Twin Peaks Character Series - 82 entries, runs thru 5/19

[Dalai Cooper]

Weirdly perhaps the one I'm most looking forward to is the Donna entry.

Loved reading the tremayne entry, as a card-carrying Dickhead - maybe it is a uk thing, as you suggest! Although on that point, I always heard the mayor's line as "he's British, or bohemian, or something", which I took to be milford's fogeyish articulation of the ambiguity around whether tremayne actually is British, or affecting the accent as part of his flamboyant persona. Doc Hayward mentions delivering dick, so he was obviously born in twin peaks - I sometimes think of him as someone who spent a year abroad and came back with a completely different accent and demeanour.

[Panapaok]

This is getting more and more exciting. Loved the entries on Jerry Horne and Dr. Jacoby.

[Aerozhul]

My favorite Dick scene is the brief one he shares with Ben Horne - same episode as the wine-tasting (I can never remember episode numbers). It's a great showcase for both actors, with Ben uttering to himself at the end of it - "Sometimes the urge to do BAD is sooooo overpowering"....or something to that effect. LOL.

[LostInTheMovies]

Weirdly perhaps the one I'm most looking forward to is the Donna entry.

Loved reading the tremayne entry, as a card-carrying Dickhead - maybe it is a uk thing, as you suggest! Although on that point, I always heard the mayor's line as "he's British, or bohemian, or something", which I took to be milford's fogeyish articulation of the ambiguity around whether tremayne actually is British, or affecting the accent as part of his flamboyant persona. Doc Hayward mentions delivering dick, so he was obviously born in twin peaks - I sometimes think of him as someone who spent a year abroad and came back with a completely different accent and demeanour.

I thought it was "bohemian" too but on a recent rewatch it sounded like Bahamian and when I looked up the script that was how the line was written. Strange! And you're right about the birth in Twin Peaks. As I writing the entry I was thinking to myself, "Isn't there some contradiction of the idea that he's British?" but I could remember what it was, or rather when I thought of that line somehow I didn't connect the obvious dots! More signs for multiple, intersecting universes in Twin Peaks!

And Donna is going to be interesting for me to write. A bit like Annie, but probably to a larger degree given the length & breadth of her role, I feel like she's kind of misunderstood/underappreciated. Especially Lara Flynn Boyle's performance. The character and narrative are flawed but more compelling than they get credit for imo.

[claaa7]

Joel, I just want to give a huge THANK YOU for doing this for us.. it must be very time consuming and it's great to read it all and see who actually appeared the most, the least and everything in between. You are also a very good writer, so keep up"

[djerdap]

Excellent write-up on Jacoby, especially on the differences between his plot importance and character nuances in the two seasons. I'm really enjoying this series, kudos!

As far as Chet and Sam go, I have to say I was never a fan of the theory that it all takes place in Cooper's dream. I don't see a lot of Cooper in either of their personalities (unlike, say, Diane in Mulholland Dr. and how she percieves herself as Betty, along with the people around her in the 1st half of the movie) and I think it was intentionally made as such to give it that dark freshness of the Deer Meadow prologue.

[asmahan]

I guess Maddy and Laura are going to be a combined entry? Can't figure that the former possibly has more screen time than Nadine...

[Cappy]

Wow, thank you so much for writing these.
The Chet and Stanley entry was great. I was admittedly never that interested in their characters, but your write-up has really made me re-ponder their symbolism and significance. I always just sort of wrote them off as the Dear Meadow versions of Cooper and Albert, with maybe Lil being the Dear Meadow version of Diane.

Really looking forward to the Nadine entry.

[Mr. Reindeer]

The Jerry & Jacoby entries terrifically summed up the several inconsistent characterization phases both characters went through. It's really fascinating to realize how abruptly the writers' and producers' approaches to some characters seemed to shift. In the case of these two, they were blessed with terrifically talented actors who could make each version of the character as interesting and consistent with prior scenes as possible, minimizing whiplash.

I'm not a Hank fan, but I enjoyed the entry. It's interesting that you characterized his apartness from the other characters by saying his portrayal is more "realistic" and less archetypal. To me, Hank has always felt very archetypal: in both writing and performance style, he strikes me as one of the most conventionally soap opera-ish characters on the series (and certainly the most prominent of the characters in that vein). I also think there are several main actors whose performances feel more "realistic," notably Ontkean, Boyle (in season 1, maybe less so in 2), Warren Frost, Peggy Lipton. Even many of the quirkier/more stylized performances, such as those by MacLachlan and Fenn, feel more honest (and therefore "realistic") than Mulkey's sulky-sinister shenanigans. (I don't want to crap on Mulkey too much, I like him a lot in other projects. The writing and performance just never quite clicked for me here.)

[LostInTheMovies]

The Jerry & Jacoby entries terrifically summed up the several inconsistent characterization phases both characters went through. It's really fascinating to realize how abruptly the writers' and producers' approaches to some characters seemed to shift. In the case of these two, they were blessed with terrifically talented actors who could make each version of the character as interesting and consistent with prior scenes as possible, minimizing whiplash.

I'm not a Hank fan, but I enjoyed the entry. It's interesting that you characterized his apartness from the other characters by saying his portrayal is more "realistic" and less archetypal. To me, Hank has always felt very archetypal: in both writing and performance style, he strikes me as one of the most conventionally soap opera-ish characters on the series (and certainly the most prominent of the characters in that vein). I also think there are several main actors whose performances feel more "realistic," notably Ontkean, Boyle (in season 1, maybe less so in 2), Warren Frost, Peggy Lipton. Even many of the quirkier/more stylized performances, such as those by MacLachlan and Fenn, feel more honest (and therefore "realistic") than Mulkey's sulky-sinister shenanigans. (I don't want to crap on Mulkey too much, I like him a lot in other projects. The writing and performance just never quite clicked for me here.)

Hank is definitely a big-time "YMMV" character. For me, I'd describe the performance as not necessarily realistic (though I probably did somewhere in there already haha) but naturalistic. I think the contrast with stylization is a good one. Mulkey feels very lived-in to me in a way other don't. But you're right that, at least in broad outlines, he's a very archetypal character.

[LostInTheMovies]

I guess Maddy and Laura are going to be a combined entry? Can't figure that the former possibly has more screen time than Nadine...

The thing I realized about Nadine is that while she has a TON of scenes (far more than anyone before her) they are mostly quite short. Maddy, on the other hand, has some long sequences (most notably her murder) which make up for her shorter span on the series I think. Unless I miscalculated haha *knocks on wood*

The big surprise for me was that Sarah ranked above some of these other characters. But of course the Missing Pieces beefs up her part. Won't say more than that for now...

It's also still remarkable to me that the Log Lady is in it so little, less than Ernie Niles for Pete's sake!

[LostInTheMovies]

Thanks everyone for the encouraging replies! As noted elsewhere, the Windom Earle entry was published before the last two sections were ready but I updated them this morning so definitely check 'em out if you read it last night (and sorry for any typos). Obviously I was struggling to keep up this week. And this is Easter weekend so...we'll see. It's possible I may decide to pause the series, build up a backlog and then post them at a faster pace in late April or May. I still want to

On the other hand, I'd prefer to keep posting on weekdays. It depends how much I can get done tonight after holiday celebrations tomorrow. This is gonna be a big week, in some respects with more to chew on than anything till the top 10 or even top 5. I'll leave it there for now.

This week:

Jerry Horne (#30)
Dr. Lawrence Jacoby (#29)
Hank Jennings (#28)
Nadine Hurley (#27)
Windom Earle (#26)

[CuriousWoman]

Take a break if you need to, obviously.

I don't know about the other readers but I am much more interested in the sections you put after summarizing the characters' on-screen appearances (which seems to be the most time consuming part). Maybe you could try to post only these sections if you have a tight schedule?

(just a suggestion of course: do just as you want)

[Mr. Reindeer]

I definitely agree with CuriousWoman; I tend to only give that first section a quick scan, although I will add that I do find it fascinating to connect the dots of the characters' appearances from episode to episode, and have consulted your entries several times during my rewatch when I wonder something like, "What was Josie doing the last time I saw her....?"

[LostInTheMovies]

Well, I had to pause the series for now. I'm hoping it will resume on April 25, which would mean one-a-day (including weekends) through the same deadline, May 19. Anything after that and I'd have to start posting two a day or something. Could happen, but hopefully I can work up a decent backlog in the coming week.

Here's the announcement: Twin Peaks Character Series Will Resume in Late April/Early May

I was just thinking about how the summary part has gotten a little out of hand. It's definitely the part I'm least interested in (though I kind of enjoy doing it, it's almost relaxing in a way) but somehow feels necessary. I'm a tad worried people see it and think it's the whole post and tune out without exploring the rest; if nothing else, I'm gonna have to keep it from expanding more as the characters get bigger. Less details, more generalization. That said, it isn't really a huge time bandit all things considered. Though a lot of the preliminary work has already been done, watching clips/taking notes/scrolling through scripts & books for additional material, probably even getting the images all takes longer. It just ends up being a time-consuming process with everything contributing!

And this past weekend & week, between Easter, taxes, looking to be a higher workload, etc etc was the worst time to still be behind; that plus I honestly let myself get distracted/not work at times when I could've done it - I think I knew I was gonna have to take a break anyway and was getting burnt out.

So...it will continue! But at least a week off, maybe more, we'll see. Watch this space, as they say, and if you're hungry for TP content (which you probably can't be anymore in this day and age) I've got a big backlog here: Twin Peaks directory