Bob | |
---|---|
Twin Peaks character | |
![]() Frank Silva as Bob in a promotional still for Twin Peaks | |
First appearance | "Pilot" (1990) |
Last appearance | "Part 17" (2017) |
Created by | David Lynch and Mark Frost |
Portrayed by | Frank Silva |
Duration | 1990-1992; 2017 |
In-universe information | |
Affiliated with | Black and White Lodge |
Date of birth | c. 1945 |
Date of death | October 2, 2016 |
Bob (sometimes known as BOB or Killer BOB) is a fictional character in the ABC television series Twin Peaks, played by Frank Silva. [1] He is an interdimensional entity who feeds on pain and sorrow. An inhabiting spirit, he possesses human beings and then commits acts of rape and murder in order to feast on the suffering of his victims. [1] In the film Fire Walk With Me , this suffering is called "garmonbozia" and can manifest in the form of creamed corn.
Bob made his first appearance in the pilot episode, "Northwest Passage", where he makes a brief appearance in a vision seen by Sarah Palmer. The character eventually grew into the series' main antagonist in the second season. Silva, a set dresser on the pilot, was given the role of Bob after a reflection of his face in a mirror was accidentally captured by the camera during filming. When series creator David Lynch saw Silva's face, he liked it so much he kept it in the show, and cast him as Bob. [2] Although he died before production on the 2017 revival began, he appears in the series through archival footage and CGI.
In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked him No. 5 of their "40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time". [3]
Bob is an interdimensional entity from the Black Lodge, a realm which exists on an alternate plane of reality. While "possessing" humans, he commits horrible crimes to elicit pain, fear, and suffering in those around him. In a series of promotional trading cards issued for Twin Peaks, his birth date is listed as "From the beginning of time", and his "accomplishments" are listed as "I have survived as long as man has been on earth." [4]
During his investigation of Laura Palmer's (Sheryl Lee) murder, FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) first learns of Bob's existence in a vision, in which he encounters another entity named Mike (Al Strobel). In this vision, Cooper learns that Bob was in life a serial killer who raped and murdered young women, with Mike as his accomplice. Mike eventually repented, removing his left arm in order to be rid of the tattoo that he shared with Bob. [5] At the beginning of the second season, one of Bob's intended victims, Ronnette Pulaski (Phoebe Augustine), awakens from a coma induced by her torture at Bob's hands, at which time she identifies Bob as Laura's killer. Cooper and the Twin Peaks Sheriff department canvass the town with wanted posters of Bob. Leland Palmer (Ray Wise), Laura's father, identifies the man in the poster as "Robertson", and says that he lived near his grandfather and used to taunt Leland when he was a child. [6]
When Leland talks about knowing Bob as a child and says this was someone who invited me to play and I invited him in, there's a certain classic type of vampire myth that comes into play when a soul that invites something into it to take part in its life cannot then refuse it anything. That's a myth that goes way back before pre-Christian times and that's one possible explanation... the other is that Leland is just completely whacked out of his mind
—Mark Frost, describing Bob's psychic power, from the book Twin Peaks: Behind-the-scenes: An Unofficial Visitors Guide to Twin Peaks
It is later revealed that Bob is, in fact, possessing Leland, and has been "possessing" him ever since Leland first met him as a child at his grandfather's house. [7] Under Bob's influence, Leland sexually abused his own daughter for years, and finally murdered her. Leland is also under Bob's control when he murders Leland's niece Maddy Ferguson (Lee), who looks just like Laura. [8] Upon learning the truth, Cooper lures Bob into a trap by tricking Leland into allowing himself to be questioned. Under interrogation, Bob takes control and taunts Cooper before forcing Leland to bash his head repeatedly into the wall, sustaining fatal injuries. [9] In his dying breaths, Leland states when he was a child he saw Bob in a dream and invited him inside, before stating that he never knew when Bob was in control of his body. After Leland dies, Cooper engages in a philosophical debate with Sheriff Harry Truman (Michael Ontkean) and Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer) over how real Bob was, and whether or not Bob was in fact a physical incarnation of Leland's personal demons. [10] Although the men cannot agree on a unifying idea, they do come to the conclusion that Bob is a manifestation of "the evil that men do". [11]
Cooper sees a vision of Bob taunting him shortly after Josie Packard (Joan Chen) has a sudden heart attack as he tries to arrest her. It is implied that Bob caused the heart attack by flooding her body and soul with terror, literally frightening her to death.
In the final episode, Cooper ventures into the Black Lodge to apprehend his former partner, rogue FBI Agent Windom Earle (Kenneth Welsh), who is attempting to harness the power of the Lodge for himself. [12] When Earle tries to strike a bargain with Cooper in which Cooper will sell his soul to Earle in exchange for Earle sparing Cooper's lover, Annie Blackburn (Heather Graham), Bob appears, causing time in the Lodge to reverse to the moment before Cooper agreed to sell his soul. Bob informs Cooper that the Black Lodge is his domain, and thus Earle has trespassed by coming into it and demanding Cooper's soul for himself. As a punishment, Bob kills Earle, taking Earle's soul for himself. Cooper attempts to flee, but Bob traps him in the Lodge, exiting inside of a doppelgänger of Cooper. The series ends with Bob maniacally laughing alongside the doppelgänger in a mirror. [13]
The 2017 revival explores Bob's origins in "Part 8", showing that an orb bearing his face was created by the Experiment during the first atomic bomb test in 1945. The creation of Bob's orb is witnessed by The Fireman (Carel Struycken), who creates an orb bearing the face of Laura Palmer in response.
In the present, Bob continues to inhabit Cooper's doppelgänger ("Mr. C") and appears as an orb inside of his body. If the doppelgänger suffers a fatal injury, a group of Woodsmen dig Bob out of his body and Bob returns to the doppelgänger when he is revived.
After the doppelgänger is shot and killed by Lucy Brennan (Kimmy Robertson), Bob is again removed from his body, but quickly finds himself confronted by Freddie Sykes (Jake Wardle), who was given a supernatural glove by the Fireman. The two fight, which ends with Freddie destroying Bob by punching him into the stratosphere.
The impetus for the series Twin Peaks was the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer. During the filming of a scene in the pilot, "Northwest Passage", taking place in Laura's room, Frank Silva, a set dresser, accidentally trapped himself in the room by inadvertently moving a dresser in front of the door. When told of the incident, Lynch had an image of Silva stuck in the room and thought it could fit into the series. After filming him crouched at the foot of Laura's bed, looking through the bars of the footboard, as if he were "trapped" behind them, Lynch filmed the scene a second time, without Silva. After reviewing the footage, Lynch liked Silva's presence so much that he decided to make him part of the series. [2]
Later that day, a scene was being filmed in which Laura's mother experiences a terrifying vision; at the time, the script did not indicate what Mrs Palmer had seen. Lynch was pleased with how the scene turned out, but a crew member informed him that it would have to be re-shot, because a mirror in the scene had inadvertently picked up Silva's reflection. Lynch considered this a "happy accident", and decided that Silva's unnamed character would be revealed as Laura's true killer. [2] At the 2013 Twin Peaks Retrospective at USC, Phoebe Augustine, who played Ronette Pulaski, recalled being afraid of Silva as she noticed him standing out among the crew while filming her scene on the railroad tracks in the pilot episode. When Augustine told Lynch she was becoming afraid of Silva and asked who he was, Lynch, according to Augustine, said, "That's the bad guy, but don't tell anyone." [2] [14]
Twin Peaks is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for a third season on Showtime.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Dale Bartholomew Cooper is a fictional character who is the protagonist of the ABC and Showtime television series Twin Peaks, and plays a supporting role in the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. He is portrayed in all his appearances by Kyle MacLachlan.
The Man from Another Place, also known as The Arm, is a character from the television series Twin Peaks, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. He is an inhabitant of the Black Lodge, a realm of pure evil. He was created from MIKE's severed left arm. Early on in the series, The Man gives Agent Dale Cooper clues to apprehending The Man's nemesis, BOB. He later makes recurring appearances in relation to the Black Lodge.
Laura Palmer is a fictional character in the Twin Peaks franchise and the primary focus of the series. She is portrayed by Sheryl Lee and was created by the series creators David Lynch and Mark Frost. She first appears in the ABC original series Twin Peaks. A high school student whose death is the catalyst for the events of the series, Palmer is the protagonist in Lynch's prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), which depicts the final week of her life leading up to her murder. Laura also appears in the novels, Twin Peaks: The Return (2017), and a variety of merchandise based on the series.
Twin Peaks, Washington is a fictional town in the U.S. state of Washington, serving as the primary setting of the television series Twin Peaks, created by Mark Frost and David Lynch, and the 2017 revival Twin Peaks: The Return. It was also featured in scenes in the 1992 movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and the feature-length deleted scenes compilation, Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces. Places commonly shown within the series include the Double R Diner, The Great Northern Hotel, The Black Lodge, and The White Lodge.
Leland Palmer is a fictional character from the ABC and Showtime television series Twin Peaks, and one of the main characters in the prequel film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. He is portrayed in all his appearances by Ray Wise.
Madeleine "Maddy" Ferguson is a fictional character in the Twin Peaks franchise. She was created by the series creators David Lynch and Mark Frost and portrayed by Sheryl Lee. Introduced in the fourth episode of the first season, Maddy is the older cousin of Laura Palmer who comes to Twin Peaks to help her aunt and uncle cope with the death of their daughter. Over the course of the series, Maddy forms a close friendship with Donna Hayward and James Hurley, Laura's closest friends, and assists them in their investigation into her death. Originally, she was not intended to be a part of the series but was created by David Lynch so that Lee could have a larger role in the series.
The Giant is a character from the television series Twin Peaks, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. He is played by Carel Struycken.
"Episode 29", also known as "Beyond Life and Death", is the twenty-second and final episode of the second season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. Episode 29 served as the final episode of Twin Peaks for over 25 years, until Twin Peaks: The Return was aired in 2017. Upon its original airing in 1991, the episode was paired with episode 28 to form the second hour of what was then billed as a two-part series finale. The episode was written by the series co-creator Mark Frost, producer Harley Peyton and regular writer Robert Engels and was directed by series co-creator David Lynch, who rewrote parts of the script. It features series regulars Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Richard Beymer and Kenneth Welsh; and guest stars Frank Silva as Killer Bob, Michael J. Anderson as The Man from Another Place, Carel Struycken as The Giant, and Heather Graham as Annie Blackburn.
"Episode 14", also known as "Lonely Souls", is the seventh episode of the second season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. The episode was written by series co-creator Mark Frost and directed by series co-creator David Lynch. It features series regulars Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Ray Wise and Richard Beymer; and guest stars Frank Silva (uncredited) as Killer BOB, Hank Worden as The Waiter, Julee Cruise as Singer, and David Lynch as Gordon Cole.
"Episode 16", also known as "Arbitrary Law", is the ninth episode of the second season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. The episode was written by series co-creator Mark Frost, producer Harley Peyton and regular writer Robert Engels, and directed by Tim Hunter. It features series regulars Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Ray Wise and Richard Beymer, and guest stars Miguel Ferrer as Albert Rosenfield, Don S. Davis as Major Briggs, and Al Strobel as MIKE.
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces is a 2014 feature-length compilation of deleted and extended scenes from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, a 1992 film directed by David Lynch and written by Lynch and Robert Engels. It was released over twenty-two years after the movie and the original series ended and three years before the revival, Twin Peaks: The Return, aired.
"Episode 9", also known as "Coma", is the second episode of the second season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. The episode was written by Harley Peyton, and directed by series co-creator David Lynch. It features series regulars Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Ray Wise and Richard Beymer; and guest stars Chris Mulkey as Hank Jennings, Miguel Ferrer as Albert Rosenfield, David Patrick Kelly as Jerry Horne. Don S. Davis as Major Garland Briggs, Victoria Catlin as Blackie O'Reilly, Don Amendolia as Emory Battis, Frances Bay as Mrs. Tremond, Grace Zabriskie as Sarah Palmer, and Catherine E. Coulson as the Log Lady.
"Part 8", also known as "Gotta Light?", is the eighth episode of the third season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. It was written by series creators Mark Frost and David Lynch, directed by Lynch, and stars Kyle MacLachlan. "Part 8" was first broadcast on June 25, 2017, on Showtime, and was watched by an audience of 246,000 viewers in the United States. The episode is composed of lengthy, surreal scenes, with very little dialogue throughout, and was largely shot in black and white. It received critical acclaim.
"Part 1", also known as "My Log Has a Message for You", is the first episode of the third season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. It was written by series creators Mark Frost and David Lynch, directed by Lynch, and stars Kyle MacLachlan. "Part 1" was first broadcast on Showtime, along with "Part 2", on May 21, 2017, and was seen by an audience of 506,000 viewers in the United States. In addition, the two episodes were shown as a feature at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where they received a standing ovation. The episode received critical acclaim.
"Part 18", also known as "What Is Your Name?", is the 18th and final episode of the third season of the TV series Twin Peaks. It was written by Mark Frost and David Lynch, directed by Lynch, and stars Kyle MacLachlan. "Part 18" was broadcast on Showtime along with "Part 17" on September 3, 2017, and seen by an audience of 240,000 viewers in the United States. The episode received critical acclaim.
"Part 2", also known as "The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself", is the second episode of the third season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. It was written by series creators Mark Frost and David Lynch, directed by Lynch, and stars Kyle MacLachlan. "Part 2" was first broadcast on Showtime, along with "Part 1", on May 21, 2017, and was seen by an audience of 506,000 viewers in the United States. In addition, the two episodes were shown as a feature at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where they received a standing ovation. The episode received critical acclaim.
"Part 17", also known as "The Past Dictates the Future", is the 17th episode of the third season of the TV series Twin Peaks. It was written by Mark Frost and David Lynch, directed by Lynch, and stars Kyle MacLachlan. "Part 17" was broadcast on Showtime along with "Part 18" on September 3, 2017, and seen by an audience of 254,000 viewers in the United States. It received widespread critical acclaim.
"Part 3", also known as "Call for Help", is the third episode of the third season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. It was written by series creators Mark Frost and David Lynch, directed by Lynch, and stars Kyle MacLachlan. "Part 3" was released on Showtime's streaming service Showtime Anytime, along with Part 4, on May 21, 2017, immediately after the broadcast of the double premiere; it was eventually broadcast on Showtime on May 28, 2017, and was seen by an audience of 195,000 viewers in the United States. It received critical acclaim.
Altman, Mark A. (1991). Twin Peaks Behind-the-scenes: An Unofficial Visitors Guide to Twin Peaks. Pioneer Books. ISBN 978-1-55698-284-2.