BUCKET LIST UPDATE – No. 498: Watch every episode of 'Twin Peaks'

I scratched another item off my bucket list on Sunday when I finally finished watching every episode of “Twin Peaks,” in order from start to finish.

This hit TV series ran for two seasons on ABC, airing between April 8, 1990 and June 10, 1991. I was in junior high school back then and didn’t watch the show at the time. Over the years, because of all that I’d heard and read about the show, the urge to watch the entire series became overpowering. Thanks to NetFlix, I recently watched the entire series from start to finish in the comfort of my living room.

The entire series included 30 episodes and followed the investigation into the murder of Laura Palmer. Palmer was the homecoming queen in the small town of Twin Peaks, Washington. The show’s main character is FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, who was played by Kyle MacLachlan. The events in the show are set in the year 1989 and each individual episode typically represents one day in the chronology of events. The show was part mystery, part crime drama and included elements of the supernatural, horror and science fiction.

In addition to MacLachlan, the show’s cast included a number of names that should sound familiar. The cast included Lara Flynn Boyle, Piper Laurie, Heather Graham, Sheryl Lee, Peggy Lipton, Chris Isaak, Kiefer Sutherland, David Bowie, David Duchovny, Billy Zane, Molly Shannon and Frank Silva. The show was created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. Lynch, who also played FBI Regional Bureau Chief Gordon Cole on the show, directed most of the series, but not every episode. Other directors included Diane Keaton, James Foley, Jonathan Sanger, Tim Hunter and Uli Edel.

To say that the show was successful would be an understatement. It won top honors for Best TV Series (Drama) at the 48th Golden Globe Awards. The show was nominated for 14 awards during the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards and four awards the following year. In 2002, TV Guide ranked “Twin Peaks” at No. 45 on its list of “Top 50 Television Programs of All Time,” and in 2007 TIME magazine ranked “Twin Peaks” No. 9 on its list of “100 Best TV Shows of All Time.”

I really enjoyed watching the entire series from start to finish. I was somewhat familiar with the show, but each episode was basically new material for me. Thanks to the show's nostalgic elements, it felt like a trip down memory lane. It’s obvious to me that the show had a huge impact on shows like “The X-Files," which I'm also a huge fan of.

In the end, I enjoyed scratching another item off my bucket list. How many of you are fans of “Twin Peaks”? How many of you watched the series when it originally aired on television? How many of you can say that you've seen every episode? Who was your favorite character? What did you think about the way the series ended? Let us know in the comments section below.