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Twin Peaks
Episode 0B: "Northwest
Passage"
(44:12-end of the 90-minute
pilot episode)
TV episode
Written by Mark Frost and David Lynch
Directed by David Lynch
Originally aired April 8, 1990
Page last updated 1/5/2022
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Cooper opens Laura’s diary and calls a town
meeting; the murder site is located; young Audrey Horne speaks
to the Norwegians.
(This episode begins with Big Ed and Donna
at the Gas Farm and ends with Sarah Palmer's vision of the
gloved hand digging up the locket in the woods.)
Read the complete episode transcription at Glastonberry.net
Didja Know?
For the titles of the Twin Peaks TV episodes, I have taken
the unique approach of using both the episode numbers, which were
the only titles given the scripts by series creators David Lynch and
Mark Frost, and the translated German titles of the episodes that
were assigned when the series aired in that country. Frequent
readers of PopApostle know I like the aesthetic of actual episode
titles, but I also wanted to honor the simple numbering used by
Lynch and Frost, hence the expanded titles presented in these
studies.
I have chosen to split the 90-minute pilot episode of Twin Peaks
into two ~45-minute parts to maintain the consistency of the
45-minute regular episodes of the series. The original pilot was
titled simply "Pilot", with the German title being "Northwest
Passage", which was the working title of the series used by Lynch
and Frost before they decided upon Twin Peaks. The title
doesn't really make a lot of sense since the term Northwest Passage
is used to refer to the sea route through the Arctic Ocean
historically used by sailors along the northern coast of the North
American continent, having nothing to do with the U.S. state of
Washington where the series takes place; I suppose Lynch and Frost
proposed it as the title of the series simply because the state is
in the farthest corner of the U.S. northwest. I've decided to leave
it as the title of this episode (0B, part two of the pilot) and called
the
first part "Wrapped in Plastic" for the iconic line spoken by Pete
Martell after he finds Laura Palmer's dead, plastic-wrapped body on
the shore of Black Lake.
There is a slightly longer version of the pilot with an alternate
ending that "wraps up" the story which was released in Europe as a
direct to video feature. In it, Cooper and Truman learn that the
killer is BOB and the one-armed man kills BOB, wrapping up the
story! Much, but not all, of this additional footage shows up in
Episode 2: "Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer",
as elements of Cooper's dream. In the study of that episode, I will
present thoughts on this "extended version" of Cooper's dream.
Notes from the Log Lady intros
See
Episode 0A: "Wrapped in Plastic"
for the Log Lady intro of the 90-minute pilot.
Didja Notice?
Continuing from
Episode 0A: "Wrapped in Plastic",
this episode opens on February 24 and goes into that night.
The Hayward family station wagon seen in this episode is a
1980
Ford
Fairmont.
The pick-up truck of Big Ed's Gas Farm is a 1962
Chevrolet
C-10.
The Washington license plate of Mike Nelson's 1964
Buick
Skylark is 987 BJH.
Cooper breaks the lock on Laura Palmer's diary. This is the
diary she kept in her room, not the secret diary she gave to
Harold Smith at some point in the recent past, as revealed
in
Episode 10: "The Man Behind Glass"
(published as a tie-in to the series as
The Secret Diary
of Laura Palmer). Cooper reads aloud the last entry,
dated February 23, on the eve of which she was murdered. The
entry is: "Asparagus for dinner again. I hate asparagus.
Does this mean I'll never grow up? Nervous about meeting J
tonight." It is later implied that "J" was James, her secret
boyfriend (her public one being Bobby).
As Cooper flips through the pages of the diary, some
additional entries are glimpsed.
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February 5 (presumably 1988) is
mostly obscured except for what looks like "new movie
today". (Update: a photo of the actual prop diary
at
Twin Peaks Props shows that the full entry reads: "Saw a
new movie today was great!")
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February 5 (presumably 1989)
is also mostly obscured except for what looks like "isn't
any snow [obscured] this morning." (Update: a photo of the
actual prop diary at
Twin Peaks Props shows that the full entry reads: "There
wasn't any snow on the porch this morning.") |
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February 6, 1988: "Ran 3 miles
today. Am I exhausted! Kitty got new collar." |
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February 6, 1989: "DAY ONE!" with a
small plastic envelope containing a key to a safe deposit
box and a white residue that is later found to be cocaine.
What does "day one" mean? |
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February 8, 1988 states: "Felt a
little on the cheery side. Got a few extra $ today." Maybe
the extra $ were from working at One-Eyed Jack's? |
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February 8, 1989 states: "Day
three. Saw the gang at the [obscured] today - walked to
[obscured]." What does "day three" mean (it is the third day
since Day One as recorded on February 6 above)? |
When the sheriff's department bloodhounds find the
torture/murder site in the train graveyard, Deputy Andy
calls it in to the station and tells Lucy to tell Truman he
didn't cry, even though he is crying at the horror of it.
This refers back to Truman's mildly irritated reaction to
Andy when he started to cry while photographing Laura's body
in
Episode 0A: "Wrapped in Plastic"
and Truman's remarks about his reaction "last year in Mr.
Blodgett's barn."
At 48:43 on the Blu-ray, it appears that Lucy is wearing a
different sweater now, a plain brown one, instead of the
blue, diamond-patterned one she was wearing earlier the same
day in
Episode 0A: "Wrapped in Plastic".
But later we see that she was apparently wearing two sweaters
earlier, the blue one over the brown; the blue one is seen
draped over her shoulders during the scene where she is
patching Doc Hayward in to Sheriff Truman's cruiser.
Does anyone know the make/model of Agent Cooper's digital
memo pad as seen below?
At 52:47 on the Blu-ray, flyers for various tourist sites in
Washington are seen on a display rack at the Great Northern
Hotel. Most are too far from the camera to make out, but a
Seattle
flyer is visible, and one that may be for Pioneer Island in
the Canadian Archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.
On the concierge desk at the Great Northern, two small,
possibly wooden, animal sculptures are seen from behind.
They look like they may be of an owl and pine weasel! The
"weasel" sculpture is more iffy, like it may be a mountain
lion or something, but an interesting possible
foreshadowing. |
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The freeze-frame images of Laura's face and eye from the
home video on the television screen change several times
through the course of the interrogation with Donna, and
during Lucy's statements of the overheard conversation between
Bobby and Mike.
In this episode, Johnny Horne is played by Robert Davenport.
Later, in
Episode 1: "Traces
to Nowhere" and later appearances
of the original series, he is played by Robert Bauer.
In 2017's season three, he is played by Erik Rondell.
As Cooper and Truman look at the copy of Flesh World
found in Laura's safe deposit box, the photo of Leo's truck
across from the photo of Ronette in the magazine is not the
same photo that was on that page just seconds before! The
first photo seen is of an inflatable love doll, not Leo's
truck.
Notice that the photo of Leo's truck in Flesh World
has a man standing in front of it. Presumably it's Leo.
At 1:04:13 on the Blu-ray, why is Shelly wearing a robe over her
waitress uniform at her house? Was she just cold?
At 1:05:25 on the Blu-ray, the wooden bear statue in Big Ed's
office appears to be holding a fish!
In the same scene at Big Ed's office above, a CCX (Con-Way
Central Express) Trucking mug is seen in the background.
(Thanks to Vinnie Guidera's article "Northwest Cupboard: The
Drinkware of Twin Peaks" in
Blue Rose magazine #14.) Con-Way Central Express
was a U.S. trucking company from 1929-2015.
Before the Twin Peaks town hall meeting regarding the murder
of Laura Palmer begins, the Log Lady starts flicking the
lights in the room off-and-on, seemingly in an attempt to
get the crowd to quiet down and settle into their seats for
the meeting. Her flicking of the lights may also be an
indication of her knowledge of one of the spirit world's
methods of communication or spirit travel through
electricity, harkening back to the flickering flourescent
lights in the morgue during the examination of Laura
Palmer's body by Cooper in
Episode 0A: "Wrapped in Plastic".
(Electricity itself is prominently featured in
Fire Walk With Me.)
During the town hall meeting, Agent Cooper tells the assembled citizens
about the similar murder of Teresa Banks in the southwest
corner of the state. In the Twin Peaks prequel
movie Fire Walk With Me, the town in which this
murder took place was Deer Meadow, WA. This is a fictitious
town.
What is the framed photo hanging on the wall in Harriet's
bedroom at 1:10:25 on the Blu-ray? It looks like a man
standing in front of a metal-framed bed. Could it be a
behind-the-scenes photo from David Lynch's 1970 short film
The Grandmother? A similar metal-framed bed is a
prominent set piece in the film.
On Harriet Hayward's bed at 1:10:27 on the Blu-ray, a small
pillow has words sewn into it that may read "SWELL GAL".
At 1:14:22 on the Blu-ray, Sheriff Truman's police Bronco is
seen to have a Streethawk police light bar mounted on the
roof. This is an actual brand of light bar used by
government and safety agencies, made by
Federal Signal
Corporation.
At 1:15:04 on the Blu-ray, an establishing shot of the Bookhouse
is depicted, even though the action is taking place at the
Roadhouse. A later shot (1:19:24), shows that the Bookhouse
is just on the other side of the parking lot from the
Roadhouse! However, the map of Twin Peaks from
Twin Peaks: An
Access Guide to the Town, shows the two
establishments separated by at least a few blocks.
The Roadhouse appears to also have the name the Bang Bang
Bar. Some say the Bang Bang Bar was the actual name of the
establishment at the external shooting location, but I've
been unable to confirm it. Within the continuity of Twin
Peaks, it's possible the establishment's real name is
the Bang Bang Bar and is simply referred to as "the
roadhouse" by locals by the traditional definition of a
roadhouse in the U.S., that being an establishment along a
highway for long distance travelers to gain a meal,
entertainment, and a short-term room.
At the Roadhouse, singer Julee Cruise is singing "Falling",
which features the music of the Twin Peaks opening
theme. Later, she sings "The Nightingale".
At the Roadhouse, at 1:15:24 on the Blu-ray, Big Ed appears to
be drinking a
Coors Light. Norma may have had a couple of
Heinekens.
However, in both of these cases, the labels appear as if
they are genericized versions, made to give the impression
of the name brand without specifically advertising them.
The Coors Light can disappears between close-up
shots of Ed and Norma. I guess an unseen waitress took it
away as an empty!
As Norma tries to get Ed to leave Nadine for her, she says,
"It's Tammy Wynette time, darlin'." Wynette (1942-1998) was
a country music icon, known for her songs of loneliness and
broken relationships.
At the Roadhouse, notice that Big Ed's bolo tie has a bull
head on the slider.
At 1:15:59 on the Blu-ray, Norma tweaks Big Ed's nose. Is
there any significance to noses in Twin Peaks?
Oddly, Cooper tweaks Sheriff Truman's nose in
Episode 2:
"Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer"! Also in
Episode 2:
"Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer", the dream
Laura touches the side of her nose meaningfully, Dick gets
bitten on the nose by a pine weasel in
Episode 24: "Wounds and
Scars", Heidi has an unexplained bloody nose in
Fire Walk With Me,
and Cooper has a neighbor with a crooked nose in
The Autobiography of F.B.I. Special
Agent Dale Cooper.
At 1:16:48 on the Blu-ray, there appears to be a
Chevron
gas station across from the Roadhouse, though the corporate
name appears to be covered over.
As Mike and Bobby enter the Roadhouse at 1:17:18, notice
that Bobby starts playing with the zipper on his jacket
sleeve, another example of his compulsive fidgeting behavior
seen throughout the series.
When Mike and Bobby sit down at the Roadhouse, Joey Paulson
remarks to his friend, "Mutt and Jeff just crawled in."
Mutt and Jeff were characters in a
comic strip of the same name, about two cheap dimwits.
At 1:18:18, a genericized standard
Coors
bottle is seen on the bar behind Mike.
At 1:18:45 on the Blu-ray, the Roadhouse jukebox is seen
behind Ed and Norma's booth. Anyone able to identify the
model?
As Joey Paulson is sneaking Donna out of the Roadhouse at
1:19:07 on the Blu-ray, a bottle of
Seagram 7 Crown whiskey is
seen behind the bar.
Notice that Joey takes Donna from the Roadhouse to his
motorcycle, which is actually parked in front of the
Bookhouse with a bunch of others.
Throughout the scenes of Truman and Cooper following Paulson
and then James through the night streets, the light bar on
the police Bronco is alternately on and off from
shot-to-shot.
During their meeting in the woods, James tells Donna that
Laura had told him the night before that Bobby had told her
that he had killed a
guy. It's not until
Fire Walk With Me that we learn
Bobby killed Deer Meadow deputy Cliff Howard over a drug
deal gone wrong just a couple days before (though the drug
deal story in the film is much different from the one
presented in
The Secret
Diary of Laura Palmer). But, in both cases,
Bobby wouldn't need to tell her about it, because she
witnessd it!
James also
remarks that Laura was "like a different person" and then
when they stopped at the traffic light at Sparkwood and
Twenty-One, she seemed to become herself again; was this an
aspect of BOB trying to possess or influence her? Some fans
have speculated that Dr. Jacoby was using a red light to
bring Laura into and out of hypnotic states during therapy
and the light at Sparkwood and Twenty-One with James that
night brought her back to herself after slipping into her
dark personality (Dr. Jacoby is seen to have a red light in
his office).
After Dr. Hayward picks up Donna at the sheriff's office
that night, he tells her in the car that he and her mother
are so thankful to have a daughter like her, but he has a an
odd expression on his face very briefly as he turns his head
away from her. It may be an indication that he is not
Donna's biological father, as hinted later in
Episode 27: "The Path to the Black Lodge".
Apparently Lucy has been somehow made aware that Cooper
particularly likes jelly donuts, because she remarks that
the nightly donut layout at the station includes extra jelly
donuts for him. However, Cooper actually grabs what appears
to be a standard powdered sugar donut as she says it!
(Oddly, notice that Cooper pulls the donut into several
parts before beginning to eat it.)
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As Sarah Palmer has her vision of the necklace being dug up
in the woods, notice that the face of Killer BOB is seen in
the mirror hanging behind her. This was an accident, set
dresser Frank Silva's reflection was unintentionally caught
in the mirror during shooting and director David Lynch liked
it so much, he decided to cast Silva as the supernatural
Killer BOB. |
In Sarah's vision, we see a pair of gloved hands dig up the
half-heart locket James and Donna buried in the woods
earlier. We learn in
Episode 1: "Traces
to Nowhere", that
the gloved hands belonged to Dr. Jacoby.
Memorable Dialog
I sure know how to pick 'em.wav
a small box of chocolate bunnies.wav
tell Harry I didn't cry.wav
Okay,
Bob.wav
is there something wrong.wav
the Norwegians are leaving.wav
fire walk with me.wav
snowshoe rabbit.wav
we call her the Log Lady.wav
when your sweetheart's husband's in the joint for
manslaughter.wav
a town where a yellow light still means slow down, not speed
up.wav
Harry, you're all right.wav
gimme a donut.wav
smell those trees.wav
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