When I was unemployed last year around this time, I decided to use my time wisely — by binge-watching every show I could find on Netflix. I dutifully made it through seven seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and I sped through all the seasons of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Most importantly, I binge-watched Twin Peaks , a classic series created by David Lynch and Mark Frost that I was too young to really embrace when it originally premiered 25 years ago in 1990. I was seven years old and more interested in cartoons than who killed Laura Palmer.
But finally, I gave the show a chance — and did not regret a second of it. I flew through the first season in only a few days, captivated by the main mystery of Laura Palmer's death and charmed by the strange and quirky residents of the small Pacific Northwestern town, from Special Agent Dale Cooper (played by Kyle MacLachlan), Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn), Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook), and more. There's also the matter of that smooth jazzy soundtrack composed by Angelo Badalamenti. And I caught up just in time, too, since a limited series revival is set to premiere in 2016, though it might happen without Lynch himself.
Here are the phases I went through while binge-watching Twin Peaks — complete with some old tweets from the process.
I Started Craving Damn Good Coffee & Pie
I always thought fans were exaggerating about how often Twin Peaks characters drank damn good coffee and ate pie or talked about wanting to drink coffee and eat pie. After awhile, it feels like it's all they do in the town — and it got me craving some pie and coffee myself.
I Felt Like My Life Needed a Jazzy Soundtrack
Twin Peaks' smooth score is ever-present in the series and I began to wonder where it was in my own life. I'd hear that bassline as I was cooking, cleaning, and just taking walks.
I Wanted Audrey and Dale To Get Together Already
It has always frustrated me that the red-hot chemistry between Audrey and Dale was never consummated. In an interview, Frost mentioned that MacLachlan and co-star Lara Flynn Boyle (Donna Hayward) were dating in real-life and Boyle was very against Dale and Audrey getting together.
Fenn confirmed the allegations to the The Onion A.V. Club :
"I’m not supposed to say it. But David knows I tell what happens, and what happened was that Lara [Flynn Boyle] was dating Kyle [MacLachlan], and she was mad that my character was getting more attention, so then Kyle started saying that his character shouldn’t be with my character because it doesn’t look good, ’cause I’m too young. Literally, because of that, they brought in Heather Graham—who’s younger than I am—for him and Billy Zane for me. I was not happy about it. It was stupid."
I Began Shipping Dale Cooper/Log
I'm kidding, kind of. Log Lady and her log are one of many of the cute quirky characters of the show. After watching so many quirky folks for so many hours, you get a little quirky yourself.
Considering who killed Laura Palmer and that Audrey and Cooper couldn't get together, I think truly anything was possible on this show. Plus, Dale Cooper held the log once and there was lots of chemistry.
I Got Really Confused In Season 2
Once Laura Palmer's killer was revealed, I have to admit I kinda checked out. The episodes got kind of muddled and I cared less about what the new mystery was. I got really sad, because the first season has such a great energy about it that totally sucks you in.
Yet in Season 2, well, I beat the addictive game 2048 while watching Twin Peaks. So I guess that's something.
Images: TwinPeaksTV/Facebook; nouanda, moved2marinasdiamandis/tumblr
