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Twin Peaks was a cult television series created by
David Lynch and directed by David Lynch, Mark Frost, and others (Lynch invited various
directors to guest-direct particular episodes). It was co-produced by Aaron
Spelling's production company and ran initially for two seasons on the ABC network in the United States from April 8,
1990 to 1991.
This was a genre-busting series which explored small-town USA via the
eponymous town of Twin Peaks. It was filmed in the real-life town of Snoqualmie, Washington, not far from Seattle, in the foothills of the Cascade
Mountains.
With a particularly haunting theme tune by the composer Angelo
Badalamenti, and songs by Julee
Cruise, the series set out to establish its credentials from the very outset as hip, urban, ironic, and knowing. The series
was loosely based around a murder investigation into the death of a high-school girl, Laura Palmer. The gradual unravelling of
the tale exposed the darker secrets and unreal lives of the town's inhabitants. As with much of Lynch's other work (such as
Blue Velvet), Twin Peaks is largely concerned with the
difference between the veneer of respectability and the seamier side of life lying beneath the surface. It's also an argument
against the rationalism of the mystery genre, since dream analysis
and intuitive techniques are treated as valid investigative techniques.
The series is particularly memorable for the performance by the actor Kyle MacLachlan as Special Agent Dale Cooper, who had the most famous line from the series (which became a
catch phrase): 'That's a damn fine cup of coffee'.
A prequel movie of the series, Fire Walk With Me, was
subsequently made by David Lynch. The overseas (non-US) version of the final
episode included additional footage. The pilot episode was released theatrically overseas as a stand-alone story, 20 minutes
longer than the TV pilot, with a different ending added to it to bring closure to the story.
External links
Twin Peaks also refers to:
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