days ago with a visiting friend who was intrigued by my TP poster. That alone made me want to watch everything again, so this is good timing, and I may try to watch along with you best I can.

[23skidoo]

Joe Washington wrote:

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I'm thinking of watching all episodes of Twin Peaks from the first episode to the last and then watch Twin Peaks: Walk With Fire as the show's coda. While I'm doing this, I'll be making mini-reviews of the episodes and the movie like the Babylon 5 thread which commented on each B5 episode or the Supernatural thread a while back ago that commented on episodes of the first season. Post a reply if you want to share some thoughts on aspects of the Twin Peaks show or the specific episodes I'm reviewing.

Make sure you watch the international version of the pilot as well, but don't watch it till the very end if you don't know the storyline. As explained in the Gold Box DVD set, Lynch was more or less forced to make a standalone version of the pilot that wrapped up the whole storyline in 2 hours. It's interesting to watch it after you've seen the whole series to compare how he ended the story initially and how it eventually played out.

I'm assuming you have the Gold Box set. If you're watching other editions on DVD I believe the pilot is only available otherwise as the international version, and the DVD season box set omits the pilot because of licensing and ownership differences. The Gold Box rectified all of that; all it's missing is Fire Walk with Me.

Also, Fire Walk With Me is a prequel, so it might be worth watching it first, except that it was a prequel that required knowledge of the series ... one reason it failed, probably. So in that respect it doesn't really matter when you watch it.

Alex

[Joe Washington]

I'll be watching online episodes of Twin Peaks. I don't have the DVD set. Sorry.

[Christopher]

23skidoo wrote:

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Also, Fire Walk With Me is a prequel, so it might be worth watching it first, except that it was a prequel that required knowledge of the series ... one reason it failed, probably.

I believe that, conversely, it also spoiled some things from the series. So it is best watched last, at least the first time through.

[FredH]

Fire Walk with Me should definitely be watched last; IIRC, it's both a prequel and a sequel, since a vision of Annie makes reference to Cooper's situation (and, by implication, hers) at the end of the TV series.

[Kirkman1987]

FredH wrote:

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Fire Walk with Me should definitely be watched last; IIRC, it's both a prequel and a sequel, since a vision of Annie makes reference to Cooper's situation (and, by implication, hers) at the end of the TV series.

This.

The pilot is not on CBS, but can be found easily on youtube. The gold box is a great release though, snatch it up if ever you have the chance. the special features disc is great.

[snakespeare]

I triple-concur. Keep Fire Walk With Me for the end. Too many spoilers.

[sidious618]

I can't put my finger on exactly why but to this day Fire Walk With Me is still the scariest movie I've ever seen.

[billcosby]

Love the show, loved the movie.
Not sure how it registers as "sci fi and fantasy" though...

[Christopher]

^Uhh, there was a guy possessed by an evil entity, there were prophetic dreams, and the owls were not what they seemed. I'd say it had some pretty clear fantasy elements.

[trevanian]

sidious618 wrote:

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I can't put my finger on exactly why but to this day Fire Walk With Me is still the scariest movie I've ever seen.

I think it is the sound mix. It seems to work on some kind of unconscious level to mess people up. Lynch is credited with the sound design himself, and I think he wrote that pounding music in the bar too, so perhaps this is undiluted TP, as opposed to the series, which has lots of Mark Frost influence (not a bad thing at all -- I think I may like Frost's ideas for the lodge better than Lynch's -- but absolutely different from Lynch alone.)

As an adult, I've only rarely ever been 'gotten' by a movie (as a kid, THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE did it to me.) But FWWM had me so messed up that I had to pull off the road and stop the car, because all of a sudden I was shaking, and this was ten minutes after I left the theater.

The fact that there were only two other people in the screening may have enhanced the effect, since I felt like I was alone in the theater watching the movie.

[trevanian]

Christopher wrote:

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^Uhh, there was a guy possessed by an evil entity, there were prophetic dreams, and the owls were not what they seemed. I'd say it had some pretty clear fantasy elements.

Oh yeah, plus one character got her soul trapped inside a hotel doorknob. Fantasy elements, def.

[Kirkman1987]

anyone missing the fantasy elements must have missed the last episode.