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Last Week In Twin Peaks Podcasts, Week of July 23rd to July 29th

Everyone fell hard in love with Carl’s Volkswagon-summoning whistle, and got a kick out of Phil Bisby luring Dougie into Bushnell Mullins’ office with coffee. Most shows noticed Albert and Gordon seemed to recognize what they saw at the site. The pie in the box felt Seven to most everyone, about half the shows mentioned the wallpaper in the vortex house matching that in Laura’s Fire Walk With Me picture, and also that the gateways are all surrounded by sycamore.

After real life clobbered me right out of last week’s column’s deadline I got a little recappy myself going scene for scene with each podcast…Slimming that back this week, and adding in more about the shows’ personalities again. Also thanks to last week I’m still behind, so I’m leaving out the shows I couldn’t listen to or write up yet. The unlucky eighteen are: (covering part eleven) Time For Cherry Pie and Coffee, Twin Peaks After Show, Drink Full and Descend, Twin Peaks Rewatch, Twin Peaks Peeks, Endgame Podcasts, The Twin Peaks Podcast, Boob Tube Buddies, Peaked, Bookhouse Podcast, Laura Palmer Is Dead, (covering part ten) Damn Fine Commentary, Fish In The Percolator, How’s Annie, (covering part nine) Twin Peaks Log, (with a part twelve preview) Chopping Wood Inside, and (with two episodes covering parts ten and eleven) Lodgers. My appologies, and I promise you’ll be in next week’s column. I haven’t forgotten you.

Onto the podcasts:

I’m Worried About Coop described Part Eleven as rapid fire plot after a number of rapid fire episodes, and Diane’s a tease and a heel turn right now. As I know enough about wrestling to get the term, I bet the hosts’ hope for fans of both properties are out there primed for fast friendships. The word Afoot! came up as often as horn honks and made for a fun episode. the hosts wondered if Cole knew what was going on at the portal site or if he was compelled to reach for it. They called the horn honk scene the Art Installation portion of the Part and I see what they mean. The hosts think the plot threads will collide at the end but as Lynch and Frost have disrupted expectations nothing will probably be wrapped up with a bow. They’re pro-Raisin Bran and think the longer it takes for Audrey to be introduced the more likely she becomes the billionaire.

There Will Be Drinking Recaps Twin Peaks’ Murda gets her Cait back and the ladies take on Parts Ten and Eleven over two podcasts in their usual smart/irreverent fashion. They make dream team selections of the characters you most want if you need something DONE, note Marion’s their kind of lady with her love for pies and Christmas decorations, and understand Richard Horne is a sociopath. They like the Mitchums because they know family is important, are pro Janey-E taking what she needs, and think Diane is probably possessed. They also have a fun break talking about a CSI-style spinoff show called the Blue Rose Case Files. Miriam is a baller for staying alive, and they LOVE Shelly taking action. Candie is a Dougie (a parrot type) but also a vehicle for change, and they think Gordon and Albert are baiting Diane, who may have Bob inside her.

Diane started their Part Eleven coverage by saying how welcome it was to see the kids playing ball, and then about the Miriam scene being the Blue Velvet trauma Lynch keeps going back to. The hosts describe the family dynamic that didn’t work between Shelly and Bobby, say shots rang out at the RR seemingly in Red’s wake, and notes how the energy keeps rising up to and including that honking horn, until it explodes inward. The hosts talk about Michael Horse’s artistic side and that he painted Hawk’s living map. The hosts get philosophical about the relationship between the landscape and the people before calling out the trailers for being in-between places. The hosts can’t wait for more woods. They think Bill Hastings will be one of those Mike Nelsons or Dick Tremaynes that people will just fall in love with, and about his death they say the subject becomes a texture. A fun Animaniacs reference surfaces when Rosie declares Dougie Chicken Boos his way through life. It’s apt, it really is. And the hosts are happy that cherry pie, “one of the greater totems of Twin Peaks,” has returned.

Mork did The Gifted and The Damned alone this week while Bubba was otherwise occupied, covering Part Eleven, and he did a pretty good job keeping up the patter even when you knew he was taking Bubba’s lines. The sound quality suffered (we know who’s house has the main studio) but otherwise we got as full the experience as we could, a tough thing to do. Cheers, Mork (or whatever your real name is). He thinks Albert’s an equal opportunity skeptic whether it comes to Gordon’s experience with the vortex house or Diane blatantly mouthing the coordinates. The black head symbol on Hawk’s map is the Native American version of a Blue Rose case. SOMETHING’s up with Candie, and the slot-addict lady thanks CooperDougie while the Mitchums now seem under his spell too. The Part doesn’t sit on, focus, or complete anything and that’s all right. And next week the team’ll be back together too.

Damn Fine Podcast covered Part Eleven with guest Gabriel Hardman, who’s been okay with Dougie since right after the Mr. Jackpots stuff. Compared to how other shows handle reboots and reunions, Lynch and Frost capture how real life looks and feels 25 years later. The hosts’ overall feeling is that everything’s starting to pay off. They think Miriam surviving will come back on Chad, and the scene with the kids was a full-circle to the hit-and-run scene. About Shelly’s car hood scene: “there’s nothing less elegant than a Lynch action sequence” (said with love). Woodsmen officially eat brains, another sycamore street had another portal, and Norma off to the side of the Briggs family is the only adult. The hosts note that Hawk’s map is explicitly presented, just like a LOT of the lodge stuff has been, and they wonder why? The lodge lore used to be so mysterious and now it seems to have a rulebook.  It doesn’t make the hosts tap out, but it’s quite an about-face worth noting.

The Wrapped In Podcast team had guest Connor Kilpatrick with them for Part Ten coverage and per usual they dug into patterns, academic thought and other heady tangential concepts as appropriate. They noticed Richard Horne’s car is a Saturn (something I noticed myself) and grouped it together with the waiting room’s Saturn lamp and Senorita Dido’s Jupiter pattern floor. They also noticed the generational decay in regards to Richard and Stephen. They can’t believe Dougie’s doctor doesn’t send him immediately to a specialist, and they touch on consent issues with that sex scene. They note the red drapes on Nadine’s storefront and also the golden shovel that could be good in rituals for bringing back, say, Laura. They talk about Laura and Bob as elemental forces, think Moira Kelly’s not devious enough to be the best Donna, go through David Bowie appearance probabilities, connect Johnny’s bear to Dumbland, and note how there’s no light in the show to counter the darkness yet. They also state Lynch isn’t ever out to make a great movie, he wants to create a texture, and he always wants something happening UNDERNEATH his films. They note the color palate changes from red to yellow in the Log Lady scene, and debate whether the ending song is part of the plot or the closure of a chapter. Later in the week they put out a Podcast covering Part Eleven, where they noticed the third Part in a row with Red Shoes. They thought the apartment scene had a The Shining vibe, go through Becky’s potential manslaughter charges if her gun issue went wrong, wonder why Diane came with to the site exploration, and they make an Arthurian connection to sycamores that’s been present since Egyptian times. The hosts really dig deep into their side knowledge, even connecting the black fire to the Nigredo stage of alchemy (which, in addition to their focus on the colors red and green, I in turn borrowed to solidify some thoughts regarding Richard Horne). The hosts think Gordon is doomed, Mullins’ insurance explanation actually makes in-continuity sense, and they make a really good case why Vegas connects to Lynch and Twin Peaks rather well. And they think MIKE is writing a new poem in segments. So far he has “wake up, don’t die, have a slice of cherry pie.”

Formica Table covered Part Ten, and the hosts are basically feeling like we got the plot development episode three weeks too late, that it’s doing what it’s supposed to be doing but it’s so late it feels unsatisfying. But there was more butter in the bread sandwich than last week. These guys get a lot out of what they’re watching, but they can’t hide their disappointment all the same. And their wordplay always makes me smile even when they’re crabby. They called Carl a Greek Chorus, think Naomi Watts is killing it, the old characters are only added for color, and Laura’s established as a lodge entity by now. Her flashback vision didn’t work for the hosts and the verdict is still out on Diane.

EW’s A Twin Peaks Podcast covered Part Eleven, and they’re convinced The Return needs a theatrical run. Are the woodsmen threshold guardians rather than being bad per se? And did all the agents begin to forget that they saw the woodsmen after they went away? They think Becky displays Laura-sized strength (and that she probably took a psychotic break), that the Double R family drama shifted immediately into a horror crime tone, the black fire may mean the Prometheus myth, and that possibly DoppelCooper wants to summon/destroy the Experiment/Mother. They loved the mystery box and called it a G-Rated Seven, and noted that Candie’s talking about a traffic jam when there was also the major one in Twin Peaks.

Who Killed Laura Podcast put out two episodes this week: a San Diego Comic Con special, and one covering Part Eleven. In the SDCC special, one of the hosts was on site and he shared his take on the panel, and how much fun it was watching the episode when you hear Kimmy Robertson break out in laughter. He couldn’t get to the Entertainment Earth signing session but he let us know that Kyle MacLachlan watches each episode as they come out, Tim Roth will wait to the end then binge with his family, and all the actors TREASURED the experience working with Lynch. In their Part Eleven coverage, the hosts believe Albert and Gordon have seen the portal and woodsman stuff before now, Norma’s like Mary Worth with her reaction shots to Becky, Shelly’s officially involved with another drug dealer, the living map clues figure into the moment Cooper switched places with Dougie, and maybe Diane was trying to force an outdoor smoke break since could text her contact but we’ll never know for sure now. They also wonder if everyone’s shaky hands (in precious Twin Peaks as well) were from the woodsmen trying to find the perfect person to come through into. And they noticed how Candie regards someone robotically: she turns her body a little, then her head turns, and THEN her eyes move to follow. I like the way the hosts are even keel about their speculations, and they keep their observations close to what they can back up reasonably.

Chopping Wood Inside began their coverage of Part Eleven by declaring the Hawk’s living map exposition scene their favorite. Which totally makes sense. The two hosts are top notch dot-connectors right after my own heart and they’re not afraid to explore theory paths less populated. They think the whole town’s going crazy and Becky is the first signpost. They wonder why Gersten Hayward was put into a homewrecker roll with Stephen, think Bobby and Shelly trying to be parents was a great scene, noted Bobby and Snake grew up while Shelly’s still addicted to bad boys, and notice Albert and Gordon are not new to the woodsmen stuff. The portal room with the woodsmen is the same staircase as the shaky cam stairs in the trailer, and since she seemed to know what was going on our hosts wonder if Diane put out a woodsmen hit on Hastings. Bill, by the way, seemed inhabited right before his head popped. Hawk’s map is low tech and Frank was using google so it was a nice melding of the two types. The Mitchums grew on the hosts, and they looked into why MIKE gave Mitchum the dream and what ramifications could come from that.

The eagle scouts at Bickering Peaks began their coverage of Part Eleven by putting it in perspective: playing the long game, this is just after the middle. Also, they note its overall theme is Friendships. The hosts always ask great questions and explore their answers solidly, and their observations are always top-notch. They declared the Carlmobile fairly Willy Wonka, and noted it’s the first time in-show Carl takes an active roll. Maybe Gersten is wearing Darya’s jacket? Ruth’s body seems to be de-sexed just like Experiment, Diane is NOT playing a type, and the hosts wonder just how much Shelly knows about Red. The RR gun shooter boy and his father have identical body language showing once again children follow parent’s paths and parents get what you put into it (this is purposeful). Bobby responds to the zombie kid in a dreamlike way in a mirror/inversion of the car “got a light” scene in Part Eight, which makes the hosts wonder if that girl’s infected with a frog locust. They also wonder if Hawk is falling into a form of the magical negro stereotype or if he just happens to be treading some of the same ground as some of those tropes for the short term. And Gordon’s RIGHT hand is effected. Diane can’t purely be a spy. Belushi is winning over the hosts, and they think Cooper will remember everything that DoppelCooper does.

We’re Not Gonna Talk About Judy (a subheading of Another Kind of Distance Podcast) covered Part Eleven, and after an odd discussion whether older brothers really are that encouraging, they say the Becky/Shelly car scene was either filmed just like a comedy or Shelly will be dead at the end. They think this show is partially about NRA policy gone wrong, noted the honking woman was late for Dinner, Bobby’s great at eye acting, Gordon’s not evil just minorly lecherous, and Diane watches but does not warn about the woodsman nearing the police car. Their earlier connection between corn and Experiment/Mother is paying off, and they also connect the Dougie plot to North By Northwest. If Twin Peaks was a band going back on tour, this is NOT a band only playing the hits we know. The hosts reveal what I’m not a fan of right up front, but overall they hold it together and the solid observations outweigh the rampant overgeneralizations this week.

Sparkwood & 21 covered their Part Eleven recap in one episode and their phenomenal listener feedback in another. The hosts feared for those boys’ lives and got Miriam instead, which they note references the naked woman in trouble who Lynch met as a boy. They liken Carl Rodd to Willy Wonka, think Gersten and Stephen’s relationship isn’t necessarily sexual, Maggie’s fielding the calls from Becky’s shooting, and the pull back shot of Cole waving his arms was a gentle funny way to show what everyone else there sees. The vortex portal was very tornado and oz-like, and Albert seemed to know just how long to wait before pulling Cole back from the brink. The cop screaming about Hastings is a pairing with the horn honking woman later, Ruth’s body seems preserved, is Shelly really that immature with Red or does he have a spell on her. Steve thinks maybe the gunshots at the RR is Bobby having a hero dream dealing with Becky’s issues after the fact, which is a very Lynch thing to do and I wouldn’t rule it out, but Paul counters that Red goes through town and there’s constant unrest in his wake and with all the magic and unrest Red is the match catalyzing the chaos. The gateway on Hawk’s map being between the two mountains is right out of Secret History, and what if Hawk’s the last man standing between us and the lodges? Did The Return show us the crisis point in the first Parts but not how we got there or where we go from there? Is THAT how time is out of whack in the series? The hosts have optimism for how the series wraps up, and have amazing insight week after week. After they talk their way through the episode they make the listeners feel like they’re part of the conversation as they converse through the written listener feedback addressing our own theories.

Fire Talk With Me was another conversation between insightful friends as they feel their way through what they just watched with their hearts on display, and they covered Part Eleven without a guest. They loved seeing kids, connected Marion to Lynch’s childhood trauma, think Shelly’s a bad-ass jumping on that car, and love that Maggie the dispatcher is competent and kind. The hosts don’t think Shelly knows she’s doing the same thing as Becky, love that Bobby’s a good guy now, and are worried about Gordon because he’s so good and curious and a seer. They loved Belushi and Phil Bisby, and noticed the pattern of children following their parents.

Mr. Podcast With Claude and Justin covered Part Ten in their usual decompressed way and it was entertaining as ever despite being five and a quarter hours long…they’re very Lynchean in that they explore every facet of story and character in real time and demand your patience, and if you give it to them you’ll be fairly rewarded though it’s hard to explain how. With all my other listening, I sometimes think they’re trying to kill me, but I always enjoy myself in their understanding process. With Part Ten, the hosts think the B C and D plots are on display, and say there’s a minimal amount of supernatural here. They look into (remember her?) Phyllis Hastings’ role in DoppelCooper’s plot before checking into character motivations for anyone who’s worked with DoppelCooper, including is she/isn’t she Diane. Are people drawn to him or does he threaten them into submission? They connect Marion’s insurance policy of a letter to the sherrif to the dog legs Cooper used against Warden Murphy. They go through the different Miriam last names, and also explore what would’ve happened if we didn’t know Richard Horne’s name until he called Sylvia Grandma. They wonder if Bob will ever be punished, if the guy in the NY photo with DoppelCooper was the first watcher, think of Candie in a silent movie kind of way, and explain Dougie as an interesting experiment that found a way to say something about the human condition while sidelining Cooper from the action that needed to take place without him. And they note that Dougie actually IS communicating rather than just parroting. The hosts hope the old characters are not just color or one-note jokes, predict that the Mitchums will end up thanking Dougie next episode rather than attempt to kill him, and Candie and Dougie are the same somehow. They also think Red will intercept Richard. Harry can be back, the Bookhouse boys need to properly assemble, and Richard is dying before the end of this. They didn’t like the singer’s lodge-themed dress until they figured out it was Rebecca Del Ray, and they give her a pass because she’s meta herself.

Dark Mood Woods is a fast podcast usually just under forty minutes long with two film industry-related hosts. They think some parts can be grouped together and Part Eleven is with the crowd pleasers. It’s a visual externalization of extreme emotional distress, and there’s a car stunt, fired gun and a hallway cam. They note the nod to irresponsible gun owners, thought Shelly might be killed, and wonder when the lodge messes with dreams etc. if that messes with CooperDougie’s agency or will this solidify into something? The hosts expect the show’s saving its darkest for the end, and expect a serious Dougie situation to happen. They also call The Return an anti-nostalgia series.

Twin Peaks The Return is a thoughtful, connected Australian podcast doing a great job of being multifaceted, and they covered Part Eleven with guest Jo Di Mattia, who watched in high school and didn’t have any more expectations going into this than it would be darker and better crafted. The hosts think Miriam may be The Return’s Ronnette, and there was a lot of women holding their own in this Part. Bobby should have a showdown with Red and Shelly may die before the end of this, and it’s notable Tammy didn’t see a woodsman. CooperDougie seems to be used as a tool by people who need him for miracles, and they say there are weird shadows of the Cooper we used to know but shown in a way we know we’ll never see again the way we remember. They wonder if Candie is Annie, go into how Szimons (the coffee shop name) means “To hear or to listen” and that its logo star is the same as in Big Ed’s Gas Farm, and that Laura doesn’t represent innocence lost, she represents Mercy. Also, the hosts think Cooper’s probably going to die by the end of this, fair warning.

The Twin Peaks Unwrapped hosts started their coverage of Part Eleven with Bryon reinforcing a thing Ben said a while ago: We’re not seeing Dougie, we’re seeing Cooper. They discuss Bobby and Shelly trying to help Becky with her Stephen problem and that crazy about-face Shelly makes when Red shows up. They think Bobby sees himself in the gun shooting boy (having a fairly absent father among other things), and the sick zombie girl makes them wonder if the Twin Peaks water supply is being tainted. They made a connection I did too, that in a promo with Michael Horse there was a spooky blurry flash of someone flailing their arms that we thought was Leland, but it was Lynch’s Cole under the portal. And they connected Candie talking about a traffic jam and Twin Peaks being in one. After their recap they interviewed Sam from the Twin Peaks reddit group, wherein he explained how reddit works in general and specifically within the Twin Peaks subheading. Next week: Twin Peaks Fest.

Not on the list but you released a podcast last week? Leave a comment here so I can add you into my listening schedule. The Twin Peaks community needs to know about you!

Written by John Bernardy

John Bernardy has been writing for 25YL since before the site went public and he’s loved every minute. The show most important to him is Twin Peaks. He is husband to a damn fine woman, father to two fascinating individuals, and their pet thinks he’s a good dog walker.

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