I started watching Twin Peaks season three again last night. That first episode is so brilliant. I think most people got the impression, when Twin Peaks first came out, that it was the citizens of Twin Peaks who were remarkable oddballs. Season three makes it clear that it's humanity in general that's odd. There are weird people in New York, in Las Vegas, and in a town called Buckhorn in South Dakota.
One of my favourite sequences in David Lynch's oeuvre is the one around Ruth Davenport's apartment. I wish there were clips of it on YouTube. Lynch shows again how inimitable his knack was for creating weird characters. People who try to imitate him are unable ot strike the balance required for credible weirdness. The characters use common phrases in such a way that you suddenly realise how odd common language is, like when Ruth's neighbour calls the police and can't remember her own address, saying helplessly, "You know I know this!"
I love the conversation between the police and the handyman who's immediately suspicious that police are there for him. I love how the character has a clear line of thought, how he's clearly working things out but from a completely wacked out standpoint, as when he asks the police, "How did you know I was going to see Chip?" Maybe this guy's a conspiracy theorist but he clearly also has something to hide that makes him anxious about the sudden appearance of the police. Even people who aren't up to anything get nervous when the police show up.
It almost seems like Lynch and Frost were trying to set up a spin-off set in Buckhorn. Maybe they were but, with the Roadhouse vignettes, it feels more like they were trying to set up an impression of this world of strange narratives all around us, happening all the time, that occasionally bump into each other leaving odd impressions. Again, it's strange, but also extremely realistic.
Alas, I can't find any Buckhorn clips. There are plenty of short Black Lodge clips though.
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