Welcome to Dead Dog Farm: discussing Twin Peaks episodes 17 - 23 with Twin Peaks Unwrapped

Every month, I will be offering at least one post on Twin Peaks...up until Showtime re-airs the original series. Then I will post extensive coverage of each episode (mixing new reactions with my many older pieces) immediately after they air. Stay tuned.



UPDATE: This YouTube upload, added two years later, will probably play much better for you now:

By now, thanks to the generous invitations of hosts Bryon Kozaczka and Ben Durant, I've become something of a regular guest on the Twin Peaks Unwrapped podcast. Previously I've made two brief appearances on the show (for about 10 minutes) - to discuss Mulholland Dr and "Twin Peaks Day" - and two longer co-host spots - to discuss the first season and then the killer's reveal. My appearances seem to follow a certain pattern: every eight or nine episodes, I return to cover a specific epoch in the series (and it does break down into some pretty specific units).

This time I'm on to discuss one of the more underwhelming sections of the show, episodes 17-23 in which the Laura mystery is over and the characters (and writers) stumble around looking for something to do. Nonetheless, this was one of our liveliest conversations, with Bryon sticking up for the maligned Diane Keaton episode, my own out-there theory about why Laura's portrait does or doesn't appear in the end credits of a given episode, and plenty of musings on all of our parts about that baffling "drawer pull."

We also have fun at the end of the recording, when I ask Bryon to speculate about the rest of the season and the film. Right now he knows very little, especially about the movie's subject or approach so it's fascinating to hear his thoughts. You can only watch Twin Peaks for the first time once, which is one reason Twin Peaks Unwrapped makes for such a great listen. At least two more appearances are scheduled.

In a couple weeks I will talk about the end of the show and the development of its mythology (Ben and Bryon are recording way ahead of time right now, so this interview won't go up until June). Eventually I'll be returning for the conversation I'm most excited about: one of at least four episodes devoted to Fire Walk With Me (the hosts will be bringing on a different co-host for each episode, to tackle a different aspect of the movie). We'll be focused on the film's ending. In the mean time, they have plenty of episode coverage to come, and some really great interviews in the offing so stay tuned.