Nov 4 2010

Monsterpiece Theater Presents “Twin Beaks”

It’s a slow news day, so I’m going to be a little more self-indulgent than usual today… 

Seeing that we’re still celebrating the 20th anniversary of Twin Peaks, I thought I’d post one of my favorite blasts from the pasts.  People tend to forget that during it’s first season, Twin Peaks was not only the highest rated show on television, but a cultural phenomenon.  A quick YouTube search will find you all sorts of wonderful parodies, both new and old, but my personal favorite is still Sesame Street‘s “MonsterpieceTheater” episode with Alistair Cookie.  Not only is it a riot for Peaks freaks (and mostly confusing for everybody else), but it’ll also lead you to spend an entire lunch hour watching old episodes of “Monsterpiece Theater”.*  Enjoy!

*Ryan reccomeneds “The 39 Stairs”, made by guy named Alfred.

Apr 8 2010

Happy Birthday, Twin Peaks!

It was on this day, 20 years ago, that I can safely say that TV was redefined.  If you’ve never seen Twin Peaks, you completely owe it to yourself to sit down and watch the first season.  Fan of The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or more recently, Lost?  Then why oh freakin’ why have you not watched Twin Peaks yet?!  Seriously, people…

Set in the mysterious dark woods of Washington State, Twin Peaks centered around the murder of Laura Palmer.  At it’s core, the show was nothing more than a whodunit, but those who would write it off as being too simple, obviously had no clue what was in store for them.  With a cast that featured some of the craziest characters to ever grace prime time network TV (an eye patch wearing crazy woman, a dancing dwarf, a lady who carries around a log known simply to the town as “Log Lady”, and a spooky killer called BOB were just a few), the show flew in all sorts of funny, scary, and mostly just plain weird directions, which made it nearly impossible to predict.  Oh, and did Imention a young David Duchovny has a memorable bit as a cross dressing FBI agent?

Yes, the show did kind of fizzle out after they solved the murder midway through the second season.  And, yes, the movie that was supposed to tie up the loose ends was only more frustrating (and lacked most of the great TV cast), but 20 years later Twin Peaks is still must see TV at it’s absolute finest.  I’d tell you to Netflix it, but why bother when you can buy it?  Do it.



Twin Peaks
Season 1
 Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★
10 out of 10

Season 2
 Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆
9 out of 10

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
 Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
7 out of 10