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Une Âme Solitaire: Fans in a Living Novel – Daniel Ceresia

Daniel Ceresia and I are fellow members of the Blue Rose Task Force.  We didn’t “meet” on a case diving deeper into Lois Duffy’s strange disappearances, but through Showtime’s conscious assembling of about twenty passionate Twin Peaks fans whose collective social media presence made 2017’s Season 3 more special than I could have possibly imagined. Each week, we were privileged to participate in group chats and to receive Twin Peaks goodies that enhanced our viewing experiences. Meeting people like Daniel opened me up to a much wider range of Twin Peaks fandom, outside my “normal” obsessive in-home experience, and the Task Force experiences were one of the driving forces in creating the Living Novel column.

Daniel and I found a shared sense of humor during a particularly difficult situation leading up to the 18-hour Twin Peaks marathon on Showtime. More on that later. We also share a love for Prince, and I always look forward to his regular Twin Peaks Revolution posts, complete with frequent shout-outs to Twitter followers and friends.  I always learn something new about the people I profile in the Living Novel, and Daniel is no exception. Daniel’s Twin Peaks fan fiction, complete with Horne family organ donation, was not something I expected to hear about when we sat down among the orchids.  Give yourself a present today, and enjoy this next entry.  I enjoyed being a part of it!

Twin Peaks Christmas Tree
I just know I’m gonna get lost in those woods again this Christmas…

Flashback to early 1990:

“My first experience with Twin Peaks was with the original run. The promos leading up to the April 8th, 1990 premiere drove me as crazy as the new Showtime promos did many years later for Season 3. The credits started, and I can remember feeling the electricity in the air. From the first image of Josie and [first] note of Angelo Badalamenti’s score, I knew this was something special. To this day, when Ray Wise drops the phone in the Pilot and starts to cry and says his daughter is dead, I still weep from his incredible performance! Each week, I went deeper into the woods and by the Season One finale I was fully invested and knew I was going to take whatever strange and wonderful journey Mark Frost and David Lynch took me on. Twin Peaks was a perfect fit on the shelf dedicated to my pop culture loves like Prince, Nightmare on Elm Street/Freddy Krueger, and Tim Burton’s Batman and I was happy to have it there.”

Leland gets a call from Sarah
“Sheriff Truman…”

The original series’ impact on Daniel:

Twin Peaks came at the perfect time. It was the weekly escape I took with my mom, as no one else I knew was into it like we were. High school was a difficult time for me. I was inspired by The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer to write a fiction diary named The Diary of Julian Ross, where I used the likenesses of people from my high school clique and, depending on how things were going, different scenarios would happen with them. [It was] my sort of harmless “Windom Earle therapy” that had a different mood and darkness, and brought to mind the familiar storylines of Days of Our Lives, Knots Landing and Melrose Place. I was dealing with my own issues of sexuality, and doing that solo and because the people of Twin Peaks, the town and its vibe were so different from anything I’d seen before, I somehow felt like I fit in. Plus, I love coffee and donuts!

I watched the show week-to-week and have a great memory of my mom (who has since passed), calling her from high school dances when ABC moved Twin Peaks from the original night to dreaded Saturday. I would run to the pay phone about five minutes before airtime and call to confirm that everything was set up.  I would rather have been home watching it live, but every time she never disappointed and answered the phone, “Yes, I have the tape in and I will get the credits.” I’d say “Thanks, Mom,” and I would be calm, knowing she had it all under control. I would race home after the dance and immediately, no matter what time, watch what had happened.

When the series ended, I had all the episodes on VHS and watched them at least once a year since, maybe more like three or four times the first few years, but who could say for sure. I watched so much I even wrote 35 pages of fan fiction before that was a “thing” to answer questions we were left with. I can’t remember it all, but I do remember that [in my fan fiction] Donna was a perfect match to donate a kidney to Audrey who survived the bank explosion, Catherine was reason for the explosion (not knowing Pete would tag along with double crossing Andrew), and Annie, along with a group that were close to Cooper, saved him with Love. Also, a Leland doppelgänger was in it in search of whatever was really in the bank vault Catherine swiped when she planted the bomb. I wanted more Leland because Ray Wise was pure genius in the role!”

Season 3 brings back some memories:

“I watched Season 3 much like I did the original, week-to-week. The only exception is, that this time, I got to experience it with a bigger group of people that shared the same love and passion. Over the years, usually around the time of my yearly Twin Peaks re-watch that usually start Feb 24th (Twin Peaks Day), I’ve gotten newbies into the show because of my constant talk of Twin Peaks. It’s fun hearing their experiences and it makes me almost jealous when I introduce new people to the show that haven’t been spoiled on “Who Killed Laura Palmer?” or any other little secrets from the show, wishing I could feel it like that again.  I get so much happy energy thinking of how awesome they must feel taking the journey I have taken over and over since it began!”

black coffee
Daniel enjoys his coffee black as midnight on a moonless night

The now-dreaded Living Novel question of a favorite scene or character:

“The question of a favorite scene or even character is hard because I don’t think I have one.  With Twin Peaks, I sometimes have a favorite shot, favorite image paired with sound, or even a favorite performance. I’d say Twin Peaks as a whole has the ability to give me every level of feels from dark and moody, to laughing at Albert hearing about Nadine’s eye being shot out, to the instant tears when I see the scene with Miss Jackpots cleaned up, and her conversation with Dougie and the Mitchum Brothers. Yes, they ARE dining with someone special. With the exception of the Ben Horne Civil War story, Twin Peaks can do no wrong for me.”

Thank you, Mr. Jackpots!
Thank you, Mr. Jackpots!

 

What is the Twin Peaks Revolution, and how did it develop?

“I created the Twin Peaks Revolution Facebook page and Twitter account on April 5th, 2015, after David Lynch’s tweet about dropping out of directing Twin Peaks because of differences with Showtime about the budget. When I heard that, I immediately thought of Audrey’s Miss Twin Peaks contest speech and felt like action needed to be taken.”

Audrey at Miss Twin Peaks contest
“There is only one way to save a forest, an idea or anything of value. And that is by refusing to stand by and watch it die. There is a law of nature that is more fundamental to the laws of life than they are to the laws of man. And when something you care about is in danger, you must fight to save it or lose it forever. Thank You.” – Audrey Horne

After posting tons of flyers around my Bucktown neighborhood where I lived on Palmer Street, I even enlisted the help of my dog Baxter to pose in the “Waiting Room” to let the powers that be know they needed to make it right. Because, who can resist a dog in front of red curtains on a black and white chevron floor? After Mr. Lynch rejoined the project, the page continued through the run of Season 3, and has since gone on to explore the original and now the new mysteries of Twin Peaks, and will soon take on Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks books. Season 3 was something special, as was being included in the Showtime Blue Rose Task Force. I met a lot of awesome people, and connected with so many others from those connections. We really are a whole damn town of people that love Twin Peaks. Because of the Twin Peaks Revolution and since the return ended, I’ve seen some really special bonds that have been formed because of Twin Peaks.

dog in the red room
“I’m… in the Black Lodge with… Baxter.”

This fandom, much like the show itself, is something wonderful and strange and I’m happy to be a part of it. It was the Blue Rose Task Force and those I met through it that helped me take on the first 18-hour Showtime Twin Peaks Marathon after a plumber made Dr. Amp’s slogan for his golden shovel a reality. At the exact time I’d planned on going to bed in order to watch from start to finish, a “black lodge” plumber came to the house and made such a huge mistake, so we were literally shoveling ourselves out of the shit. With one hour of sleep before the marathon was scheduled to start, I found the live tweeting with Blue Rose Agents and others just what was just what I needed to take the entire journey from start to finish! Well, that and the copious amounts of coffee and Dunkin’ Donuts delivered by Doordash!”

Twin peaks books and funko pops
Some of your friends are here

 

As I mentioned earlier, meeting Daniel and others through the Blue Rose Task Force has opened my world up to many new people with new perspectives on the world of Twin Peaks that we all love.  Daniel sums up his experiences:

“Before I was a part of the Blue Rose Task Force set up by Showtime, I’ve always felt alone in my fandom of Twin Peaks and to find so many others through that and the Twin Peaks Revolution has been incredible.”

Most people know Daniel as:

@TwinPeaksRevolu onTwitter

Twin Peaks Revolution on Facebook and

@DCeresia on Twitter

He can be reached at either Twin Peaks Revolution on @Facebook or @TwinPeaksRevolu on @Twitter or on his personal page on Twitter at @DCeresia

Daniel Ceresia
Daniel *is* the man!

 


Twin_Petes is a 27 year-plus fan of the show, music, merchandise, and emotions that emanate from the woods surrounding Blue Pine and Whitetail Mountains.  He and his family now reside in what can best be described as the Purple World.  His favorite response to most questions is: “That…cannot be revealed.”  He loves all things Lynch and Frost.  You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @Twin_Petes.

Written by Twin_Petes

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