I am a Twin Peaks fan and enjoyed reading this oral history so much. There are some missing voices from key players (Lara Flynn Boyle and David Lynch most notably) but most of the stars participated.
I read this book slowly and re-watched Twin Peaks on Netflix, catching all the nuance the actors and writers/directors/producers talked about in the book. Highlights include:
- Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer) on being a baby actress and acting dead for the filming of the pilot and absorbing all she could from the other actors around her.
- Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne) talking smack about Lara Flynn Boyle (Donna Hayword), and being upset that Kyle vetoed their romantic storyline for Season 2 because he and Lara were in a relationship and Lara was ‘jealous’ of the press and nominations Sherilyn was getting.
- Mark Frost (producer, co-creator) on how long it took to get the pilot green-lit by the studio.
- Ray Wise (Leland Palmer) on being a new parent in his personal life and hoping his character was not the killer.
And on and on. It’s really neat to get the behind-the-scenes view of all the nuance and film/television history they incorporated into this show. Reflecting on the time period, pre-Internet. The cast of established actors and actresses mixed with the newbs.
Reflections would have received 5 stars if not for the glaring omission of one part of the Twin Peaks universe, Fire Walk With Me, the movie released in 1992.
(Image by Jon Smith)
That said, this book was fun to read, and I hope that we can all enjoy a little more madness with the 25th anniversary around the corner. In the final episode, Black Lodge Laura Palmer says “I’ll see you in 25 years” and if the studio doesn’t screw it up we can all return to Twin Peaks under the twisted guidance of David Lynch.
Twin Peaks without David Lynch is like…Twin Peaks without David Lynch.
