- Your host, A.K., talks about the secret behind successful creative partnerships in film and TV.
- The mystery behind the magic of TWIN PEAKS. Who is responsible, David Lynch or Mark Frost? A brief history of the making of the TV show.
- An interview with author and TV historian David Bushman (CONVERSATIONS WITH MARK FROST), in which David and myself come up with what may be the definitive answer to the question: "Will there ever be more TWIN PEAKS?"
Out of the three Twin Peaks books published at the height of the iconic series' fame (The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and The Access Guide to Twin Peaks being the other two), The Autobiography of Special Agent Dale Cooper is the least rewarding and most problematic of the lot.
Written by Scott Frost (Mark Frost's brother) - who also wrote the superior short audiobook Diane: The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper - the book attempts to be a revealing look into Cooper's psyche, from childhood onto adolescence, and up to his receiving the case of Laura Palmer as an FBI agent. From the get-go it is obvious that something is off with the book's tone. Veering from broad comedy, to forays into mysticism, to graphic sexual encounters, this is Cooper like we've never seen before. It is also a less interesting, less appealing version of Cooper. Portraying Cooper as some sort of oversexed young adult who hobnobs with hippies, and is sympathetic to anti-establishment sentiments, is jarring to say the least. As more than half of the book is spent on Cooper wrangling with the politics of the 1960s and 1970s and dealing with a father who is growing more radical by the year, this takes the story into overtly political and less interesting areas for Twin Peaks fans, as Scott Frost - like Mark Frost in his The Secret History of Twin Peaks - seems to get a kick from using the Twin Peaks mythos as a vehicle for delving into socio-political/historical tangents that just don't gel with the ethereal, timeless tone of the show.
In the book Conversations with Mark Frost by David Bushman, Frost admits that The Autobiography of Dale Cooper book was "jokey", and that David Lynch had almost zero input into the writing of it. Well, it shows. This version of Cooper feels like someone from an alternate universe. Only in the last third of the book, when Cooper starts to realize the true nature of his mentor Windom Earle, and gets assigned to the case of Teresa Banks, does the book feel like the Twin Peaks we know and love. But even the Windom Earle subplot is not that well-handled, with Earle coming off as some sort of super-villain, with no reason or rhyme behind his evil actions. And considering how the second season of Twin Peaks botched the Cooper/Earle storyline (mainly due to unsteady writing and an uneven, often over the top performance by Kenneth Welsh), it seems that that plot thread was doomed from the start, since the book was written before the scripts for the episodes were finalized.
That's not to say that The Autobiography has no merit. It has its moments, for sure. But, overall, it's a disappointing, jarring read, that doesn't really add anything substantial to our understanding of Cooper, or to the show's story. But fans, like myself, won't be able to resist hunting down a copy and giving it a read. Now, though, having read it, I understand why the book has never been back in print since its original publication.
Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK·Writer
Mention Twin Peaks (1990-1991, 2017) to anybody who's even remotely interested in film or TV, and you'll instantly hear the words "David Lynch". Rarely, if ever, will someone mention Lynch's collaborator and Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost. There are reasons for that, of course. Lynch is a world-renowned filmmaker and visual artist, his stamp is all over Twin Peaks, and he is, arguably, the main reason the show is still popular and influential to this day. Lynch's command of cinematic atmospherics, especially his use of music, sound, and editing to create mood, transformed Twin Peaks from just another TV show, to a unique, artistic, and groundbreaking achievement.
But Lynch, who deserves a lot credit for Twin Peaks' success, is not deserving of all the credit. And this is where David Bushman's terrific book, Conversation with Mark Frost, comes into play.
Although, over the years, Frost has received his share of acclaim for his contributions to Twin Peaks, mainly for writing some of the show's best episodes and balancing out Lynch's tendency to go over the top, this book, through candid conversations filled with smart, probing questions by TV historian Bushman, sets the record straight, once and for all, about what Frost brought to the table in his collaborations with Lynch. It also showcases his numerous other achievements before and after Twin Peaks.
Throughout the conversations included in this book, Frost comes across as intelligent and likable. Obviously, this is someone who is passionate about his craft, and who is a lot more than just the co-creator of one of the most important TV shows of all time. He has worked on numerous other shows, including the groundbreaking Hill Street Blues (1981-1987), and has written a number of screenplays and books. But the most interesting parts of the book, and the most revelatory, are the ones that deal with his complex relationship with Lynch.
Twin Peaks fans will relish the two chapters about the show. Although Frost never comes out and bad-mouths Lynch, per se, he has some interesting, and some might say negative, things to say about the auteur. And despite the positive façade Frost put on during the promotion leading up to and during the airing of the third season of Twin Peaks, he has some fascinating things to say about what went on behind the scenes, and what went wrong with what might be the final season of Twin Peaks. Frost's comments about the show are smart and candid, things fans don't usually get from Lynch.
Highly recommended to movie and TV buffs, and fans of Frost and Lynch.
Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon.
