Dr Jacoby is one of the more fascinating characters in Twin Peaks, between his funny-coloured glasses and remarkably blasé attitude about his relationship with high schooler Laura Palmer whilst he was her therapist. He's also the centre of a lot of fun Twin Peaks trivia: like, did you know that his actor, Russ Tamblyn, had previously co-starred with Richard Beymer (Ben Horne) in West Side Story as Tony and Riff! Fun. Then there's the fact that Jacoby gets attacked in the seventh episode of the first season, and it's never actually explained whodunnit. Mark Frost later went on record saying it was the same person that killed Laura Palmer, meaning the good doctor had an encounter with either Leland Palmer, Killer BOB, or possibly both. Most intriguing of all, meanwhile, is that Dr Jacoby is actually based on a real person. Their physical appearance, dress style, liberal arts profession, holiday home in Hawaii and mushroom lamp all recall the late ethnobotanist Terrence McKenna, an experimental therapist who studied and wrote widely on psychedelic mushroom culture.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
