Cherry Pie And Damn Good Coffee: A Beginners Guide To Twin Peaks

'Twin Peaks' may be returning for a third season with Kyle MacLachlan back as Dale Cooper, but after two and a half decades a new generation brings new potential viewers. So what do 'Twin Peaks' virgins need to know about this cult classic?

David Lynch is well-known for his quirky, often bizarre filmmaking, but his early 90s TV series 'Twin Peaks' has by far the biggest cult following of all. Set in a sleepy, fictional town in Washington, 'Twin Peaks' was an intriguing mix of murder mystery, psychological thriller and supernatural horror. Now, almost 25 years since the dramatic conclusion of series 2 which saw main character Special Agent Dale Cooper being replaced by an evil doppelganger after apparently rescuing his lover Annie Blackburn, it has been announced that a third series is getting under way. It's been a while, but here's ten things you need to know:

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1. Laura Palmer - The brutal murder of lovable but deeply troubled high school student Laura Palmer was the central plot throughout series 1 and 2. After being discovered on a river bank stripped of her clothes and wrapped in plastic, Sheriff Harry S. Truman enlisted FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper to help uncover the murderer, with Laura's less than loyal boyfriend Bobby, her secret lover James and her obsessive psychiatrist Dr. Lawrence Jacoby among the many suspects.

2. Killer BOB - A demonic entity named Killer BOB is responsible for possessing the residents of 'Twin Peaks' and causing them to commit murder and other evil acts. Series 2 saw him unveiled as the real culprit behind Laura's murder, using her distraught father Leland Palmer as his host. His reflection was also seen at the end of series 2, when it became apparent that he had possessed Cooper's doppelganger and usurped his life.

3. Twins - It's called 'Twin' Peaks for a reason. In series 2, Cooper encounters doppelgangers of various people who had died in the show so far, as well as himself (who was soon brought back to life by Bob). The other startling example was Laura's cousin Maddy Ferguson, who bore a striking resemblance to her relative and found that everyone appeared to be treating her as though she was Laura in the flesh after she arrived in the town to pay her respects.

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Next page: Damn fine coffee & the Log Lady

4. Diane - Dale Cooper records messages describing all daily events - from his breakfast to his case findings - on a dictaphone, addressing what appears to be his mysterious secretary named 'Diane'. However, he never speaks directly to her and we're left wondering whether or not she's a real person - or just another one of his strange quirks.

5. Cherry pie and damn good coffee - You can get a great cherry pie and a 'damn fine cup of coffee' from Norma's Double R Diner, which Cooper found out on his arrival. It's just as well there's something sweet to start your day with, what with all the horror that every character is cursed with.

6. Dreams - Cooper solves cases through his experience of weird prophetic dreams. The exploration of dreams is a major theme in various David Lynch movies, with his extraordinary ability to touch upon the bizarre that usually only one's unconscious mind can access. Though as strange as Cooper's dreams about the Giant, the One Armed Man and the red room etc. are, they all turn out to be scarily real.

More: Read our review of the 'Twin Peaks' series

7. The Log Lady - Each episode of series 1 and 2 featured an introduction from the Log Lady; a solitary woman of perhaps slightly cuckoo disposition who never went anywhere without her apparently psychic timber tucked under her arm. As eccentric as he is, Cooper used her log's 'evidence' as he attempted to solve the Laura Palmer murder case, though it was never clear exactly how much sense the Log Lady really made.

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8. The Lodges - The gateways to heaven and hell can be found at the White Lodge and the Black Lodge, set within the eerie forest surrounding Twin Peaks. That's when things start to get really surreal - in true Lynch style. Cooper had been dreaming about the strange realms for weeks and, as it turns out, the Black Lodge is where his brief experience of death takes place, and appears to be the source of all evil in Twin Peaks.

Next page: Secrets and fire

9. Secrets - There's very few - if any - inherently 'good' characters in the show; everybody seems to have a dirty secret, or at least have their own reasons for hiding things from certain people. Laura Palmer herself is the prime example, living an extraordinary double life of giggling high school girl one minute, to a drug-taking sexual deviant the next. Sheriff Truman seemed sincere enough, until he initially failed to arrest the glamorous mill owner Josie Packard despite having suspicions of her involvement in Laura Palmer's death (though she was not responsible for this crime, she did attempt to shoot Cooper dead in series 1). As for good ol' Cooper himself, he had an affair with the wife of his former partner which ultimately drove him mad. Go figure.

Sheryl Lee and Ray Wise played Laura Palmer and her father Leland Palmer

10. Fire - Fire is a common theme throughout 'Twin Peaks'. From the name of the 1992 film version 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me', to Laura's strange comments to James before she died. 'Would you like to play with fire, little boy? Would you like to play with Bob?' he said to the police that she had told him, as well as revealing over tape to Dr. Jacoby that 'This guy can really light my fire' - a comment that James himself thought to be significant. The other obvious reference was the lumber mill burning down; a devious plot that became central to much of series 1.

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Expect plenty more fire, secrets and supernatural murders for the third series, as well as that finger-snapping, cool jazz soundtrack we all know and love. And with the ever trustworthy Cooper now apparently possessed by BOB, no-one in Twin Peaks is safe.