The Bicks Pod

Episode 24 - The Condemned Woman

Today: Coop and Albert get nosy, the Angels explore the art of poesy, Ed & Norma get real cozy...and--no, really guys--what the hell happened to Josie?!
Cooper and Albert zero in on the culprit behind who shot Cooper in his hotel room, as well as who shot Jonathan in the Seattle airport...and the result of their investigation isn't going to sit well with Sheriff Truman, who already knows the truth. Elsewhere, Josie comes face-to-face with yet another figure from her sordid past, and the wheels are set in motion, picking up speed as they carry her to her eventual fate.
Also: Audrey falls head over heels for a near-total stranger! Ben Horne turns a new leaf! Nadine breaks up with Ed! Norma breaks up with Hank! Josie breaks up with life on the corporeal plane of existence! Is this finally the end of the Season 2 nadir? Who knows anything about poetry? And what's BOB got to do with this?
These questions and many more will remain largely unanswered at the end of today's episode, but don't touch that drawer pull: we're just getting started with Twin Peaks Season 2 episode 16: "The Condemned Woman"
Notes:
Aidan asked for it, so we'll deliver: here is this week's mangled translation, put through Google Translate in German, to English, to Turkish, to French, to Spanish, and then back into English: "They Have Low" (Not a bad title. I think that's what we'll refer to this episode as from now on...)
Joan Chen runs a food blog! And she posted her story, in her own words, about why she left Twin Peaks. It's lovely and bittersweet and very poignant, and it's coupled with a coconut cookie recipe that sounds kind of amazing, so definitely check it out
"The price of eggs" is absolutely a saying. We had honestly never heard it before! Clearly we have been tainted by the creepiness of JJW if our first thought was to ascribe something different to his meaning...
Here's an article from the Orlando Sentinel from 10 March 1991, about the return of Twin Peaks to TV screens following its 6-week hiatus
The fun fan theory about the Four Seasons of Twin Peaks

Special Episode - My Life My Tapes

Wherein Aidan, Lindsay, and special guest Eileen delve into The Autobiography of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life My Tapes by Scott Frost.
Written during Season 2 and released when the show was nearing its cancellation date, Dale Cooper's autobiography has long been divisive amongst Twin Peaks fans, who seem to either love it or hate it. We will attempt to break down the big themes and understand a little bit more about the nature of this book, what it's trying to say, and where it might be pointing us to as we come to the end of our original series recaps.
Notes:
You can find Eileen on Twitter (@steel_neena)
Special thanks to Kevin (@KevMack1213) and John (@jpb_littlegreen) for spurring on discussion, both on Twitter and within this podcast episode!
Big ups to Lee S. Millard whose beautifully digitized version of the out-of-print My Life My Tapes was how we all managed to read this book for the ep. You can find it here (in iBook and PDF format)
"Diane: The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper" is available to listen to here
Eileen realized she misspoke after we finished recording, and insisted I issue a correction: she cited the novel The Great Gatsby when she in fact meant to cite Pride & Prejudice...as a teacher, she felt it was prudent to get that fact straight!
We also didn't correct ourselves about the topic of Donna's blue sweater: she did not wear it during her first visit with the Tremonds but instead wears it when she gets Laura's glasses from Maddy.
Who is Marshall McLuhan? Glad you asked
Full text of the famous children's nonsense poem, from the British Columbia Folklore Society
Links to other My Life My Tapes analyses:
Sparkwood & 21
Twin Peaks Unwrapped

Outtake - My Life My Tapes

Our conversation lasted for nearly 3 hours; we had an amazing time. Some of what we talked about seemed fitting to slip in here as a kind of bonus feature: more information on the Moonchild/Antichrist, Dale's religious experiences, a brief theory about Diane and the Peking duck, and Aidan tells us all about the Real Summer Houses of Flin Flon, Manitoba...
Notes:
Information on Flin Flon's history as the hydroponics lab of Canada
We are extremely loathe to link to the Calgary Sun (not only because we're Edmontonians but also because the Sun is basically a tabloid) but this is a fun little look at Rudyard Kipling's historical connection to Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Episode 23 - Slaves and Masters

Evelyn Marsh says goodbye, Ben shouts his final battle cry, and Windom's gift is terrifying. Cooper makes a big break through in the case of "Who Shot Me?", but the answer he gets leaves him in a bit of a quandary with Sheriff Truman since, well...*ahem* MEANWHILE, Albert returns to grace our screen and bring terrible news that Windom Earle is absolutely coming for Coop. Threats abound and Coop's taken to wearing flannels. Whatever is going to happen? Is Cooper being a terrible friend to Truman? Did Diane Keaton really direct the worst episode in the history of Twin Peaks?
Also: Evelyn takes charge (and gallops off our screen for good!) Ben Horne has a Dorothy moment! Ed and Norma let Nadine into bed...sort of! And guess who's coming to dinner at the Blue Pine Lodge?
We've slaved away through the Season 2 doldrums and now we're lifting the veil of darkness that's settled over it all since the reveal of Laura's killer. And we're so fortunate to have friend of the podcast and all-around superfan & superguy John (@jpb_littlegreen) to help us pick up the pieces and lead us into the rising action driving us toward the finale! You ready for this? It's Twin Peaks S2E15: "Slaves and Masters"
Notes:
Here's a link to @NoShipNetwork's "Sparkwood and 21" podcast, which we highly encourage fans of this show to check out. Em & Steve do a fantastic job breaking down the big topics (check out our guest John and his "timequake" theory in S&21's The Secret History of Twin Peaks episode!) and incorporate listener feedback, which is always awesome!
Here's a link to the Sparknotes plot synopsis of Samuel Beckett's "Endgame"--you tell us, listeners, is this what's being acted out between Leo and Windom in the woods outside Twin Peaks?
And here's a link to the Ken Burns' Civil War series--a must-watch for history buffs, but if you're a history buff, you don't need us to tell you about it!
Who is that chess player? Well, he's José Raúl Capablanca, duh!
For a primer on some of the ways in which David Lynch allows the Wizard of Oz to permeate his work, here is a quick PopOptiq article that outlines the myriad references to L Frank Baum's immortal children's book in Lynch's hyper sexual and uber violent Wild at Heart
And here is the Wiki article about the aesthetic (philosophy) tenet known as the Uncanny Valley

Episode 22 - Double Play

Cooper's past is unsealed, Leo is miraculously healed, Ben moves on the battlefield, & Windom Earle is revealed... Cooper finally confides in Truman about the extent of his involvement with Windom Earle and Windom's wife, Caroline. With the former Agent Earle having taken a pawn off the board, the stakes are growing higher. Will they be able to find him before he makes his next move? (Of course they won't--we've still got 9 episodes left until the finale!)
Meanwhile: Leo wakes up! Audrey finds a new business partner! James is set up! And Thomas Eckhardt reappears!
Notes:
This is Scott Frost's second and final outing as head writer for an episode. We last saw him in Episode 8 of this season ("Drive With a Dead Girl")
Can't believe we're linking this, but here goes: the song Ben Horne sings so gallantly is "Dixie", an old Confederate tune. 

Episode 21 - Checkmate

Cooper plots a ruse, Dick & Andy hunt for clues, Ben seems quite confused, and the station blows a fuse in this week's episode of Twin Peaks. The sting operation up at Dead Dog Farm gets put into motion and goes spectacularly awry owing to a quirk of nervous physiology. After several hours, hostage negotiations come to a head with some quick thinking by Denise and Cooper that leaves one of the drug dealers dead; Cooper, meanwhile, has to grapple with the fear and insecurity that, maybe, his presence in Twin Peaks has brought a nightmare to town...
Also: Ben goes to Gettysburg! Ed and Norma make it official! Leo acts like a clown! James and Evelyn...do stuff?...honestly we don't even remember. And it's lights out at the Sheriff's Station--and who's that guy in Truman's office???

Episode 20 - The Black Widow

Wherein a widow is made, a battle plan laid, and a secret drug deal betrayed! Cooper decides to go all in and purchase some real estate in town, but all is not what it seems at Dead Dog Farm. Bobby Briggs inadvertently helps Audrey to clear Cooper's name when the photos he's taken of Hank Jennings for Ben Horne wind up proving that the drug charges against Coop have been trumped up. Meanwhile, Windom Earle has predicted Cooper's opening chess move perfectly, further underscoring the brilliance and danger of his opponent. Major Briggs also makes a momentous return in his family living room after a strange and unexplained absence...
Also: Nadine goes a-rasslin'! Lana bewitches the Sheriff's department! Molly Shannon is here! And James and Evelyn...well the less said about them, the better!

Episode 19 - Masked Ball

In which we delve into the mythos of Twin Peaks, following the mysterious disappearance of Major Briggs during his and Coop's night fishing trip. Cooper, confident in the rightness of his actions, settles into civilian life in Twin Peaks, welcomes an old friend to town, and starts studying up for the chess match of his life.
Also! Ben goes to the movies! Nadine joins the wrestling team! Josie sleeps in! Doug Milford gets hitched! Whyyy is James hanging out with Evelyn Marsh and who the heck cares about Little Nicky Needleman?!
Notes:
A brief history of laptop computing
We were wrong (not the first time, won't be the last)--malteds and milkshakes aren't the same thing. Here's an explanation of why
...but Lindsay was right! "Dweller on the Threshold" is a song by Van Morrison.
And just for fun, here's the opening credits sequence to Season 1 of The Mod Squad. (Also...did you know Peggy Lipton released a psychedelic soft rock album?!)