Long before Twin Peaks: The Return aired in 2017, Showtime marked the premiere of David Lynch’s masterpiece, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, with a unique promotion. Nearly a year after it’s debut in North American movie theatres, the film debuted on . For it’s arrival, the network turned to Bucky and Vinny, two cab drives-turned-movie critics, to review and promote the film.
WHO ARE NATHAN “BUCKY” GOLDBERG AND VINNY RICCIOTTI?
Nathan “Bucky” Goldberg and Vinny Ricciotti once spent nearly 30 years driving cabs in New York City. They grew up together on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. For years they attended summer camp together at Camp Henry on Lake Secor in Putnam County, New York. Once cab drivers, they would meet for breakfast every morning at the same diner, “The New Lex,” at 28th and Lexington. Producer Lloyd Kramer discovered the duo when seeking talent for a NBC television special about friendship. The duo later appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show for segment about night life in New York that Kramer also produced.
When Lloyd moved to Showtime, he recruited Ricciotti and Goldberg for a “working man’s movie critic” show titled, “Bucky and Vinny: The Critics.” Beginning in Feb. 1991, they reviewed about three movies a month for the cable network which ran as interstitial between programming. These short programs were filmed twice monthly in one of three small diners frequented by the critics and their friends, such as Munson’s Diner once located at 11th Avenue and 49th Street.
In a Aug. 29, 1993 interview with Gwen Gibson for the Maturity News Service, Bucky and Vinny discussed their approach to reviewing films.
“We don’t discuss movie directors because we don’t know who they are,” said Goldberg. “People don’t care about directors unless it’s someone like the late Hitchcock or Kirk Douglas’ kid, what’s his name – Michael.”
“I look at who’s in the picture,” Ricciotti interjected. “For instance, if Clint Eastwood or Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper’s playing, the picture’s got to be good. You know what I mean?”
They never use a script; producer Kramer told them what to dicuss.
“[We] can say whatever comes in our heads,” said Ricciotti. “If we say something stupid they can always cut it.” “Yeah,” Goldberg added, “And sometimes we say something stupid and they think it’s good.”
By Aug. 1993, they had reviewed 60 films for Showtime’s five-minute film review program.
Their critic gig didn’t pay well so the two of them kept “day jobs” where Goldberg drove for his son’s delivery firm, and Ricciotti worked for a private limousine company.
Based on what I could find, the duo continued their critic career until around 1995. They appeared in a Subway commercial for the Northeastern United States market that year and then disappeared. I’ve not located any record of them aside from a small mentioned in a 2013 newspaper where Vinny (or someone with the same name) attended a high school. It’s unclear if they are still reviewing movies today or if they have transitioned to the Silver Screen in the sky.
‘TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME’ PREMIERES ON SHOWTIME ON AUGUST 9, 1993
In August 1993, Showtime was in the midst of their “Something Good Is Gonna Happen” campaign. The premium cable network planned several exclusives including 3 Ninjas, Year of the Comet, American Me, Tobe Hooper and John Carpenter’s Body Bags, and the original Showtime production Last Light. The latter starred Kiefer Sutherland who also made an impressive directorial debut with a dynamic performance opposite Forest Whitaker.
But a centerpiece of the August programming was David Lynch’s 1992 follow up to television series, which was scheduled to debut on Monday, Aug. 9.
On Sunday, Aug. 8, several news outlets offered a look ahead to the week’s television programming, which included the Showtime premiere. The Lexington Herald Leader published an image of Sheryl Lee as Laura Palmer from the Red Diamond City Motel set. This is the same publicity image used in overall marketing for the film a year prior.
“Back to ‘Twin Peaks’ / Sheryl Lee stars in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the 1992 prequel to the TV series. 9 p.m. Monday, Showtime.”
The film followed Three Men and a Baby which started at 7:00 p.m. Adam Simon’s Body Chemistry II: Voice of A Stranger was shown after Lynch’s film in the 11:30 p.m. spot.
The Tribune Media Services published a brief explanation of the film on Aug. 8 in anticipation of its Showtime premiere.
For those who still hadn’t sampled enough weirdness when a cult-classic TV series ended its rather meteoric run, executive producers David Lynch and Mark Frost conjured up the equally bizarre 1992 “prequel” called “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” (9 p.m., Monday, Showtime), tracing the events that led up to the murder of plastic-wrapped Laura Palmer (again played by Sheryl Lee).
Fans of the show already know who her killer was, but director Lynch doesn’t let that fact get in the way of resetting the mood for mayhem … and the violence and vice are depicted rather graphically.
Among other returnees from the series are James Marshall (“A Few Good Men”), Madchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Peggy Lipton, Ray Wise, Grace Zabriskie, Miguel Ferrer, Heather Graham and — as the dancing, backward-speaking dwarf — Michael Anderson; however, as underscored especially by the brief resurfacing of Kyle MacLachlan as Special Agent Dale Cooper, many of them aren’t present for very long here.
Still, interesting additions to the cast include singers David Bowie and Chris Isaak, Kiefer Sutherland and Moira Kelly (“The Cutting Edge”) in Lara Flynn Boyle’s former role as Laura’s best friend Donna. Those viewers looking for answers to certain things are likely to end up having even more questions instead, but there’s no better indicator that this indeed is firm “Twin Peaks” territory.
Tribune Media Services would also recommend Lynch’s film as “Today’s Best Bets” in newspapers on Aug. 9: “The anticipation over director David Lynch’s 1992 “prequel” to the cult-status TV series didn’t translate into box-office success, but fans of the show should be intrigued by it anyway. It details the days leading up to the plastic-wrapped death of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee).”
Tribune’s Jay Bobbin, who had previously reviewed David Lynch and Mark Frost’s series, offered his spotlight on the film as part of the syndicated news service. This is a slightly edited version that appeared in papers on Aug. 8.
“For those who still hadn’t sampled enough weirdness when the cult-classic TV series ended its rather meteoric run, executive producers David Lynch and Mark Frost conjured up this equally bizarre 1992 “prequel,” tracing the events that led up to the murder of plastic-wrapped Laura Palmer (again played by Sheryl Lee). Fans of the show already know who her killer was, but director Lynch doesn’t let that fact get in the way of resetting the mood for mayhem … and the violence and vice are depicted rather graphically. Among other returnees from the series are James Marshall (“A Few Good Men”), Madchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Peggy Lipton, Ray Wise, Grace Zabriskie, Miguel Ferrer, Heather Graham and — as the dancing, backward-speaking dwarf — Michael Anderson; however, as underscored especially by the brief resurfacing of Kyle MacLachan [sic] as Special Agent Dale Cooper, many of them aren’t present for very long here. Still, interesting additions to the cast include singers David Bowie and Chris Isaak, Kiefer Sutherland and Moira Kelly (“The Cutting Edge”) in Lara Flynn Boyle’s former role as Laura’s best friend Donna. Those viewers looking for answers to certain things are likely to end up having even more questions in-stead, but there’s no better indicator that this indeed is firm “Twin Peaks” territory.”
But by far, the most interesting review came from Bucky and Vinne: The Critics
BUCKY AND VINNIE: IN SEARCH OF TWIN PEAKS
Nearly a year ago, Dugpa and I were chatting about Lynch’s 1992 film. He recalled either seeing or hearing about Bucky & Vinny’s review of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Showtime sent the movie critics to Snoqualmie Valley, Washington to visit the “Real Twin Peaks” where Lynch had filmed on location nearly two years earlier.
Despite an exhaustive search, I only found newspaper articles and some publicity photos about the visit. Until ebay seller Viaggio Vintage offered a vintage t-shirt on their storefront on July 20, 2025. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the real deal – a vintage t-shirt created for their special trip titled, “Bucky & Vinny: In Search of Twin Peaks.”
I’m assuming their trip to “Snoqualmie Falls, Wash. where the kinky movie was filmed,” took place in either June July 1993. This would have given time for the editors to create the five-minute piece. The photo on the front of the t-shirt featured the gentlemen wearing themed hats.
The hat logos appear to use the same snow-capped green mountains along with a stylized “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” logo.
The t-shirt being sold is white with the aforementioned graphics on the front and back. As of Jul. 20, 2025, the “Buy It Now” price is $260.99.
I’m wondering if this shirt was made for the production crew who traveled with Vinny and Bucky to Washington. I’m assuming they filmed in places like the Mar-T Cafe in North Bend (now Twede’s Cafe), Snoqualmie Falls and Salish Lodge & Spa. This would have been the most iconic places for such a short segment.
What did they think of Lynch’s film? Gwen Gibson’ Maturity News Service story continued.
“Not every movie is so crystal clear to Goldberg and Ricciotti. They were frankly stumped by ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,’ which aired on Showtime in August. The network flew the critics to Snoqualmie Falls, Wash., where the kinky movie was filmed, but that didn’t help. Ricciotti concluded that “Twin Peaks” was ‘just plain weird.’ Goldberg said: ‘The guy who wrote this needs to see a guy with a couch.’
Diane Werts offered more insight from their review in the Aug. 10 Suffolk Edition of Newsday.
“Remember when they examined her, all those noises, it sounds like your arthritis,” said Bucky and Vinny about the Teresa Banks autopsy seen at the Deer Meadow Morgue. “It’s about to get me crazy, that’s what this picture’s about.”
None of their review surprises me as the offered their approach in an Entertainment Weekly article by Benjamin Svetkey on Aug. 13, 1993.
New York City cabbies rarely keep their opinions to themselves, but a pair of retired hacks has made a new career out of mouth-ing off. Bucky Goldberg, 64, and Vinny Ricciotti, 59, have reviewed 60 films on Showtime since 1991, usually holding forth at Manhattan’s Munson Diner. But this month they head to Washington State, where they try to untangle Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (”What is it with all the steam?”). Their five-minute travelogue, along with the David Lynch flick, premieres Aug. 9. We chatted up the pontificating pals back at Munson’s:
Entertainment Weekly: “Why should people trust your opinions?”
Vinny: “We’re not like those other guys — Seaburt [sic] and Ebert. They talk about the directing and the writing and the producing. Who cares! What people want to know is what the picture is about. We don’t put it down or build it up. We’re just two normal guys.”
I can only imagine what they thought of Lynch’s Inland Empire.
One day, theire video segment will turn up. Until then, if you remember seeing it or have a copy, please comment below.
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I love this blog so much, thank you for dedicating your time to it!
I’m Vinny’s granddaughter, Vinny is still alive almost 92 years old! He lives in New Jersey with his wife. Bucky has passed away.