"Twin Peaks" is an iconic show from the 90s created by the genius minds of David Lynch and Mark Frost. It's usually classified as a crime drama, but "Twin Peaks" is part supernatural, fantasy, romance, comedy, and horror. Centering around the question "who killed Laura Palmer?" for the majority of the series, the town of Twin Peaks gradually reveals its darkest secrets as the investigation into Laura's murder progresses. It turns out Laura wasn't the happy homecoming queen everyone thought she was, and the rest of the people in town have skeletons of their own. I discovered this show three years ago, and after watching the pilot episode I was instantly hooked. David Lynch creates such a fantastical world that each time you watch the series over again, you find something new, another piece of the puzzle that is "Twin Peaks." Here are 10 of the best moments (in my opinion) from the entire series, encompassing the drama, comedy, strangeness, and everything in between. I don't want to include too many spoilers in case you haven't seen it, but there are a few so be warned.
10. When Jerry and Ben Horne did an improvisational dance.
This little number in season two wasn't scripted. During one of the takes of this scene, Ray Wise (who played Leland Palmer) started singing the song written in the script, but his fellow actors Richard Beymer (Ben) and David Patrick Kelly (Jerry) decided to mess with him and randomly start dancing. David Patrick Kelly even busts out the worm, which he can do pretty well. David Lynch loved the moment and chose to keep it in. You can even hear Ray's voice crack from laughing.
9. When Audrey Horne got creative to land herself a job at One Eyed Jack's
After doing her own investigation into Laura Palmer's murder, Audrey finds her way across the Canadian border to One Eyed Jack's, a casino and brothel. She learns that Laura worked there, and tries to learn more from working on the inside. To convince the madame to hire her, she pulls this impressive stunt with a cherry stem.
8. When Laura Palmer's body is discovered.
In the first episode, Pete Martell finds a body floating in plastic in the river, and the corpse is brought to shore by local police. One of the most famous quotes from the series comes from Pete in this moment..."she's dead--wrapped in plastic". This single event catapults the action of the show, as many questions about who Laura really was start to unfold.
7. When there was a fish in the percolator.
Another gem from Pete Martell. When Agent Dale Cooper and Sheriff Harry Truman come to Pete's house to ask him a few questions, he serves them coffee. But there's actually a huge problem--somehow a fish got into the percolator. Pete runs in yelling "don't drink that coffee!" and the rest is history. The way Jack Nance delivers these lines as Pete is so simple, it ends up being hysterically outrageous.
6. Dale Cooper's red room dreams.
Throughout the series, Dale Cooper has several dreams about a not-so-distant place called the red room. He meets several interesting characters there including a little man who dances, a giant, a girl who looks oddly like Laura Palmer, and even his own doppelganger. Every single dream he has is very haunting and gives off an eerie, yet somehow mesmerizing vibe. Cooper is told many hints to the Palmer case in the red room, and everything he hears there comes back later as the season goes on.
5. When Maddy Ferguson dies.
Maddy Ferguson comes in to the series as Laura's Palmer's cousin who looks exactly like her (they're played by the same actress). She's visiting Twin Peaks and quickly befriends two old friends of Laura's. During season two, Maddy meets a similar fate as her cousin and is killed by the same person. This scene is worth noting because to date, it is one of the most gruesome murder scenes that was played on prime time television, a whopping four minutes long as you watch Maddy fight for her life and tragically die.
4. When Gordon Cole puts the moves on Shelly.
David Lynch himself played the role of FBI agent Gordon Cole. Gordon has a hearing disability and wears hearing aids, and because of his difficulty hearing people, he talks very loudly. He takes a liking to Shelly Johnson, a waitress at the Double R Diner, and part of the reason why is because he can hear her just fine--he sees this as almost a miracle. In this scene, Shelly lets Gordon give her a kiss and Shelly's boyfriend Bobby watches it happen jealously.
3. Ronette's dream in the hospital.
Ronette Pulaski was with Laura Palmer the night she died, but managed to survive. She's in the hospital suffering from trauma and jolts to consciousness when she has an ominous dream of what happened the night of Laura's death. The memories flood back to her, and the darkness and true evil within Twin Peaks is revealed.
2. When "the owls are not what they seem"
Since the whole explanation behind this quote is a huge spoiler, I'm not going into a lot of detail. This is a vision that Sarah Palmer (Laura's mother) sees in season one. The owl's face appearing is really creepy and awesome at the same time.
1. The Final Red Room Scene
In the last episode of the series, Dale Cooper finally finds how to get to the red room in his dreams. It's one of the most frightening scenes I've ever seen on television, where Cooper enters room after room and there is seemingly no end, encountering spirits of characters who died in the series. What happens in this last scene completely changes Cooper's life and is the basis for the new "Twink Peaks" series coming out in 2017.
There are so many other great moments from "Twin Peaks", but these are the ones I thought were the most important. I purposely left out specific details because they're better to discover yourself while watching the show. I'd highly recommend "Twin Peaks" to anyone looking for something new and unique to watch. To people who are already avid fans, I hope you enjoyed what I've complied together and maybe after reading this, you'll be inspired to go back to these moments and watch them again. You can never have too much "Twin Peaks."
