Subject: TP: FAQ -- NO SPOILERS
From: swsh@ellis.uchicago.edu (Janet M. Swisher)
Date: 1991-02-20, 10:51
Newsgroups: alt.tv.twin-peaks,rec.arts.tv

Since the cribsheet of Twin Peaks resources was posted to
alt.tv.twin-peaks, I've gotten a fair amount of mail from folks in the
UK and Down Under who are interested in the FAQ file, but haven't seen
all of the US episodes.  For the benefit of such folks, here's an
abridged version that doesn't give away any plot points.


TWIN PEAKS 
FREQUENTLY ANSWERED QUESTIONS 
"No Spoilers" Version
Last revision: 2/20/91

1. What's this "secret diary" that people in alt.tv.twin-peaks keep
referring to?
--_The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer_ was written by Jennifer Lynch
(David's daughter), and is published in the U.S by Pocket
Books, and in the U.K. by Penguin Books.  It is officially
sanctioned by Lynch/Frost Productions (the jacket says it is
"A Twin Peaks Book").  

2. Has anybody mentioned the possible connection between:
   * All the donuts they eat on Twin Peaks, and JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner"
speech?  What he literally said was "I am a jelly donut."
   * Agent Dale Cooper and D.B. Cooper, the guy who hijacked a plane and
then parachuted over Washington State with a whole bunch of money
and was never found?
   * Ben and Jerry Horne and Ben and Jerry's brand ice cream (in one scene
the brothers Horne are even shown eating ice cream)?
-- Yes for all of the above.

3. What year is the show set in?  
-- References in the first season placed it in 1989.  However, _The Secret
Diary of Laura Palmer_ places the action in 1990.  Sources on the
production team (i.e., Scott Frost) indicate that it's been sort of
miraculously moved up to 1990.  Apparently, the producers and
directors have trouble keeping track of what day it's supposed to be
in Twin Peaks, never mind what year.

4. a) Where is Twin Peaks supposed to be? 
-- It's in the State of Washington, but where exactly is not clear.  In
Cooper's initial monolog to Diane as he's driving into town, he
states that it's five miles south of the Canadian border and twelve
miles west of the state line.  That would seem to place it in the
northeast corner of the state.  However the surrounding geography is
like that of the Cascade Mountains in western WA.  References to
cities such as Seattle and Tacoma, but not Spokane, also seem to
place it in western WA.  The show's creators seem to have smooshed
the state so that it all fits west of the Cascades.

   Many of the outdoor shots were filmed in Snoqualmie, WA, which is in the
Cascades, not too far from Seattle.  The waterfall is there; the
Great Northern Hotel is really the Salish Lodge (although it doesn't
look like the GNH on the inside); and the RR Diner is really the
Mar-T Cafe, which really does have heavenly cherry pies.

    b) How big a town is Twin Peaks?
-- Again, that's not exactly clear.  The population sign that's shown at
station breaks and on the Twin Peaks sound track album cover
indicates 51,201.  However cues in the show seem to indicate
that it's much much smaller than that.  For instance, it
doesn't have a resident circuit court judge, which any town of
51K+ in the U.S. would; it has a sheriff's department but no
police department (sheriff is usually a county rather than
city office).  On the other hand, it does have its own
hospital, a fancy department store, and a large hotel.  It
seems the creators haven't worried too much about being
consistent on this point.

5. Has anybody noticed that Julee Cruise's "Floating Into The Night"
album (which includes several tunes heard in Twin Peaks
episodes) gives special thanks to, among other people, Bob (no
last name)?  
-- Yes.

6. Is the first season two-hour pilot considered the first episode, or is
the first one-hour show the first episode?  Do the episodes have
names?  What the best way of referring to episodes?
-- The episodes are not named.  Whether it's the best way or not,
Lynch/Frost number the episodes with four-digit numbers, where the
first digit is the season number, and the others are the order
within that season.  This system was apparently adopted after the
pilot was produced, so the pilot is 1000, the first one-hour episode
is 1001, and so on.  However for the second season, the two-hour
season premiere is 2001.

7. Is Miguel Ferrer (the actor who plays Albert Rosenfeld) related to Jose
Ferrer, the movie actor?
--Yes, Miguel is Jose's son.
--
Janet SwisherInternet: swsh@midway.uchicago.edu
University of ChicagoPhone: (312) 702-7608
Academic and Public ComputingP-mail: 1155 E. 60th St. Chicago IL 60637, USA