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The word linkage reminds me of sausage! Never cared much for the links, preferred the patties! But breakfast is a real good idea! – Gordon Cole (David Lynch), ‘Twin Peaks’

I know this is going to sound dramatic, but twenty years ago today, my life changed.

Yeah, that does sound pretty dramatic, especially considering that this post is about a television show.

On the evening of April 8 in the year 1990, ‘Twin Peaks’ premiered on ABC. Being a fan of Kyle MacLachlan, I decided to watch the two-hour pilot.

Up to that point, I was a pretty mundane viewer. My tastes were so mainstream, I find it a little scary to look back upon. Before ‘Twin Peaks’ my favorite television program was ‘Family Ties.’

Leland Palmer was a far cry from Steven Keaton.

Leland Palmer

After those two hours were over I decided that I would follow this show and not miss an episode – but not for a teenage crush on a cute actor. I decided to follow it for the story.

This was something completely different for me. Since the eighth grade I had been a pop-culture junky, but I normally gravitated around personalities. I’m still like this for certain performers, but story means much more to me than almost anything else.

Damn Fine Coffee...and hot!

Despite its meandering plot, the story-lines in ‘Twin Peaks’ were intriguing. The insane one-eyed wife of the gas station owner who was having an affair with his high school sweetheart whose husband was in jail for a murder he didn’t commit so that the murdered man’s widow could have his insurance money but more importantly gain revenge for her previous lover. Oh yeah, and then there was that murder…

For me, the murder was the least interesting bit of the show – and it interested me quite a bit. Even at the tender age of 17 I knew that solving the murder wasn’t what was important about ‘Twin Peaks’ – the murder was the catalyst to get the ball rolling and keep Agent Cooper in town long enough to get him embroiled in the local creepiness and shady doings.

I have always blamed the impatient fans for the lull in season 2 – those painful episodes following the conclusion of Laura Palmer’s murder case.

I read the Scarlet Letter in High School

But I am nothing if not loyal and I made it through the bad times to see it return to form in the last third of the season. Unfortunately, I was one of very few who had toughed it out and not many witnessed some of the best writing and acting that the show had to offer.

So, to David Lynch, Mark Frost and all the cast and crew of ‘Twin Peaks,’ I thank you for opening my eyes to something new, expanding my horizons and making me ‘think outside the box.’

Continue reading »]]> So, the long months of waiting for the sixth and final season of Lost are almost over – just 3.5 hours until the big event.

But not for me. I have to wait until it’s posted online.I love living in the country but we don’t have cable television and our antenna doesn’t receive a strong enough signal for the converter box to give us anything but our local NPR stations. As Pepe Lepeu would say, “Le sigh.”

I know I’m not alone but that doesn’t make it any better. All day tomorrow I’m going to have to resist the urge to visit my favorite Lost sites and discussions. I’ve done my best to avoid any spoilers and I certainly don’t want to blow it this close to actually getting to see it.

Oh well. In little more than 24 hours from now I’ll be able to watch. I haven’t been this excited about a tv show premier since the second season of Twin Peaks.

Continue reading »]]> Since it’s October, the husband and I have decided to try to watch at least one horror film a night. The exception to this would be Fridays upon which we have been watching the James Bond films in order – including the ones not part of the ‘official’ film series (Casino Royale, Never Say Never Again).

So, what better time to resurrect my long-neglected Myriad of Reflections blog? It was this time last year that I started the blog and then failed to keep it going on a regular basis. Let’s see if I can do better this time.

Movie 1 – Thursday October 1 2009
Film Title: Infestation (2009)
Starring: Chris Marquette as Cooper, Brooke Nevin as Sara, Wesley Thompson as Albert, E. Quincy Sloan as Hugo,  and Ray Wise as Ethan (a Myriad of Reflection favorite – he was in Twin Peaks, how could he not be a favorite?!)
Written and Directed by: Kyle Rankin

I had never heard of this movie before my husband received his review copy yesterday in the mail. I noticed that the male lead on the box (Chris Marquette) was someone that I have liked in the few movies I’ve seen him in – Fanboys and Freddy Vs. Jason – so I wasn’t adverse to watching it.

The plot in a nutshell: Almost immediately after being fired from his telemarketing job, Cooper (Marquette) and everyone in his office are bombarded with an earsplitting sound that renders everyone unconcious. The next thing he knows, he’s waking up in a web cocoon. After fighting off a beetle the size of a Boxer, he rouses several people and pulls them out of the webbing, including the daughter of his boss.

The group ventures outside and finds that in addition to the beetles, there are huge flying bugs that tend to swoop down on anything that makes noise and either carries them off toward an ominous cloud or stings them in the back.

The group takes off to find relatives and help, fighting off the bugs along the way and coming to terms with their new seemingly-post-apocalyptic life.

The movie is fun, the characters deep enough to evoke some feeling when they die and the special effects convincing. By the end of the movie not all questions are answered (including where these bugs came from in the first place), but I believe this is on purpose. Especially from the last scene of the film, I’m certain the filmmakers are hoping for a sequel and I, for one, would definitely enjoy watching a second movie in this world.

Rating: Seven Screaming Pumpkins out of ten.

Purchase Infestation from Amazon

Continue reading »]]> Today’s new knowledge acquirement: Twin Peaks is just as infectious as it ever was.

Since the husband and I don’t have cable, we’ve been watching our DVD and VHS collection. I got the Twin Peaks season one DVD set for Christmas two years ago and we had never sat down to watch the series straight through.

Last week, we decided to finally watch it. I have the second season on pre-recorded VHS tapes so after we finished the gorgeous DVDs, we’ve moved on to the crappy, fuzzy, hissy VHS tapes. (Oh please, Lions Gate, please release season 2 on DVD.)

I find that the series is just as addictive, mesmerizing and just plain fun as it ever was. I’m getting a lot more of the film noir ‘in’ jokes (thanks to my film noir-buff husband) and I’m re-evaluating my opinions on several of the performances.

When the show was originally on ABC, I didn’t like Joan Chen (Josie Packard). I thought she was terrible. This time around, I’m finding that she did a great job. James Marshall (James Hurley), while very annoying in the beginning, has grown on me. It’s too bad that he’s given the most annoying plot line a quarter of the way through season two.

One opinion that has not changed is that of Kyle MacLachlan’s performance as Agent Dale Cooper. His portrayal of his character’s joy at discovering rural life is never hokey and never feels false.

Here’s to hoping that Lions Gate does release that second season and includes the ‘previously on’ and ‘next time on’ clips, which were just as bizarre as the show itself.

In closing, I’d like to leave you with my favorite quote from the show, spoken by the ever-yelling Agent Gordon Cole, played by David Lynch:

“THE WORLD LINKAGE REMINDS ME OF SAUSAGE! NEVER CARED MUCH FOR THE LINKS, PREFERRED THE PATTIES! BUT BREAKFAST IS A REAL GOOD IDEA!”

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Anyone who has known me for more than a month or so knows that my favorite television series of all time is Twin Peaks. I don’t think it was the best show that’s ever aired. I don’t even think it had the best writing or even acting. However, taken as a whole, it is the most unique, mind-boggling, infectious and addictive television program that I’ve ever witnessed. (And I count myself as a Trekker.)

There’s word at TVShowsonDVD.com that season 2 of Twin Peaks will probably be coming out before the end of 2005. This makes me very happy as the only version of season two sold commercially were on EP Mode VHS tapes. So, after two viewings they have pretty much looked like shit ever since. For a show that was shot so beautifully that’s a real shame.

Hopefully Paramount (who owns the rights) will do as well as Artisan did with season one. The season one set had gorgeous prints and the show looked and sounded better than it did when it originally aired.

Suffice to say this internet buzz has me a bit excited and I do hope that it turns out to be true.

Now, I’m off for a cup of black coffee (as black as midnight on a moonless night) and a piece of miracle cherry pie.