Sitting at my computer this morning, a steaming cup of Joe in my hand, I chose to listen the TP CD - I'm up to the instrumental, 'Audrey's Dance'. How pleased Audrey would be to know that that track has been named after her.

As I was sipping and listening, I came to a conclusion about Twin Peaks that some may find controversial. Here it is:

The setting for our drama, the township of Twin Peaks, is more critical to the film than any one of the characters (even Laura and Coops). The very name of the film draws from the setting. Of course, that is not to say the characters are expendable. They're not at all. I'm not the only one to think the ommision of certain characters in FWWM left something to be desired; that FWWM was more an appendix than a prequel. It's just that the characters - as fond as we are of them - seem less than fundamental to me, they are more like spirits emerged from the subsoil.

No doubt I've been 'snacking on too many of the local mushrooms'

All the same, the proposition isn't outlandish. As much as the drama may be said to arise between the characters, as much as answers to Laura's murder are sought from the people of TP, the film delves beneath the topsoil of consciousness in search of the origin of the communities woes. It is as though the setting, rather than the characters drive the drama. When Truman, Big Ed and Hawk meet with Coops at the double R to reveal the existence of their secret society, they explain that the society formed in response to 'someting out there in the woods'.

What do others reckon? What makes most 'Twin Peaks' the film was it is? Can you imagine TP shot in a more urban setting? In other words, what are people's thoughts about the significance of the setting chosen for the film?

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

What you say about the 'unique feel', the 'TP feel' is most interesting.

Would you say that that same feel is present, for example, in other of Lynch's films such as 'Blue Velvet' or 'Mulholand Drive'? Or can you differentiate the sense you get from TP from the sense you get in these other films? Can you name the feeling you get?

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

 If the film was shot in an urban setting it would be NOTHING like what it is now... The setting makes all the difference, no matter how gread the directing is. The atmosphere simply couldn't be like it is if it wasn't for the woods :)... it simply couldn't. EVERYTHING, the characters, the story, Lynch's genius and etc. is crucially important and the show wouldn't be what it is without any of them, including the the setting. When all these elements came together we experienced Twin Peaks...

This isn't right... There's something wrong here...

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

Funny...I watched TP from Day 1 and only today, after seeing the title of this thread, did it dawn on me (one of the things I love about being a Twin Peaks fan heh heh):

TWIN Peaks

The Twin part...lol.

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

Hmmm, not sure what you are asking here?

d'what? Are you asking "Day What?" If so, Day 1, lol, spring of '90.

Rabid Mouse? heh heh, no...Rabid Muse. I'm a writer/director:

"Greek- a Muse: music, eloquence; pron. myooz): in Greek mythology, a goddess of artistic inspiration; any of the nine nymphs or inferior divinities who supervised and inspired the fine and liberal arts, including history, poetry, comedy, music,dancing, rhetoric, sacred hymns, and harmony"

My Muse is a Gnarly dude/dudette/entity that resides in a rusty cage at the entrance to my creative imagination.  He/She/It yells at me and rattles his/her/its cup against the bars whenever he/she/it has something it wants me to do (ie write a story, novel, screenplay, direct a film etc). He/she/it is rabid, foaming at the mouth, mentally deranged, and severely addicted to production.

My Rabid Muse is what appears at the beginning of my films like: My Rabid Muse presents...

Woops, I'm rambling, sorry.

Yeah, yeah ... you were pulling mine so I thought I'd pull yours. Rabid Mousse is, nonetheless, a good username.

Hmm ... While I was quite aware of your jesting, I failed to gather your meaning. The emphasis on TWIN ... why? May be if you elucidated you'd get more than a smile and possibly a chuckle.

Rabid Muse. Bemused or amused, I don't yet know.

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

heh heh...

The "twin" part referring to the many twin types in the show.  Each person, so we are led to believe, has a twin in the Black Lodge. The Black Lodge has a twin. the twin "types" of Laura and Maddie.  The whole thinig with Hitchcock's Vertigo (the twin thing). Two diaries. Two pieces to the necklace. Ya know...the whole shebang. The whole "doubles" thing is rampant throughout the series and after all of these years I just never noticed, or if I had noticed it before I have since forgotten that I have noticed, the "Twin" in Twin Peaks.

And be "amused"! It's all good.  Anyone that is a fan of DL and TP and actually signs up for a message board revolving around Twin Peaks is tops in my book!

 Ah ... excellent point RM. Am definetly amused. I'd like to hear more of what you have to say about that.

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

Is that right - never read the book. Seems I'm on the right track then. 

But your probably right any way, it's not so controversial. I explain that I am not suggesting any one of the characters are expendable but that they are not as central to the drama our fondness for them might incline us to think. I considered my idea might be regarded as controversial to the extent that my words were read as implying that a character like Coops or Laura might as well not be there. People are fond of these characters and I would thought loath imagine TP without them.

Actually, I am a little surprised, as you say, Lynch's view matches mine. I remember reading in the Jacket of FWWM a comment by Lynch to the effect that what he was really interested in exploring was Laura. I'll run down the precise comment he made later tonight. Perhaps, you can better analyse for me what he was saying.

Any way, I gotta get my hands on that book. There was another one too that I have on my wish list at Amazon - something about critical approaches to TP. Thanks for your comment 12Rainbow.

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

 Well jessus.. :) I've watched the series when i was 4 years old or so and i didn't remember almost anything. So when i watched it one year ago(you can say for the first time), at least remembering that there were white and black lodges, when seeing the intro in the pilot episode with the sign and the Twin Peaks it struck me immediately :) It's so obvious :)

This isn't right... There's something wrong here...

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

Heh heh, what is obvious to some may not be so obvious to others, or, better yet, what is obvious to all may be too obvious to some that it is overlooked or forgotten that it was scrutinized at all.

LOL, I could be nasty and say that if you read the post it basically says that I have forgotten twice as much about TP than you currently know, Scorp...

But that would be nasty...so I won't say it.

heh heh...here's a good link to the double stuff...

http://cinepad.com/twin_peaks/tp_mystery.htm

 I really wouldn't be sure about them nasty conclusions ... I guess it's just a matter of way of thinking. I meant no offense mate.

This isn't right... There's something wrong here...

The title of this post was 'The setting of our drama'. Look what it became, 'The setting of a drama'. Thanks for the link 12R, I will follow that up later on.

However, let me pose the three questions again, which have arisen from the this thread:

1. What is the function of the setting? See the original post;
2. Name the feeling TP gives you;
3. What is the significance of the theme of doubleness of duality?

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

The whole feel of Twin Peaks was wholly linked to the landscape it was set in and the weather, as well. I think TP had to be rainy and misty for the majority of the time, as it was in the Pilot and a lot of the episodes. I think the rainy and misty atmosphere was kept consistent through the show pretty much but not as much as it could have been perhaps. Indeed with location shooting switching to LA for the series as opposed to the Pilot and FWWM the sunniness of some scenes was unavoidable no doubt.

But the whole combination of a misty, drizzly location and the images that evokes combined with the warm interiors (like the Double R) on a dark night all add up to the warming and enveloping feel I love in TP. There is some link with the area I've grown up in (Derbyshire, England) and the woods I've been in around here as well as the Autumnal and rainy weather in the area, so there's an element of recognition.

The whole love affair with coffee and sweet foods in the show is integral to the whole feel and combines well with rainy and cold weather. You know, coffee seems to be most soothing and joyous when the weather's dreary.

As far as doubling and twins are concerned, I'm not sure if its just as simple as the existence of beautiful and true goodness in the world (of TP, and ours) and the other side of that, real evil and darkness, something corrupted and depressing.

FWWM was filmed in the Autumn (Fall) so it missed out a little on evoking the atmosphere I liked in TP.

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

I wanted to address primarily the comment isolated above.

In relation to the curio of 'doubling', 'twins', etc, I think you're quite astute to point out that TP isn't so 'simple'. Do you recall the scene where Coop is told by Mike that he lives above a convenience store? There is something absurd and nigh incomprehensible about Mike's revealation that is not adequately described as the 'other side'. Sometimes, when watching and reflecting on TP, I wonder whether it is not so much a matter of there being TP and an 'other side' but that the 'other side', for want of a better word, is a cryptic reflection of the essence of what is actually happening in TP. As Coops says of his dream, 'Break the code, solve the crime' (something to that effect). I think of that critical scene in FWWM - which, by the way, I am not always happy as thinking of as part of the TP corpus - more an appendix in my view - where Laura is being molested in her sleep by Bob, only to awake and discover her father is raping her. That seems to suggest the 'other side' is not an 'other side' in the sense of an alternative world. However, if it is more, as I say, a reflection of TP, then may it be called the dark side? I tend to think not. While there is nothing that is not a little bizzare on the other side, it is peopled with symbols and creatures that are not all bad.

I gotta go again. I'm in agreement with you that the concern with 'doubling', 'twins' and dichotomising is never so simple in TP or obvious.

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

True. A good point too LWPM. Another complicating factor, which goes to show, the point tp3 made, the way these two 'sides'/parrallel worlds interact, the themes of doubling, twin [etc] escape simple definitions. I'd be interested to hear your theory behind the matter LWPM ..?

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)