Twin Peaks

ThePhanastasio · 09-09-2011, 08:44 PM

"She's dead - wrapped in plastic."

Not too long ago, I got on a huge Ray Wise kick. It seemed ridiculous to me that a man so full of talent should be so widely unknown. As such, I went mad watching nearly everything the man has done, so that I could better justify to myself just how exemplary a performer he was and is, and how tragic it is that he's not got a single award under his belt.

My viewing led me to Twin Peaks, a television series for which I'd heard very mixed reviews, but that was directed by David Lynch - an attribute I found beyond positive.

It soon became apparent that Ray Wise, although playing Leland Palmer, father to Laura Palmer whose death the show was set up to be based around, was not going to be one of the main characters - or at least not really. But I watched the show in its entirety anyway...

I guess what I'm really saying is that I came for Ray Wise, but I stayed for Kyle MacLachlan, the brilliant actor who, in this program, portrayed Special Agent Dale Cooper.

I'd seen Blue Velvet some years back and really loved it, but never bothered to really pay attention to the actors in the film; it was more the piece that I was interested in, and not the various cogs that made it work. As such, it was during my marathon watching of Twin Peaks that I became aware that our lab, Orson, is actually named for Kyle MacLachlan - apparently he was a major character on Desperate Housewives, named Orson Hodge - and my dog's "middle name" is Kyle, for the actor who portrayed said character. Needless to say, I felt a little ridiculous for not having acknowledged this man's brilliance previously.

I also found myself oddly drawn to the town and the characters who resided within it; granted, the population of Twin Peaks is shown in the title sequence to have in excess of 50k people, and my town has less than half that, but it really felt like home almost. Even if it's set clear on the other side of the country.

Yesterday, I went to hang out with my friends, and we were talking about Twin Peaks - I'd watched every episode, sans finale, and recall saying, "I know that one of two things is going to happen when I watch the finale; I'm either going to cry like a bitch, or I'm going to completely die inside and feel completely numb."

Strangely enough, both things happened.

I'm not going to offer any spoilers, for those who've not yet watched the show, but I am going to ask that if anyone else is a fan of the show, they contribute their takes on it here - using spoiler tags appropriately, of course.

09-09-2011, 08:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
ThePhanastasio Killed Laura Palmer Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Ashland, KY Posts: 1,679	Twin Peaks "She's dead - wrapped in plastic." Not too long ago, I got on a huge Ray Wise kick. It seemed ridiculous to me that a man so full of talent should be so widely unknown. As such, I went mad watching nearly everything the man has done, so that I could better justify to myself just how exemplary a performer he was and is, and how tragic it is that he's not got a single award under his belt. My viewing led me to Twin Peaks, a television series for which I'd heard very mixed reviews, but that was directed by David Lynch - an attribute I found beyond positive. It soon became apparent that Ray Wise, although playing Leland Palmer, father to Laura Palmer whose death the show was set up to be based around, was not going to be one of the main characters - or at least not really. But I watched the show in its entirety anyway... I guess what I'm really saying is that I came for Ray Wise, but I stayed for Kyle MacLachlan, the brilliant actor who, in this program, portrayed Special Agent Dale Cooper. I'd seen Blue Velvet some years back and really loved it, but never bothered to really pay attention to the actors in the film; it was more the piece that I was interested in, and not the various cogs that made it work. As such, it was during my marathon watching of Twin Peaks that I became aware that our lab, Orson, is actually named for Kyle MacLachlan - apparently he was a major character on Desperate Housewives, named Orson Hodge - and my dog's "middle name" is Kyle, for the actor who portrayed said character. Needless to say, I felt a little ridiculous for not having acknowledged this man's brilliance previously. I also found myself oddly drawn to the town and the characters who resided within it; granted, the population of Twin Peaks is shown in the title sequence to have in excess of 50k people, and my town has less than half that, but it really felt like home almost. Even if it's set clear on the other side of the country. Yesterday, I went to hang out with my friends, and we were talking about Twin Peaks - I'd watched every episode, sans finale, and recall saying, "I know that one of two things is going to happen when I watch the finale; I'm either going to cry like a bitch, or I'm going to completely die inside and feel completely numb." Strangely enough, both things happened. I'm not going to offer any spoilers, for those who've not yet watched the show, but I am going to ask that if anyone else is a fan of the show, they contribute their takes on it here - using spoiler tags appropriately, of course. __________________ Phish: Studio Discography Reviewed 100 Albums I Heartily Recommend My last.fm It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken Perhaps they're better left unsung