Welcome back to our weekly series Favorites! This week we are doing something extra special as its our 1st birthday! We have come a very long way this year, you can read more about that here in this letter from our Chief. It seemed apt then that we should look back at some of the articles we have written in the past 12 months, and asked the team to tell us what their favorite read was and why.

Some special friends of the site dropped by with messages for us too! (Sorry Boss, you didn’t really think we’d let you get through this day without embarrassing you a little bit did you?) Thank you Andrew, from everyone at 25YL for creating this place and bringing us all together – We are One!

It is more than difficult to choose just one favourite article when there are 650 to choose from but when I think back over this last year, and my life has completely changed in that time, Highway Song: Twin Peaks, a Traveling Song by Paul Casey really sticks with me. This one really hit me in the heart. I still cry when I read it now, and long for moments like that with that someone special, just being. We do a lot of analysis here – sometimes its just nice to soak in the beauty of it all. What is wonderful is that we have so much more of this brilliant and creative writing to come, this is really just the beginning of 25YL and I couldn’t be more proud to work here with a truly brilliant bunch of people.

Congratulations on a fantastic year and first birthday of 25YL!!! Your creativity and voice is wonderful to hear!! All the best, Sabrina Sutherland, Executive Producer, Twin Peaks

Looking back on this last year, especially towards our beginnings, one article does leap to mind as a kind of turning point for me in how I thought about 25 Years Later, and that is The Cow Jumped Over The Moon by Lindsay Stamhuis. Probably not what you expected, eh? On the face of it, it is absolutely absurd that we had an entire article dedicated to analyzing this one, single, most-likely-throw-away phrase. But on the other hand, it’s glorious that this site is a venue for exactly that kind of thing, and it represents what I love most about us.

I don’t know about a favorite – there has been so much good content on this site – so, I am going to go with the first article I can remember that made me start thinking of this as the place to go to read things written on Twin Peaks, and that would be Time Moves Strangely, or Metaphysical Geologic Events in Twin Peaksby John Bernardy. It really got me thinking about how I wanted to interpret timeline discrepancies and the like. Plus, it has a cool Rocky & Bullwinkle style title, which I always appreciate. I wasn’t a part of the team then, but this, along with all of the other pieces that have been written for this site that go so far beyond episode recap, makes me proud to have come on board.

Happy birthday 25YL – you are officially 365 days old!! Congratulations to 25YL, Andrew and all of its moving parts on achieving SO MUCH this year! I love keeping up on the content and look forward to everything else you will be keeping me in the know on! ?❤️, Lt Knox (Adele Rene), Twin Peaks

When I was asked to select a favorite article from this site, I immediately thought of The Scream of Empowerment by my good friend Ivan Bukta. As someone who has been writing for over fifteen years, for a variety of publications, and who has seen his fair share of talented writers, I can admit to you all that I was terribly jealous of Ivan, that I wasn’t the one to write this piece. I think it is the smartest, most insightful interpretation of the finale of The Return, and it is something that helped my mother come to terms with the ending. Thanks Ivan!

I’m constantly amazed at all the great material being written about Twin Peaks on 25 Years Later. A team of wonderful, enthusiastic writers (and make no mistake, they’re good writers) regularly digs into the enigmatic and baffling world of Twin Peaks, fearlessly proposing obscure and startling theories about what may—or may not—have happened on the show. Often I start reading these essays and think, “This idea sounds crazy,” only to be rewarded with something well-researched and revelatory. The folks at 25 Years Later are writers after my own heart. Congratulations on your first year! Keep on keeping me surprised! –John Thorne, Author, The Essential Wrapped in Plastic

There is too much good work on this site. If you gave me a Top 10 I think I could justify my picks, but I can’t pick just one. So instead I’ve narrowed it down to my favorite wheelhouse: Theories. And nothing during the original airing of Season 3 went further than Eileen Mykkels‘ Laura Palmer is Dale Cooper’s Mother and Here’s Why. Published after Dale stuck a fork in that electric socket in Part 15 (and while Dale’s status was completely up in the air), this explored timey-wimey aspects of Peaks, connected Dale and Laura together through interesting intersections, and kept Laura as a human girl rather than some kind of savior figure. It captured my imagination, and a ton of readers’ imaginations and attention as well. The theory fearlessly swung for the fences regardless of needing (or even wanting) to be correct, because it knew the investigation was where the value came from. Eileen’s theory went on a grand exploration because she wanted to uncover interesting ideas, and in all honestly it gave me the license to form the template for anything I’ve ever done in my Electricity Nexus column. It’s massively important to the site, and to me personally as well. Give it a go, folks.

25 Years Later is an incredible site. Not only does it comment on our awesome world of Twin Peaks, the writers also feature other tv shows that are topics of interest. The contributions this site has made to the community in just a year are astounding. 25 Years Later is a unique site that is a prime example of the creativity and talent that the Twin Peaks community has to offer. It’s so great that Twin Peaks has brought about a site like 25 Years Later. – Zoe McLane, Twin Peaks

Where to begin? And to select only one?! The site on its first anniversary has now 650 posts. That is a phenomenal amount of material. I came to this site as a reader early. Leading up to Showtime’s 2017 Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series, I was ravenous about preparation. I listened to no less than six to eight podcasts a week. I had, of course, torn through Frost’s The Secret History of Twin Peaks in two days upon its release. I took work off for it! But then I pulled my nose out of the book, pulled out the ear plugs, and looked around. No one I personally knew wanted to give me thorough feedback. I had no one to dialogue with; even those friends of mine who were Lynch fans were simply not as invested. So, I found the Dugpa forum. I forced myself to crawl into Reddit. Then, I breathed with relief hearing that Scott Ryan and John Thorne were manifesting the Blue Rose Magazine, but that wasn’t all. Now, there was 25 Years Later: A Site Both Wonderful and Strange. John Bernardy, who I had heard in his guest spots with the Sparkwood & 21 Podcast was writing for the site. Lindsay from the Bickering Peaks Podcast was writing for site. It felt like we were already exchanging thoughts back and forth, though I had never once reached out to them. And then, The Return was released. Each of these platforms gave me a community to learn and ponder with. It was John’s post connecting The Wizard of OZ to elements of The Return titled “Dale Cooper’s Yellow Brick Road,” that first engaged me. We were having an interactive viewing experience. Join me in reviewing it again, and come back for many more great articles as we continue to grow in content and voices.

Congrats to Andrew and the team at 25 Years Later. One year in and you guys are crushing it. Your coverage of Twin Peaks (and now all media…next stop, rocket science [Bonus points for the Jerry Horne reference])) has been incredible. Andrew is my kind of Twin Peaks fan. Not content to sit by, he is out there creating content. Content creators are my favorite kind of people, I wonder why? The only way to sustain what you have done is by surrounding yourself with talented writers. 25 Years Later has been able to attract the best and brightest from the community and it shows. 1 year will be a drop in the bucket of what you guys will achieve. Hey have you ever thought of branching out into print media? I have a magazine franchise I can sell you, real cheap. Happy Birthday, Scott Ryan, Blue Rose Magazine

Happy Birthday, 25YL! I cannot properly express how happy I am to be a part of such an amazing family of dedicated writers. Such a phenomenal group makes it difficult to select a favorite from the brilliant output seen over the year. One article, out of many, that struck all the right notes with me was Jon Sheasby’s exploration of the unique blend of both European and American influences in the art of David Lynch through European at Heart – The David Lynch Conundrum. As an enormous fan of European cinema, it was fascinating to read a take interested in discerning what seems to be contrary aspects of Lynch’s nature. Jon’s ability to peel back the surface layer and take such a thoughtful approach to both what has inspired David Lynch and which regional audience he has inspired more was an insightful read and one I was happy to peruse!

Congratulations on a damn fine first year! We always enjoy reading all the interesting articles that are always well researched! Keep up the sterling work, with love from Lindsey and the Twin Peaks UK Festival team!

It might seem rather nepotistic of me to say this, but one of my favourite articles published on 25YL Site is one written by my better half (in marriage and in podcasting), Aidan Hailes. His mid-Season 3 article “The Infinite Art: A New Revolution in TV” came during the hiatus at the start of July, right after Part 8 blew everyone’s minds; I remember him feverishly writing and editing it on the plane to Paris last summer, when even the prospect of a French holiday wasn’t enough to get our minds off of what we’d witnessed. We’d all been primed for what we knew would be a revolutionary summer of television courtesy the Messrs. Lynch and Frost. But it was clear that after Part 8 none of us knew that the revolution would look like this. How can we even talk about this new TV paradigm? What language do we use? Will anyone even get it? I’m proud that, as it was happening, 25YL was at the vanguard of this conversation. Aidan’s article shows that 25YL was ready for this discussion, that we were fast becoming a nexus for some of the best theoretical conjecture out there. Prestige TV was one thing; Twin Peaks: The Return showed us that it was ready to go beyond its narrow confines, and that 25YL was ready to go along wherever it took us.

Andrew, the work you and everyone at 25YL does is amazing. Recording stories, opinions and what artists are saying. You’ve expanded on the world of Twin Peaks, through your words an audience you’ve reached. I have nothing but love for the site and you! – James Grixoni, Twin Peaks

At the beginning of Life Itself, the late, great Roger Ebert tells the audience, “The movies are like a machine that generates empathy. It lets you understand a little bit more about different hopes, aspirations, dreams and fears. It helps us to identify with the people who are sharing this journey with us.” For me, the written word is exactly the same. Reading a good book or an article that just clicks with you, regardless of whether or not you’ve experienced the story about which you’re reading. For that reason, Being Donna: Tragedy’s Best Friend by Laura Stewart is among my favorite articles written for 25YL. We’ve become known for our incredible analysis and theories, but it’s the personal experiences that really inspire me. Really beautiful work, Laura, and a big round of applause to the entire staff. Here’s to the next year!

Our friends and partners at 25 Years Later (25YL) came on to the scene one year ago and it didn’t take long for us to realize what a special group of talented and diverse writing staff they have. Leading the change is Andrew Grevas, Editor-in-Chief and Founder, a thoughtful and smart guy who’s always excited to take on new ideas! 25YL site is a television lovers dream with all things Twin Peaks and covering cult classic TV like LOST, Black Mirror, X-Files and more! Reading the site is a part of our daily routine joys and we hope the site lasts for a long time. Some days I think Twin Peaks Unwrapped needs 25YL more than they need us. We’re lucky to get to collaborate with so many passionate and wonderful people at 25YL. Happy One Year Anniversary 25YL!!! Cheers!! Ben and Bryon, Co-hosts of Twin Peaks Unwrapped Podcast

When people ask me what my favourite TV show is or what show could I watch over and over, the answer is very, very easy. LOST. Lost was the show that got me in to serial television all them years ago (I say that is if it was decades ago) when I was just about in my teens. The show had a profound effect on me and my growth in to maturity and how I viewed other shows. For this reason, I’m picking Paul Casey’s An Introduction to Lost. From the name, it sounds like quite a broad topic but the article is actually more about Paul’s spiritual journey than about the show itself. Paul’s personal view connected with me in ways no other article has so far as everything he says about his own journey could be a reflection of mine.

Congratulations on the 1st year anniversary of 25 Years later Andrew. You’ve built something truly great here. Keep it up mate! –Jake Wardle, Twin Peaks

My choice for favourite article was an extremely tough choice, but I finally chose our own Editor in Chief, Andrew Grevas‘ piece, Laura Palmer, Heroin & Me: The Waiting Room. What Andrew put down on paper and shared with us, broke my heart and healed it all at once. Twin Peaks is personal for a lot of us here. It inspired us to be writers, artists, dreamers. It made us feel joy, sorrow, but for Andrew it spoke to the deepest part, empathy. To embrace the community at large, and if his story could reach someone who may be struggling or may need someone to empathize with them, that he is here for them. I have never been so proud to be part of this crew of amazing people, especially our fearless leader Andrew.

I think I speak for Chet, Martin, Lance, Jade, Emerald, Erika, Montana, Rick, Jared and Peter when I wish 25YL a happy happy first birthday! – Lance Davis, Invitation to Love

Anna Flaherty

My favourite past article was written by Lindsay Stamhuis, titled The Audrey Affair. It was published on the 2nd of August last year, and discusses what happened to Audrey Horne after the end of the second season of Twin Peaks and into season three. Audrey is my favourite character, and discussions about what is happening with her always enthrall me. However, the way the Black Lodge/White Lodge debate series is set up with opposing views from multiple authors Yvette Giles, Mat Cult & Isaac Closs makes it stand out from other theory articles I’ve read about Audrey. I love how detailed and evaluative it is!

I’m exceedingly grateful the 25 Years Later website exists. Andrew Grevas brought together a special team of writers with unique perspectives, and for a year now we in the Twin Peaks fandom have benefited by receiving an unbelievable amount of interesting and well researched articles. These astonishing pieces of writing provoked genuinely great discussion among the fans all year long. And I think you should check out such great titles as “To All The Grown-Up Lauras” by Cheryl Lee Latter or “Invitation to Fear,” if you haven’t already. I would like to thank all who are involved with the site for keeping the mystery alive and engaging our imaginations. I hope you do so for a really long time. – Carl, Twin Peaks: Between Two Worlds

I’ve always been drawn to films that explore duality, repressed identities and memories, and murky motivations. Lynch’s neo-noir film, Lost Highway, is an excellent entry into this canon, and my personal favorite of his films. I was thus delighted with Ashley Harris‘ article Lynch Night: Finding Out About Life on David Lynch’s Lost Highway. It explores Lynch’s filmmaking style and has keen insight into his themes and his exploration of how we, as human beings, are reluctant to face those parts of ourselves that we’d rather have nothing to do with. Lynch readily leads us down these dark corridors of our psyches, and I applaud Ashley for taking that journey as well.

The fandom connected to Twin Peaks has always been a devoted and active one. Certain as fans are of the critical and cultural impact of Twin Peaks, they often produce lengthy volumes of art and criticism themselves, going back to the days of Wrapped in Plastic Magazine and Usenet. As the show came back, new critical and artistic expressions were published across different media and platforms and connecting fans from various parts of the worlds – old-timers who have never gotten over their first true love and newcomers who are falling in love with David Lynch and Mark Frost in the era which has fittingly been called Peak TV. One of the most productive new sites is 25 Years Later, and Andrew Grevas has managed to build a great platform for both old-timers and newcomers, adding a number of “additional rooms” to the house that is Twin Peaks. Thanks to Andrew for helping us all return – obsessively – to the “deepest wellspring” of our being. – Andreas Halskov, Author, TV Peaks: Twin Peaks & Modern Television Drama

Doug Cunningham‘s article David Lynch: “Master of Expressionist Surrealism” and the subsequent two companion pieces are particularly noteworthy entries to the site. At the heart of every Lynch film is a painting, an expression of something otherworldly and surreal. These articles encapsulate the fact that Lynch’s keen sense of art history and aesthetic is as impeccable as Doug’s understanding of Lynch, and of film in general.

Happy first birthday to 25YL! Andrew, It’s always a great pleasure to talk with you. You’ve built something quite beautiful over there. Congratulations! To almost quote The Eagles: It’s such a fine site to see. – John Pirruccello, Twin Peaks

It’s hard to pick a single article from the site, especially given that I’m lucky enough to work alongside some of the most amazingly talented and friendly people you could ever wish to meet. One article that always sticks with me is “Decoding Gordon’s French Woman” by Laura Stewart, it’s such a fun and interesting read no matter how many times you go back to it. The Return is a tough watch for me, I love it more than anything, but it’s tough. There is so much emotion involved in it and it can stir up a lot of feelings in people, maybe reminding them of their own hard times, which is why the comical scenes are so important. They lift you out of being upset and restore the emotional balance until the next moving scene. It’s why I chose this article as it’s about one of my favourite ‘funny’ scenes in the whole season and I think to be able to analyse it in so much depth is nothing short of genius. Laura is a constant source of inspiration for me and I look forward to the next year of continuing to work with not just her, but the entire team.

Andrew, Congratulations on the first birthday of 25YL site!..To be honest, the 25YL site is one of the most thought provoking and interesting sites! I look forward to reading each article! The integrity and talent of each of your writer’s is mind blowing and I love how they infuse their own personalities in their articles. They are all lovely people! You are a great interviewer Andrew and I enjoyed every minute of it! you capture everyone’s true personality! Happy Birthday! I look forward to what you all at 25YL has in store for us this next year!!!!…With love and great anticipation, Mary Reber, Twin Peaks

This site has covered a lot of ground in only one year, almost as if it sprang fully formed into existence, fuelled by a manic freshly-awoken energy after a long 25 year long daydream. Season 3 came and went however, and the site remained. For so long we only had two seasons and a movie to poke at, and now we have another 18 episodes to delve into, rearrange and interpret. My own love of Twin Peaks has always been the magical, the symbolic and the hidden connections, and this article from Gisela Fleischer, A Journey to the Underworld dives head first into all this stuff , swims around in it and maybe emerges with some treasure.

Happy Birthday 25 Years Later! I really like this fresh new media site, it looks and reads fabulous! – John Neff, Audio Engineer

Put aside the fact that it’s impossible to pick only one favorite article out of any big collection of interesting stuff, especially if the subject is Twin Peaks. For me, it mainly is all about Twin Peaks, and that will probably continue to be case, even though the fantastic 25 Years Later phenomena has been evolving and expanding it’s range of subjects over time. I’m seriously hopeless when it comes to watching almost any other TV series, because Twin Peaks is what I watch. I mean it like it is, like it sounds: that is what I watch. Many times over. Strangely, some people find this habit a bit odd, and sometimes they even express visible shock when I tell them that ”No, I haven’t in fact seen Lost, Stranger Things or that-other-one-you-keep-telling-me-I-must-see”. People are strange sometimes, aren’t they? It’s just that Twin Peaks is such a never-ending enigma, and I’ll happily continue being stuck in it, like Agent Cooper in the Black Lodge. What makes me love Twin Peaks so ridiculously much is the fact that the enigma doesn’t have to be solved, as a matter of fact, it probably can’t be. What it can do to us, though, is making us think, then rethink – associate, then re-associate – connect, then reconnect – forever, should we want to. I sure do. And that’s also why, when having to pick just one favorite article from this site, I choose ‘Find Laura’ – Was Leland’s Plea The Most Important Line Of The Season? by Cheryl Lee Latter. Cheryl’s piece has that ability to put yet another spin on the enigma wheel. With “Find Laura” (Leland Palmer’s only words of Twin Peaks: The Return) she finds her starting position. From there, Agent Cooper’s own understanding of his role and of what tasks he believes are appointed to him is elaborated upon, and with both clarity and insight. Laura is the one – but maybe not exactly in the way you think. Cheryl’s text manages to add new layers to the wonderful world of Twin Peaks interpretations. Read it, and your own enigmatic journey will then continue, only this time with some added gems of splendid input.

Dear Andrew,

Wishing you all the best on your sites birthday. Don’t worry about a thing save that for a worrier like me.

Xo, Tammie Baird

If you have a favorite article from the site please let us know in the comments or on our Facebook/Twitter/Instagram pages. We would like to say a big Thank You to all our readers for being with us on this journey. As long as you are reading, we will keep writing!