Reviewing Peaks – Jay Bobbin’s ‘Twin Peaks’ Keeps The Mystery Going from September 1990

In September 1990, television viewers in homes across the United States could not wait for the return of Mark Frost and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. In anticipation  of the first episode of the second season to air on September 30, syndicated columnist Jay Bobbin wrote a story with quotes from series co-creator Mark Frost and then ABC Television President Robert Iger. While the story was edited for length in various publications, it was often featured as a cover story in television guides inserted into newspapers across America. Here is a look at Bobbin’s article along with many of those cover images featuring publicity photos from the wonderful and strange show.

JAY BOBBIN’S ‘TWIN PEAKS’ KEEPS THE MYSTERY GOING | SEPTEMBER 1990

An official Television Critics Association member, Jay Bobbin is a “TV and movie addict, nationally syndicated writer. Loves watching, then writing – and talking with those who make what he sees.” His Twin Peaks article for the show’s second season first appeared in select newspapers on September 29, 1990. The majority of newspapers ran the story on September 30, 1990, the same day as episode 2.001 aired on the ABC Television Network.  I found the most complete version of Bobbin’s article published in the Bryan College Station Eagle.

The article was found inside “TV Week” which offered television programming information from September 30 to October 6, 1990. A publicity photo of Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean) with piles of doughnuts is featured on the cover.

Bobbin’s article titled, “ABC’s ‘Twin Peaks’ keeps the mystery going as year two begins” was found on page 3.

“I can’t remember a dead character getting this kind of response over this long a period of time.”

So says Mark Frost, filmmaker David Lynch’s partner in creating and producing the television series that clearly has kept more people talking than any other this year. Combining moody suspense and quirky humor, “Twin Peaks” begins its second season with a two-hour episode Sunday on ABC, then returns to the Saturday slot that has become its permanent berth … but there is no guarantee that the first new story will provide the anxiously awaited solution to the mystery that has fueled the show from its very first scene, the murder of teenager Laura Palmer. Devotees have had an entire summer, and a full set of first-year repeats, to ponder every possible angle of the matter. Not only are there numerous suspects who had motives for committing the crime, but there’s even a question of whether the victim actually was Laura, now that her look-alike cousin Madeleine (also played by actress Sheryl Lee) has arrived in the usually sleepy Pacific Northwest town.

However, the first season’s cliffhanger-upon-cliffhanger finale left a lot of other puzzlers dangling. Who took several point-blank shots at FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), and was he really wearing a bulletproof vest, as nearly everyone in the world seems to believe? Will Catherine Martell (Piper Laurie), her cuckolded husband Pete (Jack Nance) and the abused Shelly Johnson (Madchen Amick) escape from the blazing Packard Sawmill? Will Shelly’s illicit lover Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) succeed in his plot to frame James Marshall (James Hurley), who was his romantic rival for Laura’s affections, for drug possession? And, perhaps most importantly, will squeaky-voiced police receptionist Lucy (Kimmy Robertson) be able to provide enough coffee and doughnuts to satisfy everyone who survives this tangled web?

Still, not one of those queries seems to override the one that has existed in full force from the very start, generating a considerable amount of viewer distress when it wasn’t answered in last spring’s wrap-up installment. “We knew who it was from the very beginning,” Frost claims of the identity of Laura’s killer, “and we always planned to reveal it at a certain time. The arc that we had planned in order to (solve that murder) took longer than seven hours, and always was going to. We’re cognizant that people want to know the solution to a mystery, but we weren’t trying to tease anybody. No one has come up to me and said, ‘I definitely won’t watch (the show) anymore.’ They’ve had the whole summer to sort of get over it, and I hope they’ll forgive us.”

With the incalculable attention that “Twin Peaks” has garnered since its arrival, ABC executives are likely to forgive Frost and Lynch anything. That also includes the fact that the producers’ other current show, the documentary anthology “American Chronicles,” leads directly into “Peaks” on another network (Fox Broadcasting). “We weren’t certain what the audience response would be,” ABC programming chief Robert Iger recalls. “If `Twin Peaks’ didn’t do well, it wasn’t going to have a strong negative effect on the rest of our schedule. If it did well, which it did (we could see) how wonderful a situation that would be.” Though the network’s move of the program from a middle evening Thursday slot to a late-Saturday period has been questioned by some industry insiders, Iger maintains, “We really believe that Saturday night gives ‘Twin Peaks’ a chance to flourish, more so than Thursday. If we didn’t believe that, we wouldn’t have moved it, because we believe in the show so much.”

That belief already has paid off in areas beyond just ratings, since it currently is allowing ABC to enjoy the type of reputation that NBC fostered in the early 1980s, as a haven for creative talents with relatively offbeat ideas. (Producer Steven Bochco’s new series “Cop Rock” serves as a prime example.) “I think we’ve sent an interesting message to viewers and to (program suppliers) alike,” says Iger. “A lot has been said about the need to do programs that are different and innovative, and I think that’s true, but they also have to be good … and ‘Twin Peaks’ is good, REAL good. I don’t suggest that you can’t recycle old concepts, but I’d have to say things sort of did change with ‘Twin Peaks’ It was refreshing, I can certainly say that.” It also inspired a marketing bonanza that has yielded everything from a soundtrack album of Angelo Badalamenti’s distinctive music to a book entitled “The Secret Life of Laura Palmer,” ghost-written by Lynch’s daughter Jennifer.

As for new elements that “Peaks” addicts can anticipate this season, Frost and Lynch traditionally are keeping most details heavily under wraps, to the degree that the circulation of scripts reportedly has been limited only to the cast and crew members directly involved in each individual scene. However, one new factor will be the addition of Diane – the previously unseen FBI contact to whom Cooper is forever dictating tape-recorded messages – as a physical presence, to be played by veteran actress Carol (“The Poseidon Adventure,” “Return to Peyton Place”) Lynley. Co-producer Frost adds that many subplots will be played out fully in shorter time spans, “so that people can come in (as first-time viewers) and not feel quite so lost.”

What we’re trying to do now,” Frost states, “is just not let down what, to us, is the fun and the quality of the show. (That means) the intricacies of the stories, and the strange twists and turns that we take with the characters and plots. We’re under a bit more time pressure this year, and it’s going to be more difficult to do 22 hours than it was to do seven, so it’s a concern. On the other hand, we also have more people this year. I’ve got more of a writing staff, and we know how to do the show a little bit better now, so we’re hoping that (the audience) won’t perceive any drop in quality. To have an experience like this is fantastic, probably once-in-a-lifetime, so we just kind of went for a roller-coaster ride and had a lot of fun with it. The work (on the initial episodes) done before the so-called ‘phenomenon’ ever began, so we hope we won’t let (that aspect) seep into the work now in ways that are counterproductive.”

 I love these early articles about the show as they capture memories closer to when production was taking place. It’s interesting to read Frost discussing resolving the murder of Laura Palmer: “We knew who it was from the very beginning and we always planned to reveal it at a certain time. The arc that we had planned in order to (solve that murder) took longer than seven hours, and always was going to.”

This begs a deeper examination as to when exactly Lynch and Frost knew the answer to who killed Laura Palmer.

Bobbin does repeat Liz Smith’s unfounded rumor that Carol Lynley would play Diane during the second season which this Twin Peaks Blog article dispels that rumor.

JAY BOBBIN’S EDITED ARTICLES ABOUT TWIN PEAKS

Since Bobbin’s story was syndicated, it was edited for length is several publications. The earlier publication was found in the “Vision” television listing insert for shows covering September 29 to October 5, 1990.

For whatever reason, the advertisement on the front page said, “‘Who shot Laura Palmer?’ ‘Peaks’ returns.” Tell me you’ve never seen Twin Peaks without telling me you’ve never seen Twin Peaks. Clearly, the copy editor thought the mystery was a Dallas-like thing.

The Gazette the ran Bobbin’s story but you’ll see the last paragraph was cut off.

The edits to Bobbin’s story were quite severe in Boca Raton News on September 30, 1990. The cover of “TV Week” featured the familiar image of Cooper and Truman with doughnuts.

The truncated article appeared on page 5 with a photo of Donna Hayward, James Hurley and Audrey Horne at the Double R Diner. The editor used only highlights of the original story.

TWIN PEAKS ON THE COVER OF TELEVISION PROGRAM INSERTS ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1990

Newspapers across the United States used Jay Bobbin’s article as a cover story for their TV programming inserts. Three different subjects were used – Audrey Horne and Special Agent Dale Cooper; Special Agent Dale Cooper and Sheriff Harry S. Truman; and Special Agent Dale Cooper by himself.

AUDREY HORNE AND SPECIAL AGENT DALE COOPER

SPECIAL AGENT DALE COOPER AND SHERIFF HARRY S. TRUMAN

SPECIAL AGENT DALE COOPER

I find it interesting looking back today at how much Twin Peaks really captured the attention of so many in fall 1990. These guides and Jay Bobbin’s article about the show are part of a time capsule from another time.