Here's the fun part where I compare and contrast the characters of Twin Peaks and LOST.

It's evident that Twin Peaks was an influence on LOST, especially from a "not everything is as it appears" sort of way, the edge-of-your-seat supernatural mystery sprinkled with humour. But there are parallels with characters. In Twin Peaks you had the "Man of Science (Jack Shephard-LOST)" which was Sheriff Harry Truman. Not necessarily a man of science, but a man of practicality and common sense. The "Man of Faith (John Locke-LOST)" would be Special Agent Dale Cooper who was guided more by intuition, dreams and visions and Tibetan mythology. In Twin Peaks these two lawmen and their guiding principles worked together in a complementary fashion, whereas in LOST they are adversarial. Twin Peaks' Cooper was without a doubt the main character, and although not as strongly THE main character (LOST seems to have several strong main characters...Jack, Kate, Locke, Sawyer to name a few), Jack is still probably the undisputed "main" character if you had to name just one. Despite Cooper being a man of faith and Jack a man of science, they both fill the role of guiding light and problem solver, Cooper solving the clues and mysteries of Laura Palmer's murder, Jack solving the problems of first helping the injured from the plane crash and then leading them to the caves for safety, and eventually to be...rescued? (Of course we don't really know what happens with that yet!) And they both have their downfall at the end...in Jack's case, the flashforward with him as a bearded alcoholic, and with Cooper having been possessed by BOB as he smashes his head into the medicine cabinet. How's Annie?

Here's some other similarities:

Peaks: Sarah Palmer vs. LOST: Desmond Hume: Both are psychic!

Peaks: Bobby Briggs vs. LOST: Sawyer: Snarky, tough men with nicknames for everyone, although Sawyer, aka James Ford, is more of a loner. But no, he's not like James Hurley (Peaks), which is the only Peaks character I didn't really like, so from that standpoint I'd have to say...

Peaks: James Hurley and Evelyn Marsh episodes vs. LOST: Nicky and Paolo episode: What was that about anyway?

Peaks: Jacques Renault vs. LOST: Hurley (Hugo Reyes): ONLY physically. There is a resemblance. But Hurley is lovable and Jacques certainly wasn't. Also, Hurley vs. Deputy Andy. You know when either of these two characters are in an episode, there is some comedy. But Hurley was definitely the smarter of the two.

Peaks: Leland Palmer vs. LOST: John Locke: They just keep getting more maniacal and sinister each episode!

Peaks: BOB vs. LOST: Smokey. Smokey/smoke monster doesn't really scare me the way BOB did, though. But they are both the supernatural entity.

Peaks: Josie Packard vs. LOST: Kate Austen: Wanted fugitives in their own countries, you wouldn't know it by looking at these slight brunettes.

Peaks: Shelly Johnson vs. LOST: Claire Littleton: Pretty blondes that play the victim role well. One could also compare Claire to Peaks' Nadine Hurley since they both lose their memory temporarily, but that's pretty much where the similarity ends.

Peaks: Audrey Horne vs. LOST: Shannon Rutherford: Spoiled rich princess types that are reprimanded by a male relative for being worthless, yet later go on to help solve clues, Audrey with her sleuthing behind Cooper's back, and Shannon with the French translations.

Peaks: The Log Lady vs. LOST: The French Chick: Rousseau totes her rifle like the way Log Lady carried her log. Both seem to be guided by a longing for a lost loved one, Rousseau for her daughter Alex, and Log Lady for her dead husband. Both didn't live in civilization with the rest of the folks, opting instead for their home in the forest.

Peaks: Windom Earle vs. LOST: Benjamin Linus: Creepy manipulating masterminds!

Peaks: The Death of Laura Palmer vs. LOST: The Plane Crash: What bought everyone together...the raison d'etre. (sorry, I can't find my diacritical accent marks on my computer)

Peaks: Laura Palmer vs. LOST: Charlie Pace: Both allowed themselves to die for the betterment of others, in Laura's case so BOB wouldn't inhabit her, in Charlie's case he knew he had to sacrifice himself, according to Desmond's visions, so the others could be rescued. Not to mention they were both the drug addicts of the shows.

Peaks: The Giant vs. LOST: Walt: They appear in visions! Locke: "I saw Walt, only he was taller." Sawyer: "Taller, you mean like a Giant?"

Peaks: Agent Albert Rosenfeld vs. LOST: Miles Straume. It's the attitude.

OK, I've pretty much exhausted my memory trying to figure out any more parallels, so I'll end it here, or leave it up to Stan if he can think of anything else.

Labels: LOST