Catherine E. Coulson - An Appreciation

Catherine Coulson on the cover of Wrapped In Plastic 49

Last year, the Twin Peaks community suffered a terrible loss with the death of Catherine E. Coulson, who played the Log Lady (i.e., Margaret Lanterman) in the series, and in the film, Fire Walk With Me.

The Log Lady was, of course, one of the most memorable characters from the show.  She embodied many things about Twin Peaks. At first, she seemed to be simple comic-relief (evident from her first appearance, in the pilot, where she repeatedly flips a light switch on-and-off to quiet the large group of townspeople in the town hall). But her importance in the narrative grew as the series progressed.  It was soon evident that the Log Lady knew many things about forces surrounding Twin Peaks; that she was privy to secrets and arcane knowledge about “the evil in these woods” that no other character could ever know.  In effect, The Log Lady became akin to Tom Bombadil in The Lord of The Rings, a character who ostensibly exists outside the main storyline and who sees the world in such a unique and fundamental way that the exigencies of plot don’t really apply.  The Log Lady was free to enter and the leave the narrative at will, dispensing advice and secrets and warnings when she deemed necessary. (She even performed this role in the Georgia Coffee commercials, in which she confirmed the truth of certain matters and later instructed all the characters to “Watch” at a crucial juncture.)

The log image from Catherine Coulson's "business" card.  She often gave these to fans.

So important was the Log Lady that David Lynch essentially reimagined her as an ambassador of Twin Peaks when he created “The Log Lady Introductions” for a later rebroadcasting. These introductions have since become a fundamental part of the show—an essential element of the overall mythology.

Catherine Coulson embraced this ambassadorial role in real life.  She was a tireless advocate for the series, and was one of the warmest, most generous actors in the show’s vast ensemble. Anyone who ever met or spoke with Catherine Coulson found this to be true.  She loved Twin Peaks and she loved and appreciated the fans.  In one of our interviews, she told Wrapped In Plastic, “Twin Peaks fans are really wonderful.  They are very, very respectful people. They are polite, they are helpful to each other, they are just very a lovely and intelligent group of human beings.  It is a real pleasure to talk to them.”  Another time, she said, “What a wonderful thing to become a cult figure in your forties. First of all, I get to talk about Twin Peaks, which is a great world, and I get to talk about my friend, David, who is a great guy. He’s just a terrific human being. What more could a girl ask for?”

Catherine Coulson always supported the work Craig Miller and I did on Wrapped In Plastic. She actually promoted the magazine from time-to-time, going so far as to once mention us in Variety (which was a thrill). She understood our passion for Twin Peaks because she shared that passion. This may be why she was so approachable, why she understood the enthusiasm and love so many people had for the series. Yes, she may have been an actor on the show, but, deep down, she was also the show’s biggest fan!

When the full cast for the new Twin Peaks was recently released, I was most happy to see Catherine’s name on the list. What a great treat it will be to see the Log Lady again! Thankfully, she was able to participate in the new show before her untimely passing.  I don’t expect her part to be much (perhaps she will simply introduce episodes once again). But Catherine Coulson will be there—the Log Lady will be there—fulfilling her role as the indisputable representative of Twin Peaks.

“Watch.”

Catherine Coulson at the 1993 Twin Peaks Festival, Issaquah, WA.

The Obscure Twin Peaks: Reports and Notes about Unusual Twin Peaks History and Mythology

 Installment 1

Welcome to The Obscure Twin Peaks!  Joel Bocko was reading my new book and wanted to know more about the Florence Gould Seminar that is mentioned in the text once or twice.  Here’s a report about that event, which took place just one week after the airing of episode 14 (where Leland was revealed to be Bob).

On November 17, 1990, Florence Gould Hall in uptown Manhattan hosted a fascinating seminar entitled "Return to Twin Peaks." This was a moderated discussion featuring a number of Twin Peaks personalities. 

            The seminar was advertised in an issue of Soap Opera Weekly (probably sometime in late September/early October of 1990).  The advertisement was small and the seminar quickly sold out. (The venue only accommodated about 400-500 people.)

            On the stage, in the auditorium, stood four round tables with chairs, red table cloths, and candles.  The dim lighting, candles and Twin Peaks music playing over the loudspeakers provided an otherworldly ambiance to the room. 

            A group of people emerged from behind the stage curtain and took their places at the four round tables.  (Who these people were, and why they were there, was never explained. They were likely VIPs, lucky enough to share the stage with the Twin Peaks guests.)  An announcer introduced Mimi Torchin, editor of Soap Opera Weekly and an avid Twin Peaks fan, who would be the moderator for the upcoming panel.  She spoke briefly about the phenomena of Twin Peaks and then introduced Mark Frost, Jennifer Lynch, Dana Ashbrook, Wendy Robie, James Patrick Kelly, and Catherine Coul­son.

            Ms. Torchin provided most of the discussion topics and asked a majority of the questions.  Many of these questions were di­rected to Mark Frost and Jennifer Lynch.  Both talked about David Lynch, with Frost noting that he and David drank a lot of coffee as they wrote Twin Peaks. 

           

Program Guide for the Return to Twin Peaks Panel (with admission ticket)

(Note the misspelling of Catherine Coulson's first name)

A week earlier, the show had revealed that Leland, possessed by Bob, had killed Laura Palmer.  Ms. Torchin took a poll of the audience to see how many people had guessed the identity of the killer.  Over half the attendees raised their hands.  Mr. Frost provided a few details about the Bob plot, explaining that Leland did not know he was possessed.  He promised that more details about the relationship--and Laura's knowledge of it--would be revealed in the next few episodes. 

            Jennifer Lynch spoke quite a bit about her book, The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer.  She talked about the basis for the his­tory of Laura's life before she died and explained how she came up with some of the material in the diary.   Much of it, she said, came from consultations with her father and other writers from the show.  She also visited shopping malls to observe tee­nage girls.  When asked about home life with her father, Ms. Lynch told a funny story of how David once constructed a minia­ture volcano on the dining room table.  For weeks, the family had to eat around this model volcano.

            Dana Ashbrook (who nervously shifted in his chair throughout the seminar) spoke of his early acting career and noted that his older sister was also an actress.  Ashbrook thought it was funny that his character, Bobby Briggs, was supposed to be a punk and a jock combined.

            Wendy Robie, whose character Nadine believed she was 18 years old, said she hoped one day Nadine would notice the eye patch she wore and try to figure out what had happened to her.  Upon hearing this, Mark Frost smiled and pretended to make a special note in a pocket notebook.  Ms. Robie also revealed that the many figurines adorning the shelves of the Hurley house on the show were all disfigured or handicapped in some way (a one- legged dancer, a woman with an eye patch, etc.). 

            Catherine Coulson, after apologizing for not bringing the Log Lady's log with her, spoke of her long-time working relation­ship with David Lynch.  She recounted the now famous story of how Lynch, when working with Coulson on Eraserhead, said that he would someday cast her as a lady with a log in a television show called "I'll Test My Log With Every Branch of Knowledge."  She spoke more about her interpretation of the Log Lady, but was careful not to give too much away regarding the mysteriousness of the character.

            David Patrick Kelly spoke briefly about his character, Jerry Horne, and Jerry's relationship with Benjamin Horne, but had little else to say.

            As the seminar drew to a close, Ms. Torchin took questions from the audience.  Many people were eager for answers to puz­zling loose ends in the story and directed their questions to Mark Frost, but he revealed very little.  When asked why Sarah Palmer saw a horse the night of Madeleine's death, however, Frost explained that the white horse signified death.  Other particip­ants quizzed Frost on some of the show's possible errors, but did not receive any enlightening answers. (Frost was at a loss, for example, when asked about the discrepancy regarding Jacques Renault’s blood type changing between seasons one and two.)

            After only a very few questions from the audience, Ms. Torchin thanked the panel of guests for attending, and the semi­nar was over. 

(This is an edited and revised version of an article by Lorna Thorne that first appeared in Wrapped In Plastic #6.)

Get more interesting facts and history about Twin Peaks in The Essential Wrapped In Plastic!

The Essential Wrapped In Plastic Now Available on Kindle!

A few people have asked if my book would be available as an ebook.  The answer is--yes!  The Essential Wrapped In Plastic is for sale on Amazon as a kindle ebook.

The great thing about the electronic version is that you can search the text (the book does not have an index).  Now you can look for terms, characters, and people you might want to reference.  So, if you were waiting to get the book in this version, now you can!

(Right now, the kindle version and the paper version of the book are not linked on the Amazon site, so you need to search for the title in the kindle section.  Hopefully, the two pages will be linked soon.)

I'm happy to announce that my new book, The Essential Wrapped In Plastic: Pathways to Twin Peaks is now available to order on Amazon.

It took me quite some time to write and compile the new book; I've been working on it steadily for almost 8 months (although the first stages of planning began over a year ago).  The book is a collection of pertinent information and essays that I originally wrote for Wrapped In Plastic.  I have revised and re-organized this material, using an episode guide for Twin Peaks as a core template. I critique each episode--and also analyze important deleted scenes--to show how the series was shaped as it was produced.  Each episode also contains commentary from the various Twin Peaks actors and writers we interviewed for WIP over the years (including comments from David Lynch, Mark Frost, Harley Peyton, Robert Engels, Sheryl Lee, Heather Graham, Miguel Ferrer, Richard Beymer, Kenneth Welsh, Frank Silva and dozens more).

The book features a few in-depth essays about Fire Walk With Me, including the controversial, "Dreams of Deer Meadow" essay, and another long work that studies the portrayal of Laura Palmer in the film. There is also an introductory essay that challenges the definition of Twin Peaks as "cult show" and another detailed chapter that examines the final episode of the series.

The new book is not a reprint of Wrapped In Plastic.  I  have taken important writing from the magazine and re-worked into a book-form.  As such, there are no glossy pages or photographs (like there was in WIP).  I wanted the original magazine to be its own thing; I believe it still has unique and important content to offer.  Back issues of WIP can be found through Howard Miller (and the estate of Craig Miller) at www.wrappedinplasticmag.com.

It's been fun writing and thinking about Twin Peaks again.  The Essential Wrapped In Plastic was a labor of love and I hope it will be useful for fans of Twin Peaks, both new and old.  Let me know what you think!

Frost to Write New Twin Peaks Book

Wow!  The news just keeps getting better!  Mark Frost will write an original Twin Peaks novel!  Looks like this will serve as the bridge between the original series and the new one.  Amazing.

Color Me Amazed: Some Thoughts on a New Twin Peaks

The last few days have been tumultuous, to say the least.  It has been an emotional experience, processing the news about the return of Twin Peaks.  I've been nostalgic about the old series and re-energized about the potential of the new show.  Here's are a few thoughts that stand out, now that the dust has settled a bit:

• Mark Frost's involvement is the most exciting aspect of the announcement.  Don't get me wrong; I'm thrilled that David Lynch will be directing the nine new episodes; there could never be a Twin Peaks without him.  But a return of Twin Peaks to serialized format requires the storytelling discipline and structure that Mark Frost brings to the project.  With Frost and Lynch working together, the new series has the potential of matching the momentum and urgency of the first season.  That would be something to see! 
• A weekly format is the way to go!  At first, I expected the new Twin Peaks to be available on Netflix (or something like it).  That would allow for the whole series to be available at once.  But that format doesn't fit classic Peaks.  (I like that, "Classic Peaks." That's what I'm going to call the old series.)  If the new show features a central mystery akin to "Who killed Laura Palmer?" then the best way to build interest, narrative momentum and viewer engagement is with a weekly series.  Like the old days, this approach will give us all a chance to parse each episode, predict future developments and offer our own theories.  That's what was so much fun about the original airings of Classic Peaks: the involvement we all felt with the show, the energy we brought to thinking about it week-to-week.  These are vital ingredients to the success of TP-on-TV.
• I expect the laughs to return.  Fire Walk With Me was dark, disturbing, and stripped of the eccentric humor intrinsic to the show.  (Yes, there was some in the film, but it was muted.) And it didn't start there: the final episode also lacked the oddball behavior and delightful story elements found in the rest of the series.  A big part of TP's appeal came from its endearing characters and amusing asides.  Humor gave Twin Peaks a certain charm.  I hope much of that comes back.

That's enough for now.  I'm still wrapping my brain around the idea of new Twin Peaks.  I have many more thoughts--specifically questions--about Laura Palmer, FWWM, the new Missing Pieces and how all of that fits into--and impacts--a new series.  I'll save those thoughts for next time.

A Day I Never Thought I'd See

By now, the world knows that Twin Peaks will return to television on Showtime in 2016. This is remarkable news.  Simple stunning.  I considered simply posting a blank entry here with a footnote that said, "I'm at a loss for words."  As I struggle for what to say here, I feel like I still am.

Twin Peaks was a life-changing event for me.  No other television program or movie had such a profound effect on my life.  The show put me on a path to get a Masters Degree in TV/Radio/Film from Southern Methodist University.  It also led me to a thirteen-year collaboration with Craig Miller in which we produced 75 issues of the magazine, Wrapped In Plastic.

In WIP, Craig and I wrote extensively about the series and film and we interviewed many of the actors and creative people involved with the Twin Peaks and Fire Walk With Me.  We felt like we were documenting an important piece of art.  I wish Craig were here to share in this wonderful news.  I know we would be planning to continue WIP in some way and to start writing again about the new show.  Sadly, a continuation of WIP as it used to be will probably not happen. 

That being said, I do plan to write about this new show in some capacity.  Perhaps I will simply blog about it here.  Or maybe I can find a way to resurrect WIP online.  I just don't know.  But something will happen. 

Like the rest of the Twin Peaks fan community, I am extremely happy right now.  What exciting times we have ahead of us! 

More to come . . . .