SYNOPSIS

Created by avant-guard filmmaker David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Pink Flamingos, Eraserhead), and Mark Frost, Twin Peaks emphasized style over story; its eerie, non-linear visual and narrative quality left many viewers intrigued and wondering just what was going on! As it turned out, it was one of the most talked about but least watched shows.

FBI Agent Cooper, a mystical loner, had come to the picturesque Pacific Northwest town of Twin Peaks, near the Canadian border, to investigate the murder of 17-year-old homecoming queen, Laura Palmer. With the help of Sheriff Harry Truman, he began to explore the town's intricate web of affairs, plots and eccentrics. The seemingly wholesome Laura had relationships with biker-poet James and hot-tempered Bobby, among others, and had been seen treated by weirdo psychiatrist Dr. Jacoby. She had also been seen at One-Eyed Jacks, a bordello/casino just across the Canadian border, where drugs and sex flowed freely. Suspicion pointed at many before the killer was finally revealed to be her own father, Leland, an apparently upstanding citizen secretly possessed by "Killer BOB." Before he was caught, and before he died in Cooper's arms, Leland/BOB also murdered Laura's look-alike cousin, Madeleine.

Other major stories included: the triangle between Shelly, Bobby and Shelly's abusive husband Leo, who was eventually shot and turned into a drooling idiot; the plot by Catherine and developer Ben Horne to steal the town's largest industry, Packard Sawmill, away from her brother's Asian widow Josie - who, as it turned out, had paid Hank to kill the late Mr. Packard, and another triangle between Norma, owner of the Double-R Diner, Big Ed, a service station owner and James' uncle, and Norma's ex-con husband, the murderous Hank. Ed's one-eyed, Amazonian wife Nadine, who was certifiably crazy, was around to complicate matters.

With Laura's murder solved in late 1990, Agent Cooper stayed to investigate further murders - apparently "Killer BOB" lived on, inhabiting other bodies. Cooper's principal nemesis became Windom Earle, his former FBI partner who had gone insane after his wife had been killed while in his and Cooper's custody. Earle, a master of disguises, played an elaborate chess game with Cooper via the mail and newspaper columns, taking a life every time he took a piece. Dim-witted Leo became his sidekick. The pinnacle of deception and death finally drew Agent Cooper - who got many of his leads through dreams that involved dancing dwarfs and towering giants mumbling solutions - into the "Black Lodge," a terrifying, dream-like place outside of reality where he confronted Earle, dead victims and his own soul.

Lots of quirky little details added to the mood of Twin Peaks: Agent Cooper's partiality for the town's "damn fine coffee" and cherry pie; the somber, slowly played guitar music; the "Log Lady" who always appeared with a log in her arms; Cooper's tape-recorded reports to his unseen secretary Diane; Major Briggs' fuzzy investigation into "deep space" matters for the Air Force; some of the scenes were shot in reverse, so it gave a creepy, unreal feeling to what was being viewed on the screen; hard-of-hearing Bureau Chief Cole, who turned up once in a while to confer with Cooper (the series creator stepping into his own show to talk with the chief character!)

In 1992, the movie "Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me" was made. It found Agent Cooper teamed up with Agent Chester Desmond (played by singer Chris Isaak) trying to unravel the bizarre clues, mysterious disapearances and strange happenings that lead to the last 7 days of Laura Palmer's life and find the killer of waitress Teresa Banks. Most of the original cast participated in the movie along with some new faces - David Bowie, Harry Dean Stanton and Moira Kelly, to name a few.

Portions of Twin Peaks were filmed on location in the Pacific Northwest, where the little town of Snoqualmie Falls, Washington, was used as a model for the fictional town. The large, rustic Salish Lodge was used for exteriors of the imposing Great Northern Hotel, where Cooper stayed in the series.