James Giles
Bio
Writer, confessed geek and pop culture enthusiast, loves film, TV and video games. Blogged and written for various websites on all the above.
Stories (28)
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Twin Peaks: In Memoriam III
Harry Dean Stanton (July 14th, 1926 to September 15th, 2017) With 60+ year career that included TV, independent films and Hollywood movies, Harry Dean Stanton was a respected and beloved character actor, and a screen icon. Born and raised in West Irving, Kentucky, Stanton considered careers as both a writer (he studied journalism) and a singer, before British theatre director Wallace Briggs encouraged him to leave university and pursue acting.
By James Giles8 years ago in Geeks
'Twin Peaks': Audrey Horne - Dance of the Dream Woman
In a series full of open-ended mysteries and narrative cul-de-sacs, maybe none was more contentious among Twin Peaks viewers than the story of Audrey Horne in The Return. Detached from the main cast, her scenes were full of confounding dialogue about characters we never saw, and she seemed in an emotional state that was hard for fans to swallow: angry, fragile, scared and possibly unstable. She never interacted with her on-screen family, including her son Richard, and there was no mention of John Justice Wheeler (YMMV on whether that's a good or bad thing), her love as of the end of Season 2. Most shocking was her final scene in Part 16, which seemed to cast serious doubt on the nature of her existence in new world of Twin Peaks.
By James Giles8 years ago in Geeks
Twin Peaks Revisited: Technological Magick
Thematically Twin Peaks is interested in exploring profound truths behind the nature of our existence, and perhaps none more curiously than the role of electricity in our world. In a broad sense electricity is mostly thought of in our time as an energy source, one that powers virtually all modern technology, from lighting and heating our homes to powering every kind of information sharing device, from TV to radio to computers. You only need to spend a few hours in a house or office during a power cut to realise just how reliant on electricity our current society & culture is.
By James Giles8 years ago in Geeks
'Twin Peaks' Revisited: Introduction
2017 has been an amazing year for Twin Peaks. Twenty six years after the original series ended, Twin Peaks returned triumphantly to the pop culture landscape, bigger in scope and bolder in execution, in the form of two novels and an 18 part TV series. For many in its community of fans, Twin Peaks never really went away; the time between has been spent pondering on its many unsolved mysteries, intuiting its narrative and thematic meanings, and being inspired by its creativity. As one of those fans, I was hugely excited for Twin Peaks comeback, not just to see how the narrative would continue and how the series would look & feel in today's TV landscape, but because this time around I'd actually get to be part of the water-cooler experience; I was too young to watch when the original aired, and now I'd get to be part of the mystery as it unfolded. As a wonderful effect of this, I got to enjoy it with the larger fan community on Twitter, meeting lots of lovely people and being introduced to many websites and podcasts that only enhanced my experience of The Return.
By James Giles8 years ago in Geeks
'Twin Peaks' 2017: The Evolving Enigma of Judy
As a show created from the essence of mystery, Twin Peaks has always driven its narrative with questions. From its original legendary promotional tag-line of "Who killed Laura Palmer?" to Season 2's dread & despair-filled final words "How's Annie?" and The Return's brain-melting closing line "What year is it?", Twin Peaks knows how to keep its viewers thinking and guessing. The Return in particular seemed to flourish on taking this concept to its logical extreme, its narrative posing an absurd amount of questions, almost to the point of self-parody, and leaving a huge number unanswered in the process. The fervent speculating, intuiting and theorising done by fans may well be Frost & Lynch's garmonbozia.
By James Giles8 years ago in Geeks
'Twin Peaks' 2017: 'The Final Dossier'
SPOILERS AHEAD There's no doubt that many fans were stung by the lack of answers, or even references, The Return gave to character's fates and plot points that had been left perilously unresolved in the Twin Peaks Season 2 finale. The announcement that The Final Dossier, Mark Frost's follow-up to the mythology building The Secret History, would 'tell us what happened to key characters in the twenty five years in between the events of the second series and the third, offering details and insights fans will be clamouring for' was met with a healthy mix of hope and scepticism by many. But I'm delighted to report that The Final Dossier far exceeded my expectations; long standing questions are answered, loose ends and contradictions are tied up and explained, and many of the most beloved character's stories are enriched with thoughtful, and sometimes heart-breaking, detail.
By James Giles8 years ago in Geeks
Twin Peaks Halloween Special: The Top 10 Moments of Horror
"Horror"1. An intense feeling of fear, shock or disgust.- Oxford English Dictionary Twin Peaks is a show that provokes a range of powerful emotional reactions, and perhaps none more potently than horror. So during the season of Halloween, what better time to look at the series most horrifying moments.
By James Giles8 years ago in Horror
'Twin Peaks' 2017: Laura Is The One. Top Story - September 2017.
It's been a hell of ride since the finale of Twin Peaks: The Return. Watching the two-parter live was unforgettable, a bracingly raw emotional experience that ran the gamut of thrills, laughs, unbearable tension, heart-warming resolutions, head-fucking narrative turns, and a horrifyingly fatalistic ending. I was so bewildered and overwhelmed, I could hardly speak for hours afterwards. There was so much to take in, to try and make sense of; much of Part 18 in particular was very open to interpretation, and what I felt was being implied was pretty tough to swallow. After everything he'd been through, why did Coop suddenly feel he needed to 'save' Laura? Did he break reality in the process? And what did those closing moments mean - with Coop seemingly lost and Laura more traumatised than ever, had the Black Lodge attained some nightmarish victory?
By James Giles8 years ago in Geeks
Twin Peaks 2017: "I'm Like the Blue Rose"
A few weeks ago, I wondered what further secrets Diane Evans had in store for us; in Part 16 we found out two of the most devastating and shocking yet. First, the terrible truth came out that many had suspected since Part 7—that on the night they last met, Mr. C had raped Diane. The second was one that only a few had considered but everyone was undoubtedly shocked to find out; Diane was a tulpa, a manufactured replicate of the original, acting directly on behalf of Mr. C. But what does this actually mean? What exactly is a tulpa and how are they created? And what does their existence mean for the fates of the real Diane Evans & Douglas Jones?
By James Giles8 years ago in Geeks
'Twin Peaks' 2017: There's Always Music in the Air
The soundtrack to the original Twin Peaks is one of its most iconic and adored elements; Angelo Badalametti's evocative score, created in direct collaboration with Lynch himself, does an incredible job of enriching the mood and underscoring the emotion of almost every scene. Complimenting this are the songs sung by Julee Cruise; in an unusual feature for the time, Cruise is character herself, a singer at the local bar called the Roadhouse. Her angelic vocals and dreamy melodies created an ethereal ambience to her performances, where the lines between dimensions would often seem to blur; this is perhaps most notable in Episode 14, where the Giant appears on stage over Cruise as she sings a heartbreaking ballad, and delivers a devastating message to Coop, while the Elderly Waiter offers his condolences.
By James Giles8 years ago in Geeks
Twin Peaks 2017: The Phantom of Phillip Jeffries
Although it's the story of Laura Palmer first and foremost, Fire Walk With Me's show is arguably stolen by the disturbing first (and so far only) appearance of FBI Special Agent Phillip Jeffries. Played by legendary pop-culture icon David Bowie, Jeffries appears from thin air at the FBI headquarters, only moments after Coop tells Cole he's concerned about this day because of a dream he had. Coop leaves to check the security monitors, as Jeffries materialises from an elevator, seemingly pausing time as he does; he enters Cole's office where Albert, Gordon and Coop look on stunned as Jeffries goes on a bizarre, no-sequiter leaden rant, making many reference to a woman named Judy. The lines between worlds blur as static crackles and Jeffries' words become images; above the convenience store BOB and The Man From Another Place have cryptic, cackling exchanges across a dinner table as a white masked, red suited imp jumps shrieking around them, while two woodsmen, Mrs. Tremond and her grandson look on impassively - the nightmare ends with a close up of a monkey howling in the darkness. Before they have a chance to question him, Jeffries disappears back into the ether, gone as quickly as he arrived. The cacophonous sound effects, sinister imagery and Jeffries' manic narration combine here to create one of Twin Peaks most terrifying and unforgettable moments.
By James Giles8 years ago in Geeks
Twin Peaks 2017: The Secret Life of Diane Evans
In Part 4 of Twin Peaks: The Return we were left with one of the series most tantalising cliffhangers yet - just who was the mystery woman that Albert & Gordon referred to, whose insight they'd seek into the disturbing situation with Coop? The fandom that became was rife with speculation, from Audrey Horne to Sarah Palmer, but a front runner quickly emerged in the form of Diane, Coop's often referred to but as yet unseen secretary. During the first two seasons, Cooper would record his observations, on the case and sometimes life itself, into a dictaphone, addressing them always to 'Diane...'; a memorable and fondly parodied quirk, Coop's obvious affection for Diane radiated out into the fandom.
By James Giles8 years ago in Geeks
