Secret History of Twin Peaks, The (Book)
Mr. Dark
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Written by Mark Frost
Published by Flatiron Books
Twenty-five years.
That’s how long we’ve waited for this book.
Twenty. Five. Years.
“Twin Peaks” is regarded by many as the best television series in history. I’d say it’s right up there. Pairing David Lynch’s legendary directing skills with Mark Frost’s storytelling, the two-season series chronicling the strange events surrounding a small Washington resort and logging town captured the minds of viewers across the globe in 1990 and 1991.
I watched it in real time back in the day and can vouch for the fact that the day after every episode was dominated by discussion and theories more than any show made today. We were obsessed with the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer. Even after that crime was solved, many of us diehard fans stuck with the show, fascinated by the mythos behind it. Laura’s death opened a Pandora’s box of madness and supernatural war.
A raging hit the first season, the lack of a resolution to the central mystery at the end of season one drove away many viewers who felt burned as the creators promised this was a one-season limited series. The mystery was solved early in season two, and ratings plummeted after. The problem was that the team behind the show was convinced they’d be renewed for a third season so they created the ultimate cliffhanger episode. Nearly every major character was placed in imminent jeopardy and left there by the end of the episode. Agent Dale Cooper, the lead of the show, was left in… a very very bad way in the final shot of the show.
And that was it. No renewal. The one “Twin Peaks” movie, Fire Walk With Me, was a prequel that answered little and opened even more questions. It bombed at the theater so that was that. “Twin Peaks” fans were to be forever left in limbo.
And then Showtime came along.
In 2017 we get season three of the show. Fans know there’s a reason why “twenty-five years later” is important, and the original cast and crew are back to continue the story for a new generation.
But what of the answers? What of all those loose plot threads? What of the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers? Would the new series spend the first few hours wrapping those up?
Better: We have received The Secret History of Twin Peaks by show writer and co-creator Mark Frost.
This book is a hell of a piece of work. The setup is simple, laid out in a memo by FBI Director Gordon Cole: A new agent has been assigned to research a journal that was found recently. It appears to document the entire history of “Twin Peaks” up until the early 90’s. This new agent’s mission is to research the work, verify it where possible, and discover the identity of the “Archivist” who compiled it.
What follows is a romp through all things “Twin Peaks.” It’s all here. There are, perhaps, two major mysteries left unanswered here, to be dealt with on the new show. Everything else, questions we didn’t even know we had, is answered. It’s a treasure trove for “Twin Peaks” fans.
Reminding me a bit of Seth Grahame-Smith’s works, Frost weaves “true” history with his fiction, blending the two so thoroughly it’s hard to remember what is real and what is manufactured. The Lewis & Clark Expedition, the Battle of LA, the Roswell Incident, Watergate… so many events in the past, all twisted and turned to serve Frost’s purpose. All woven into the history of “Twin Peaks” and just what goes on in the woods near Glastonbury Grove.
It’s heady stuff.
A mix of reproduced historical documents, graphics, and notes from both Archivist and agent, it’s challenging to read at times. I found myself nearly getting dizzy trying to keep track of all of the massive revelations.
If you’re not a “Twin Peaks” fan, I’m not sure what will be here for you. An interesting alternate history tale of conspiracy and supernatural forces, sure; but this book is specifically targeting fans of the show. If you don’t know the show, you won’t get the thrill when the names Jennings, Martell, and Horne start popping up in records from the 19th century.
When an Agent Cooper writes his take on the reality of who Josie Packard really was, you might be entertained by the tale, but your jaw won’t be on your chest as mine was.
It’s as simple as this: If you love “Twin Peaks,” you have to own this book. Period. This is everything we’ve wanted. Everything we’ve waited for. Well, except for one or two things… things that resolve themselves after the Archivist stopped writing in his journals. Things involving the whereabouts of a certain FBI agent…
I can’t wait until 2017!
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Book
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