S1, E2: Traces to Nowhere
You’re back! And so are we. This week, it's “Twin Peaks” Episode 2, “Traces to Nowhere,” which originally aired April 12, 1990.
Reminder: No spoilers for the series (broad themes only), but all of the events of this episode are fair game. Watch “Traces to Nowhere" before listening!
In this episode: Colin looks into the developing imagery of surfaces and what lies beneath; Damon asks what makes the show “Lynchian” and what that means; Jonathan dives into the character of Doc Hayward, and parent-child relationships; and Jennifer explores the ghostly presence of Laura Palmer’s voice, dysfunctional relationships on the show. For the Twist, we get into the show’s obsession with food and damn fine coffee.
S1, E2 NOTES
Dwayne Dunham, director of “Traces to Nowhere”
Reflections: An Oral History of Twin Peaks (2014, book by Brad Dukes)
Riverdale (2017-present, CW television series)
“Chapter Seventy-Five: Lynchian” (2020, Riverdale episode, S4, E18)
Hill Street Blues (1981-1987, NBC television series)
Warren Frost (Doc Hayward and Mark Frost’s father)
Eraserhead (1977, film, written/directed by David Lynch, starring Jack Nance)
Blue Velvet (1986, film, written/directed by David Lynch, starring Kyle MacLachlan)
Dune (1984, film, written/directed by David Lynch, starring Kyle MacLachlan)
David Lynch: The Art Life (2016, documentary film, directed by Rick Barnes, Olivia Neergard-Holm, and Jon Nguyen)
Character and Creative alignments in Dungeons and Dragons
Mary Jo Deschanel (Mrs. Hayward, wife of series director Caleb Deschanel)
Russ Tamblyn (Doctor Jacoby)
Peyton Place: 1956, novel; 1957, film; 1964-1969, ABC television series)
High School Confidential (1958, film, directed by Jack Arnold, starring Russ Tamblyn)
West Side Story (1961, film, directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, starring Russ Tamblyn and Richard Beymer)
Lost Highway (1997, film, written by David Lynch and Barry Gifford, directed by David Lynch)
Peggy Lipton (Norma Jennings)
Wendy Robie (Nadine Hurley)
David Lynch and Bob’s Big Boy (2018, via Open Culture)
Room to Dream (2019, David Lynch autobiography, written with Kristine McKenna)
Twede’s Cafe (The original Double R Diner)
Thanks, as always, to Pittsburgh’s Silencio for the fantastic music and Chris Kalb for the terrific logos!