I'm a big fan of the old David Lynch show, 'Twin Peaks'. If you've got the Bravo channel you can watch the repeats right now! I give you the Cyber-Premier of the Twin Peaks Game! Well, it's really nothing but the fans will like it. If the rest of you feel like watching the re-broadcasts of the show and catching up to the rest of us that's fine by me.

Here it is. The Twin Peaks Game is a game similar to the 'Six Degrees to Kevin Bacon' game, only much simpler. Since the show went off the air I've noticed an unusual number of times where you will find pairings of former TP cast members in various shows and movies. That is to say, if you're watching a movie that has an actor from TP in it, look around because before too long the odds are pretty good that there'll be at least one more TP connection! It certainly doesn't work in every case but as I said, it does in an unusually large number of cases. For example…

• 'The People Under the Stairs' pairs Big Ed and Nadine in lead roles.
• 'Seinfeld' has a couple of different couplings. Ian Abercrombie, the actor who portrayed Mr. Pitt was the insurance adjuster in TP. By itself it's no big deal but notice episodes where there's also the presence of the Sue-Ellen Mishke character and you have another pairing (That actress tried to seduce and kill Harry after Josie died in TP). Doc Hayward and Laura Palmer's mom are now husband and wife in 'Seinfeld'. Coincidence? I think not!

I believe there's some sort of conspiracy involving the 'Twin Peaks' cast! If not a conspiracy, then definitely some sort of dark magic at work here…perhaps from the Black Lodge.

Where did all this begin? How does such a thing happen? I've done some research on this subject and I think I've found the source of this magic. Read on!

THE ORIGINAL SIN!

This can all be traced to one moment in cinema. One film started this bizarre string of circumstances that culminated in the airing and subsequent cancellation of 'Twin Peaks'. The Original sin I refer to… the movie, 'West Side Story'. Richard Beymer (Ben Horn) and Russ Tamblyn (Dr. Jacobi) were both cast in the lead male roles in this musical many years ago. Their careers have been tainted ever since; causing the powers that be to forever link the eventual cast members of 'Twin Peaks'.

Okay, it's not much of a theory and I've got nothing else to back up the whole conspiracy thing, but it is a cool coincidence.

There are 2 ways to play this game. The simplest is to look for a second TP cast member in any show you happen to watch that already has one firmly in place. This is fun even when you're alone. (God, I need a life!)

The second way is to compile a huge list of movies and TV shows in your head and challenge your friends to find the connection. This is only fun if you have many friends who are also TP fans which based on most of you…you have those friends! I promise you'll be amazed at how often this pairing happens. You'll also be surprised at the odd places the TP connections pop up.

I'll start you off with a few examples and you can take it from there. This is by no means an all-inclusive list (I can't find my master list! D'oh!) But it will get the ball rolling. I encourage you to play along whenever you're watching TV, movies, and plays! But don't be greedy. Send them along to andy@andymartello.com and I'll post all of your findings. I'm working on prizes for new entries but until then you'll have to settle for the satisfaction of knowing that you're adding to this cool game. Together we can make this list grow and have a really stupid party game to boot! How cool is that?

Basic Rules to Follow:

The connections can be found in virtually any medium. Stage plays, movies, cartoons, commercials, and TV shows are all eligible. If you want to over-complicate this game and establish point values for certain things go ahead.

Cast members of the TP movie; 'Fire walk With Me' count in this game. You must let your competitor's know that they're from the movie and not the TV show. This makes for interesting connections when you play the Harry Dean Stanton or Moira Kelly cards.

House Rules must determine all qualifiers at the beginning of the game. If you don't want to include 'Blue Velvet' for the Harry Dean Stanton or Angelo Badalamenti connection, you must state this at the beginning.

The more esoteric the reference, the better I say! This separates the men from the boys and should carry more weight. I'll include some doozies in the list to follow.

Any connection is good. It doesn't have a time reference. If you've found some awesome connection from 'The Mod Squad' USE IT and pass it along to me.

A Partial List to Get You Started

• 'Titanic' Look for Billy Zane and The actor who played Thomas Eckhart (what was his name again?)
• 'Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead' This pairing happens within 5 minutes of the first spotting. Kimmy Robertson (Lucy) and David Duchovny (Agt. Bryson) have a scene together.
• 'A League of Their Own' Major Briggs (Forget his name) and David Lander (Squiggy…I don't even remember his character's name in TP) are both featured in this movie. A good card to play if you're competing with others.
• 'Cabin Boy' One of the more unusual pairings. Russ Tamblyn plays a half-man-half-shark character and the actor who played the District Attorney in TP plays the ship's captain in 'Cabin Boy'. (I'll get the names straight soon, I promise)
• 'The X Files' MANY times you'll find TP reunions. If anyone wants to get specific and send the episode titles that would be great.
• 'Saturday Night Live' At least 2 episodes fulfill the requirements of this game. The episodes with David Duchovny and Heather Grahm are qualifiers. Why? Ha! Here's a good one. Molly Shannon appeared as a social worker in TP once. She had lines and everything! Most importantly she was a cast member of SNL when Duchovny and Grahm were hosts.
• 'Army of Darkness' This is the current winner for most esoteric match-up! Ian Abercrombie (the insurance adjuster) and Ted Raimi are both in this film. Ted Raimi? Joxer? Yes! Ted Raimi was the loner who died inside the large chess piece in TP. HA! Beat that!

There's just a few to start you off. I'll be adding to the list as I find new entries. Please send along your TP connections and check back here often to see what's been added to the list.

To review the cast list visit the cast archive at http://www.twinpeaks.org/