Heading Out

Greed Body 2: Never Enough

Triune Dislocation of Being . . .

. . . I blame it on the seventy-six hour Tetris session. 

The Lynch Meditations 15: Twin Peaks Episode 14 (1990)

Episode 14 . . .

"It is happening again."

I'll try not to spoil too much . . . but this episode contains a startling depiction of profound metaphysical defeat. 

Agent Coop's sitting in the Roadhouse, taking in a live music show when a giant of prophecy manifests upon the stage, displacing the band to some other space-time reality for a moment or two. The giant tells Coop,

"It is happening again."

And then there's the look on Coop's face . . . he's staring into the very abyss. For he realizes he has failed to save a life. Again. 

This is a mysterious, yet devastating scene, one that strikes me with more force now than whenever I first watched it back in the day. 

NEXT: 4/19/18: Twin Peaks Episode 29

The Lynch Meditations -15

Episode 14 . . .

"It is happening again."

Killer Bob claims another victim . . . how in the fuck did they air this horrific scene of rape and murder on mainstream television in 1990? This scene-which I will not spoil, I guess-has always scared the living shit out of me. It is absolutely nightmarish.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that some of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen in TV or film come from Twin Peaks. Most of Twin Peaks isn't like this, though, and so, until recently, I tended to remember Twin Peaks as a show filled with brilliant dialogue, excellent acting, and memorable characterizations. But there is some horrific shit in this show.

Even my recent watch of Twin Peaks: The Return/Season Three, which has some memorably horrifying sequences, didn't remind me of the disturbing scenes from Seasons One and Two. Season Three might be my favorite stretch of live action television next to Ultra-Q and The Wire. My memory of the first two seasons, until recently, was of a quirky, talky, somewhat fantasy oriented drama-comedy. It is also, in certain sequences, pure depravity and horror. So, what I'm saying, is that the third season has largely eclipsed what has come before, but I am starting to realize I really need to carve out the time to revisit Seasons One and Two in full.

Enemy Time . . . working against my ass . . .

Self-Portrait Under Duress

The Lynch Meditations 14: Twin Peaks Episode 9 (1990)

Oh, man is this a thankless episode. It really doesn't stand on its own as a piece of "cinema for television." It's even more transitional and incremental than Episode Eight. It is well done for what it is, full of terrific acting and clever dialogue, but unless you watch it in the context of the full series, you're likely to be lost.

Highlights:
Windom Earle is set into play . . .

The Horne Brothers try to figure out which piece of evidence to destroy . . .

Teleporting creamed corn . . .

Deputy Andy gets all fucked-up with the scotch tape . . .

THE OWLS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM . . .

Major Briggs's anomalous intergalactic messages . . .

Thirty year old teenagers in love . . . "Just You and I" . . .

And the most memorable scene: Cousin Maddie's terrifying vision of Bob who comes crawling over a couch after her. Every scene with Bob in Twin Peaks is way more frightening than I would expect anything on network television to be-how did they get away with this shit?

Yeah, I'm going to have to come back to this series and consider as a whole at some point.

NEXT: 4/17/18: Twin Peaks Episode 14 (1990)

The Lynch Meditations -14

Hmmm . . . watching only the David Lynch directed episodes of Twin Peaks is interesting, but doesn't really do justice to the overall series. This show was the result of a unique team of directors, writers, actors, crew, and musicians and not just the vision of one director.

For now, I'll continue with just the Lynch-directed episodes, but at some point, I will need to consider the series as a whole overall.

Falling Angel

Solar Appetite

The Endless Hunger of Jim Jones

Some Guy

The Last of My Personal Stash

The Lynch Meditations 13: Twin Peaks Episode 8 (1990)

Oh, yeah! This was the ninety-four minute Season Two premiere!

This might be the aftermathiest of aftermath episodes. It's juggling lots of plot balls, and is basically serving as a re-introduction to the world of Twin Peaks. Remember, when this show first aired there was no streaming video, no VHS or laserdisc home media releases of the earlier episodes, and so this episode takes its sweet time setting up the chess board again. Driven by cleverly written dialogue and nuanced acting, Episode Eight is full of rewards for the patient and attentive viewer-as is the whole of Season Two, in my opinion-but this is not a rapidly paced thriller. Settle in, put on a pot of coffee, and pay attention. It is a well-executed, if somewhat thankless episode serving as a bridge between the seasons.

Season One ended with Agent Dale Cooper of the FBI getting gunned down in his hotel room by an unknown assailant. Did Coop die? Will he live on to solve the murder of Laura Palmer?

Well . . . Coop lives. And a lot happens in this episode.

A vista of donuts fades into an aerial view of trees blowing in the wind.

Major Briggs, in his immaculate and metaphysical way, tells his wayward son Bobby how much he loves him and hopes he has a bright future by way of a parable involving a heavenly mansion seamlessly renovated into containing new rooms.

Cooper and several other characters deal with grievous wounds and injuries, and try to will themselves back into health. Will they ever be whole again? Have they all been permanently diminished in some hard-to-define sense?

Not to mention a soul chilling glimpse of Killer Bob howling over the corpse of Laura Palmer.

But the best scene is arguably at the beginning: Agent Cooper lies on the floor of his hotel room, two shots blocked by his bulletproof vest, with a third having entered Coop's abdomen where the vest was improperly fitted do to the FBI agent patting his body down to get a wood tick off himself.

As Cooper lies on the floor bleeding out, barely conscious, and in severe pain, an elderly waiter comes up to his door with a warm glass of milk. This elderly waiter-later nicknamed by Albert Rosenfeld Senor Droolcup-moves at a comically slow pace, and seems unable to perceive Coop's urgent need for medical evac and treatment. Coop speaks into his voice-activated micro-cassette recorder addressing his perennially unseen muse and aide-de-camp Diane and confesses his hope for the freedom of Tibet from communist Chinese hegemony, his desire to make love to a beautiful woman that he truly loves, and how he wishes to treat the people who are dear to him in his life with greater kindness if he survives this current predicament. And then the mystical prophecy giant shows up out of thin air . . .

Cooper faces his own mortality and decides that love for his fellow human beings is what's best in life. And he doesn't seem to be bullshitting. At the point of dying, he affirms what's best in himself and vows to become an even better person if given the chance.

Surely, Coop, the purest of hearts, will achieve everything he puts his mind to in this episode and all others of Twin Peaks.

Next: 4/15/18: Twin Peaks Episode 9 (1990)

The Lynch Meditations -13

Episode 8.
I have no memory of what happened, exactly, in Episode 8 of Twin Peaks.
Maybe I never actually watched it.
No, no-I watched all the episodes once upon a time.
And yet . . . I have no memory of Episode 8.
I may as well have never watched it in the first place.
Shit, I shoulda took notes.
All life is a test.
And it's just waiting to jump out and fail my ass.

Okay,
here we go . . . back into Episode 8 . . . watching it again for the first time!