On September 30,
1990, ABC’s “Twin
Peaks” opened its
second season by finally answering the question that fans had asked since the
show’s debut, six months earlier: Who killed Laura Palmer?
The answer: Bob.
This, of course,
gave the fans a new question to obsess over: Who the hell is Bob?
ABC aired “May
the Giant Be With You,” the two-hour season opener, as a Sunday night movie.
In the final
scene, Laura’s friend Ronette Pulaski (Phoebe Augustine), who had been in a
coma since the night of the murder, jolts awake – screaming – as she remembers
witnessing Laura’s brutal killing at Bob’s hands.
At this point
during “Twin Peaks’” run, fans didn’t know much about creepy, long-haired Bob
(Frank Silva); he had previously appeared in just three episodes, each time as
part of another character’s vision or dream.
Silva, a set
decorator, was a member of the “Twin Peaks” crew; when his image accidentally
showed up in a mirror during the pilot’s filming, director David Lynch got the
idea for creating the character of Bob and cast Silva in the role.
As the show’s
second season progressed, more information about Bob came to light, including
the crucial fact that he was a demonic spirit who possessed other peoples’
bodies.
“May the Giant
Be With You” was seen in 11.4 million homes – a little more than half the
number that tuned into “Twin Peaks’” debut in April 1990.
The season
premiere, which Lynch directed, ranked 41st in the weekly ratings, finishing
behind competing movies on CBS and NBC and Fox’s “Married with Children.”
The episode’s
big revelation that Bob killed Laura left critics feeling duped.
“[W]e got what
we deserved. An answer to the undying ‘Who Killed Laura Palmer’ question, but
one that mystifies, not satisfies,” wrote USA Today’s Matt Roush.
Ed Siegal’s
critique in the Boston Globe was harsher: “Now we know who killed Laura Palmer.
… More to the point, we know who killed ‘Twin Peaks.’ It was David Lynch.”
“May the Giant Be With You” can be streamed
for free at CBS.com and downloaded for $2.99 at
iTunes. The episode is also part of the “Twin
Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition” DVD set.
Also
on TV
On September 30,
1990, ABC also aired “Life Goes On,” “America’s
Funniest Home Videos” and “America’s
Funniest People.” CBS broadcast “60
Minutes,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “The
Face of Fear,” a TV-movie thriller starring Lee Horsley and Pam Dawber. Fox
showed comedies “True Colors,” “Parker
Lewis Can’t Lose,” “In Living Color,” “Get a Life” and “Married with Children;” introduced a sixth (!) comedy, Howie
Mandel’s “Good Grief;” and offered
legal drama “Against the Grain.”
NBC’s lineup: musical series “Hull
High,” medical anthology “Lifestories”
and “Perry Mason: The Case of the
Defiant Daughter.”
The
Record
During the week
of September 30, 1990, the number ones were Stephen King’s “Four Past Midnight” (novel), Nelson’s “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” (song) and “Pacific Heights” (movie). In
Washington, Congress considered cutting aid to the rebels in Afghanistan.
Captions: “Twin
Peaks” stars, from top, Sheryl Lee, Lara Flynn Boyle and Peggy Lipton on TV Guide’s September 8, 1990, cover (top, photo
by Mario Casilli); ABC’s advertisement for the season premiere in the
magazine’s September 29, 1990, issue.
Recent Comments