Mythology and Plot are the most spoiler heavy; the other lists aren't too bad, but you have been warned. Lists are rather unedited and unruly, but it's a work in progress. Feel free to suggest anything missing. I'm aware that some of the comparisons are stretching a wee bit, but most of them I think are pretty accurate. And despite all the similarities... Amazingly, somehow, DP manages to feel quite different than TP.
VASTLY UPDATED VERSION HERE
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GENERAL INFO
HAUNTING THEME SONG
Most of the songs in DP can be drawn to similar musical themes in TP. The most well-known piece from TP is Julee Cruise’s “Falling”, the instrumental version of which is used in the opening. The most recognizable tune from DP is the haunting melody “Life is Beautiful”, with its infamous kazoo section. Thematically though, “The Woods and the Goddess” is probably closer in tone to “Falling”, or the Greenvale theme.
DEER HEADS AND DINERS
-Both shows take place in a fictional town in the Pacific Northwest, inspired by the real town of North Bend in Washington state. Analagous locations in both stories include:
-RR Diner = A&G Diner
-Ben Horne’s hotel/place of residence above the falls = Harry Stewart’s mansion above Velvet Falls
-Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department = Greenvale Sheriff’s Department
-Great Northern Hotel = Great Deer Yard Hotel (there is also a photo of the Great Northern above York’s hotel bed)
-Packard Saw Mill = Moyer’s Lumber Mill
-Bang Bang bar = SWERY65
-Both towns have community centers and high schools (which aren’t used especially frequently)
-Both works reference Seattle and the Canadian border as being close points of geographical reference
DEER HEADS AND DOPPLEGANGERS
-Many of the characters in both stories have similar roles. TP =DP:
-Dale Cooper = Francis York Morgan as FBI Special Agents with quirky personalities and offbeat investigative methods. York also shares similarities with TP’s forensic specialist Albert Rosenfield as the blunt, tactless forensic genius who seem to be “lacking in the social niceties” when it comes to the local law enforcement
-Laura Palmer = Anna Graham as the young girls whose brutal murder acts as a catalyst for the whole plot, who are later revealed to have been deeply involved in some very shady stuff
-Margaret the Log Lady = Sigourney the Pot Lady as two elderly residents who carry around and talk to inanimate objects while dispensing cryptic wisdom
-Harry S. Truman = George Woodman as the cowboy-hat wearing local sheriffs
-Andy Brennan = Thomas MacLaine as somewhat incompetent but kind-hearted deputies
-Lucy Moran = Freckly Fiona as receptionists who have a not-so-secret romance for a male co-worker
-Norma Jennings = Olivia Cormack as hopeful and hard-working but disenchanted diner owners with baggage from the past and troubling marital issues
-Hank Jennings = Nick Cormack as diner owners who may be up to something behind their spouse’s backs and are eventually imprisoned (though the former is far guiltier than the latter, it turns out)
-Ben Horne = Harry Stewart as wealthy capitalists who “own half the town”
-Jerry Horne = Michael Tillotson as bizarre sidekicks to the wealthy men who usually exacerbate their eccentricities instead of conceal them
-James Hurley = Quint Dunn as confused but good-hearted high school students who work for their uncle/father and ride motorcycles
-Ed Hurley = Richard Dunn as well-meaning father/father surrogates with relationship issues
-Sarah Palmer = Sallie Graham as the grieving mother whose sanity slowly starts to slip
-Leland Palmer = Sallie Graham as grieving parents who spontaneously break into dance in front of others (although for completely different reasons)
-Gordon Cole = Polly Oxford as characters with hearing problems, to whom other people must raise their voices
-Will Hayward = Ushah Johnson as the local doctors (although their characters are substantially different)
-Major Briggs = General Lysander as military men who never take off their uniforms
-Pete Martell = Jim Green as resident fishing enthusiasts
-Harold Smith = Brian the Insomniac (and Harry Stewart) as eccentric recluses with important knowledge pertaining to the murders
SIMILAR NAMES
Diane/Diane Ames, Sarah Palmer/Sallie Graham, Thomas Eckhart/Thomas MacLaine, Harry S. Truman/Harry Stewart, Annie Blackburn/Anna Graham, Carol MacLaine/Caroline Earle, Richard Tremaine/Richard Dunn, Mike Nelson/Michael Tillotson
COINCEDENTAL DUPLICATE NAMES
-TP: BOB and MIKE share the names of two other characters, Bobby and Mike, but otherwise have no relation to each other.
-DP: Brian the gravekeeper shares the first name of York’s father, but are otherwise unconnected.
CHARACTER SIMILARITIES
DAMN FINE COFFEE
-TP: Cooper takes his coffee “Black as midnight on a moonless night” and takes great pleasure savoring every drop.
-DP: York only drinks coffee with milk, which he also uses to tell fortunes. He gets overly ecstatic over the taste of Emily’s coffee.
YOU TALKIN’ TO ME?
-TP: Cooper carries around a tape recorder and constantly records his thoughts into it while addressing someone named “Diane”, his personal assistant who is never seen in person on the show.
-DP: York has an alternate personality named Zach with whom he shares all his thoughts and feelings on every subject imaginable. When other people ask him about it, he says it’s a “private matter”.
STRANGE OBSSESSIONS AND PERSONAL HABITS
-TP: Cooper is fixated on Douglas firs, Tibet, and the nature of the cosmos. He’s picky about the quality of his hotel rooms and recognizes the importance of exercise and a good night’s rest. His favorite foods include cherry pie and jelly donuts.
-DP: York is fixated on stuffed deer heads, 80’s movies and punk rock. He’s picky about his cigarette brand and his car, and recognizes the importance of exercise and a good night’s rest (although unlike Cooper, even though York knows it’s important, he doesn’t always act on it). He’ll eat almost anything, but his favorite foods include Thomas’ biscuits and the Sinner’s sandwich.
MADNESS TO HIS METHODS
-TP: Cooper utilizes offbeat Tibetan techniques to help solve the mystery, including meditation, taking clues from strange dreams, and throwing rocks at glass bottles while reciting names from the suspect list.
-DP: York uses his morning coffee as a form of divination, demands people to take their shirts off to show him their backs, and talks constantly to an alternate personality named Zach.
SAY IT WITH FEELING
-Cooper: "Damn fine coffee!" "Incredible!" "Aces!"
- York: "FK... In the coffee!" "Amazing!" "Bullseye!"
REPETITIVE GESTURES
-Cooper: Thumbs up, A-OK, finger snap
-York: Fingers touching temple, upraised finger, collar tap, finger snap
WATT’S UP WITH THAT?
-Not explicitly a TP reference, but Emily’s model is based directly on actress Naomi Watts, who played a prominent role in the Lynch film “Mulholland Drive”. As a subtle clue, Emily’s last name is Wyatt.
AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER
-TP: E's wife's insanity appears to be an opening for him and Norma to get together. Meanwhile Leo is suspicious of Shelley’s infidelity with Bobby.
-DP: Richard’s wife and Sallie Graham used to fight over him until the wife ran off with another man, leaving Richard and Sallie to hook up. Meanwhile Olivia is suspicious of Nick's infidelity with Diane.
HE OWNS HALF THE TOWN
-TP: Sheriff Harry Truman remarks to Cooper that Ben Horne practically owns half the town.
-DP: Sheriff George Woodman says the same thing to York in the hospital.
UNEXPLAINED WHEELCHAIR
-TP: Donna’s mother.
-DP: Harry Stewart.
SUDDEN SEDUCTRESS
-TP: Audrey Horne unexpectedly shows up in Cooper’s hotel bed without any clothes.
-DP: Diane Ames proposes to sleep with York almost as soon as they meet.
MOTHER'S DEATH
-TP: Cooper's mother died of a brain aneurysm.
-DP: Emily's mother died of cancer.
TRADING CARDS
Both works have trading cards associated with each character.
CHESSMASTER
-TP: Windom Earle is a chess fiend and devises a deadly chess-related puzzle for Cooper to solve.
-DP: Ushah Johnson is a chess fiend and devises a playful but harmless chess-related puzzle for York to solve.
DIVA ONSTAGE
-TP: Julee Cruise sings the mellow, haunting tune “Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart” onstage at the Bang Bang bar with red curtains behind her while Cooper, Harry and the Log Lady look on.
-DP: Carol MacLaine sings the mellow, haunting tune “Miss Stiletto Heels” onstage at the Galaxy of Terror wearing a red dress while York and George look on.
COMMON TROPES
PARALLEL FICTIONS
-TP: Everyone watches a television soap opera called “Invitation to Love” that appears to mirror certain events of the real plot.
-DP: Fiona the hospital receptionist is reading a paperback pulp called “Liar’s House” in which the small town/murder mystery plot parallel’s York’s case.
BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
-TP: Gordon Cole comments loudly in the diner about how many beautiful women are in Twin Peaks.
-DP: York has a conversation with Zach about how much prettier the women are in Greenvale than where they grew up.
RHYMES
-TP: The Fire Walk With Me poem is recited constantly throughout the show. MIKE ocasionally breaks into rhyme.
-DP: Michael Tillotson only speaks in rhyme unless he's upset.
TREE TALK
-TP: Cooper tells Annie "Let's stop talking about trees" right before they make love in Cooper's hotel room.
-DP: York confronts Olivia in the art gallery and she claims she's there because "She likes trees". York figures this is a lie because "there are plenty of trees outside".
BEAUTY PAGEANT
-TP: Norma Jennings was Miss Twin Peaks for several years running.
-DP: Sigourney and Polly competed in Greenvale’s beauty pageant when they were young, with Polly coming in second to Sigourney.
I’D LIKE TO LIVE HERE SOMEDAY… OR NOT
-TP: Cooper looks into buying property in Twin Peaks and goes with the real estate agent to check out Dead Dog Farm. This is never mentioned again as he gets sidetracked with Renault’s conspiracy to kill him.
-DP: While in Jim Green’s cabin, York remarks that he could see himself settling down in a place like this. At the end of the game, Zach has no intention of ever staying in Greenvale.
MYTHOLOGY
RED ROOM, RED ROOM!
-TP: Rooms with red drapes and white statues play a prominent role in Cooper’s visions. Red lampshades and red curtains are recurring motifs.
-DP: Rooms with red leaves and white mannequins play a prominent role in York’s visions. Red plants, particularly trees and flowers, are recurring motifs.
THE WHITE ALTERNATIVE
-TP: One must pass through the "evil" Black Lodge to reach the "good" White Lodge.
-DP: One must escape from the Red Room of "guilt/repression" to reach the White Room of "acceptance".
SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS
-TP: Cooper often has dreams or visions taking place in a Red Room in which he is offered supernatural coffee and paid a visit by the murder victims (Laura, Leland) and dead people from his past (Caroline).
-DP: Cooper often has dreams or visions taking place in a Red Room in which he is offered supernatural coffee and paid a visit by the murder victims (the Goddesses) and dead people from his past (his parents).
CREEPY COMES IN TWOS
-TP: The Dwarf and the Giant appear to Cooper in dreams, speaking in weird tones and delivering cryptic messages. At the end of the show, Cooper meets his evil doppelganger.
-DP: The Ingram twins appear as angels to York in dreams, speaking in weird tones and delivering cryptic messages. At the end of the game, the truth about York's alter ego is revealed.
ANIMALS GONE WILDER
-TP: “The owls are not what they seem.”
-DP: “There’s a giant dog in that intersection. THERE’S A GIANT DOG AT THAT INTERSECTION.”
EXTRATERRESTRAL ORIGINS
-TP: One of the goals of Project Blue Book, though primarily related to UFO research outside of the show, is to locate the existence of the Black and White Lodges, transdimensional places of extreme power. It’s possible that what the project perceived as alien contact (receiving satellite messages from outer space regarding owls and Cooper, Major Briggs and the Log Lady disappearing in the woods and returning with mysterious scars and strange visions of another world) were actually supernatural events caused by the activity between the two Lodges, or vice versa.
-DP: It’s heavily implied that Forrest Kaysen is from another planet, and that he is merely an agent of the Red Tree, a parasitic life form that requires “special cultivation” to flourish. The purple gas was meant as a shortcut to achieve Kaysen’s goals of world domination on behalf of the Red Tree, but it turned out to be a failed experiment and Kaysen went back to planting his seeds the normal way. The line between “alien” and “supernatural” is also blurred with the purple fog seemingly having the effect of producing ghosts from the past as well as transporting people into the Other World.
TIME FLOWS DIFFERENTLY HERE
-TP: In the Red Room, inhabitants speak and move oddly as a result of everything being shot backwards with the illusion of moving forward. In the first Red Room dream, Cooper is seen as an old man and is visited by Laura. In the last episode, Laura tells Cooper that she will “see him in another 25 years”, suggesting that time flows very differently in the Lodges than in the outside world.
-DP: While in the Other World, clocks go haywire, as well as the real-world timer on the Start screen and the number of days it will take to get York’s suits cleaned.
URBAN LEGEND IS SOMETHING MORE
-TP: The Bookhouse Boys mention that something evil is lurking in the woods.
-DP: The citizens of Greenvale never go out in the rain due to the legend of the Raincoat Killer.
PARASITIC EVIL
-TP: Windom Earle says the Black Lodge is a "parasite" that feeds on human fear and weakness. The evil spirits from the Lodge also need human hosts to inhabit when they walk the earth, which they are able to control into performing terrible acts.
-DP: The Red Tree requires living human bodies to grow, sapping their life force. The red seeds themselves seem to cause certain side effects in humans such as insanity, aggression, blood-thirstiness and occasionally superhuman mutations, and it’s also possible that, like the Black Lodge, the Tree feeds on the negative emotions it produces.
AMBIGUOUSLY DEFINED ANIMAL DISGUISE
-TP: The evil spirit BOB is able to inhabit the bodies of owls, a fact that is constantly alluded to in a mysterious manner.
-DP: Kaysen makes several references to bullfrogs, and his final form is very similar to a frog.
SALESMAN DISGUISE
-TP: MIKE currently inhabits the body of a skinny, jolly, travelling shoe salesman.
-DP: Forrest Kaysen takes the human form of a fat, jolly, travelling sapling salesman.
TOP-SECRET GOVERNMENT PROJECT
-TP: The legend of the Dugpas and the Black and White lodges are tied into a top-secret government investigation into UFOs called “Project Blue Book”. Earle goes rogue with the information after becoming obsessed with its implications of incredible power.
-DP: The legend of the Raincoat Killer, the Greenvale Massacre and the mystery of the purple gas are the result of a top-secret military operation to test a new bio-weapon. Thomas recovers the documents and George becomes obsessed by their implications of immortality.
PLOT
WHO KILLED PRETTY GIRL X?
-TP: The murder of Laura Palmer is the catalyst for all the events in the show. Laura was killed in an abandoned train car, then wrapped in plastic and left by the lake. Her body is discovered in the very first scene by Pete Martell.
-DP: The murder of Anna Graham is the catalyst for all the events in the game. Anna was killed in an abandoned lumber mill, then tied to a tree in the forest park. Her body is discovered in the very first scene by Jim Green and the Ingram twins.
THE BUREAU’S IN CHARGE
-TP: Cooper is called into Twin Peaks because the newspaper letter shoved under the fingernail of the victim is similar to a previous case in Deer Meadow, Washington. All future victims of the killer share this trait.
-DP: York is called into Greenvale because the red seeds found in the mouth of the victim are similar to previous cases in other states. All future victims of the killer share this trait.
TOWN MEETING
-Both stories feature an early scene where all the townsfolk are gathered together so the FBI agent can address safety concerns and take notes on everybody.
STOMACH PAINS
-TP: A poker chip is found in Laura’s stomach.
-DP: Red seeds are found in all the victim’s stomachs.
FINGERNAILS
-TP: Newspaper letters are found under each of the murder victim's fingernails.
-DP: One of Anna's fake fingernails is a profiling clue found at the lumbemill.
SHOES
-TP: A pair of boots found at Leo Johnson's house serves as important evidence. There is also a connection to Mike, the one-armed shoe salesman.
-DP: A broken-off stiletto heel is important evidence in linking Becky and Diane Ames to the case. The fact that Nick was wearing boots at the time of Diane's death is another piece of evidence against him.
MISSING LOCKET
-TP: James and Laura share two halves of a golden heart-shaped locket ,one half of which is found at the murder site. James and Donna hide the other half to conceal their involvement, but Dr. Jacoby digs it back up before the police find it.
-DP: Anna is clutching George's pendant at the time of her death, but Becky manages to get a hold of it before the police find it.
SECRET DIARY
TP: Laura Palmer kept a secret diary mentioning a meeting with someone named "J".
DP: Becky Ames kept a secret diary mentioning a meeting with someone named "Deliveryman Q".
INCRIMINATING TATTOO
-TP: MIKE chops his arm off to remove a "Fire Walk With Me" tattoo signifying his bond to BOB, renouncing his evil ways.
-DP: George’s upside-down peace sign tattoo and Thomas’ Love G tattoo are important plot devices linking the two men to the murders.
DESPERATE DOUBLE LIVES
-TP: Laura is discovered to be a cocaine addict involved with drug dealing, pornography and prostitution with Ronette Pulaski as accomplice.
-DP: Anna becomes involved in an underground cult led by George, is addicted to the red seeds and perverse sexual thrills with Becky as accomplice.
THE KIDS AREN’T ALL RIGHT
-TP: Bobby Briggs and his friend Mike are coerced by Laura to get involved in Leo Johnson’s drug trafficking business. Bobby breaks down and tearfully confesses during one of Dr. Jacoby’s therapy sessions.
-DP: Quint Dunn is coerced by Becky Ames to sell a mysterious red powder as a drug and uses the money to buy her an engagement ring even after she tells him to stop. Quint breaks down and tearfully confesses when confronted about it by York.
POWDER IN THE FUEL TANK
-TP: Bobby plants a bag of cocaine in the fuel tank of James’s motorcycle.
-DP: York discovers red powder hidden in the fuel tank of Quint’s motorcycle.
WRONG MAN WAS CONVICTED
-TP: Ben Horne is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of Laura. His alibi, Catherine Martell, is missing.
-DP: Nick is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of Anna and Diane. His alibi for Anna’s murder would have been Diane.
KIDNAPPED
-TP: Cooper rescues Audrey from Jean Renault, who is using her as bait to lure Cooper in to kill him. Later Cooper falls in love with Annie and must rescue her from the Black Lodge after she is kidnapped by Windom Earle.
-DP: Emily rescues York from Thomas, who is using him as bait to lure Emily in to kill her. Later York falls in love with Emily and must rescue her from the Other World when she is kidnapped by Forrest Kaysen.
FOUR SPECIAL WOMEN
-TP: Windom's three candidates for his "Queen" increase to four: Audrey, Donna, Shelley and Annie.
-DP: George needs four "Goddesses" to complete his immortality ritual: Anna, Diane, Becky and Carol.
CROSSDRESSING
-TP: DEA agent Dennis/Denise Bryson wears a wig and woman’s clothes while on-duty.
-DP: Deputy Thomas MacLaine is revealed to be a cross dresser. Also, during a conversation with Richard, York says some of his colleagues in the FBI are cross dressers.
SIBLING CO-CONSPIRATORS
-TP: Catherine and Andrew Martell conspire to wrest control of the Ghostwood Estate and get revenge on Ben Horne and Thomas Eckhart.
-DP: Thomas and Carol MacLaine conspire to get the sacrifices needed for George’s plans while attempting to eliminate Emily as the main object of his affections.
CREEPY RECORD PLAYER
-TP: Julee Cruise’s “Into the Night” is stuck on loop in Jacque’s cabin when Cooper and the police arrive to investigate. Leland also puts a record on while killing his second victim.
-DP: There is a record player in the apartment shared by Thomas and Carol, which plays “Miss Stiletto Heels” as York searches for clues.
THE KINKY BACKROOM
-TP: The perfume counter at Horne’s Department Store recruits beautiful young girls to work as hostesses for wealthy guests at the One Eyed Jacks casino.
-DP: The Galaxy of Terror has a secret club downstairs that recruits beautiful young girls to become George’s sexual playthings and to provide him with sacrifices for his immortality ritual.
BONDAGE
-TP: Various kinky things take place at One Eyed Jacks, including a blindfolded man tied to a bed while a hostess in a maid costume runs a vacuum cleaner. Laura Palmer and Ronette Pulaski are both involved with a pornographic magazine called “Flesh World” and eventually have sadistic sexual relations with Leo Johnson, Jacques Renault and Leland Palmer in which they are tied up, raped and tortured. Windom uses wire to contort his victims into certain positions as part of his fiendish puzzles for Cooper.
-DP: Most of the murder victims are discovered tied up with wire in various positions, and York’s postcognitive profiling cutscenes reveal more evidence of S&M-related foreplay leading up to the crime. Bondage gear is seen in the secret room at the Galaxy of Terror and spools of wire are found at George’s house.
IT WAS HIM ALL ALONG
-TP: Laura reveals the identity of her killer to Cooper in one of the earliest Red Room dreams, but he doesn’t remember what she said until much later in the second season.
-DP: York’s coffee reveals the name of the evil mastermind behind everything at the beginning of the game, but he doesn’t realize its significance until near the finale.
GUILT AND MURDER
-TP: Cooper fails to protect the woman he loves. It’s later revealed that Earle was the one who killed her.
-DP: York's father fails to protect the woman he loves. It’s later revealed that Forrest Kaysen was the one who killed her.
CHILDHOOD HORRORS
-TP: Leland first encounters evil entity BOB as a child while staying at the family cabin on Pearl Lakes.
-DP: Zach first encounters evil entity Forrest Kaysen as a child while living with his parents somewhere in Washington state.
CHILDHOOD ABUSE
-TP: Leland rapes his daughter while under BOB’s evil influence and causes her downward spiral.
-DP: George was physically abused by his mother and murders several girls under Kaysen’s evil influence.
WHITE HAIR
-TP: Leland’s hair turns from dark to white as he is possessed by evil entity BOB.
-DP: Zach’s hair turns from dark to white after his first encounter with evil entity Kaysen. This is not revealed until near the last episode, however.
SCARS
-TP: Major Briggs and the Log Lady both have mysterious scars from strange encounters in the woods that are shaped like symbols found in Owl Cave. Cooper has a scar from a stab wound from a previous case.
-DP: Zach Morgan sports an ugly scar over his left eye from his encounter with Kaysen, and George has a serious set of wounds on his back. York has some smaller facial scars from a previous case.
ANTAGONIST AS PAWN FOR BIGGER BADDIE
-TP: Windom Earle’s research into Project Blue Book leads him to attempt to barter both Annie and Cooper’s souls in exchange for power, but he is ultimately consumed by BOB.
-DP: George is led to believe the red seeds will make him immortal if he sacrifices four women in the proper ritual, but eventually it’s revealed Kaysen was only toying with George and York kills him.
LOVE WILL TEAR US APART
-TP: Cooper falls in love with Annie Blackburn and must rescue her from the Black Lodge after she is kidnapped by Windom Earle. Annie is presumably saved, but Cooper’s soul remains trapped in the Lodge while his body is occupied by BOB.
-DP: York falls in love with Emily Wyatt and must rescue her from the Other World when she is kidnapped by Forrest Kaysen. Emily and York end up together in another spiritual dimension, leaving Zach in his own body, making both endings a weird inversion of each other (and ironically making the ending where the girl dies more upbeat than the Lynch ending).
WRONG FATHER
-TP: In the end, Ben Horne turns out to be Donna’s father.
-DP: In the end, Harry Stewart turns out to be George’s father.
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