What's it all about?
Briefly, a High School homecoming queen is murdered. She was seventeen, beautiful and adored by all who knew her. The town of Twin Peaks where victim Laura Palmer lived is a picturesque small town on the US-Canadian border. Yet when FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is brought in to investigate the brutal stabbing, he discovers that beneath the surface of idyll lies a truth so shocking it will kill you...
In Twin Peaks, no-one is innocent.
Quit the soundbytes!
Okay, okay. It's complicated:
Agent Dale Cooper is an FBI Agent who uses his incredible powers of observation and body language enhanced by what appears to be a link to the supernatural. He has dreams that are not only predictive, but actually seem to bleed through into reality. In his dreams, he is visited by a Little Man From Another Place (Michael J Anderson, who memorably appeared in the X-Files "Humbug" episode). He is also visited by the departed Laura Palmer and also by a Giant. They give him cryptic clues that help him solve the murder. Example: "Laura" says "Sometimes my arms bend back", and an autopsy report reveals that her arms were tied behind her by the murderer. Cooper is quickly accepted by the community as he reveals a deep humanity that endears him to others. Yet despite his considerable detective skills, he is haunted by the loss of his one true love, who was murdered years before.
Laura Palmer, the murder victim, was living a double life. On the surface, she was the prom queen who dated the captain of the football team. She volunteered for meals on wheels and was extremely popular. Yet at the same time, she was a cocaine-addicted prostitute who was secretly sleeping with James Hurley - who could have been her salvation had she not pushed him away for being "too sweet". Laura suffered from terrible bouts of depression, was desperate to kick her drugs habit but was overwhelmed by the abuse she had suffered since childhood, and the sense of her impending doom. She knew she was going to die.
James Hurley was Laura's secret boyfriend, but is united in grief with Donna Hayward, Laura's best friend (previously dating Mike). As they come to terms with Laura's sudden demise, they find themselves falling in love with each other. They are, perhaps, the only true innocents in Twin Peaks. James and Donna will do almost anything to find the truth - and to protect each other. Yet this often draws them to brushes with the law - and worse, to the rage of Laura's erstwhile boyfriend Bobby Briggs.
Bobby Briggs was the outward boyfriend for Laura - and her drug supplier - but he secretly sees Shelley Johnson, who is married to violent drugs runner Leo Johnson. Shelley and Bobby are desperately in love, but they must overcome the obstacles between them - namely Leo Johnson.
Leo, bartender Jacques Renault and his brother Bernard Renault are variously in the employ of kingpin Benjamin Horne. Ben owns the department store, most of the town, and One Eyed Jacks - a casino and brothel on the border. Ben has two children - the wayward and precociously voluptuous Audrey and the retarded Johnny (who Laura was helping teach). He also has a mistress in the shape of Catherine Packard Martell - the rich bitch who owns the other half of town, and battles with sister-in-law Josie Packard for control of the lucrative saw mill.
Josie Packard is a young East-Asian immigrant who married Andrew Packard and inherited the mill on his death. Well, he was never found - rather presumed dead, lost at sea. Luckily, she is extremely bright, beautiful and fast-learning, and takes to business quite readily. Laura Palmer taught her English, which is great apart from when Josie attempts slang. Josie dates Sheriff Harry Truman, and they appear to be the perfect couple. Yet even Josie has her secrets.
Other matches in the neighbourhood include Norma Jennings (married to jailbird Hank) and Ed Hurley (married to one-eyed Nadine and uncle of James); Deputy Andy Brennan and receptionist Lucy Morgan; Donna's loving parents William and Eileen(more of the rare good guys) and Major (Bobby's dad) Briggs and his permanently embarrassed wife Betty. Talking of embarrassment, there is none more so than Laura's mum Sarah, when faced with her manic husband Leland (Ben's lawyer).
Peripheral characters include the enigmatic Log Lady Margaret; one-armed man Mike (not Donna's ex); sardonic pathologist Albert Rosenfeld and Ben's mischievous brother Jerry. There's Laura's lookalike cousin Madelaine Ferguson, and Donna's little sister Harriet. Then there's heroin-addict Blackie O'Reilly who runs One Eyed Jacks, and odd psychiatrist Lawrence Jakoby. Not to forget the invisible secretary Diane and first victim Teresa Banks, or Ronette Pulaski who spends most of the series in a coma following her dramatic escape from Laura's killer. Killer BOB. The bad guy. And who exactly is he, anyway....?
You'll have to watch it to find out.
click here for quotes from the series
Twin Peaks is on Tuesdays on Sci Fi Channel
The best websites I have seen are the official
site
a
fan site
and
the links page