Pop Culture Immortality
The New York Times reviews the DVD release of "Twin Peaks" in quite favorable terms.
It's critical boilerplate to say that the best narrative art creates a world. But the world of "Twin Peaks" is a truly rich and commodious one, attentive both to narrative mythology and to character back story, suited equally to the scrutiny of fanzines and dissertations. At its best the show achieved a crazy, cosmic harmony, setting the comforts of the everyday against the terror of the void. The great unifying element is Mr. MacLachlan's superbly unflappable performance, a witty distillation of the Eagle Scout qualities often ascribed to Mr. Lynch (whose cameos as Cooper's hearing-impaired boss provide some of the funniest scenes).
The way to know that "Twin Peaks" was pop-culture gold is to realize that "Sesame Street" aired a most excellent parody of the show. "Darn fine town ... (devours the pie) Darn fine pie! (devours the plate) Darn fine plate too."
One of these days, someone smart at Sesame Workshop will decide to put all of the Monsterpiece Theatre episodes on video. Until then, we have only a few furtive YouTube clips.
Labels: Agent Cookie, Sesame Street, Twin Peaks
