In the summer of 1992, U.S. media picked up on a peculiar phenomenon. “Twin Peaks,” the by then canceled ABC series created by David Lynch (who passed away at age 78 last week) and Mark Frost, had become a cultural sensation in Japan. Stranger still, many of those caught up in the excitement didn’t seem to have even watched the show.
A segment on Entertainment Tonight showed Japanese tourists on a group tour of Snoqualmie in the state of Washington, where much of the series was shot. The Los Angeles Times reported that locals had started giving the visitors plastic sheets so they could photograph themselves wrapped up like the corpse of Laura Palmer, the high school homecoming queen whose murder provided the catalyst for the story.
Back in Japan, daytime TV programs speculated about the identity of Laura’s killer, while convenience stores began stocking cherry pie, the favorite treat of FBI special agent Dale Cooper, the show’s protagonist. Film magazines — the tastemakers of the pre-internet age — ran lavish coverage. Yet anyone wanting to watch “Twin Peaks” had to sign up for a subscription to fledgling satellite broadcaster Wowow, which had snagged the broadcast rights, or else hope to find a copy at their local video rental shop. By all accounts, it was a long wait.
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