- [Narrator] Consider the similarities
between Laura Palmer and Marilyn Monroe.
They're both blonde, most of the time,
they both have bubbly exteriors
that mask inner struggles,
which each recounted in
their secret diaries,
and their tragic, premature deaths
each had a profound ripple effect.
This is not a coincidence.
The year was 1989.
David Lynch was an undeniable star.
Just two years after his Oscar nomination
for Blue Velvet, Lynch was an
established creative force.
Despite that, few would
trust the budding actor
with a television series.
- I don't know that much about TV
and about ratings.
- [Narrator] Which is
where Mark Frost comes in.
In 1989, Mark Frost was
an established fiction
and television writer.
Between Lynch's cultural cache
and Frost's experience,
they were uniquely suited
to tag team on this eccentric endeavor.
- Hey!
What the hell's going on?
- You are witnessing a
front three quarter view
of two adults sharing a tender moment!
- [Narrator] The pair's first project
was a feature film script
inspired by Anthony Summer's Goddess,
The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe.
The book focused on
Marilyn's untimely demise
and the mysterious circumstances
surrounding her death.
Sound familiar?
Lynch and Frost soon realized
that the story's many loose threads,
though endlessly fascinating,
could never be confirmed,
and the studio dropped the project.
So the two took the mystery
and created the fictional
story of Laura Palmer,
whose murder is the focal
point of Twin Peaks.
The pair never finished the script
for the Monroe project, but rumor has it
the script posits that
Marilyn was murdered.
We'll never know who Lynch and Frost
fingered for the culprit.
Could it have been… Bob?
(screaming)
