Pleasure and Danger in the Anti-Binge Watch of Twin Peaks

Edgehill Open Space in San Francisco in July, 2020. Photo: J. Waits

Doing a weekly podcast for which I am watching every episode of Twin Peaks is both rewarding and full of danger. Even though I previously watched seasons one and two and Fire Walk With Me; it was thirty years ago, so I don’t remember much beyond the “Lynchian” surfaces and flashes of memories of iconic scenes. I have not seen any of season three.

For this podcast project, I’ve opted to align our podcast recording schedule with my watching schedule, which means that I’m viewing one episode of Twin Peaks every week. Typically, I’ll watch the episode once for pure pleasure. Then, I’ll watch it a second time with pen and paper in hand to take copious notes. After brewing on the different themes that caught my interest, I’ll watch some or all of the episode again to help me focus my thoughts prior to recording our podcast. Finally, the four of us get together virtually to discuss an episode during our recording session. By this point, I’m incredibly excited to watch the next episode and usually dive in immediately after we “tape” our podcast. The multiple viewings, analysis, and discussion with like-minded fans adds to my enjoyment of each episode. The forced one week break between viewing each episode also allows me to savor a singular episode as its own distinct work.

Our emphasis on a slow watch of Twin Peaks rather than marathon sessions really struck me while I was at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) conference this week listening to scholars Neta Alexander, Tanya Horeck, Tina Kendall and Kartik Nair discussing the many ways that people have been binge-watching television during the COVID-19 lock down. We have become so accustomed to viewing television on-demand, that it’s probably rare for a fan to watch one episode of Twin Peaks every week like I’m doing. And, admittedly, there are dangers to this.

Part of me wishes that I could view it all in one sitting so that I would not have to worry about overhearing plot details or secrets while scrolling through my Twitter feed or while doing research online. I would have loved to have attended a special Twin Peaks event and panels about the series at SCMS. Alas, there would certainly have been spoilers. And I don’t want to have MY experience spoiled. My metered-out Twin Peaks schedule means that I must wall myself off from discussion of Twin Peaks essentially beyond season 1 (at this point).

Of course I could race ahead and watch every episode. Nobody is stopping me. But I had the sense going into this project that I would have trouble focusing on a distinct episode of the show if I had knowledge of all of the future episodes. Plus, I figured that I would get confused and might reveal things too early if I knew how everything played out. I’m glad to be doing it the way I am, even though I may get impatient from time to time. I can’t wait to talk to everyone at the end of season 3, when I complete my viewing in about a year! And there will be added enjoyment of the Twin Peaks series, when I can re-watch it all again (perhaps without time constraints), with the knowledge of the full trajectory of the story.