Diane...
OK I am ready to continue my Twin Peaks blog series.
First things first, I need to clear up some errors from my previous blog. After reading it, my mom back in Kansas called me and "let me know" that her and my dad did not, as I said, lose interest in the show after the third episode (which featured the dream sequence). In fact, mom assertains that her and dad did continue to watch every episode in the first season and many in the second season. This is true. I replied that while they did perhaps watch they weren't as interested in it as I was. Obviously that can't be argued, but I guess I should have given my folks more credit. They did follow it more closely than anyone else parents I knew at the time.
Now that that's cleared up, let's move on.
I've thought about it often over the past 15 year or so, trying to figure out what it was about Twin Peaks that transfixed me so. First of all, I had never been a big "TV" person before Peaks. I watched the sitcoms that my classmates did, of course I loved MTV and any other music video programs, and for the most part, I just watched whatever was on at any given point when I would sit down and channel surf. I definitely had never given any thought to who directed a show, or bothered to read reviews of shows I watched. When Twin Peaks came along, that all changed. But why did I connect with it? What drew me in?
First, I'm always a sucker for a good whodunnit. The murder mystery is always a fascinating thing to me. Secondly, I was just a short time away from entering high school, so the "inside look" on high school life was interesting, although it was difficult to imagine James Hurley or Laura Palmer attending my local high school. Living in a small town, I also identified with the theme of rural life; of course this sent my teenage mind running, trying to figure out what secrets my neighbors were hiding.
Most of all though, when watching the series again now, I realize that the main characters were the strongest bond for me. Agent Cooper, with his black hair and good-looks, was someone I could really look up to and idolize. Like him, I often felt (or rather wished) that I had some sort of supernatural powers, and that my dreams were trying to tell me something more than just random jibberish. His interest in Mysticism, Magic and the the unknown made me feel validated.
Audrey Horne was like no girl I'd ever met. Cunning, witty, sophisticated and sexy - all while being in high school! I wanted to grow up to be just like her.
As for eye candy, I think every gay boy fantasized about James and Bobby, and had their preference - mine was Bobby, the bad boy with the long bangs.
I also had my favorite bit players as well. Nadine, the red-headed lady with the eye-patch and the silent drape runners was always a favorite of mine, and to this day I get a chuckle just thinking about the "Fumio Yamaguchi" thing and the fact that I didn't catch on until after the truth was revealed!
Also figuring into the world of Twin Peaks were the incredible sets (locations) which were almost like characters themselves. I thought the Palmers had a cool house. But I wanted to move into Dead Dog Farm; I even imagined that it was the farm I was living on at the time. Then when we moved off the farm and into a ranch-style house in a nearby town, I fought with my parents to decorate my new bedroom exactly like the red room. We reached a compromise: my father tiled my floor with black and white self-adhesive tiles from Sears or some such vendor and I got to wallpaper with some white, red and black paper I found in the JC Penney's catalog.
to be continued
First things first, I need to clear up some errors from my previous blog. After reading it, my mom back in Kansas called me and "let me know" that her and my dad did not, as I said, lose interest in the show after the third episode (which featured the dream sequence). In fact, mom assertains that her and dad did continue to watch every episode in the first season and many in the second season. This is true. I replied that while they did perhaps watch they weren't as interested in it as I was. Obviously that can't be argued, but I guess I should have given my folks more credit. They did follow it more closely than anyone else parents I knew at the time.
Now that that's cleared up, let's move on.
I've thought about it often over the past 15 year or so, trying to figure out what it was about Twin Peaks that transfixed me so. First of all, I had never been a big "TV" person before Peaks. I watched the sitcoms that my classmates did, of course I loved MTV and any other music video programs, and for the most part, I just watched whatever was on at any given point when I would sit down and channel surf. I definitely had never given any thought to who directed a show, or bothered to read reviews of shows I watched. When Twin Peaks came along, that all changed. But why did I connect with it? What drew me in?
First, I'm always a sucker for a good whodunnit. The murder mystery is always a fascinating thing to me. Secondly, I was just a short time away from entering high school, so the "inside look" on high school life was interesting, although it was difficult to imagine James Hurley or Laura Palmer attending my local high school. Living in a small town, I also identified with the theme of rural life; of course this sent my teenage mind running, trying to figure out what secrets my neighbors were hiding.
Most of all though, when watching the series again now, I realize that the main characters were the strongest bond for me. Agent Cooper, with his black hair and good-looks, was someone I could really look up to and idolize. Like him, I often felt (or rather wished) that I had some sort of supernatural powers, and that my dreams were trying to tell me something more than just random jibberish. His interest in Mysticism, Magic and the the unknown made me feel validated.
Audrey Horne was like no girl I'd ever met. Cunning, witty, sophisticated and sexy - all while being in high school! I wanted to grow up to be just like her.
As for eye candy, I think every gay boy fantasized about James and Bobby, and had their preference - mine was Bobby, the bad boy with the long bangs.
I also had my favorite bit players as well. Nadine, the red-headed lady with the eye-patch and the silent drape runners was always a favorite of mine, and to this day I get a chuckle just thinking about the "Fumio Yamaguchi" thing and the fact that I didn't catch on until after the truth was revealed!
Also figuring into the world of Twin Peaks were the incredible sets (locations) which were almost like characters themselves. I thought the Palmers had a cool house. But I wanted to move into Dead Dog Farm; I even imagined that it was the farm I was living on at the time. Then when we moved off the farm and into a ranch-style house in a nearby town, I fought with my parents to decorate my new bedroom exactly like the red room. We reached a compromise: my father tiled my floor with black and white self-adhesive tiles from Sears or some such vendor and I got to wallpaper with some white, red and black paper I found in the JC Penney's catalog.
to be continued
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