I first wrote this article in the spring of 2017, right before the “Twin Peaks” reboot was about to premiere. I posted it and then removed it, since it seemed too personal for me to share. However, I feel the need to re-post it today, because I am forever grateful to David Lynch for introducing me to this quirky town and its mysteries, especially since it occurred during a time of great unrest in my life. One can never have too much “Twin Peaks” and people need this show’s wisdom and fantasy. I have edited some parts, but it is essentially the same ode to my favorite show of all time. I hope that you enjoy it.
Rest in peace, Mr. David Lynch. Thank you.
"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it. Don't wait for it. Just let it happen. It could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot black coffee."
- Agent Dale Cooper
I watch many scripted shows. Considering that we live in the new golden age of television, my love and appreciation for diverse episodic entertainment is a bottomless well.
There are shows that I have watched and enjoyed immensely, be it for fantasy elements (“Grimm”, we miss you), great chemistry ("Almost Human", audiences are in dire need of your unique style and wit) or gut-busting humor ("The Big Bang Theory", we need you -- also, why did I not start watching you until 2010?).
Then there are shows that I have watched and got lost in COMPLETELY; those whose casts, characters, storylines and fandoms hold a dear and meaningful place in my heart. Whoever knows me knows that I am talking about my Targaryens and Lannisters of "Game of Thrones", my Winchester boys of "Supernatural" and my lovable outcasts of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". The first one is my standard against which all fantasy and every epic needs to be measured. The second one is my little show that could, a gem that exemplifies the power of a brilliant rapport, engaging stories and fandom families. The third one turned my world into a smile, reaffirmed my goals and made me laugh until I fell off the couch, a journey that I was inspired to write about.
And then there is one show that determined the course of my passion and my love for storytelling. A show that is still considered revolutionary in its quirky ingenuity three decades later, paving the way for riddles such as “The X-Files”, "Lost" and "Wayward Pines". A show that provided so much more to me than hours of entertainment in a time that was anything but, a time of turmoil that had been unimaginable only a year earlier.
You know it well. If not, you definitely should.
The genius murder mystery/dark humor/Americana hybrid, "Twin Peaks" is a wild and beautiful creation from the minds of David Lynch and Mark Frost. From the very first time I saw Julee Cruise's "Falling" video, I was intrigued. From the very first time I heard that a certain beauty queen was dead, wrapped in plastic, I was hooked.
The show started broadcasting in my previous home country in April 1991 and this is where my part of this story comes in.
I come from the former Yugoslavia. In June 1991, two weeks after we had celebrated our junior prom, clashes started in Slovenia and then Croatia. While my friends and I were doing high school entrance exams, war raged only a few hundred kilometers away. While I am forever thankful for not having lived in a war zone, witnessing my country break apart was bizarre to say the least. Our lives changed and the mentality grew more insane by the hour, with politics taking over every second of every day.
The breakup of Yugoslavia is one of the most significant events that marked my life and one of the main factors that formed my personality. It reverberated throughout my teenage years, its echoes loud and clear in the way we lived. News versus propaganda. Economic sanctions. Stolen votes. Blackouts. Gas stations with no fuel. Empty supermarket shelves. Inflation rates in the hundreds of thousands. I will never forget going to the post office twice one day; when I returned two hours later, the money that I had was literally worthless. I will never forget the evening when my best girlfriend and I witnessed an entire apartment block lose electricity. Weirdness squared, with a side dose of melancholy. However, it was not war, as I selfishly remind myself to this day. Things could always have been worse.
But teenagers will do what teenagers do. No matter what their environment brings, they find a way into their special little world of simple joys and purehearted optimism. They deal in sweet frenzy, schoolyard flirtations and exuberant banter, and I was no different. Looking back, "Twin Peaks" was my salvation when the storm started. It was my Guido from Life is Beautiful -- obviously on a much smaller scale, but it is the only parable that I can think of. It was my gorgeous distraction, a delightful phantasm that enticed my imagination and spun my brain. In the spring and summer of 1991, I was busy recording episodes shown in the afternoons as reruns, those that were not superseded by endless parliament gatherings. Forget duplicitous politics, there was no room for those problems in my 14-year-old life -- I needed my daily "Twin Peaks" fix! My teenage self needed Audrey, Laura, Donna, James, Shelley and Bobby's intrigue and love affairs. My philosophical self yearned for Agent Dale Cooper's curiosity and Sheriff Harry S. Truman's down-to-earth wisdom. My writer self required the Black Lodge and its mystique. I wanted to be in that forest and be a guest at the Great Northern, AND meet those cool Norwegians while I was at it -- why not? I needed it all. It was my obsession, my art, my drug. It was my dream for a creative life. It was my dream for stories and hope that wonderful, feverish tales were waiting for me in my future.
"Twin Peaks" is more than my favorite iconic show. It reminds me of a light in what would otherwise merely have been a period of darkness. It reminds me of my parents, who were hearing about my obsession every day, and my friends, who I would not talk to about anything else. Why would I? It reminds me of the two scrapbooks that I had dedicated to it, as well as the first time that I wrote fan fiction. It takes me back to when I was a 14-year-old girl with a head full of dreams. It takes me back to that fateful first glimpse of Julee Cruise's "Falling" video.
One of the first VHS tapes that I bought after moving to Canada at seventeen was the original TV movie/pilot. I have the Gold Edition DVD postcards on a wall and one of my most treasured possessions is the show's soundtrack on tape... tape! That tape has been opened and listened to thousands of times, the cover nearly worn out. I have Jennifer Lynch's "The Diary of Laura Palmer", which I pored over in high school and took everywhere. And it all takes me back. And it all reminds me of that magical Washington town that whispered its secrets to me and provided sanctuary when I needed it most.
Since then, I have finished school and discovered many things about myself. Among other things, I discovered that I was a writer and I know that it is largely due to the influence of "Twin Peaks" in my life. I have completed my first novel, in no small part owing to my love for and inspiration that I got from this show. Saying that I had been looking forward to the 2017 reboot would be an understatement. It was a brilliant and thoughtful continuation to the story.
I am grateful to David Lynch, Mark Frost and the entire cast for creating something that not only stands out and stands the test of time, but also feeds the imagination and provides comfort. Thank you for your genius and thank you for inspiring me. Paying another visit to your mystical town in 2017 was an honor and an experience to remember.
Now please excuse me while I treat myself to some cherry pie and some damn good coffee.
With no side of politics whatsoever.
Oh, wait.
