If you ever needed confirmation that Twin Peaks was well ahead of its time, just re-watch the pilot episode of Twin Peaks. Through immense psychic ability, or plain luck, David Lynch has found a fog horn with the exact sound of a phone vibrating. His ability to break the fourth wall in the future is a skill that too few directors have.

This horny vibration is the back drop to the first of many iconic scenes that this series will deliver. The discovery of Laura Palmer, dead. Wrapped in plastic. We are also introduced to the Martells, and Josie Packard. Character introductions are something we’ll have to get used to in this pilot episode, like it or not. There is a character count approaching the millions, each with a dark secret or whole other life. Whilst it’s confusing for the first time viewer, it’s something that appealed greatly to me. Through the details in the character’s stories, the town of Twin Peaks itself is fleshed out in a way that is often lost in other shows. Twin Peaks, to me, is a real place. Every time I watch, I’m there, fully at home being lost in whatever piece of crazy is happening right now.

After what is a rather somber opening, we’re then treated to the kind of humour that Twin Peaks made its forte, as Lucy attempts to transfer Pete Martell’s phone call to Sherriff Truman. This gag also provides a perfect introduction to the two – Lucy, the sweet but ditzy receptionist and Harry, the serious lawman but blessed with patience. That said, when we are introduced to Andy, the male version of Lucy, we can see his patience wear a little thin. However, since they are currently seeing to what is, I presume, the first murder case that their town has seen in a very long time, I think we can forgive Truman’s snappiness as Andy broke down. Hawk, when we are introduced to him, is the complete opposite to Andy in that sense, seemingly able to encounter any situation without losing his cool. Happily, that doesn’t come at the cost of his compassion.

A criticism of Twin Peaks always seems to be how dumb the kids seem to be, and I would have to agree. They act irrationally, they say things that are cheesy as heck, and they generally act like only they can be right. That said, I do not say that as a criticism myself – they’re high school kids and that’s what high school kids do. Maybe I see a bit of my young self in them and it makes me a little uncomfortable. I can look at James’ edgy phase, Donna’s melodrama and Bobby’s rebellious tendencies and be reminded of how a lot of us were back in our teens. They can be as annoying as hell to watch, but so can any overly dramatic teen - or in James’ case, no emotion what so ever.

Emotion is something that is certainly not missing from either Leland or Sarah Palmer. And rightly so, considering what they have to now deal with. I noticed something a little off when Sarah called up the school, in regards to her search for Laura. The coach of the football team starts telling her that Bobby hasn’t turned up for training today, or the day before, or the day before that. Having worked in education, you can’t do that! You can’t just start blabbing about the attendance record of another child to a parent! Maybe it’s just my work background but that really didn’t seem right to me.

Speaking of right and wrong, we’re introduced to some of the secrets and double lives that our cast of characters are leading. What really struck me about this, though, is the lack of black and white morality in all of this. Big Ed, lovable father figure to many, is head over heels for Norma, despite them both being married. On the flipside, Ed’s marriage with the drape-obsessed Nadine seems to be a rocky one to say the least, whilst Norma’s husband, Hank, is awaiting parole after serving for manslaughter. Bobby, Laura’s boyfriend, was secretly seeing Shelley Johnson, another married lady. However, we then see that Leo, the husband, is abusive and one of the most irrepressible characters on the show, whilst it’s revealed that Bobby was often scared by Laura’s activities.



The pilot serves as a great introduction to these subplots to the main story arc, making sure we get enough grizzly details to get ourselves invested, whilst not so much that we’re full to the brim. It’s rather sad then, when the attempts to get us invested in the whole Ghostwood and sawmill conspiracy can fall a little flat. Whilst it picks up a lot in the coming episodes, it’s disappointing to see Benjamin Horne, a role in which Richard Beymer completely loses himself into, involved in this plot at this current time. That said, the pace picks up on this particular subplot in the upcoming episodes. Audrey, Ben’s daughter, is also given more time to shine. Her appearances here are well done, and serve well to set up her tendencies to continuously stir the pot. If I was watching this for the first time, I’d get the correct feeling that she is meant to be a big part of the plot going forward.

We have to wait a long time in the episode before we are introduced to Special Agent Dale Cooper, the main protagonist of the series as a whole. A lot of his particular characteristics are introduced well – his observational skills, habit of speaking thoughts aloud to his tape recorder, attention to detail – however, there are a number of things about him that are just slightly off, when compared to his character going forward. In universe, I’m willing to chalk these up to simply finding his feet in a new location. However, in real life, it’s very clear that this is a pilot episode, and Coop’s character hadn’t yet been finalized completely. For example, let’s look at the scene when he’s interviewing Bobby, and just how cold he is through-out. I understand that he’s interviewing a murder suspect who is being a bit verbally-aggressive – but we have to remember that Bobby is a high school kid. He found out that his girlfriend had been murdered and was charged with her murder about 10 seconds later, before he even had chance to process that information. Coop’s line of “You didn’t love her anyway” as he exited the room was completely unnecessary – cold for the sake of being cold – and really struck me as out of character for him.

By the time we get to the Roadhouse, it seems that Coop has settled down into his character a bit more – closer to the warmer Coop that we enjoy in the rest of the series. The famous whittling line (“Why are you whittling?” “Because that’s what you do in a town where a yellow light still means slow down, not speed up.”) shows his growing appreciation for Twin Peaks, and we get the first of many Thumbs Up™. The whole Roadhouse scene is really well done, a great way to bring many of the characters together for a climax. Sadly, it leads to another annoying teen moment between James and Donna, and possibly the worst line of the episode (“I’m sorry. Actually, I’m not sorry”). It provided more information about Laura, though, and that she was involved in less-than-wholesome activities. Of course, this had already been shown through the episode, through the trail of clues that Coop had started to follow. Starting at her dairy and spiralling out, we are given suspicions that Laura wasn’t all that she seemed, but without out-right confirming anything. James’ tale of Laura’s personality changes, and the accusation that Bobby had killed a guy, left us hungry for more sordid details of Laura’s secret life.

They should have been more genre-aware, though. How often does something that is buried in a TV show stay buried for more than an episode?

Other random thoughts;

- How many donuts does the Twin Peak’s police department need? And Lucy’s still worried that they might run out?



- Furthermore, Coop takes a bite out of a donut and just leaves it. That’s annoying to every donut lover out there.

- Mr Monkey Wrench has to be one of the finest pieces of smack talk out there.

- Bobby and Mike’s barking in the cells may seem a stupid way to intimidate someone but come on, if you were James in that situation, you’d be a little un-nerved.

- I don’t think that Coop was the first one to see the bike in Laura’s eye. Bobby seems to be the first one to notice, and it’s Coop who reads his body language in the interview and comes to the conclusion that he’s seen something.

- Getting the letter out from under the fingernails must be the most disgusting thing in the entire series.

- Likewise, Ronette walking down the bridge is the most creepy thing in the entire series.

- The principle, when he was making his announcement to the school, was incredible. That piece of acting was top-notch, I completely bought that he was barely keeping his emotions held back. That little breakdown when he scrambled for the button to switch of the mic was perfect.

- Dr Jacobi…I grew to like him but based on just this appearance, I would have bet my entire fortune that he was the killer.