Review Tonight! "Twin Peaks" S01E01 "Northwest Passage"

[Mad-Pac]

"Twin Peaks" - Season 1, Episode 1: "Northwest Passage"

Aired Thursday 9:00 PM Apr 08, 1990 on ABC

The small northwest town of Twin Peaks, Washington is shaken up when the body of the Homecoming Queen, Laura Palmer, is discovered dead. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called to investigate.

(Please limit yourselves to comments about the pilot only, not the entire series. Thanks!)


Cast

• Kyle MacLachlan ... Special Agent Dale Cooper
• Michael Ontkean ... Sheriff Harry S. Truman
• Mädchen Amick ... Shelly Johnson
• Dana Ashbrook ... Bobby Briggs
• Richard Beymer ... Benjamin Horne
• Lara Flynn Boyle ... Donna Hayward
• Sherilyn Fenn ... Audrey Horne
• Mitch Pileggi ... FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner
• Warren Frost ... Dr. Will Hayward
• Peggy Lipton ... Norma Jennings
• James Marshall ... James Hurley
• Everett McGill ... Big Ed Hurley
• Jack Nance ... Pete Martell
• John Glover ... Leland Palmer
• Joan Chen ... Jocelyn Packard
• Piper Laurie ... Catherine Martell
• Russ Tamblyn ... Dr. Lawrence Jacoby
• Eric DaRe ... Leo Johnson
• Mary Jo Deschanel ... Eileen Hayward
• Harry Goaz ... Deputy Andy Brennan
• Gary Hershberger ... Mike Nelson
• Michael Horse ... Deputy Tommy 'Hawk' Hill
• Grace Zabriskie ... Sarah Palmer
• Troy Evans ... George Wolchezk
• John Boylan ... Dwayne Milford
• Rodney Harvey ... Biker Scotty
• Sheryl Lee ... Laura Palmer
• Robert Davenport ... Johnny Horne
• Jan D'Arcy ... Sylvia Horne
• Kimmy Robertson ... Lucy Moran
• Jessica Wallenfels ... Harriet Hayward
• Wendy Robie ... Nadine Hurley
• Don S. Davis ... Maj. Garland Briggs
• Charlotte Stewart ... Betty Briggs
• Roberta Maguire ... Maria Pulaski
• Phoebe Augustine ... Ronnette Pulaski
• Frank Roberts ... Father Hutchings
• Brett Vadset ... Joey
• David Wasman ... Gilman White
• Jane Jones ... Margaret Honeycutt
• Tawnya Pettiford-Wates ... Dr. Shelvy
• Shelley Henning ... Alice Brady
• Dorothy Roberts ... Mrs. Jackson
• Julee Cruise ... Girl Singer
• Arnie Stenseth ... Sven Jorgenson
• Andrea Hays ... Heidi
• Rick Tutor ... Janek Pulaski
• Marjorie Nelson ... Janice Hogan
• Ben DiGregorio ... Max Hartman
• Diane Caldwell ... Hotel Employee
• Catherine E. Coulson ... The Log Lady
• Al Strobel ... One-Armed Man

Music composed by

• Ennio Morricone

Written by

• Mark Frost
• David Lynch

Directed by

• David Lynch

 

[John Q]

Pilot.

In the small logging town of Twin Peaks Washington a dead girl's body wrapped in plastic washes up near the house of local logger Pete Martell. Sheriff Harry Truman and Doctor Will Hayward show up to investigate and they identify the girl as local prom queen Laura Palmer. We're introduced to other interesting a quirky members of the cast pretty quickly like Laura's parents, Deputy Andy and Lucy the police dispatcher. We're also introduced fairly quickly to Laura's boyfriend Bobby Briggs Laura's best friend Donna a mutual friend James. We start to notice right away that things might not be straightforward as they seem. Briggs is secretly having an affair with a married waitress Shelly Johnson for example.

Shortly thereafter a woman named Rosette Pulaski is found wandering half beaten up by a bridge. This second incident prompts the introduction of our protagonist Special Agent Cooper. Cooper is an eccentric guy marveling over a local Cherry Pie and the Douglass Firs in the area. Kyle Maclachlan plays this part wonderfully with his ever present tape recorder making recordings to a never seen Diane. The tape recorder with Maclachlan acts like a mini narrator or a Greek Chorus to the episode. I wonder if there really is a Diane or if this character just made it up.

Although Agent Cooper can be eccentric, he's extremely professional. Upon examining Laura's body, he discovers a small "R" under her fingernail. The small R links Laura to another murder in Washington so Agent Cooper will stay here to investigate.

We learn that Laura had many secrets just as most people in the town have. She was secretly seeing a wacky Psychiatrist Dr. Jacoby. She was also secretly dating a moody biker named James. We learn about James from a diary entry but Briggs learns about James from a video. Laura also had a safety deposit box where the police find $10,000, a porno magazine with Ronette's photo and a photo of Shelly's husband's truck.

Shortly thereafter they find the crime scene and find half of a heart necklace, the other we later learned belonged to James. Eventually Bobby finds out that James was secretly dating Laura so he goes and starts a fight at the Roadhouse bar. James & Donna escape but are later picked up by Cooper & Truman. Bobby and his Buddy are also locked up.

There's some other subplots like the beautiful Audrey Horne daughter of a wealthy landowner breaks up her father's Norwegian business deal just for the fun of it. There's also the beautiful young widow who owns the saw mill and who's having an affair with the Sheriff. There's also a subplot with the sawmill owner and her sister in law.

What's really interesting about this show is that it gives off a dream-like quality. It also has equal parts quirky characters, soap opera, and at times hard drama mixed with eccentric dark comedy.

Random Thoughts:

*The dynamic between Cooper & Truman gives off a bit of a Sherlock Holmes/Watson vibe.

*This was the beginning of the U.S. mild obsession with the Pacific Northwest during the early-mid 90's.

*There's a bunch of great funny visual references like the kid dancing in the school hallway and the deer head on the table in the bank.

*I really don't think there's a Diane at the other end of Cooper's tape recorder.

Good episode setting up a lot of mood and feeling, I give it an 8/10

 

[Bob Peters 61]

When this aired, I made a point not to watch it because the combination of the close-up of the pretty girl with the series being obviously the name of a town made me think it was a prime-time soap. Boy was I wrong!

First impression: first opening sequence: Why is that saw-sharpening machine so mesmerizing? By the end of this pilot the story line had me thoroughly engrossed.

I could tell before the FBI guy that Bobby didn't do it. Neither did James, even if he was the J in Laura's diary. My prime suspect is the truck driver that abusively threatened his "old lady" if she ever had two brands of cigarette butts in the ash trays again. But I might just be going on bias against domestic abusers. (Can you think of any group more deserving of a bias against them?)

Very strange at the beginning: The cops immediately track down the underage victim's father, but her mother has to figure it out from sounds filtering through the phone. Then after leaving her screaming on an open phone line, they don't event talk to her until after her death has been announced to her schoolmates over the PA in the school. Attention Sheriff Harry S. Truman, that is not OK at all.

Just for being the way they are, I relished the thought of Bobby and his buddy getting their butts kicked in the roadhouse. Then in jail they put James just two empty cells away from them and all they can do is bark at him. Nice touch!

Spooky ending for the pilot, though. What sort of psychic connection caused Laura's mother to see the necklace being found by someone. And by whom? Tune in next week same time, same station. Definitely no fewer than 7 bicycle tires in need of a little air.

 

[Brimfin]

From the beginning, it’s clear that this is not a run-of-the-mill show. It contains quirky characters, some over-the-top scenes and acting, a spooky music score and some offbeat editing and direction.

We start in the picturesque town of Twin Peaks (population 50,201) which looks like a picture postcard most of the time. But it takes on a somber tone when the body of young Laura Palmer washes up on shore, naked but wrapped in plastic. (It wasn’t clear that she was naked when her body was found, but other people later said she was naked.) Her already nervous mother Sarah, who was trying to locate her is devastated by the news as is her father, Leland. Peculiarly, Leland is on the phone with Sarah when he gets the news of her death and he just drops the phone and goes off with the police, not even telling her the horrible news. That was hard for me to process.

Laura was loved by many. She had a boyfriend, but apparently a secret suitor as well. Donna Hayward appears to have been her best friend, and others seemed to idolize her.

About halfway through the first part, FBI Agent Dale Cooper arrives like a little kid enthralled by the awesome scenery and even the simple pleasure of pie. But he also shows signs of being a shrewd analyzer in studying the mystery which is only beginning.

There’s too much going on to comment on everything. I’ll just touch on some of the stranger moments.

Audrey Horne seems to be an interesting character. She’s not above drilling pencil holes in Styrofoam cups and pulling it out, flooding your desk with coffee. The company she works for tells her and her colleague not to let the buyers which he is about to make a big deal with find out about the Laura Palmer murder. She then wanders in to their meeting and starts to tell them the sad story of Laura’s death, later giggling as they cancel the deal and anxiously run off. I wonder if she will face any consequences for her actions.

Lucy Moran seems to give new dimensions to the word “ditz.” On the other hand, she was smart enough to takes notes on an important private conversation related to the case Cooper is working on.

Along with Laura’s death, we have a young woman named Ronnette Pulaski who was found wandering by the railroad tracks having been sexually assaulted. Are the two cases related? Cooper meanwhile is trying to use camcorder footage of Laura and her diary to retrace her steps. She was supposed to meet with someone named J, and Dale is trying to find out who that is.

It’s kind of hard to describe this episode as a whole. Some characters have long, slow, conversations. The crime scene photographer starts crying before he can take any pictures. A commercial break end with a pointless cutaway to a stoplight changing colors. There are some strange scenes, like one where a suspect is put in jail and the other two guys in the next cell growl at him like dogs. Hopefully, it will all be an interesting ride.

I’ll give this episode 7 lockets with half a heart.

Favorite dialogue:
“Who’s that lady with the log?”
“We call her the log lady.”

 

[Brimfin]

Cast

• Mitch Pileggi ... FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner
• John Glover ... Leland Palmer

Okay, I caught the listing of the FBI Assistant Director from THE X-FILES slipped in there. Also, you replaced Ray Wise with John Glover as both men have played The Devil in a TV Series - Ray Wise in REAPER, and John Glover In BRIMSTONE. Glover is your weekly reference to a show previously visited by the Sages - BRIMSTONE, which is in fact the show in which I joined the group.

 

[Mad-Pac]

Okay, I caught the listing of the FBI Assistant Director from THE X-FILES slipped in there. Also, you replaced Ray Wise with John Glover as both men have played The Devil in a TV Series - Ray Wise in REAPER, and John Glover In BRIMSTONE. Glover is your weekly reference to a show previously visited by the Sages - BRIMSTONE, which is in fact the show in which I joined the group.

Speaking of the Devil... You're right about the Ray Wise/John Glover reference. Both actors gave remarkable performances as the Devil on TV shows. John Glover being acid and cruel, and Ray Wise being witty and funny (and cruel too). Just one thing to add: Assistant Director Skinner is also a reference to a previous show, though long before your time: The Lone Gunmen.

 

[John Q]

First impression: first opening sequence: Why is that saw-sharpening machine so mesmerizing? By the end of this pilot the story line had me thoroughly engrossed.

I was noticing that as well and how amazing that machine worked so flawlessly.

I think that's David Lynch and how he directs things. He's very good at just keeping the camera on inanimate objects giving them life. There's a few scenes where he just focuses on the ceiling fan in Laura's house. And the ceiling fan feels somewhat ominous for some reason. There's another scene where he just focuses on a telephone and you get the same feeling. I think that's partly his style to basically spend an inordinate amount of time on seemingly trivial inanimate objects.

That upstairs at Laura's house reminds me of the upstairs in Psycho. I don't know if that was intentional or not but it looks similar. Then Lynch chose to keep the camera downstairs pointing upwards at Laura's bedroom and that ceiling fan.

Then there's the scene at the bank where the first thing we see is the severed head of deer on a table. He stays on that deer for a few seconds and our minds start racing as to what the hell is going. Then he pulls back slowly to reveal that it's a stuffed mounted head and the bank was just rearranging some wall decorations. So it starts out as ominous and ends up as a bit of silly dark comedy.

 

[TheSowIsMine]

I love this pilot. I like that it's so full of emotions.

By the way, is listing wrong names in the cast and crew list one of your things?

 

[Bob Peters 61]

By the way, is listing wrong names in the cast and crew list one of your things?

He likes to throw in a couple of gag credits in on every episode thread OP. Often harkening back to shows the group has done in the past. Sort of a group tradition.

 

[TheSowIsMine]

He likes to throw in a couple of gag credits in on every episode thread OP. Often harkening back to shows the group has done in the past. Sort of a group tradition.

Good to know :)

 

[Mad-Pac]

Bob Peters 61 said: ↑
He likes to throw in a couple of gag credits in on every episode thread OP. Often harkening back to shows the group has done in the past. Sort of a group tradition.

Good to know :)

Oh, dammit, Bob! I was going to play innocent and say, Why???? Did you notice something wrong? And then he would win the gag-detection award.

(Just kidding! )

 

[Mad-Pac]

Twin Peaks – S01E01 – Pilot
Review (Part 1)​

I still remember when I watched the “Twin Peaks” pilot on television, and I’ll try to recall those reactions and make them part of my review. It was just unfortunate that the network that was airing the series never ended it. I remember I had had the similar disappointment with “Wiseguy,” and that it was a real joy for me when I finally could catch up with the remaining episodes on the web. Likewise, most of the episodes of Twin Peaks I’ll be watching for the first time.

At that time I was already reasonably familiar with David Lynch as a director. In the 1980s I used to go to the movies every week, since there was no other good way to catch up with the latest releases. When watching the show, I had already seen “The Elephant Man”, “Dune” and, “Blue Velvet”, and I had become a fan of his authorial style.

However, the pilot seemed too commonplace at first sight, and obviously I didn’t catch all the subtle hints given under the guise of apparent boring normalcy, something that now, watching again, becomes much more evident. One thing particularly bothered me, though: way too much drama. People crying all the time as a very emotional soundtrack filled the scene. I thought that was too much, since these people were all mourning the passing of a character we had never see before and with whom we had developed no empathy yet. Even back in 1989/1990, That felt way too corny.

Nevertheless, now I can reevaluate that early impression: the town’s reaction means that Twin Peaks was just too “normal”, boring and peaceful for this kind of tragedy, and definitely they were not used to that type of commotion. It was a tow which even back then felt simpler and old-fashioned, a refuge from the trials and tribulations of modern life (even for 1990 standards).

Oh, and before I proceed, I have to point out the quality of the theme song and the incidental music, which was much, much better than the usual television material used in television at the time. And that’s still true for most cases. It’s simply the work of a musical genius, and that elevates the story to a new, ethereal and surrealistic stage. I can clearly remember most of the musical passages even today.

Anyway, the pilot basically sets the game pieces on the playing board and the particular dynamics will affect in varying degrees the several denizens of that idyllic Washington town. Speaking of which, I have to point out that scenery intrigues me from the get-go. And we can realize that was the intended reaction, since Special Agent doesn’t conceal his admiration for all that natural beauty. As a curiosity, I used to think the show took place in Vermont, which was basically the only place I knew that had mountains like that in the US. Years later I got even more confused when friends took me to visit a city called Twin Peaks… in California.

And now this is a good time to talk about the characters we’re introduced to. Well, some of them at least; there are simply too many people to talk about, so I’ll make comments on most of them when they become the focus of a particular episode. I have already mentioned FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper. He seems to be competent and dedicated, but perhaps a little too attached to protocol, which makes me wonder if he’ll have what it takes when it comes to improvising and being creative and think outside the box in an emergency. But no matter what to say, he comes off as one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet in life.

Of course, we also have the victim, Laura Palmer. Perfect teen, perfect daughter, perfect girlfriend, it’s impossible not to feel touched by her untimely death. Will the show destroy or confirm that story? Whatever happens, I’m sure we’ll learn a great deal more about her.

Considering Laura’s age, a particular group earns our greater attention and comes front and center in that universe, a group I’ll often collectively refer to as “The Kids”. And those are divided into “The Boys” and “The Girls”.

Let’s start with “The Boys”. They are a key factor to increase the story’s nostalgia factor, as they mostly look like runaway extras from a Grease musical. Or we could say the last beatniks in the world. Bobby’s bad boy attitude and jacket and James’s (Laura’s boyfriend) motorcycle and poor man’s James Dean vibe sets them apart as a rebellious generation, even if the actors already look just too old to be rebellious teens.

Then we have “The Girls”. First, all I can think of is mesmerizing “Audrey Horne”, capable of mischievous acts like piercing a plastic cup of coffee spilling the black liquid on pages and pages of important documents. And, to add insult to injury, ruining her father’s most important business deal with the Swedish, sorry, Danish, sorry Norwegian group that was planning to buy land in the town to build an important project. That was very mean, Audrey. But really, the minute I saw her all I cared about is that she was extremely hot.

(END OF PART 1)

 

[Mad-Pac]

Twin Peaks – S01E01 – Pilot ​

Review (Part 2)​

Her friend, “Donna Hayward”, was also Laura’s friend and she’s “the good girl”. Judging by her interaction with James, I can already see these two are going to be some kind of star-crossed lover couple. I like her, but I’m not particularly impressed either. Perhaps the character will conquer me in the future.

And I mention “Shelly Johnson” last because she has more of a fringe role in the main story, and she has her own problems to worry about. And she’s portrayed as a sort of older married lady. She has a domineering husband with a violent temper, but secretly dates the town’s resident bad boy “Bobby Briggs”, who makes the terrible mistake of smoking a different cigarette brand than hers, and leaves his cigarette butts anywhere they can be found by people who had better not find them.

And then there are the “adults”. “Leland Palmer” is Laura’s father and a businessman constantly trying to make his next buck. But he seems extremely nice and not devilish at all. “Benjamin Horne” is Leland’s partner and Audrey’s father and immediately he gives me a creepy vibe. No wonder Audrey is so messed up. And let’s not forget Laura’s mom, “Sarah Palmer”, who has a natural talent for crying, being hysterical or catatonic.

Another important part of the city is the Packard Sawmill, where important action is going to take place, or so it seems. The rivalry between “Jocelyn Packard” (described as the most beautiful woman in town), a Chinese lady from Hong Kong, Mr Packard’s widow and sole owner of the business, and the deceased’s sister “Catherine Martell” promises to catch fire. Jocelyn seems to be kind and genuine, and Catherine believes she’s the only one that can run the place properly and is capable of firing some random dude just because she felt contradicted by somebody else… What a snake!

Let’s not forget the folks in the police precinct: “Sheriff Harry S. Truman” (a name not hard to remember), Agent Cooper’s dedicated sidekick, “Lucy Moran”, the ditzy receptionist who communicates mostly through non-sequiturs and is so cute I want to put in my pocket and take home, and “Deputy Andy Brennan”, who turns on the emotional waterworks whenever he sees a gruesome crime scene or even mentions Laura’s name. And finally “Diane”, Cooper’s absent secretary who’s always mentioned and addressed to by the agent, but I guess will never be seen.

And… Since I’ve spoken about the characters, why not speak about the actors as well? “Kyle McLachlan” managed to stay relevant all these years so, he won’t be part of any “Whatever happened to such and such Twin Peaks actor?” I just didn’t remember he had been that young.

The career, at least the famous part, of “Sherylin Fenn” was launched by this show. She was a promising star, but never amounted to much, I’m afraid. “. At that time, she was stunning and mischievous, now she has a matronly look.

“Mädchen Amick” was by far my biggest crush in the 1990s, and she still looks great, though she’s a bit obscure. And her strange, mysterious name adds to the allure. I was surprised to learn that she was American.

All I can remember of Lara Flamboyant, I mean, “Lara Flynn Boyle” is that she got thinner and thinner. I remember she had a cameo in Ally McBeal in which they meet in an elevator and she asks Ally (Calista Flockhart), “Wanna cookie?”, and Ally replies, “Wanna share?” with both actresses joking about the fact they were living symbols of the “Skinny and Proud Movement”.

“Ray Wise”, of course, can’t be forgotten. He also remained relevant and working a lot. Off the top of my head, I remember his role as the Devil in Reaper. Just memorable. I just find it strange to see him that young.

And there are so many other important names…

I’ll finish this review pointing out a few weird details that may or may not mean something in the future, but illustrate the bizarre nature of Lynch’s storytelling process.

• The show has a “mesmerizing opening credits sequence” and “a very catchy instrumental theme”. Combining both, we could look at that machine for hours.
• The police station serves a “doughnut Smörgåsbord”; according to Sheriff Truman, any cop’s dream.
• There’s a “Log Lady” whatever the heck that means.
• “Big Ed Hurley” is a nice guy who dates “Peggy Lipton”, I mean, “Norma Jennings” and is married to “Nadine Hurley”, a horrible woman who wears a creepy eye patch and rants about curtains all day.
• Agent Cooper finds the “letter R” embedded in one of Laura Palmer’s dead fingernails. WTF?
• “Dr. Lawrence Jacoby” has a very strange and creepy sense of humor. He just blurts out that he and Laura had a thing going on in the most inappropriate way. He also shows an alarming interest in seeing Laura’s body.
• The final scene shows a hand collecting the “half-heart pendant” Laura had given to James. What could that mean?
• Well, I could go on and on even deeper, but I’d better stop now.

Twin Peak’s pilot gets 8 Douglas firs standing majestic and tall in front of a little motel in the mountains, a clean place, reasonably priced, near a pie place you just have to try whenever you’re in town.

 

[Mad-Pac]

We're also introduced fairly quickly to Laura's boyfriend Bobby Briggs Laura's best friend Donna a mutual friend James. We start to notice right away that things might not be straightforward as they seem. Briggs is secretly having an affair with a married waitress Shelly Johnson for example.

Yeah... I thought the situation was a bit confusing concerning who is dating who, so I described James as Laura's boyfriend in my review.

What's really interesting about this show is that it gives off a dream-like quality. It also has equal parts quirky characters, soap opera, and at times hard drama mixed with eccentric dark comedy.

Indeed, I had never thought of Twin Peaks as a soap opera, but I guess it fits in the category and that explains all the initial drama and crying.

*There's a bunch of great funny visual references like the kid dancing in the school hallway and the deer head on the table in the bank.

References to what?

Very strange at the beginning: The cops immediately track down the underage victim's father, but her mother has to figure it out from sounds filtering through the phone. Then after leaving her screaming on an open phone line, they don't event talk to her until after her death has been announced to her schoolmates over the PA in the school. Attention Sheriff Harry S. Truman, that is not OK at all.

They do that a lot on TV. A woman asks for the information she needs and the other person tells hr something she finds grae and shocking and simply hangs up the phone and doesn't even say "thank you, bye". Bad manners!

There’s too much going on to comment on everything.

Most definitely, and I think I just got a little carried away.

I think that's David Lynch and how he directs things. He's very good at just keeping the camera on inanimate objects giving them life. There's a few scenes where he just focuses on the ceiling fan in Laura's house. And the ceiling fan feels somewhat ominous for some reason.

Very interesting observation. I'll try to pay more attention to this kind of detail in future episodes.

That upstairs at Laura's house reminds me of the upstairs in Psycho. I don't know if that was intentional or not but it looks similar.

That hadn't occurred to me. Food for thought. Let's see if that set is present in more scenes.

 

[Mad-Pac]

He likes to throw in a couple of gag credits in on every episode thread OP. Often harkening back to shows the group has done in the past. Sort of a group tradition.

Good to know :)

Just for the record, I started doing that just to find out if anyone was reading the credits part, and people found the "mistakes" more quickly than I had expected. Then I kept doing it anyway because I thought that would give the credits a purpose besides being purely informative, considering that you can get this information easily in other places.

Feelfree to jump in any time and participate!

 

[Mad-Pac]

Guys, I think we've had a great beginning. Now that we've started, I'll try visiting some other "Twin Peaks" forums here and there and let them know about our initiative. And I was thinking all of us could make a quick visit to that place we just came from, and subtly suggest that we are here now and they are welcome to come. I don't want to do that too openly because their admin may not be too happy about it (we already know he's moody), but we could just give those guys a nudge. Any thoughts?

Also, I've learned that Michael Levenson uses this site and has made a few contributions. If you come across his posts while browsing, you might invite him to join us. I wrote him something, but he hasn't replied yet.

 

[TheSowIsMine]

Just for the record, I started doing that just to find out if anyone was reading the credits part, and people found the "mistakes" more quickly than I had expected. Then I kept doing it anyway because I thought that would give the credits a purpose besides being purely informative, considering that you can get this information easily in other places.

Feelfree to jump in any time and participate!

Well, the one I noticed right away was the music composer listed as Ennio Morricone instead of Angelo Badalamenti.

 

[John Q]

References to what?

"Visual Reference" isn't really the right term. I couldn't think of a better term. Maybe a visual side-bar. It's like the bit with the kid dancing. That has nothing to do with the plot of episode and it's not even acknowledged during the episode. It's just a funny little bit that Lynch threw in as a bit of a gag to the audience.

 

[Mad-Pac]

Well, the one I noticed right away was the music composer listed as Ennio Morricone instead of Angelo Badalamenti.

Congratulations! You found the final gag-credit piece. Indeed, we owe this brilliant score to the competent hands of Angelo Badalamenti, and I wanted to point that out. In fact, I had a list of Italian composers (including Nino Rita and Alessandro Cicognini) that I was going to use in the credits until someone said something about it. You'e passed the test. Welcome to the tribe!

 

[Cloister56]

Time passed quickly this week so I am a little late.

I never watched Twin Peaks the first time round and it's been on my watch list for years.
I've played games inspired by it (Deadly Premonition) but this is the first full watch through, I've previously started the first series but didn't go very far.

The opening titles are very entrancing. The soothing music and the slightly rusty machinery going on with it's job.

The musical bed continues through most of the first section and the discovery of Laura's body. It gave the whole thing a haunting atmosphere.

Sheriff Truman is an instantly likeable early character. His patience as Lucy describes exactly which phone she is transferring to and his firm but kind handling of his deputy Andy's breakdown.

As the news of Laura rips through the town we get to see some heartbreaking scenes. The mother's increasing concern as the places where Laura could be shrink. Her best friend Donna seeing the sheriff and the empty seat coming to the truth before it could be delivered.
I thought they told so much when Donna's friends clustered around her, where as James, who was clearly also devastated and it seemed from early had some connection with Donna just sat there, alone.
The school principle, steeling himself before making the announcement and then breaking down immediately after.
We get the slow zoom at the end this sequence with Laura's picture in the middle of the school trophy case reinforcing her status within the community.

The scene at the saw mill was interesting. It's a hugely difficult decision. On one hand shutting down the saw mill in light of the tragic events so the workers can be with their family, is a very noble and thoughtful decision. But it also seems the saw mill is not financially healthy and could this be a decision that costs the workers their jobs and ultimately causes more harm.

This being a murder, naturally we start looking for suspects. Bobby is top of the list, he is played and presented to be instantly disliked. He is the town jock, cocky and two timing Laura with a married woman. During his interview he is initially aggressive but the video clearly catches him off guard.

We are introduce at the school to several characters including Audrey Horne. I have to admit this is my crush of the show. She is presented as being seductive and sultry as well as clearly being very beautiful. They decided to start most of her scenes filming her from the legs up, a decision I shall not complain about.
Having said all that when she is not acting sultry I struggle to tell her apart from Donna. I don't know why, side by side they are only slightly similar. I even realised I had the actresses’ names backwards.

it is over a third of the way through before we meet Agent Cooper. I really like his enthusiasm for life, pies and trees. The Dictaphone is a great device and gives Cooper some instant character and is the first sign of this series quirkiness (followed quickly by Dr Jacoby with the earplugs in).

There is lots going on in the small town and the first episode does a solid job introducing multiple characters, establishing some key players and so hidden connections.

For the most part all the characters are well played. The only poor performance was Leo Johnson. His delivery of lines when threatening Shelley came across very stilted.

Just a quick thought:

In the opening credits it has the population of the town as 50,201 (thanks @Brimfin) I assume this was intentional as the 1 would be Laura. It got me thinking, how often and who's job is it to update these signs?


So good opening episode. I’m interested not just solve the mystery but also learn more about these characters.

8 rusty blades becoming gradually sharper out of 10