In the early '90s, David Lynch and Mark Frost brought the eerie, offbeat world of "Twin Peaks" to ABC, in what would come to be known as one of the creepiest TV shows of all time. But what went on behind the scenes of "Twin Peaks," and what are the coolest trivia facts you might not know about the cult classic series? Starring Sherilyn Fenn, Kyle MacLachlan, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Ray Wise, the series is a fan favorite to this day, and this list features fun facts about "Twin Peaks" that you might not have known.
Who was Sheriff Truman really named after? What was the deal with the voices in the Black Lodge? What was the deal with the Black Lodge in general?! From dancing little people, cross-dressing David Duchovny, and the question that dominated water cooler conversation ("Who killed Laura Palmer?"), there are plenty of things that might surprise you about "Twin Peaks."
Read through the list below, reminiscing about your favorite supernatural TV series and learning lots of fun "Twin Peaks" trivia, like something crazy about Hank's prison number, and even what the Great Northern is like today. Vote up the most interesting "Twin Peaks" facts, then go get yourself a damn good cup of coffee.
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The voices in the Black Lodge are the cast reading backwards.
To get the vocal effects for the Black Lodge sequences, the actors learned their lines backwards, then the recording itself was played backwards, so the lines came out in the right order, but sounded super spooky.
Only 5,120 people live in Twin Peaks.
At the time (1990), there was a backlash against TV shows set in rural communities. So, ABC, worried that new urban and suburban American communities wouldn't be able to relate to shows set in small towns, asked that the sign as you enter Twin Peaks read "51,201." However, David Lynch and Mark Frost made sure it was noted in a tie-in book, Visitor's Guide to Twin Peaks, that the sign had a typo.
Maddy Ferguson wasn't supposed to be on the show.
Laura Palmer's lookalike cousin was created because David Lynch was so impressed with actress Sheryl Lee (who also played Laura) that he wanted her in the series full time.
David Lynch loved Robocop.
Or at least loved Miguel Ferrer in Robocop. After seeing Ferrer in the film, Lynch cast him as FBI Agent Rosenfield.
Dr. Jacoby is based on ethnobotanist Terrence McKenna.
Jacoby is similar to the late ethnobotanist in many ways. They have a similar physical appearance, personal style, and career path. Both spent time in Hawaii, and Jacoby's famous mushroom lamp reflects McKenna's writings on psychedelic mushroom culture.
The Black Lodge floor pattern appears elsewhere too.
The same pattern is in the lobby of Henry's house in Eraserhead (also directed by David Lynch) and on Leland Palmer's coat in the first episode.
Cooper's brother played a corpse.
The corpse in season 2, episode 13, "Checkmate," was played by Kyle MacLachlan's brother, Craig.
Audrey and Cooper were supposed to be in love.
But instead, Kyle MacLachlan (Cooper) refused to let the storyline develop, resulting in some abrupt changes on the part of the writers. The move alienated the audience and resulted in the characters of Justice Wheeler and Annie, to give Cooper and Audrey new love interests.
At the time, MacLachlan claimed that he didn't believe Cooper, being so morally upright, would date an "underage girl" like Audrey. However, it is also rumored that MacLachlan stood his ground after pressure from his fellow cast member (and girlfriend at the time), Lara Flynn Boyle. She and Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey) did not get along on set.
Ironically, Annie was played by Heather Graham, who was younger than Fenn.
Twin Peaks was influenced by Marilyn Monroe.
Many elements of Marilyn Monroe's life can be found in "Twin Peaks," as Lynch and Frost were working on a screen adaption of Monroe's biography, Goddess, before focusing on "Twin Peaks" after they couldn't get the rights.
Most notably, Laura was killed just before going through with plans to go public with information about the famous and powerful man with whom she was having an affair.
BOB was the set decorator!
Lynch came up with the idea for BOB (and the entire series mythology) when he had a vision of Frank Silva, the set decorator, hidden in Laura Palmer's bedroom. They shot the famous BOB scene without knowing exactly how it would fit in. Then, purely by accident, Silva is visible as BOB in a shot of Sarah Palmer screaming (he can be seen as a reflection). And thus, the mythology was born.