Twin Peaks in TV Guide From Sept. 29, 1990

Anticipation was high for the return of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks on Sept. 30, 1990. Throughout the summer, ABC Television rebroadcast the first season between August and September. The official soundtrack was released on Sept. 11, 1990 and there was even a 30-minute television special that paired the series with short-lived Cop Rock. The TV Guide for Sept. 29 – Oct. 5, 1990 contained a brief mention of the second season premiere.

TWIN PEAKS IN TV GUIDE FROM SEPT. 29 TO OCT. 5, 1990

The cover story to Issue #1957 of “TV Guide” (Vol. 38 No. 39) for the Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 1990 featured a fall television preview which included show’s like Gabriel’s Fire and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks graced the magazine’s cover a few weeks earlier on Sept. 8.

THIS WEEK | PAGES 46-47

Paul Droesch briefly mentioned Twin Peaks in his “This Week” column which also included a photo of Kyle MacLachlan as Special Agent Dale Cooper.

“Who killed Laura Palmer? Who’ll make it to the World Series? These are this week’s pressing questions. Agent Cooper will be doing his darndest to answer the first one on Sunday’s two-hour Twin Peaks season premiere on ABC, which manages to raise a few more burning questions. And if you’re looking for speculation on whodunit, you might find it on the 16th-season opener of NBC’s Saturday Night Live: Kyle MacLachlan is the scheduled host to musical guest Sinead O’Connor.”

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE ADVERTISEMENT | PAGES 74-75

I almost forgot how Kyle MacLachlan hosted Saturday Night Live on Saturday, Sept. 29, a day before the season two premiere. Page 75 contained a full page advertisement for the episode which featured Sinead O’Connor as the musical guest. You may recall on May 12, 1990, she had backed out of SNL due to Andrew Dice Clay hosting. Julee Cruise then took her place at the last minute which sparked an even deeper interest in her music and song “Falling.”

On page 74, there is a brief description of the episode: “The 16th season opens with host Kyle MacLachlan (“Twin Peaks”) and singer Sinead O’Connor. New cast members: Chris Rock, Chris Farley. Regulars: Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Victoria Jackson (Live)”

SUNDAY EVENING PROGRAMMING GUIDE | PAGES 80-81, 101-102

This TV Guide is the Houston, Texas edition which means showtimes are an hour earlier that the East Coast. Page 81 contains the listing for Twin Peaks.

Page 101 contained an advertisement for the second season with a photo of Special Agent Dale Cooper with Audrey Horne at the Double R Diner.

Here’s the advertisement without the television programming details.

The black and white image was taken during a photoshoot with Kyle MacLachlan and Sherilyn Fenn on the set of the Double R Diner in Van Nuys, California. I’ve been unable to find an exact match of this photo not printed in a newspaper or magazine.

The closest image I found comes from The Mauve Zone with Audrey’s head and chin tilted slightly different than the TV Guide ad.

A synopsis for Twin Peaks episode 2.001 (#8 in the series) is found on page 102:

“Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) survives last sea-son’s gunshot and begins the second season gathering new clues; burning questions re-main in the mill fire’s aftermath; wounded Jacques Renault is found dead; recent events make the hospital a busy place; sly Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) proves slinky at One Eyed Jacks; combative forensics specialist Albert Rosenfield returns; Leland (Ray Wise) sports a new hairdo; Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle) puffs cigarettes. Benjamin: Richard Beymer.”

The episode would air on Sunday with 19.1 viewers in the United States. By comparison, the pilot had 34.6 million viewers.  This magazine is snapshot in time when all the world wanted to know “Who killed Laura Palmer?”