Twin Peaks Virgin Diary – The pilot is delicously weird

I’m talking big weird, but in a good way (I think). I was a little nervous going in to this Virgin Diary, since Twin Peaks is one of Bob‘s all-time favorite shows. I’d never hear the end of it from him if I didn’t like it a little bit … but the pilot got off to an interesting start and from what Bob tells me, it gets better from here.

I really appreciate the show from a cinematography standpoint. Bob told me that the whole show was filmed through a rose-colored filter which I don’t think I would have realized on my own. It definitely gives it a dreamy quality, but the way the show is filmed reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock movies. Something about the way the shots are framed and set up are very Hitchcock-esque to me. There, now that I wrote that, I’ll be right back — I wanted to get that out before I cruised the internet to see if that’s a thing or if I am cinematographically brilliant and came up with that one all on my own….

All right then … I can’t really find anyone else who’s made that connection, so maybe I’m brilliant, but more than likely it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Hitchcock movie and I’m all wet — what do you think? Weigh in on this one, or send a link in the comments to someplace on the internet that mentions this. Now I’m curious!

Onto the story line…. I’m sure it will become more clear as we delve deeper into the characters, but what is with all of the Laura Palmer love? It’s creepy, the way everyone unabashedly adored her. No one is that perfect, and I have a feeling we’re going to find that out. What James was telling Donna about the last night Laura was alive makes me think that she had a darker side, or a split personality or something … oh yeah — she was Brian Darling’s hippie wife on Dirty Sexy Money….

The freakish love for all things Laura wasn’t the only over-the-top element for me. The mourning of her parents (but really everyone) was  very tongue-in-cheek and spoofy to me, and there’s definitely a light feeling around the quirks of Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). Which brings me to the question: Who’s Diane? I can really almost see that little audio recorder as being Cooper’s “partner” and there not really being a real Diane back at headquarters. He’s that quirky.

Some other observations:

• The Log Lady introduction reminds me of the Desperate Housewives voice over from season one, the dead neighbor’s narrative — was it Mary Alice?
• Hey Ray Wise, nice to see you not playing the Devil, unless there’s something we don’t know about Laura’s dad yet….
• Anyone else notice that Laura’s bedroom is stark for a teenage girl’s? No posters, knick-knacks, nothing. Looks like a hotel room.
• Dr. Jacoby, oh, Dr. Jacoby. I’ve always embraced the theory that most shrinks were a bit off-kilter themselves, and I think the writers of Twin Peaks are really playing that one up. Good stuff.
• The mystery is very cool — the letter “r” under Laura’s fingernail, the video and the way Cooper realized Laura’s secret boyfriend was a biker … I’m definitely interested.
• I’m saying it here: Audrey is a sociopath. I will refer to this post when something truly icky happens with her down the road, ’cause it’s coming.
• The nighttime soap is alive and well in Twin Peaks — is anyone actually sleeping with their spouse? And James and Donna didn’t mourn long….
• I can’t help but think The Roadhouse from Supernatural is a shout-out to Twin Peaks.
• The stoplights in-between scenes was interesting. Is it just Lynch weirdness, or will they become significant as the series progresses?

Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Jun 07, 2010 @ 10:00 EST5EDT