At the 4-Top: Meet Jennifer
Jennifer’s “Twin Peaks” Backstory
My dad took me to see Elephant Man when I was 13 years old and I vividly remember being in the movie theater and seeing this otherworldly black and white film on the big screen. I didn’t know about its writer/director, David Lynch, at the time and it wasn’t until college that I saw his earlier film Eraserhead and the debut of Blue Velvet. It was Blue Velvet that really stuck with me, particularly since I’d grown up in sunshine-filled suburbs. The film deconstructed that bright and cheery exterior, juxtaposing it with creepiness behind the scenes. When a psychology professor tasked us with writing a paper that analyzed a piece of popular culture using theories from what was called “abnormal” psych at the time, I chose Blue Velvet as my subject. That project was a revelation on so many levels, as it opened my eyes to the myriad ways that one can analyze popular culture as a text. I went on to do an independent study project focused on popular culture and then later went to graduate school to study Popular Culture Studies. In a way, I have David Lynch to thank for that.
When Twin Peaks debuted in 1990, I was ready. I sat alone in my apartment with all the lights off, anticipating a very special television experience. And I was right. As I watched the pilot, I was transfixed and could not believe that this unusual show was being aired on mainstream television. I consumed and taped every episode of the first season and even did a binge-rewatch of some of it when a friend visited from out of the country. She was SUPER bummed to leave, since Twin Peaks wasn’t airing where she lived. I bought and read the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer at the start of season two and it was one of the props that I used for a Laura Palmer-themed pumpkin that I created for my office’s Halloween pumpkin-carving contest. I felt SO clever, as I crafted a mini diary, tiny bag of drugs, as well as other clues related to Laura’s murder. I am still bitter that my entry did not even garner an honorable mention. Wrapping up this obsession, I read the Autobiography of Dale Cooper (OMG. We are alums of the same college!) and saw the film Fire Walk with Me in the theater.
So you’d think that I’d be one of the first people to watch season 3 of Twin Peaks. Although I was excited about it, I didn’t have a subscription to Showtime, the network it was airing on. And since it had been decades since I’d watched the first two seasons, I figured that I would need to go back and catch up to get the most out of the new episodes. That was a bit daunting
Flash forward to 2020 and when my friend Colin proposes that I join up with him and two others to rewatch every episode of Twin Peaks. I jump at the chance. Serendipitously, I now have access to Showtime, so all of the stars have aligned. Plus, rewatching with friends is WAY more fun.
I am rewatching Twin Peaks one episode at a time, once a week, like in the olden days. Not only does this keep me focused on the episode that is our topic of discussion for the podcast, but it also prevents me from inadvertently jumping ahead to things from future episodes. Luckily I’m a bit foggy on the details after 30 years, so the cliffhangers and mysteries are just as delightful today as there were in 1990 when I first watched.