I've spent most of the morning watching the special features on the new Twin Peaks box set, which is an uncanny experience—like discovering a whole country of my inner life that I hadn't explored in years. It isn't going too far to say that this television show, along with the other films of David Lynch and the music of Angelo Badalamenti, had a greater impact on my formative years, at least on a subconscious level, than any other body of work. There are other artists who have influenced me more deeply, but none whose work has penetrated my dreams to the same degree.

I'm not sure if this is something that a casual viewer can appreciate today. (Maybe you had to be ten years old when Laura Palmer was killed.) There's no denying that the series itself often fell short of its own promise. But if you have the time, I recommend that you watch the first season of Twin Peaks, especially the pilot, and the first, seventh, ninth, and final episodes of the second season. As time goes on, I realize that Twin Peaks wasn't just a television show: it was the lens through which I used to see much of the world. And maybe it still is.