A Damn Fine Cup of Coffee

Twin Peaks manages to do the almost impossible; mixing sex, violence, mystery and even the odd dosage of the supernatural into a heady whirlwind that is sure to draw you in to its strange world. The series itself is from the early ‘90s and has been recommended to me time and time again by my family and other people of that same, shall we say, ‘mature’ age.

The show is set in a small town close in North America called Twin Peaks, opening with the discovery of the body of the local homecoming queen, Laura Palmer. The question of ‘who killed Laura Palmer?’ becomes the driving force behind the story, slowly unravelling the fibre of the seemingly idyllic small town life. The show doesn’t play out as a straight up whodunit, but rather as a sort of surreal soap opera, with its fair share of love triangles and intersecting storylines.

The idea for the series came from the minds of David Lynch and Mark Frost. Lynch was the mind behind films like _Blue Velvet _and Mulholland Drive, and in Twin Peaks his surrealistic touch is apparent, with Twin Peaks mixing this surrealism with small town American life. The combination doesn’t necessarily sound like it should work but it makes for compelling watching.

The show also brings us the brilliant Kyle MacLachlan (former star of Lynch’s Blue Velvet and Dune) as FBI special agent Dale Cooper who is called in to investigate the death of Laura Palmer. MacLachlan manages to walk the knife edge of straight faced acting even whilst exploring some of Cooper’s odder character quirks. Cooper’s inherent oddness is best displayed by his explanation of coming by a new crime solving technique, which also made him aware of the plight of the Tibetan people. I did say that the show does become a bit surreal at times.

The music is excellent as well, with its haunting themes and cool jazz perfectly complementing the mood of the series. ‘Laura’s Theme’ is suitably haunting and is used, repeatedly, to great effect throughout the series, and the fact that this can be reused to evoke so many different feelings is a testament to the genius of the composer of the music for the series, Angelo Badalamenti. Julee Cruise also deserves a mention for her ethereal vocals, complementing Badalamenti’s music.

The show remains engaging throughout the whole first series with the most cliff-hanger filled ending to a series that I have ever seen, and the second season, despite a small dip in quality during the middle, is generally very good, with the last few episodes being especially noteworthy.

The best format in which to get the show is its Gold Box Edition, which contains the two series, both versions of the pilot episode and a bundle of special features for all of you people out there who have too much time on their hands. ‘A Slice of Lynch’ is one of the better offerings from the special features, bringing David Lynch together with some of the main cast characters to reminisce about the series. The host of memorable characters, and the town of Twin Peaks itself, will stay with you for a long time even after the final credits roll and this is a testament to the power of the series. Twin Peaks has earned its rightful place as one of my favourite TV shows and I hope that soon it becomes one of yours.