Setting the Stage – The Moon Over Twin Peaks

With this year marking the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11, it’s fitting I turn the spotlight on the moon in Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me in a new Setting the Stage article. Similar to long shots of traffic lights, perched owls or the mysterious woods, the series and film include a few brief shots of the moon. This Setting the Stage article takes a closer look.

Before we get too far, here is a short video of moon shots from Twin Peaks set to Ludvig Van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor “Quasi una fantasia”, Op. 27, No. 2, also known as the “Moonlight Sonata.” I chose this song as it’s the tune that plays (albeit extremely slowed down) in the now iconic Part 8 of Season 3 after Mr. C is shot by Ray Monroe.

SEASON ONE

The moon’s first appearance over Twin Peaks arrives in Episode 1003 in a scene just before Agent Cooper and Deputy Hawk raise a glass at the Great Northern Hotel. This view will be seen again later in season 2.

The strange part is that in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, a full moon is seen (we’ll get to that in a moment). Episode 1003 took place on February 27, 1989 which, according to a lunar calendar, the moon would have been a waning gibbous moon.

Needless to say, the moon phases won’t be accurate throughout the series. I don’t think they were ever meant to match as these transition scenes just helped move the episodes along.

Episode 1005 opens with Icelanders singing very early in the morning. A nearly full moon is seen out of focus.

As it comes into focus, credits are played over the orangish sphere before cutting to Special Agent Dale Cooper sitting in Room 315 at The Great Northern Hotel.

A half moon image opens Episode 1006 just after the credits play and before the scene transitions to Cooper and Audrey in Room 315 at The Great Northern Hotel.

While this image from Episode 1007 doesn’t contain the actual moon, it does reference our celestial neighbor. James Hurley finds drink umbrellas after Donna and he breaks into Dr. Jacoby’s office. One is labeled, “The Kahala Hilton, July 8, 1969. Men on the Moon.”

Of course, Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, not July 8. According to NASA, here is what happened on that day of note:

“In an effort to stem the increasing number of human errors found in flight hardware, the ASPO Manager appointed a spacecraft walk-down team to take a first-hand look at spacecraft as late as possible before delivery to KSC. Team members selected were highly experienced in their respective fields and thoroughly familiar with the spacecraft. While ASPO recognized that the team could not possibly discover all the possible discrepancies, it hoped that the inspections might help avoid some of the problems experienced in the past.” – Ltr., G. M. Low, MSC, to R. A. Petrone, KSC, July 8, 1969.

Opened in 1964, the Kahala Hilton Luxury Resort still exists today on the island of Oahu. The image above comes from a postcard dated May 1969 so it gives you an idea of what Dr. Jacoby would have seen when he was there.

SEASON TWO

In Season 2, Episode 2003 is the first time we see the moon peeking through trees blowing in the wind.

This transition scene is followed by an owl and then Donna Hayward visiting Laura Palmer’s grave at night.

A similar moon first seen in Episode 1006 reappears at different angles in Episodes 2004 and 2005.

In 2004, the moon makes a brief appearance just before a close up of the neon “RR” sign at the Double R Diner marking the arrival of Daryl Lodwick.

In 2005, the moon appears just before Maddy Ferguson is seen in the bushes drinking coffee outside Harold Smith’s house.

A unique view of the moon is found in Episode 2007 just before Mr Tojamura surprises Pete Martell in the kitchen at the Blue Pine Lodge.

Episode 2010 recycles the shot first seen in Episode 1003 and it’s seen just before we see Sheriff Harry Truman in bed.

A similar shot of the moon from Episode 2004 is seen again in Episode 2013. It is placed just before Evelyn Marsh leaves James Hurley’s bedroom at Marsh Mansion.

Another unique view of the moon is found in Episode 2015. This time, the moon is superimposed over an image of blowing pine trees. The camera slowly moves in before cutting to an owl flying into the scene. The scene fades into Josie Packard opening a door at Blue Pine Lodge.

In Episode 2016, Shelly Johnson receives part of a poem from a disguised Windom Earle.

Shelly reads the sentence fragments, one in which includes the words “the moonbeams.”

Later in Episode 2016, Audrey, Donna and Shelly gather at 9:30 p.m. in the Roadhouse. They each bring a poem fragment and Shelly Johnson reads “moonbeams” again while a creepy Windom Earle watches from afar.

While not the moon again, I’m including Thomas Eckhardt’s puzzle box as moon phases are found on the lid. The box is first seen in Episode 2019 when Pete “Butterfingers” Martell accidentally dropped the box which opened to reveal the moon puzzle box.

After Catherine Martell grabs the box from “Butterfingers” Pete, she hands it to Sheriff Truman who examines the lid.

The moon view from Episode 1006 returns in Episode 2019. It takes place just after Donna is asked to pass the peas twice during dinner with her parents. But this view is different.

The camera slowly zooms out to reveal the moon inside the hood of a mysterious figure. The figure had been seen in Episode 2018 with the Owl Cave map. I also believe it’s the same figure who took Major Briggs in Episode 2010 while camping with Cooper.

Andrew Packard closely examines the moon phase puzzle box in Episode 2020 while his sister Catherine explains how she received it. Andrew wants to smash the box with a rolling pin to open it.

Catherine insists there is a secret to opening it but the box is “about to drive her mad.”

Andrew begins pressing different moon phases on the box lid.

He is just “trying a few simple combinations” to possibly open the box.

First he tries Eckhardt’s birthday. Nothing.

Andrew then tries his birthday. Can anyone please explain how he knows which moons to push? I’m guessing the symbols are Zodiac signs yet he would need to already understand which signs are represented.

He tries the day the gift arrived and, BINGO – the box opened! Can I now tell you how much I’d love to own this prop?

Catherine slides open the box after setting it on the table. Andrew gloats that he opened it and he proceeds to smash the smaller black box with the rolling pin from earlier in the scene. A silver box is revealed.

THE MISSING PIECES

Fast forward now to The Missing Pieces where you can see the half moon hanging in the sky near the location of Hap’s Diner.

This utility pole is located before driveway that turns into the former Fall City Grill/Diner/Bistro. The moon/pole shot also offers a clue as to when they may have captured the footage.

Here is the same utility pole from a visit on September 14, 2019.

According to the official shooting diary for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me by Charlotte Fraisse on Dugpa.com, the clash between Cliff Howard the deputy and Agent Desmond was shot on Friday, September 13.

This means Chris Isaak who played Chet Desmond was in Washington state around mid-September. The next entry is Monday, September 16 when they shot the Double R Diner / Tremond Intersection scenes. There is no mention of Chet Desmond being on set for those scenes.

According to MoonGiant.com, there was an almost half moon on September 14. This appears to match the moon seen in The Missing Pieces image above, which means they could have shot the Hap’s Diner scene between September 13-15, 1991.

TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME

This moon appears twice in the theatrical cut of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me – once when it’s party time at Jacques’ cabin and again when Mike, the One-Armed Man is running through the woods toward the train car.

A similar shot of the moon is seen again in The Missing Pieces. This time it hovers over the Log Lady who is reacting to the screams she hears the night Laura Palmer dies.

SEASON THREE

Twenty-five years later, the Moon returns on Part 8 on Showtime. It’s seen just after Ray Monroe flees the scene after shooting Mr. C.

Later in Part 8, a full moon is seen just after the frogmoth hatches in the sand.

The same Part 8 full-moon is seen on the interactive menu from Disc 5 of the Twin Peaks Season 3 Blu-ray set.

A similar moon shot from Part 8 is seen again in Part 10 just before the song “No Stars” is sung by Rebekah Del Rio at the Roadhouse.

The moon in Part 12 is used as a transition scene from Hutch shooting Warden Murphy to Dr. Amp’s trailer in the wilderness.

The moon’s final appearance is in Part 15. The shot is similar to the image used in Parts 8 and 10. It is placed following the Log Lady’s farewell call to Deputy Hawk and just before Hawk visits the conference room to announce the Log Lady’s passing.