Twin Peaks and Philosophy Twin Peaks and Philosophy A Supernatural Soap Opera Siobhan Lyons “I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange.” -Dale Cooper, Twin Peaks Identity Crisis When Twin Peaks first arrived on television in 1990, it signalled a substantial shift in American television, featuring a morass of conflicting techniques and traits, from soap opera- ish theatrics, metafictional comedy, and supernatural elements which would go on to influence other shows such as The X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As Slavoj Žižek notes, Twin Peaks was “simultaneously comical, provoking laughter; unbearably naïve; and yet to be taken thoroughly ‘seriously.’” That it exhibited a homelessness of genre won over audiences with its quirky take on a serious subject matter. The show’s narrative catalyst was the death of prom queen Laura Palmer, found washed up on a rocky beach “wrapped in plastic.” Her untimely and mysterious death sets off a chain of events both bizarre and surreal within the small town, weaving a web of deception in the everyday lives of its citizens.