Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Still Thinking About John From Cincinnati...



...and that powerful sixth episode. And though I feel like I am having a conversation with myself, I've finally found another viewing experience to liken it to --- can you say Twin Peaks? A surreal blend of police investigation with small town soap opera told over a classic tale of good vs. evil, when Twin Peaks hit the airwaves in 1990 it steamrolled through most everyones living room generating wave after wave of discussion. I will admit to being obsessed for those first 20 episodes or so, almost counting down the minutes until the airing of each new hour. It burned fast but oh so bright...propelled by the question Who killed Laura Palmer? which dovetailed nicely into Who is Bob?

One of the questions constantly swirling through John From Cincinnati's Imperial Beach surfer community is Who is John? which has led to Why is John here? And though not near as creepy or eerily disturbing as Twin Peaks (remember Agent Cooper's dream?)...



"shivers"

...JFC also scores way high points on the 'friggin' surreal' scale, with plenty o' cryptic dialogue, dreams, miracles, and a sense of something bigger playing out before our eyes with no idea what might happen next. As for the good vs. evil aspect, I sense John is 'the good', though I'm not sure what, if any, the 'evil' is. But like Twin Peaks, I have a growing anticipation for each new episode in the quest for answers to the question of what the heck is going on here?

John From Cincinnati hasn't hit the ground running with the same hype and fanfare as Twin Peaks did, but the viewing experience feels very similar.

6 comments:

Diane Kristine Wild said...

The more I hear about this show, even from people who like it, the more I think I would hate it. I guess not having those fancy channels, I won't have to test that theory for a while, if at all.

wcdixon said...

Well, it's not 'Canada's Next Top Model' that's fer shore...

Anonymous said...

I love that freaky Bob guy. Sooo creepy.

Good Dog said...

I'd have to say, I'd put John from Cincinnati above Twin Peaks. Not on the creepy-o-meter, that's for sure. But with TP it was kind of obvious it was going to be out there and taking place on Planet Weird because Lynch was attached.

With JfC I figured it would be one thing and then discovered, quite happily, that is was in the Land of Odd.

Nice Bill Hicks reference in the title, by the way.

Callaghan said...

Must.... not.... read Dixon's comments on John From Cincinnati until I've caught up on the 6 episodes saved up on my PVR.

Must...be....strong.

Diane said...

Touche, Will, touche.