The alt.tv.t-p newsgroup readers adopted a different numbering scheme to indicate in which season (of American broadcasting) an episode appeared:
See this table for a translation of these numbering schemes.
To add to the confusion, commercially available episode scripts are numbered 001 to 007 for the first season, and 2.001 to 2.022 for the second season.
And for yet more confusion, the US laserdisc boxed sets are numbered 001 to 007 for Volume 1 (first season) and 2008 to 2014 for Volume 2 (first seven episodes of the second season), and so on.
When broadcast in Germany, the episodes were titled, as follows (courtesy of Robert Michl [rmichl@iiic.ethz.ch]):
Item, here in Europe, (at least the German speaking part), we had the pleasure to get entitled episodes. They were as follows:These titles are used in the short-form episode guide.I have a version in a HTML-3.0 table and a flat ascii version.
Pretty nice, isn't it? How do you like that?
BTW, there are some allusions to familiar German quotations (like "Ruhe in Frieden", "das letzte Abendmahl", "Lynch-Justiz" :-), "Der Friede sei mit Dir" etc.), but I can associate the matching episode fairly well. E.g. "Wounds and scars" reminds me of Harry S. Truman finding solace in a bottle of Jack Daniels, suffering over the loss of the "Verdammte" Josie. Or "Demons", one of my favourite episodes, where MIKE speaks through Gerard in his demonic voice and sentences. "Einsame Seelen" of course, shows the words left behind on Harold's hung body: "J'ai une ame solitaire"...
In trying to keep the "one day per episode" general timeframe of the episodes, sources on the Lynch/Frost production team (Scott Frost) indicated that it was difficult for the writers, cast, and crew to keep track of which "day" it was in TP time, and hence sometimes slipped up (e.g., high school students are shown in school on a Saturday).
The consensus of opinion in the TP fan community is that all action occurs in 1989, and that the diary dates and other discrepancies in the episodes are in error.
A sort of origin point for the timeline is Laura's death in the early morning ("somewhere between midnight and 4 AM" according to Doc Hayward) on Friday, February 24. Her body is discovered "just after dawn" on that day, which is the date of the action in the pilot. The last day of action in "Fire Walk With Me" (Laura's last day alive) is Thursday, February 23.
Although each episode generally covers one day of action in TP, there are some exceptions: after Leland's death, it is noted that the next episode is "three days later"; sometimes an episode will begin in the middle of the night of the preceding episode's "day", but most of the action will take place on the following day.
See the long-form "timeline" episode guide for a list of what episodes correspond to which dates, as well as times shown on clocks or quoted by characters.
See also the TP magazine "Wrapped in Plastic", issue #1, which has a calendar for February and March, 1989, showing the major events that happened on each day.
The pilot draft, entitled "Northwest Passage", is clearly set in eastern Washington and features Ponderosa Pines instead of Douglas firs. The setting change was almost undoubtedly caused by the decision to film the pilot in the Seattle area, rather than in eastern Washington, where they would be far from local production resources and local actors.
Approximate ASCII map of Washington State (courtesy of Pete Zakel [phz@cadence.com]):
North British Columbia (Canada)
/|\
| -----------------------------------------------------.-----
| \ Twin *|
| Peaks | I
\ | D
_ | | A
|\__ | | H
/ --___ | | O
| ---_ | WASHINGTON |
\ \ / |
| | | Spokane * |
| | |* Seattle |
| | | |
\ | / |
| \_/* Tacoma |
| |
\ |
| |
| * Yakima |
| |
| |
| * Tri-cities |
|_-_ \
| ________---------------------`
\ ____ ----____-------
`----___---
OREGON
Other than the pilot and "Fire Walk With Me" (which was also filmed on location), the episodes were filmed on sound stages or locations in the Los Angeles area.
Click here for references of places to visit or see in the Snoqualmie area.
This has resulted in mixed cues within the show. For instance, Twin Peaks doesn't have a resident circuit court judge, which any town of 51,000 in the US would; it has a Sheriff's department but no police department (Sheriff is usually a county rather than a city office). On the other hand, it does have its own hospital, a fancy department store, and a large hotel.
The book, "Welcome to Twin Peaks: Access Guide to the Town" tries to resolve the issue by saying the population sign is a misprint, and it should be 5,120.1
Lynch/Frost had planned for and expected the pilot to be picked up and turned into a series, and thus had not written such a resolution for the pilot. When, during the filming of the pilot, they were reminded of their contractual obligation, they filmed the ending described below and gave Warner Home Video their "standalone" European movie, even though the ending did not make much sense and does not jive with events in the TV series.
Parts of the European movie ending were used later in edited form for the dream sequence at the end of episode 2. (In fact, you will notice that the summary of his dream that Cooper gives Lucy and Harry at the beginning of episode 3 includes events that are portrayed in the European pilot ending, but not in Cooper's dream as shown in episode 2!)
Lynch thinks the famous scene in the Red Room is one of his best pieces of work, and that is probably one reason why he chose to include it as the final scene of episode 2. The original script for episode 2 is almost a verbatim copy of the European movie ending, including even more of it than is in the broadcast version. The copied parts were edited to make it clear that Cooper is having a dream/vision, rather than actually experiencing the events. So the reaction cuts of Truman, etc. in the European movie ending, are replaced in episode 2 by shots of Coop tossing and turning in his sleep.
When ABC bought the series, the video rights to the broadcast episodes went to Worldvision (a division of Spelling Entertainment, which had been closely affiliated with ABC), but the video rights to the pilot remained with Warner Home Video. This is why only the European movie version of the pilot is available commercially. Making 'lemonade out of a lemon', Warner Home Video marketed their version of the pilot as providing an "alternate resolution" to Laura's murder than that provided in the TV series.
Although a great deal of the footage from the European movie ending was incorporated into the TV series, most in the TP fan community feel the ending, while interesting as an historical artifact, is not germane to the "real" TP story as developed in the TV series.
The European movie ending should probably be avoided if you are watching the TV series for the first time. There is a "catch 22", though: you should see the pilot before watching the first TV episode for important background information and context, but the broadcast version of the pilot is not available commercially. If you cannot borrow a copy of the broadcast pilot version from someone, you can easily "edit" the video version, while watching it, as follows:
- About 90 minutes into the movie, after Sheriff Truman introduces Cooper to Lucy's nightly donut spread, and the jail scene with James, Bobby, and Mike, there is a scene where the Sheriff visits Josie.Now, for those who have seen the series, but not the "European" version of the pilot, here is a short description of the added scenes:"It must have happened right around this time yesterday," Truman says to Josie.
"I'm afraid," Josie says.
Next there is a shot of the traffic light, blowing in the breeze.
- Stop the movie at the next scene where we see Laura's mother sitting by herself on the sofa, smoking. Up until this point, the movie and broadcast pilot are identical.
- There is only one additional scene in the broadcast pilot not shown in the movie: Laura's mother has a vision of a gloved hand digging the heart necklace from the ground where Donna and James buried it (you'll know the necklace I mean when you've seen the rest).
- Sarah remembers seeing BOB crouching at the foot of Laura's bed that morning. She screams and tells Leland what she remembered.As mentioned above, this ending does NOT relate to the action in the other episodes of the series (as far as we can tell), except for the parts that appear in Cooper's dream in episode 2.- There is a scene of Lucy and Andy getting ready for bed (!). Leland calls Lucy, tells her about Sarah's sudden memory, and asks her where the Sheriff is. Lucy calls the Sheriff in his cruiser. He tells her to have Hawk meet him at the Palmer's house to make a sketch of the man Sarah remembered.
- Agent Cooper, asleep in his hotel room, is awakened by the phone. Mike, the one-armed man, is on the other end, and tells Cooper that the man who killed Laura is at the hospital. Then Lucy calls Cooper and tells him what is happening at the Palmer house. Cooper asks Lucy to tell the Sheriff to bring the sketch and meet him at the hospital.
- Cooper and the Sheriff find Mike at the hospital. Mike recites the poem and his confession (from Cooper's dream in episode #2). Cooper asks Mike to identify the killer from the sketch. He does and tells them BOB is in the basement of the hospital.
- They find BOB kneeling next to a circle of 12 burning candles. He invites them in, asks if Mike is with them, repeats some of the dialogue from Cooper's dream in episode 2, including "Catch you with my death bag".
- The Sheriff asks BOB what the letters were going to spell, and BOB replies: BOB: Robert. That's my proper name. Theresa's was with a T. Cooper: That's right. BOB: You may think I've gone insane, but I promise you: I will kill again! Mike runs into room and yells: Like hell!
- Mike shoots BOB twice. BOB crumples to the floor. Mike falls to the floor in agony.
- Cooper says "Make a wish" and blows out the candles.
- Cut to the Red Room. Caption says: Twenty-five year later
- Rest of scene is identical to Red Room scene of Cooper's dream in episode 2. As the Little Man dances, the end credits run.
Seriously: Since TP was a continuing serial, viewers were required to see every episode to know what was going on. Unlike traditional prime-time soap operas, TP did not recycle the same melodramatic themes over and over. Casual viewing was not supported.
In response to this, several shorter story arcs were introduced in the 2nd season--many feel that these detracted from the series.
For a good discussion of this issue, refer to issue #1 of the TP magazine "Wrapped in Plastic", in which one of the editors argues why the second season was better than the first, and lists four particular scenes as examples.
Some complained that Lynch was not directly involved in production of all the 2nd season episodes. Although Lynch did take time off to make "Wild At Heart" and there were a number of different directors (see the episode guides for a complete list), most do not consider this a serious detraction from the series.
As many have pointed out, if he was spelling the name backwards in order (it was never stated that he was doing that, though), the 'E' was missing. There's no explanation given for this, but some have speculated that the 'E' may have been intended for Ronette in the train car, or that the 'E' victim has not been found (yet).
[Note: BOB is spelled in all capital letters here, following the convention used in "The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer". This also helps distinguish between Killer BOB (as he is also referred) and Bobby Briggs.]
This much is given to us: BOB is a disembodied spirit capable of taking over a human being. After he takes over, he manipulates his human host to commit acts of sex and violence and 'feeds' upon the emotions this produces. He is connected in some manner with other spirits which appear in either or both of the Black Lodge and White Lodge. An entrance to the Black Lodge (shown as the red room) is in Glastonbury Grove in the woods outside of Twin Peaks. See questions E39 and E40 for more on the Lodges.
Some who reject supernatural explanations believe BOB may be/have been a figment of Laura's or Leland's imagination (a means of psychologically dealing with the trauma of incest and adultery), or an alternate personality of Leland. The caustic FBI agent Albert Rosenfield suggests that BOB is simply "the evil that men do". The fact that so many TP characters experience these spirits make such rationalizations hard to logically support. Events in the series following Leland's death (the Windom Earle arc) and in FWWM also continue the supernatural themes.
In a question and answer session, Mark Frost indicated that the idea for BOB originated in American Indian mythology and that he was a local evil spirit whose presence in the Twin Peaks area dates back to ancient times. See also "The List of 7", Mark Frost's novel , which deals with evil beings (both real and supernatural), the "dweller on the threshold", and the teachings of Helena Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy and originator of the idea of the "white lodge".
It further appears that BOB is a 'servant' or agent (familiar) of other Lodge spirits. The events in FWWM imply that at times he is out of control and acting on his own rather than for the Lodge.
Mike [episode 13]: "Do you understand the parasite? It attaches itself to a life form and feeds. Eh. BOB requires a human host. He feeds on fear ... and the pleasures. They are his children. I am similar to BOB. We once were partners."
Mike also says BOB was his 'familiar' (not vice/versa as has been erroneously reported):
Cooper: You spoke to me in my dream ... about BOB.In witchcraft, a familiar is a slave spirit that the sorcerer uses to help him/her. In some traditions the familiar is a demon that may appear in the form of an animal. In Malaya, owls and badgers are popular familiars while the cat is commonly associated with witches in popular US culture.
Mike: Mmm. He ... was ... my familiar.
During the first season, gossip columnist Liz Smith reported that Carol Lynley ("The Poseidon Adventure") had been signed to play Diane in the second season, but this never happened. From the scene in FWWM, we can assume that Lynch wanted to maintain the air of mystery about her.
Before this was revealed, however, many viewers speculated that Diane was: an "alter ego" of Cooper's, his wife, or his name for the tape recorder.
With the commercial release of the audio tape "Diane ... The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper" (for which Kyle MacLachlan won a Grammy, incidentally) and the book "The Autobiography of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes", we were given further background into Cooper's special form of note taking:
"Autobiography" entry for January 10, 1978:
"Diane, I hope that you will not mind that I address these tapes to you even when it is clear that I am talking to myself. The knowledge that someone of your insight is standing behind me is comforting."
"They'd sneak off into the woods for long kisses and watch the moon and the stars at night after a long day's shoot," says a "Twin Peaks" insider.
According to an interview with Sheryl Lee, Michael Anderson, the MFAP, already had the ability to do this before TP, and helped coach the others on the process.
Through the darkness of future pastHowever, the closed caption subtitles for the episode use the word "chants" instead of "chance", igniting a long-standing, never-resolved debate:
the magician longs to see
one chance out between two worlds
'Fire walk with me.'
When I was at the TPFF 93, I asked Al Strobel about chants/chance. He said that he got the poem from David Lynch's handwritten notes and it was chants. This would seem to indicate that DL's intention was chants.This is further supported by an appearance of the poem, using "chants", in David Lynch's photography book, "Images" .
However, because of the conflicting written versions, and because both words help support peoples' different interpretations of Lodge events, it is unlikely this will ever be resolved to everyone's satisfaction.
One of TP's writers, Harley Peyton, revealed: "It's just so hard to try and get these stories straight and it finally became too much. At one point, we were toying with the lead actors [from ITL] coming to town but we were really never able to go through with that. We shot a lot of that stuff but whenever we were looking to edit our shows down to running time, those ITL segments were always the first to go."
Some viewers thought that hidden clues were embedded in the ITL snippets or that the actions of the ITL actors were mimicking the actions of the TP characters. These are only speculation, however.
For a comprehensive discussion and episode guide to ITL, see issue #6 of the "Wrapped in Plastic" magazine .
In the credits he is listed as "The Man From Another Place" (perhaps a reference to the remarks he makes in the dream sequence: "Where we're from, the birds sing a pretty song, and there's always music in the air.")
[from episode 3] Cooper: "I got a phone call from a one-armed man named Mike. The killer's name was BOB. ... They lived above a convenience store. They had a tattoo: Fire Walk With Me. Mike couldn't stand the killing anymore, so he cut off his arm."
[from episode 6] Mike: "We once were partners. ... Oh, but then ... I saw the face of God ... and was purified. I took off the arm, but remained, close to this vessel, inhabiting from time to time, for ONE SINGLE PURPOSE: TO STOP HIM! [BOB]".
In FWWM he says: "I am the arm", and at the end he gets up and stands beside Mike where the arm would have been and touches him on the shoulder. In unison they say: "BOB, I want all my garmonbozia (pain and suffering)".
Speculation and debate on his actions, function, and what he "represents" continue, as with all of the supernatural aspects of TP.
When the episode aired in Europe, the scene of Maddy looking down at the rug and seeing the bloodstain was slightly different than in the original US broadcast. It was said that she saw an image of BOB in the stain. This is confirmed in the Japanese laserdisc release where the superimposed image of BOB comes rippling into view over the stain. However, both the Bravo rebroadcast of this episode and the videotape release of this episode do NOT show an image of BOB in the stain. This is apparently only in the foreign-released versions.
It has been stated that the original intent was to show an image of BOB "sculpted" into the carpet. When this effect could not be completed in time for the original broadcast, it was abandoned, prompting the switch to blood. Apparently with the foreign release, they returned to the idea of showing BOB's image.
Dr. Jacoby said he smelled it the night Jacques was murdered, as well as the night he was attacked in the park, and Maddy smelled it before she was murdered.
In the final episode (#29), we learn that it is the same smell as the stuff in the little pool in Glastonbury Grove where there is a entrance to the Red Room.
In FWWM, when Philip Gerard/Mike (the one-armed man) confronts Leland and Laura while in their car, Leland purposely races the car engine to cover up the burning smell that the confrontation is probably eliciting.
Some people call it Sarah's drug-induced hallucination, because it appears when Leland drugs Sarah before molesting Laura and before murdering Maddy. (Some further say it represents the drug, heroin, for which "horse" is a slang name.)
Some instead say it is an omen of death, taken from the Book of Revelations 6:8 (King James Version):
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that satDue to this passage, Death is frequently depicted as riding a pale horse. The horse appears before both Laura's and Maddy's murder.
on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.
This is further supported by the Log Lady introduction of episode 14 (Maddy's death), written by Lynch:
"A poem as lovely as a tree:As the night wind blows, the boughs move to and fro.
The rustling, the magic rustling that brings on the dark dream.
The dream of suffering and pain.
Pain for the victim, pain for the inflicter of pain.
A circle of pain, a circle of suffering.
Woe to the ones who behold the pale horse."
But owls appear throughout the series and seem to have a greater significance.
The first appearance of owls is at the end of episode 4 when James and Donna go to retrieve the necklace from the woods where they buried it. An owl watches as they discover the necklace is gone.
The next reference is by the Log Lady in episode 5 when Cooper et al. visit her on the way to Jacques' cabin, and she says "The owls won't see us in here."
The Giant's message that "the owls are not what they seem" comes in episode 8 and is confirmed by Major Briggs' message from the deep space monitors in episode 9 (in episode 19, the messages are revealed to be from the woods, not deep space).
Episode 9 also has Cooper's dream where an owl face is superimposed over BOB's face.
An owl appears at the beginning of episode 12, preceding the scene where Cooper rescues Audrey from One Eyed Jacks, and again in episode 13 when he carries the rescued Audrey into the Bookhouse.
In episode 14 (when Maddy gets murdered) the Log Lady says "We don't know what will happen or when, but there are owls in [sic] the Roadhouse", but we don't see any birds. Sr. Droolcup, the Giant, and the Singer appear there, though, which has led some to conclude that the owls are not restricted to taking the shape of birds.
At the end of episode 16, after Leland's death, when Truman wonders where BOB is now, we switch to the scene where the camera is moving through the woods, close to the ground, apparently at night, and the scene freezes and the episode ends with the sudden appearance of an owl.
In episode 17 an owl appears in the woods while Cooper is urinating and the Major disappears. In episode 19, Air Force Colonel Riley specifically asks Cooper if he saw any owls on the night Briggs disappeared. When the Major reappears in episode 20, he mentions a memory of a giant owl as the only thing he remembers clearly.
An owl is also watching when Leo wakes up and goes after Shelly with an axe in episode 21.
>From the article "Owlwise By Firelight" in the book "Welcome to Twin Peaks: Access Guide to the Town", pp. 46-47 [with a big picture of an owl swooping in, taken from the series]:
"...Not dread but a connection with our past is what we feel, a thread running back to the artless creatures we once were when we first heard the oboe-like notes from the Great Horned Owl. In Paleolithic times, we suspected omens in its voice, heard in it questions we were unable to articulate, but which have stayed within us, incomplete and taunting. We are certain that ancient, taloned bird sees what we do not, knows what we never will. And some night, silent as a gliding feather, its immensity will engulf us at fireside to tell us things we want to know as well as those we don't. In the shadowed forest we're pulled by that lurking and alluring ghost and we are enthralled."Owls also have a place in Native American mythology:
"In many tribes, the owl has a sinister meaning. In the Northwest, the owl calls out names of men and women who will die soon. Among the Sioux and the Hin-Han, the owl guards the entrance to the Milky Way over which the souls of the dead must pass to reach the Spirit Land. Those who fail the owl's inspection because they do not have the proper tattoo on their wrists or elsewhere are thrown into a bottomless abyss."Trevor Blake (house127@teleport.com) argues that the owl symbolism is similar to that found in the "Communion" books:From "American Indian Myths and Legends", edited by Ortiz and Erdoes, pp 399-400.
References to owls in Twin Peaks are readily understood after reading "Communion" by Whitley Strieber.
"Communion" is a record of Strieber's 'elaborate personal encounters with intelligent nonhuman beings.' These nonhuman beings, referred to as the visitors, take Strieber away in the night through the woods to a 'filthy' room and subject him to sinister psychological/medical experiences. Strieber later encounters the visitors in other environments and learns they have been an invisibly influencing his entire life, as well as the lives of many others. "Communion" inspired a film of the same name and a sequel titled "Transformation"; a third book in the series has been announced, and elements of his encounters are found in his novel "Majestic".
After the encounter that opens "Communion", Strieber writes:
"I awoke the morning of the twenty-seventh very much as usual, but grappling with a distinct sense of unease and a very improbable but intense memory of seeing a barn owl staring at me through the window sometime during the night."As compelling as the memory is, he later understands it as a 'screen memory' to mask the trauma of his encounter with the visitors.
These owls, therefore, are 'not what they seem' (TP episode 8); they are a mask worn by a sinister nonhuman being (TP 9, 14) when that visitor from another place takes someone away (TP 17). Strieber encounters them in the woods (TP 4, 16, 19) although they are not of this planet (TP 9). Owls are the only memory he has of the encounter (TP 20): later, through hypnosis, Strieber is able to recall the entire incident as well as other times the 'owls' have been watching him (TP 4, 5, 21).
The unwholesome quality of Strieber's encounters in the 'filthy' room are similar in mood to many of the otherworldly environments in TP and FWWM. He discovers small wounds of unknown origin on his body, as do certain characters in TP. After accepting his memories and experiences as 'true' instead of imagined or the result of madness, Strieber does not attribute them to either a purely mundane source (UFO pilots took him away) or a purely spiritual source (the visitors as modern-day fairies) but to something incorporating both: TP likewise refused to be a 'science fiction' series or an 'occult' series, incorporating elements from both.
"Communion" was published in 1987, three years before TP was first broadcast. It was (and remains) tremendously popular. The use of owls in TP reminded me of the owls in "Communion" right away: by the time these owls were linked to messages from outer space (TP 19) I knew "Communion" was an influence on where the series was heading. I recommend "Communion" as a good read in itself, but especially for those interested in the source for ideas in Twin Peaks.
[I am the author of the article 'Barton Fink or Eraserhead?' which appears on page 14 in issue six of Film Threat magazine (October 1992) along with a TP episode guide and preview of FWWM .]
If you accept second-hand information from outside the actual episodes, one poster claimed that Bob Engels said the owls are not inhabiting spirits like the Giant, but rather witnesses (spies?) of important events for the inhabitants of the Lodge.
This is another topic subject to discussion and debate for years to come.
In Cooper's recap at the beginning of episode 24, he says Josie possibly died "from fear". Later in that episode, Doc Hayward says he can't find the cause of Josie's death, and that her body weight was only 65 pounds.
Some think that the soul of the Log Lady's husband resides in her log, and Josie is likewise somehow imprisoned in wood. In episode 27, Pete is seen staring at the woodwork in the Great Northern, saying he sees Josie's face. Immediately preceding that scene, Ben hears something in his office, turns around and is startled by something, but we don't see what. Some believe he may have also seen Josie's face. This is speculation, however.
The last mention of her is in episode 28, when Cooper talks to Truman about the night Josie died:
C: She was trembling with fear. I would go as far as to say quaking like an animal. And I venture a guess to say that it was the fear that killed her. At the moment of her death, I saw BOB ... as if he had slipped in through some crevice in time. Upon reflection, I believe there's a connection between his appearance and Josie's fear, as if he was attracted to it ... feeding off it somehow.Taking the leap from Josie and BOB to BOB and the Black Lodge, the story moves off to the Black Lodge and we are left to contemplate if BOB has imprisoned Josie in the wooden knob or ???T: You see a connection between BOB and the black lodge?
C: Harry, I think it's where he comes from. I think that the Black Lodge is what you have referred to in the past as "the evil in these woods." If Windom Earle is seeking access to that, it is imperative that we find our way in before he does. There's a source of great power there, Harry. Far beyond our ability to comprehend.
The long-form episode guide/timeline details each of the chess board configurations show in the series.
For a detailed analysis of the chess game, see the cover article in issue #4 of the TP magazine "Wrapped in Plastic".
Fact: there was a sect of Tibetan Buddhists called dugpas. From Christmas Humphrey's "Buddhism", the chapter on Tibetan Buddhism, "History of Lamaism" section, p. 190 in the Pelican (British company) paperback edition:
"Before the seventh century, the sole religion of Tibet was the Bon [umlaut omitted by me] ... These Bonpas, however, must not be confused with Dugpas, who are members of the Dugpa sect [of Tibetan Buddhism], founded in upper Tibet in the twelfth century by a spiritual descendant of Milarepa. The sect being 'Red-hats', as distinct from the 'Yellow-hats' of the later Reformation, and, having degenerated into Bon practices, have come to be synonymous with Bonpas, and black magicians."It is interesting to note that the Dalai Lama is spiritual head of the Yellow-hats, and that Red is the color of the Waiting Room and the MFAP's clothing.
Helen Petrovich Blavatsky, one of the the founders of Theosophy, is probably the source of the idea of the White Lodge. She wrote of the Great White Lodge, a group of spiritual masters or adepts who guided mankind's spiritual evolution (in positive directions). There is further evidence for this origin in Mark Frost's recent novel "The List of 7", in which Madame Blavatsky plays a role.
Here are 3 comments (Jim's, Rich's, and David Lynch's):
Jim thinks there are two things that SUGGEST that the Red Room is the Black Lodge:
The Black and White Lodges are one and the same and it is the person's frame of mind that determines whether he is in one or the other. As Milton wrote in Paradise Lost:Lynch has said HE doesn't know what the Red Room is (from a German movie magazine):"The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."According to Hawk (in episode 18):Hawk: Cooper, you may be fearless in this world, but there are other worlds. Cooper: Tell me more. Hawk: My people believe that the White Lodge is a place where the spirits that rule man and nature here reside. Truman: Local legend. Goes way back. Hawk: There is also a legend of a place called the Black Lodge ... the shadow-self of the White Lodge. The legend says that every spirit must pass through there on the way to perfection. There, you will meet your own shadow-self. My people call it "The Dweller on the Threshold." Cooper: "The Dweller on the Threshold..." Hawk: But it is said, if you confront the Black Lodge with imperfect courage, it will utterly annihilate your soul."According to Windom Earle (in episode 26):"Once upon a time, there was a place of great goodness, called the White Lodge. Gentle fawns gamboled there amidst happy, laughing spirits. The sounds of innocence and joy filled the air. And when it rained, it rained sweet nectar that infused one's heart with a desire to live life in truth and beauty.
"Generally speaking, a ghastly place, reeking of virtue's sour smell. Engorged with the whispered prayers of kneeling mothers, mewling newborns, and fools, young and old, compelled to do good without reason. Heh-heh!
"But, I am happy to point out that our story does not end in this wretched place of saccharine excess. For there's another place, its opposite: a place of almost unimaginable power, chock full of dark forces and vicious secrets. No prayers dare enter this frightful maw. Spirits there care not for good deeds or priestly invocations; they are as like to rip the flesh from your bone as greet you with a happy "Good day!"
"And if harnessed, these spirits in this hidden land of unmuffled screams and broken hearts would offer up a power so vast that its bearer might reorder the earth itself--to his liking! Now! This place I speak of--is known as the Black Lodge. And I intend to find it."
Also, check out Major Briggs comments.
Everyone wants to know, what the "red room" in "Twin Peaks" stands for, which also appears in the movie again. I don't know that exactly myself. I can remember well, when I had this idea, but I don't know why. Looking at it from a rational point of view, I know I have used a similar pattern like that on the floor in "Eraserhead" before. Everything else, however, was a pure matter of inspiration: the red curtains, the stylized design, the dancing dwarf. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't describe what they mean, for intuition is irrational. The difference between reality and fantasy has never been clear to me anyway. I'll probably be very surprised, when I find out, what it really is, some day.For further ideas and discussions, see the annotated episode 29 timeline, which incorporates comments from alt.tv.t-p posted at the time the series finale was first broadcast. This was compiled by Jim Pellmann (see address at top of file) and is posted periodically to the alt.tv.t-p newsgroup and available from the TP anonymous FTP site.
(There will be an analogous annotated timeline for FWWM someday, with further discussion on the Red Room and Lodges, from postings made at the time FWWM was released theatrically. Stay tuned. --Jim)
One definition of doppelganger (and the earliest on record) is "one who has seen himself". Such an experience was taken as an ill omen, namely one of impending death. One doppelganger tradition has it that when the doppelganger meets the person, they mutually annihilate each other. In TP, it would appear that the doppelgangers are the embodiment of the 'dark side' of one's personality, the accumulation of all his/her bad karma. Such a thing, called the Dweller on the Threshold, was supposed to confront the initiate on the 'astral plane' as a force to be overcome (c.f., Hawk's speech in episode 18). The expression 'Dweller on the Threshold' first appears in Bulwer-Lytton's novel "Zanoni".
For further ideas and discussions, see the annotated episode 29 timeline, which incorporates comments from alt.tv.t-p posted at the time the series finale was first broadcast. This was compiled by Jim Pellmann (see address at top of file) and is posted periodically to the alt.tv.t-p newsgroup and available from the TP anonymous FTP site.
For further ideas and discussions, see the annotated episode 29 timeline, which incorporates comments from alt.tv.t-p posted at the time the series finale was first broadcast. This was compiled by Jim Pellmann (see address at top of file) and is posted periodically to the alt.tv.t-p newsgroup and available from the TP anonymous FTP site.
Here is Rich's interpretation:
He split into a good Cooper and bad Cooper (doppelganger) because he confronted the Black Lodge with "imperfect courage". Good Cooper is trapped in the Lodge while bad Cooper took his place in the outside world. However, this is not all bad since apparently it is the presence of Good Cooper in the Lodge that enables Laura to make the transition from 'purgatory' (the waiting room) to 'heaven' (the White Lodge) at the end of FWWM.While it is a commonly held interpreation that Cooper somehow failed in his Black Lodge encounter, there are those who disagree. Here is another take from Jeffery Stuart (jeffers@sfu.ca):Major Briggs (episode 17): "There are powerful forces of evil in the world. It is some men's fate to face great darkness. We each choose how to react. If the choice is fear, then we become vulnerable to darkness. There are ways to resist. You, sir, were blessed with certain gifts. In this respect, you are not alone. Have you ever heard of the White Lodge?"
Hawk (episode 18): "But it is said, if you confront the Black Lodge with imperfect courage, it will utterly annihilate your soul."
The reason why Coop is possessed by BOB is because while in the Black Lodge, he allowed Windom Earle to stab him in the heart (symbolism) and take his soul to allow Annie to live. Coop gave his soul to Earle to save Annie Blackburn.BOB appears, and claims that Earle is wrong--only BOB can take a soul because only BOB has that type of evil power, he is not mortal. BOB then consumes the soul of Windom Earle, and the soul of Cooper. When Cooper offered up his soul, Earle took it, but BOB is Earle's true master--and took both souls from Earle. It is because Cooper gave his soul to Earle, and thus to BOB, that he is possessed.
Cooper cannot "face" his doppleganger in the Black Lodge in the same sense as he could in the White Lodge. What about the chase scene? It has been interpreted in many ways, but chief among all is that the Black Lodge, like the White Lodge, are not places that exist in the physical world. Rather, they are places where human souls and consiousnesses meet and resolve their fates. In this sense, the chase does not occupy a physical space or a retreat from his doppleganger.
Remember, Cooper has already made his "pact with the devil" to save Annie--his soul is already forfeited. He has sacrificed his soul to save her, which takes a tremendous amount of courage. The chase represents the last vestiges of Cooper's soul and mind trying to resist his doppleganger. This chase occurs within the mental theater of Cooper's mind--the last vestiges of his decency flees from the overpowering truth: that his soul has been forfeited to evil.
Where others in the newsgroup like to use this chase and supposed surrender to his evil doppleganger as illustrative of Cooper's inner weakness or imperfection, I discard this theory because it is completely inconsistent with Cooper's character development. There is no reason, logical or irrational, why Lynch and Frost would contradict Cooper's development over 29 episodes.
We already know that Cooper is flawed, for his various mistakes and the tragedy of what happened with Caroline. We also know that he, better than anyone else knew what kind of adversities he would face in the Black Lodge. This insight was given to him through visions, otherworldly communication, empirical observation, and intuition. In short, he knew he would face tremendous evil, but he showed his perfect courage by entering the lodge to he can well face down his fears throughout almost every episode, why would he entered in the first place.
Rather, I believe that Cooper showed ULTIMATE and PERFECT courage in facing the enemy--he surrendered his soul for the one he loved. This act of sacrifice is nothing short of heroic. We all also know that any hero character must have flaws, and made mistakes in the past. What makes a character heroic is how they deal with adversity, and the sacifices they are willing to make. Just as Major Garland Briggs is the strong reflective center of reason in TP, Cooper is the strong moral center of action.
If we take the flight of Cooper in the last episode as representative of Cooper's lack of moral strength, then we must discard the moral development of every episode--there would be no more good or evil struggles if the hero of the story was weak and unable to face his fears. Besides, Cooper has proven he can well face down his fears throughout almost every episode, why would he suddenly lose his moral strength in the last episode?
The answer is, he didn't. I don't want to sound egotistical, but I'm certain that had TP been allowed to continue for another season, Lynch and Frost would have resolved Cooper's dilemma through some involvement with the White Lodge. Because in any dramatic universe (even that of Lynch and Frost), when the hero makes a selfless act of sacrifice in the name of love, a good end always results. Tragedy may occur on the way, but Cooper is no ordinary man. He is in a sense, the best humanity has to offer.
While Laura's strength allowed her to escape BOB's possession by allowing herself to be killed (she talks about it in her secret diary), Cooper has even greater strenth. If TP had gone for just one more season, I belive that the last vestiges of Cooper's mind would have been able to tap into the power of the White Lodge, and free himself from BOB--probably resulting in BOB's defeat and possible destruction.
Remember, Cooper was given help from the Giant several times, and like BOB, the Giant had a human host who appeared at times in the Roadhouse and the Great Northern. Nor can we discount the One-Armed Man who has sworn to stop BOB. To put it plainly, there is just too much good in the world of TP for Cooper's fate to be sealed. The White Lodge remains untapped, and I beleve it would have appeared in future episodes of TP. So all you optimists out there (there must be some) take heart, because I'm almost sure that things would have turned out right in the end. In a sense it has to, or you might as well scrap the entire moral and dramatic development of the series.
This is what David Lynch wrote in a guest article in a German film magazine after FWWM was attacked by the critics at Cannes: "But to prevent all errors: There won't be no more [sic] "Twin Peaks" episodes, this is the end" (translated from the German, hence the awkward English).
On the other hand, Bob Engels, writer (TP series and FWWM) and executive story editor (TP series) has been quoted as saying there would be a sequel if FWWM made enough money, but not for a couple of years due to other projects. How much is 'enough'? FWWM was not a box office smash, but it apparently did make money, especially overseas.
In a question and answer session, Mark Frost said:
Q: Would it be possible to continue the story now? How about a wrap-up movie?Best bet? The longer time goes by, the more likely it is that Lynch might change his mind, but the harder it will be to put together the original cast. What we might see is a mini-series version of FWWM restoring the 90 or so minutes of footage that was cut and maybe adding some. Then, if that flies, perhaps some sort of sequel. Cross your fingers and toes and tell all your friends to buy the TP tapes and laserdiscs and watch the series on Bravo!
A: It's extremely unlikely. The sets have been dismantled and there's just no source of financing for it. "We could have definitely resolved many of the loose ends in a few more hours." It would also be hard to get the actors together again. "Maybe we can do 'Twin Peaks 50 Years Later' and have all these really old high school students." [Laughter]Q: How about continuing the story in a book?
A: At one point, I planned to do a "James Michener-style book on the history of Twin Peaks back to the time of the geological forming of the peaks" but it never came about.
In the book "Twin Peaks: Behind the Scenes" by Mark Altman, Altman states in a footnote to his episode 7 synopsis:
"The assailant who attacks Dr. Jacoby was never revealed on the show, but it was indeed Leland possessed by BOB, according to Mark Frost. He sees Maddy leaving the house and follows her. Fearing that Jacoby is going to attack her, he strikes the doctor and is forced to leave when James and Donna arrive."This is also confirmed in episode 10, when Jacoby is hypnotized by Cooper in order to find out the identity of the killer of Jacques Renault. Cooper mentions the smell or scorched oil, which Jacoby had smelled at the hospital. At the mention of the smell, Jacoby says that he smelled the oil at the gazebo just before he was attacked. Since we later learn that the burning smell is associated with Leland/BOB, this is another clue that Leland/BOB attacked Jacoby.
There is no medical or scientific proof of this being possible: while it is possible for all of one's hair to rapidly fall out (due to various factors) or for all of one's hair to rapidly change color, it would take a normal hair growth cycle, i.e., several weeks, for new hair, whether the same or a different color, to grow back and/or grow out.
So this would appear to be another case of Twin Peaks writers' appropriating legends from other sources. There may have been, however, a cinematographic reason behind this:
From: David.Vinson@launchpad.unc.edu (david eugene vinson)
Newsgroups: alt.tv.twin-peaks
Subject: UNCONNECTED THOUGHTS
Date: 17 Feb 1994 22:29:45 GMT...
2) I have a cousin in Tacoma who says that Ray Wise did an interview with some area newspaper in which he claimed that Leland's hair was turned white specifically for the contrast that would be created by all of the blood letting during both Maddy's and his own murder scene. Anybody else heard this? Red on white IS striking.
No one has yet come up with a scheme which fits all the occurrences, so we can only assume they were added for atmosphere:
From: jxs@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Joseph Saponaro)
Subject: Re: Comments on the series.
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 16:26:29 GMTThe stop lights... hmm.. That seemed to be a very profound (and much misunderstood/commercialized) recurring image. I seem to see it as, besides a very nice, powerful, clear reference point/visual image, a symbol of lonliness.... A lot of the series is about very cosmic-style conflict and here is this image which generates this idea of an individual out there, where a street light changes all by itself in the middle of the night.
I noticed that at least a few of the times that this image appeared is immediately after some scene in which a character is perceived as lonely, lost, helpless, struggling.... Also, I believe that the light itself is located on Sparkwood and 21, where a critical event of the story takes place (Laura runs from James into the woods on the night of her death).
It truly is a marvellous image.
Jeers to the Twin Peaks Emmy shutout. After receiving 14 nominations-- the most for any series --ABC's quirky Gothic soap opera won only two non-televised awards, for editing and costume design. Okay, maybe the Peaks hype was getting a little out of hand: the media have dutifully transcribed every utterance of co-creator David Lynch (pictured) as if he were some modern-day oracle, and the recent wave of merchandising tie-ins smacks of a sellout. But the show itself has set new standards of writing and directing and those are certainly deserving of Emmy recognition.And the show won three Golden Globe Awards in January '91: