My examination of “TV Guide” magazines published during the first season of Twin Peaks continues with the May 12-18, 1990 issue. This issue was a Mother’s Day special and featured a review of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s groundbreaking television series along with one black and white advertisement for episode 1.006.
TWIN PEAKS IN TV GUIDE FROM MAY 12-18, 1990
The cover story to Issue #1937 of “TV Guide” (Vol. 38 No. 19) for May 5-18, 1990 featured Kirk Cameron with his on-screen mother Joanna Kerns from Growing Pains, along with his mother Barbara Cameron. This magazine only contained a handful of mentions unlike the previous week’s issue which had extensive coverage of the show.
The Table of Contents on page 2 mentioned a review of the show by Robert MacKenzie was found on page 48.
TWIN PEAKS IN TV GUIDE – PAGE 48
Robert “Bob” MacKenzie penned a review of Lynch and Frost’s show which most of it left him “unamused and uninvolved.”
MacKenzie, however acknowledges that Lynch “has shaken loose from some hackneyed TV conventions, replacing them with his quirks and obsessions of his own.” He compares the look of the show to Dallas and Dynasty, two popular nighttime soap operas, stating Twin Peaks has a “bleak, video-noir style that gives sinister overtones to ordinary settings.” He felt the show is “classic serial TV, with some slyly perverse touches poured over to give it an avant glaze.”
According to the San Francisco / Northern California chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Robert “Bob” MacKenzie “joined KTVU Channel 2 in 1978 as a feature reporter for The Ten o’Clock News and “was instrumental in the development of KTVU’s popular Segment 2 and My 20th Century franchises, which gave MacKenzie the perfect forum for his inimitable style.”
MacKenzie graduated from the University of California – Berkeley with a B.A. in Journalism. Shortly after graduating in 1962, served as editor of the Seaside News Sentinel in Monterey County for a year. He returned to the Bay Area by joining the staff at The Oakland Tribune, where he worked for 14 years, including a long stint as the paper’s television columnist. For 12 years, MacKenzie also served as TV Guide’s television critic, succeeding Cleveland Amory.
He was the recipient of 13 local Emmy awards, a National Headliners award and numerous other professional honors, including induction into the NATAS (National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) Silver Circle in 1996. He also received the Society of Professional Journalists Career Achievement Award in 2005 and the NorCal RTNDA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
Sadly, he lost a long battle with cancer on Thursday, September 22, 2011 at the age of 75.
TWIN PEAKS IN TV GUIDE – PAGE 49-50
On the next two pages, there was an article about Lynch and Frost’s short-lived American Chronicles that would air in fall 1990 on Fox. Reporter Ed Weiner mentions Fox “must feel it’s in the catbird seat, ready to pounce on the Twin Peaks mania to promote the new show.” The article also mentions that Lynch would be less involved with Chronicles as he was “busy working on ‘Wild at Heart,’ a theatrical release due out in August.”
TWIN PEAKS IN TV GUIDE – PAGE 181
The Thursday Guidelines column on page 181 mentioned Twin Peaks:
Kyle MacLachlan’s portrayal of FBI Agent Dale Cooper on Twin Peaks deserves Emmy consideration for what he gets out of a sip of coffee or a taste of Norma’s huckleberry pie. Tonight, when he’s not eating, Cooper finds a witness to talk about Laura Palmer’s murder and goes undercover with the Bookhouse Boys. (9 PM 7, 13, 47)
TWIN PEAKS IN TV GUIDE – PAGES 182-183
This is how the television listings appeared for Thursday, May 17, 1990 when Twin Peaks episode 1.006 aired on the ABC Television Network.
TWIN PEAKS IN TV GUIDE – PAGE 184
On Page 184, there is a black and white advertisement featuring Josie Packard (Joan Chen), Catherine Martell (Piper Laurie) and Ben Horne (Richard Beymer). This ad for episode 1.006 included the tagline, “Tonight, more clues to next week’s stunning conclusion.”
Here is the advertisement by itself. The trio was photographed on the set of Ben Horne’s office once located at City Studios in Van Nuys, California. The photo was taken by Mark Seliger who later served as Chief Photographer for “Rolling Stone” magazine from 1992 to 2002 shooting 188 iconic covers.
TWIN PEAKS IN TV GUIDE – PAGE 185
The final part of this TV Guide mentioning Twin Peaks is found on page 185 with a synopsis of the penultimate episode.
“Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) think the myna bird could prove to be a key witness in the murder; Cooper and Ed (Everett McGill) pose as high rollers at One-Eyed Jacks; Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) prepares for her promotion from the perfume counter; Donna, James and Madeleine plot to get Jacoby’s tape of Laura; Josie (Joan Chen), the delicate flower, tells Truman about Catherine’s plan, but Josie has thorns that Truman (Michael Ontkean) doesn’t know about; and Bobby (Dana Ashbrook) tell Shelly that he’ll take care of Leo.
[Next week, the season finale airs an hour later Wed. and “The Young Riders” airs here.]”
One one magazine left in season one coverage of the phenomenon that took over the United States in spring 1990.
Download high-resolution image from this issue of “TV Guide” on my Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha75/albums/72177720321787261
