World of Blue - Archived Forum 2007-2022

Thought this would be a fun thread to start. People have caught many references/parallels (some intentional, some probably less so) to DKL's other works in the show thus far. Back in 2006, people saw IE as a sort of grand summing-up of the man's entire career. With an 18-hour canvas to paint on, it looks like DKL might be using TP:TR in a similar fashion. Here's a few to get the ball rolling:

- Part 3: When told that he's going to South Dakota, Albert mutters, "The absurd mystery of the strange forces of existence." This is the subtitle to the more recent draft of Ronnie Rocket available online (DKL has also summed up the theme of RR with this phrase in interviews).
- Part 3: As Dougie disappears from existence in the Red Room, one of his various phases looks to me a whole lot like a (slightly distorted) model planet with a hole blown in it, a la Eraserhead.
- Trudy Chelgren pointed out the uncanny similarity between a shot of Coop emerging in the NYC glass box and DKL's painting Here I Am, Me as a House.
- Lost in the Movies pointed out the visual similarity of Coop at the beginning of Part 3 looking out from the terrace over the water to a scene in Dune (also featuring Kyle, of course).

In South Dakota, the redheaded woman who calls 911 gets very flustered and can't remember her address. The tone of the scene and the actress called to mind the older woman in the beginning of the Straight Story who gets flustered on the phone, "What's the number for 911??!"

The siren sounding every time Cooper hits the jackpot in Vegas made me think of the constant siren sounds that play throughout Six Men Getting Sick.

Gordon Cole's "What the hell?!" shouting at the image of the thing in the glass box made me think of Harry Dean Stanton's similar "What the hell?!" shouting in Cowboy and the Frenchman

The detective finding a bodypart (part of a severed tongue maybe?) in the trunk of the car called to mind Blue Velvet's severed ear.

Herringbone carpet: lobby in Eraserhead
Brigg's floating head: Henry's floating head at the opening of Eraserhead
Purple room lady pulling lever: Man in the planet in Eraserhead pulling lever
Bad Coop: Frank Booth from Blue Velvet
Red Table Lamps next to chair: Pick a movie, any movie! Mostly Lost Highway and Mullholland Drive. I'm almost sure the lamp next to the Log Lady is taken exactly from MD's set.

That's just a few off the top.

Yeh, while I initially didn't love the "oh, you're nice and wet" line, it struck me as a VERY Frank Booth thing to say.

Naomi Watts opening a bag to find a large amount of cash.

I noticed a balloon in back of shot during the 'Drugged-Out Mother' scene - which seems to form a parallel with the balloons and party paraphernalia in the scene when Dougie-Coop gets home to Jane-Y.

Both Jane-Y and D-o-M have a son too, about the same age.

The split/contrast between wholesome, good-living Jane-Y and filthy, crazy junkie D-o-M, seems reminiscent of Mulholland Drive's Betty/Diane split - especially given Naomi Watts' casting...

MatCult wrote:I noticed a balloon in back of shot during the 'Drugged-Out Mother' scene - which seems to form a parallel with the balloons and party paraphernalia in the scene when Dougie-Coop gets home to Jane-Y.

Both Jane-Y and D-o-M have a son too, about the same age.

The split/contrast between wholesome, good-living Jane-Y and filthy, crazy junkie D-o-M, seems reminiscent of Mulholland Drive's Betty/Diane split - especially given Naomi Watts' casting...

Whoa, whoa, whoa! I didn't know where you were going with this, but thank you! The MD parallel is strong. This is interesting. Me thinks the "real" Janey-E is the D-o-M. Oh this is gonna get interesting.

MatCult wrote:I noticed a balloon in back of shot during the 'Drugged-Out Mother' scene - which seems to form a parallel with the balloons and party paraphernalia in the scene when Dougie-Coop gets home to Jane-Y.

Who's Dougie-Coop? The guy who goes to Dougie's home is the real Coop! Dougie Jones was sucked into the Black Lodge enabling the real Coop's escape!

"Tell her she has the job" reminded me a lot of "This is the girl" from MD.

Dougie's soul/existence becoming a gold orb, in addition to the Episode 8 parallel, reminds me of the ending of Ronnie Rocket, where Ronnie seems to undergo a similar fate (with the immortal stage direction, "Ronnie is a golden egg.")

Gabriel wrote:

MatCult wrote:I noticed a balloon in back of shot during the 'Drugged-Out Mother' scene - which seems to form a parallel with the balloons and party paraphernalia in the scene when Dougie-Coop gets home to Jane-Y.

Who's Dougie-Coop? The guy who goes to Dougie's home is the real Coop! Dougie Jones was sucked into the Black Lodge enabling the real Coop's escape!

I know it's real Coop. But at the same time he's not quite himself. Really, would the Coop we know and love so dearly do this?

...

Jerry Horne wrote:...

Yes! The Eraserhead tree was my first thought upon seeing the "evolution of the Arm," especially given its history with decapitation.

And of course the mushroom cloud in Gordon's office echoes the one in Henry's room.

Someone also noted that Gordon has a portrait of Kafka in his office, which brings to mind DKL's wish to one day adapt Metamorphosis.

Both Robert Forster and Brent Briscoe play lawmen, as they did in Mulholland Dr. Even though they're in different locations, I wouldn't be surprised to see them in a scene together before the season is over.

Patrick Fischler's line, "You better hope you never get involved with someone like him," reminded me very much of his line as Dan in Mulholland Dr. where he says, "I hope that I never see that face, ever, outside of a dream."