Do the Errors of Sherlock Holmes Explain the Errors of Twin Peaks?

Do The Errors of Sherlock Holmes Explain The Errors of Twin Peaks?

Spoiler Alert:  This article contains several spoilers for both the original canon of Sherlock Holmes stories and all three seasons of Twin Peaks.  Do not read this article if you're not caught up!

"As a rule, the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be." --Sherlock Holmes, The Red Headed League

DERRICK:  One of the joys of being a Sherlockian is "playing the game".  This is when Sherlock Holmes fans pretend that Holmes and Watson were real people and that the original Sherlock Holmes stories are based on real cases.  What makes this particularly enjoyable is trying to explain all the errors Doyle made in the original stories, and - oh boy - there are tons of them.  They go from the relatively minor to all-out whoppers. For example, Colonel Sebastian Moran makes a nearly impossible shot from his position when killing Roger Adair in "The Adventure of the Empty House".  From the description, it would almost appear as though the shot was made from atop a moving bus!  Then there is The Swamp Adder, a poisonous snake in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" which is trained to climb down a rope to bite its victim and then return to its cage when hearing the sound of a whistle.  The problem: it is physically impossible for a snake to climb down a rope, and snakes don't have ears, which makes it impossible for them to hear a whistle.  Probably the most famous mistake Doyle made in his Holmes stories is in "The Man with the Twisted Lip" when Dr. Watson's wife refers to him as James.  The problem?  Dr. Watson's name is John.

Sherlockians have a lot of fun trying to come up with explanations for the errors and they range from Dr. Watson making the errors to cover up "the truth" to logical explanations such as Dr. Watson's middle initial "H" standing for the name Hamish which is the Scottish Gaelic for James.

Another newer theory is that the world of Sherlock Holmes is an alternate universe (AU) in which all the stories are true. Alternate Universes seem to be all the rage these days. This is probably due to the DC Comics Universe where endless multiple Earths can help explain any plotline an author wants to use.  The same appears true for Sherlock Holmes with popular science-fiction and fantasy versions of Holmes stories. Holmes has appeared as everything from an angel to a serial killer to a vampire in this fan fiction.

BRIAN:  It's not just DC Comics, either; although I can't think of anyone who did it prior to their "Earth-1, Earth-2" team-ups in the early 1960s.  The multiple-universe motif has been used over and over to allow characters to interact with versions of themselves, or to tell familiar stories with unfamiliar settings.  The best modern example would probably be Stephen King's Gunslinger series, with one character having the unfortunate condition of being both dead and alive at the same time, a la Schrodinger's Cat.  Using that logic, the Holmes of Doyle's canon could meet the Holmes of the Basil Rathbone films (who fights Nazis, and is apparently immortal), the Holmes of the BBC Sherlock series and even the talking mouse Basil of Baker Street, forever at war with infinite Moriartys.

DERRICK:  So, what does this have to do with Twin Peaks?  In the TP world, particularly the book The Secret History of Twin Peaks, there are errors galore on a level comparable to Doyle. There are so many errors that a Google Spreadsheet has been created to compile them all. These errors range from the Twin Peaks football team being called the Lunberjacks (they were the Steeplejacks in the TV show) to Laura Palmer being 18 when she started seeing Dr. Jacoby (she died at age 17 in the TV show).  The spreadsheet is extensive and you should check it out here.

Possibly the oddest error in the book is that the date of the moon landing is wrong.  I mean, one can mix up football team names, but the date of the moon landing?  Why make that error?  Perhaps it is Mark Frost's homage to the errors of Doyle.  Personally, I don't think so.  I believe Mark Frost is playing with some AU of his own.  Perhaps the world of Twin Peaks is on some alternate Earth. Perhaps there are multiple versions of Twin Peaks.

BRIAN:  When asked what he thought of Mark Frost's book, David Lynch replied "I haven't read it.  It's his history of Twin Peaks."  This implies that there are in fact multiple TP realities.  Considering that a big chunk of the series involves alternate dimensions, this would make sense.

DERRICK:  Or perhaps, something with time has gone awry, and Twin Peaks will be forever altered by the end of Season 3.  It is possible we will have our answers when the final episodes of season 3 air next week.  Most likely though, we will be left with more questions than answers.  Perhaps it will lead to Twin Peaks fans playing a game of their own.

Belanger Books is a small press owned by artist Brian Belanger and author Derrick Belanger specializing in new Sherlock Holmes books, Children's books, Steampunk, and genre specific anthologies.  Some of our books have been #1 bestsellers in their categories on Amazon.