Twin Peaks 

An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.

Creators:

Mark Frost, David Lynch

Stars:

Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick

Top Rated TV #45 | Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 12 wins & 44 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Special Agent Dale Cooper 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Michael Ontkean	...	Sheriff Harry S. Truman 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Mädchen Amick	...	Shelly Johnson 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Dana Ashbrook	...	Bobby Briggs 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Richard Beymer	...	Benjamin Horne 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Donna Hayward 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Sherilyn Fenn	...	Audrey Horne 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Warren Frost	...	Dr. Will Hayward 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Peggy Lipton	...	Norma Jennings 30 episodes, 1990-1991
James Marshall	...	James Hurley 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Everett McGill	...	Big Ed Hurley 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Jack Nance	...	Pete Martell 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Joan Chen	...	Jocelyn Packard 30 episodes, 1990-1991
Kimmy Robertson	...	Lucy Moran 29 episodes, 1990-1991
Michael Horse	...	Deputy Tommy 'Hawk' Hill 28 episodes, 1990-1991
Piper Laurie	...	Catherine Martell / ... 27 episodes, 1990-1991
Harry Goaz	...	Deputy Andy Brennan 26 episodes, 1990-1991
Eric DaRe	...	Leo Johnson 24 episodes, 1990-1991
Wendy Robie	...	Nadine Hurley 22 episodes, 1990-1991
Ray Wise	...	Leland Palmer 18 episodes, 1990-1991
Sheryl Lee	...	Maddy Ferguson / ... 18 episodes, 1990-1991
Russ Tamblyn	...	Dr. Lawrence Jacoby 16 episodes, 1990-1991
Don S. Davis	...	Maj. Garland Briggs 16 episodes, 1990-1991
Chris Mulkey	...	Hank Jennings 13 episodes, 1990-1991
Gary Hershberger	...	Mike Nelson 13 episodes, 1990-1991
Grace Zabriskie	...	Sarah Palmer 13 episodes, 1990-1991

Storyline

The body of a young girl (Laura Palmer) is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate her strange demise only to uncover a web of mystery that ultimately leads him deep into the heart of the surrounding woodland and his very own soul.

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Plot Keywords:

surrealism | cult tv | mysterious death | doppelganger | murder | 

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Taglines:

A town where everyone knows everyone and nothing is what it seems.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Icelandic Afrikaans Norwegian

Release Date:

8 April 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Geheimnis von Twin Peaks

Filming Locations:

534 South Lewis Street, Monroe, Washington, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lynch/Frost Productions, Propaganda Films, Spelling Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

47 min (29 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo Dolby Digital (DVD version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Entertainment Weekly included this show in its "25 Greatest Cult TV Shows Ever" list at position #5 in the September 29, 2009 issue.

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Quotes

Man from Another Place: When you see me again, it won't be me.

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Crazy Credits

There are some episodes that don't end with the usual Homecoming Queen photo of Laura Palmer and "Laura Palmer's Theme" in the credits: Episode 2 credits feature the Little Man from Another Place seen from above and dancing. Episode 8 features Gersten Hayward (Alicia Witt) playing the piano. Episode 14 shows Agent Cooper, the red curtains and the song "The World Spins" by Julee Cruise. Episode 18 features Ben Horne's old home movies seen in this same episode. Episode 29 features the coffee cup given to Cooper in the Red Room and Laura's face on it.

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Connections

Referenced in Friends: The One with the Fake Party (1998)

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Soundtracks

Twin Peaks Theme
Written by Angelo Badalamenti

User Reviews

brilliant and hilarious

This is one of the shows that I started watching because many people, whose opinions I valued, stated, repeatedly, that I "absolutely must see this." Let me say that I was pretty much hooked from the first scene when they discover the body. The one deputy crying at the body was both touching and kind of funny. It perfectly introduced the entire series which is serious and ridiculous all at once. There is so much to talk about this incredible series which burned too bright to burn for very long.

For starters, Agent Cooper is the single greatest character ever captured on film (go ahead, try and think of a better one). He's brilliant, genuinely caring, incredibly funny, exuberant to the nth degree, unbelievably likable, but also with a sordid past which haunts him. Nobody, but nobody, could have delivered the pie and coffee compliments with so much gusto.

However, he is just the brightest star in the sky. There are so many crazy, yet somehow believable characters that grace Lynch's universe. The swift descent of Ben Horn into madness is sad, pathetic, surreal and hilarious. No other series would have dared contain a man believing that he was General Lee commanding the south at Gettysburg (it also provides the funniest line from the show, when Audrey Horn is talking to his psychiatrist and he remarks that "What he (Ben Horn) needs now is our sympathy, understanding and a confederate victory."). All of the characters create a amazing tapestry where one is genuinely anticipating which character is going to lose it somehow (but one never anticipates correctly). In this reviewers opinion, the plot takes a backseat to the characters which are too strange, or too ordinary but never dull, to exist in any other show anywhere (minus James, who gets irritating right when he starts singing and never stops). Fantastic actors all around with more career launching cameos than any show or movie ever.

Sadly, the second season is not as good as the first, plot-wise, but still is as quirky and entertaining with an unbelievable ending to the series. Many have criticized the show for being excessively intellectual, but I never found the show pedantic or hopelessly cryptic. Rather, it seemed as though David Lynch just decided to employ every weird idea that popped into his febrile mind for the sheer joy of it.

To finish, one needs to watch this show. It's not uniformly brilliant and sometimes just plain weird, but always rewarding and truly one of the landmarks of American television. Go get a nice piece of cherry pie, a cup of coffee, take four days off work and start watching it.