If you ask the average viewer of Twin Peaks who watched the show at the time, but didn't remain a fan, about their memories of the series, it'll mostly be a jumble of unconnected and eccentric character and imagery: the Black Lodge, BOB, Dale Cooper, the owls who aren't what they seem and of course the Log Lady, played by Catherine E Coulson. Amongst the many unanswered questions of Twin Peaks, a key one was what's the deal with that log? Is she really talking to it? Why does she carry it everywhere? Where did it come from? Most of those weren't answered, and The Log Lady remains one of the most enigmatic characters from the series as a result. Coulson has proved as difficult to prise away from the timber as the character she played, too, since she still owns the darn thing. Obviously she's been offered a lot of money to hand over that prized prop, but she's held on for it as long as she can Coulson would take it with her to convention appearances and the like, until the TSA made it clear she couldn't take it on flights as carry-on luggage any more. Because, as the penultimate episode made clear, it can do some serious damage if you clonk someone round the head with it.
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/
