Shall we all (re)watch Twin Peaks together?

[Chris L]

Non-Cooper favorites: Audrey, Leland, Ben, Audrey, Albert (for a while), and Shelly... just kidding, last one is Audrey.  Competition for least favorite will be pretty heated.

Bob is the most unnerving fictional character I've ever seen in a movie or film. The story behind his creation is priceless:

Lynch on Bob

[Chris L]

From the Separated at Birth file

[Sarah]

Can't you just picture David Lynch sitting in Massa's Tavern telling that story to Mike?

[cavorting with nudists]

Favorite characters: Audrey, Gordon Cole, Dr. Jacoby, Andy, Lucy, Major Briggs, and The Man from Another Place. I actually like Benjamin Horne more than I do brother Jerry.

Guiltiest secret as a Twin Peaks fan: I don't actually like Pete much.  I know, the fans love him, Lynch loves him.  Jack Nance was beyond perfect in Eraserhead but after that he sorta gives me the willies, not in a good way.  Interesting life, though, in the Mike sense, i. e. filled with sleaze and dysfunction. Lynch produced a documentary about him, You Don't Know Jack, that has definite Mike-pick potential.

[Martin]

Bob is the most unnerving fictional character I've ever seen in a movie or film. The story behind his creation is priceless:

Never heard that story - amazing. And I agree with your assessment of Bob.

[KickTheBobo]

Favorite non-Cooper characters thus far: Leland, Shelly (swoon!) & Major Briggs

The worst: Josie Packard - she apparently is trying to act using only head movements

[wood and iron]

Here's something I've been wondering when watching this:

This show is obvious hilarious with its own twisted version of a detective show and soap opera. And I know that humor has to be intended. But I can't picture David Lynch sitting there laughing about it. All I imagine is him being super serious about his art. So I guess my question is, are his intentions to make a satire, a parody, or just a weird melange of Americana and pop fiction thrown together into a nightmare vision of small town life, or all three?

Okay, to put it more succinctly, does David Lynch laugh at his own stuff or is he too into his art?

[cavorting with nudists]

No, Lynch has a deep sense of humor about himself and considers a lot of his own work to be comedic, even stuff that most people would not see as funny at all. I think he viewed Twin Peaks as an occasion to express his humor alongside the other aspects of his character that come to people's minds as "Lynchian."

There are a lot of things in Eraserhead and Blue Velvet that are clearly intended as comedy, even if most people would see them as funny-odd rather than funny-haha.  One of the scripts he wrote around the time of Blue Velvet, still unfilmed and fans still keep asking him about it, was a flat-out absurdist comedy titled One Saliva Bubble, which I believe had Steve Martin attached to it at one time. Then there's the TV comedy show he and Mark Frost did directly after Twin Peaks: On the Air, about the early days of live TV.  Six episodes were filmed, but it bombed so quickly that I'm not sure all six were even broadcast, but you can find them. My opinion? Hi-fuckin'-larious.

[wood and iron]

Well that's what I figured but I wanted to hear some other opinions.

Tons of people seem to miss the humor and intended humor and I think that's why David Lynch gets a reputation as pretentiousness personified.

I love the connection between the Horne brothers and their voracious appetites both literally (for food and that good sounding Brie sandwich) and for other vices. Food is such a central aspect to this show. Seemingly all major conversations happen over food or at the very least, donuts.

[Chris L]

I really like Cooper's "every day, give yourself a present" speech in season 1, even though it's not advice I'd give to everyone.

[cavorting with nudists]

Well, it really has more impact coming from an FBI agent than it would from you or me.

[Chris L]

I was thinking more of people who indulge themselves plenty as is.

[~L]

"The owls are not what they seem."  Anyone have any ideas on this one?

[theyellowchair]

Agent Cooper's little nose squeeze = priceless.

Twin Peaks: Albert's arrival

[Matt]

Agent Cooper's little nose squeeze = priceless.

Twin Peaks: Albert's arrival

Ha, yes! I just watched this episode for the first time in a few years. I completely forgot about that part and it made me laugh out loud. Also great is the way Agent Cooper excitedly looks over at Sheriff Truman as Albert insults everything and everyone around him.

I've never seen the whole series, so I look forward to going through it with everybody, if not a little faster. So far I've only watched the pilot and the first two episodes, but I'm having a whale of a time. Episode 2 in particular is probably one of the best hours ever aired on television. Everyone (justifiably) raves about the Red Room sequence, but I was shocked to see just how many iconic scenes were packed into that one episode:  Agent Cooper's Tibet speech/rock-throwing demonstration, Audrey Horne's dance at the diner, Leland's dance with Laura's picture, etc.

I especially liked the woods scene with Leo, Bobby and Mike; I thought it was great how Leo kept turning his flashlight on Bobby and Mike, and his face would be lit in some new, incredibly creepy way everytime he moved it. I love how Lynch uses flash/spotlights in general. FIRE WALK WITH ME has some great scenes of this ilk, and there's a horrifying, violent scene in Season 2 where a spotlight is used to great effect. (No spoilers!) So simple, yet so effective.