We Can't Put This in the Radio Times

In October 1990, six months after its US debut, David Lynch's seminal mystery series Twin Peaks debuts on the BBC. The show is given no small amount of fanfare: the film discussion series Moving Pictures profiles Lynch's work on Saturday 20th, accompanied by a broadcast of his 1970 short film The Grandmother, and on Monday 22nd the hopefully self-explanatory series Behind the Screen previews the show. And at 9pm on Tuesday 23rd October, 1990, Twin Peaks makes its much-anticipated British debut on BBC Two. (For reference for any non-British readers, BBC One is the "mainstream" channel, whilst BBC Two is the "highbrow" one, and had successes with US imports from The Twilight Zone to The Simpsons.)

The synopses for the episodes in the UK's premier TV listings magazine, the Radio Times, would normally be submitted by the production team at this time (with the writers of comedy shows often taking the opportunity to come up with humorous or misleading ones). It seems unlikely but not impossible that was the case here, but someone was definitely writing up bespoke listings (perhaps someone at the BBC, or someone working for the magazine itself), which we can read courtesy of the BBC Genome Project:

#1.1 "Pilot" aka "Northwest Passage"

Original US airing 08/04/90

Original BBC airing 23/10/90

Radio Times synopsis: The feature-length opening episode of David Lynch and Mark Frost's acclaimed television series. An offbeat murder-mystery drama about a small town where anyone would want to be.

Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean
"She's dead. Wrapped in plastic." The body of Laura Palmer, a beautiful teenage girl, is found by the shoreline in the small lumber town of Twin Peaks, shattering the tranquillity and revealing a host of dark and twisted secrets involving drugs, illicit love, Norwegian property developers, Douglas firs and cherry pie.

(Inbetween the broadcasts of episodes 1 and 2, the show is discussed on the radio film discussion shows Kaleidoscope and Third Opinion. There was also a late-night repeat on Saturdays.)

#1.2 "Traces to Nowhere"

Original US airing 12/04/90

Original BBC airing 30/10/90

The mystery continues in the second part of David Lynch's offbeat drama about a small town where anyone would want to be.

Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean

Further probing into Laura Palmer's murder brings indications of a sordid secret life - but who really knows the truth? Meanwhile, Agent Cooper senses young love in the air, learns about where the fish swim in Twin Peaks and is chastised for doubting the integrity of the local timber.

#1.3 "Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer"

Original US airing 19/04/90

Original BBC airing 06/11/90

The mystery continues.
Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean
3: Duplicate account ledgers, shady dealings in the woods, a house of ill-repute, a one-armed man and a grief-stricken father jitterbugging into madness. For Agent Cooper, perhaps it's time to resort to the Tibetan Stone-Throwing Deductive Technique - and dreams.

(Between the broadcasts of episodes 3 and 4, BBC One's flagship talk show Wogan -- doing a special run of episodes recorded in America -- interviews Kyle MacLachlan.)

#1.4 "Rest in Pain"

Original US airing 26/04/90

Original BBC airing 13/11/90

The mystery continues in David Lynch's soap noir.
Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean
4: As the funeral of Laura Palmer turns into a fiasco, Cooper is given a scent of the dead girl's double life by Audrey Home and learns of the evil lurking in the woods.
Meanwhile, Josie gets nervous, Norma gets bad news from the State prison and Shelly gets a gun.

#1.5 "The One-Armed Man"

Original US airing 03/05/90

Original BBC airing 20/11/90

The mystery continues in David Lynch's offbeat drama about a small town where anyone would want to be.
Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean
5: The psychiatric branch of medicine fails to throw light on Laura Palmer's secrets, but the trail of the one-armed man leads to a feathered friend and a vital clue. Meanwhile, James Hurley is stunned by a familiar face, Cooper finds out that he isn't the only visionary in town and Audrey Home decides to follow the sweet smell of excess.

#1.6 "Cooper's Dreams"

Original US airing 10/05/90

Original BBC airing 27/11/90

The mystery continues in David Lynch's small-town soap noir.

Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean
6: 'Three men, two girls ... the dark was pressing in ... screams ..." An unlikely informant brings
Cooper and Truman to a cabin in the woods and another clue. As Norma waits for her husband to turn up, Bobby Briggs breaks down, Josie sits in the dark and Audrey goes to work for her special agent.

#1.7 "Realization Time"

Original US airing 17/05/90

Original BBC airing 04/12/90

The mystery continues in David Lynch's soap noir.

Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean

7: For one resident of Twin Peaks, Laura Palmer is brought shockingly back to life, but a talkative witness to her murder is destined to leave blood on the doughnuts. Meanwhile, Cooper goes undercover at One-Eyed Jacks, Audrey gets tongue-tied and Nadine Hurley sees her dreams of riches shattered.

(Between episodes 7 and 8, the food and drink programme, er, Food and Drink reveals how Cooper's favourite cherry pie is made.)

#1.8 "The Last Evening"

Original US airing 23/05/90

Original BBC airing 11/12/90

The last episode in the present series and the mysteries deepen.

Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean
James and Donna discover a tape that could finger the killer but Cooper is looking to the future of his investigation in the cards. A madness grips Twin Peaks and it seems that Laura Palmer's fate may be visited on more than one of its inhabitants.

Following the conclusion of the first season, the BBC picks up the second season almost immediately, as it kicks off in January, long before it's finished in the US:

#2.1 "May the Giant Be With You"

Original US airing 30/09/90

Original BBC airing 08/01/91

The second season's feature-length opening episode returns to the small town seething with secrets. Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean
Is that a corpse on the floor in the Great Northern Hotel and has the investigation into
Laura Palmer's murder met a premature end? As the local hospital fills up with the victims of an eventful night, other residents of Twin Peaks adopt strange changes in style, a giant dispenses wisdom, and someone sees the face of 'Bob'.

#2.2 "Coma"

Original US airing 06/10/90

Original BBC airing 15/01/91

David Lynch's soap noir continues starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean
One-Eyed Jacks becomes a dangerous place for Audrey.

For whatever reason the Saturday repeat goes with a longer description:

Another opportunity to keep up with events in director David Lynch's offbeat American town.
Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean

The face of 'Bob' appears in more nightmares and, while Cooper ponders on increasingly cryptic clues, three friends begin singing out of tune. two brothers scheme to capitalise on recent events, and One-Eyed Jacks becomes a dangerous place for Audrey.

#2.3 "The Man Behind the Glass"

Original US airing 13/10/90

Original BBC airing 22/01/91

David Lynch's soap noir continues. Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean
Donna meets someone with strange insights, and Cooper has trouble with a vengeful brother. Meanwhile, Lucy gets mad, and Leland pays the price of getting even.

The synopsis on the Saturday repeat again seems worth noting:

Another chance to see last week's episode starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean
'You're dead, Laura, but your problems keep hanging around.' Donna meets someone with strange insights into those problems.

At this point the synopses become substantially shorter and frequently less interesting, suggesting whoever was previously writing them up moved on:

Episode	Original US airing	Original BBC airing	Radio Times synopsis
#2.4 “Laura’s Secret Diary”	20/10/90	29/01/91	A restaurant critic travelling incognito and an inscrutable Japanese gentleman are the latest arrivals in Twin Peaks.
#2.5 “The Orchid’s Curse”	27/10/90	05/02/91	A mission to rescue Audrey and a plan to steal Laura Palmer's diary turn into terrifying experiences.
#2.6 “Demons”	03/11/90	12/02/91	Audrey returns from her ordeal and Leo is guest of honour at a bizarre party.
#2.7 “Lonely Souls”	10/11/90	19/02/91	In tonight's instalment of David Lynch's cult murder-mystery, the question is answered.
#2.8 “Drive With a Dead Girl”	17/11/90	26/02/91	A killer stalks Twin Peaks, unseen and undetected, while a desperate Ben Home hears a voice from beyond the grave. Bobby Briggs spies the main chance, and Norma gets a visit from her mother. Then comes more chilling news...
#2.9 “Arbitrary Law”	01/12/90	05/03/91	As one mystery is solved, others take its place. In the aftermath of another young woman's death, Cooper knows he is close to his quarry.
#2.10 “Dispute Between Brothers”	08/12/90	12/03/91	Leland Palmer is laid to rest.
#2.11 “Masked Ball”	15/12/90	19/03/91	As Twin Peaks celebrates the wedding of the year, Josie is about to discover exactly what widowhood means.
#2.12 “The Black Widow”	12/01/91	26/03/91	After the wedding of the year, the honeymoon proves to be decidedly fatal and Dick Tremayne begins to fear that time spent in little Nicky's company may not be life-enhancing either. Cooper, meanwhile, gets into property and James gets deeper into a dangerous fascination.
#2.13 “Checkmate”	19/01/91	02/04/91	As Ben Home fights past battles, Cooper heads for a showdown with Jean Renault, but a far more dangerous adversary moves ever nearer.
#2.14 “Double Play”	02/02/91	09/04/91	Cooper feels compelled to unlock the tragic secret of his past. Meanwhile, Leo's latest development proves to be a terrifying ordeal for Shelly.
#2.15 “Slaves and Masters”	09/02/91	16/04/91	Actress Diane Keaton directs this episode of the soap noir. (Repeat: Josie continues to battle against police suspicion and the attentions of the sinister Thomas Eckhardt.)
#2.16 “The Condemned Woman”	16/02/91	07/05/91 (break in transmission due to snooker coverage)	Break-ups, marriage proposals and new attractions are the order of the day in Twin Peaks.
#2.17 “Wounds and Scars”	28/03/91	14/05/91	A grieving Truman seeks solace in a bottle.
#2.18 “On the Wings of Love”	04/04/91	21/05/91	While Truman survives a killer's kiss, mysterious symbols lead Cooper to a cave where the owls may not be what they seem.
#2.19 “Variations on Relations”	11/04/91	28/05/91	Cooper meets Cupid. (Repeat: Windom Earle becomes less scrupulous about the pawns he is using in his deadly game.)
#2.20 “The Path to the Black Lodge”	18/04/91	04/06/91	The puzzle of the Black Lodge seems about to be solved.
#2.21 “Miss Twin Peaks”	10/06/91	11/06/91	Cooper and Truman decipher part of the secret of the Black Lodge. But are they too late?
#2.22 “Beyond Life and Death”	10/06/91	18/06/91	Dale Cooper must finally confront the evil that lurks in the woods of Twin Peaks. (Repeat: A queen is escorted to an appointment at the end of the world but, in order to play the white knight and rescue her, Agent Dale Cooper must face a final confrontation with the evil that lurks in the woods surrounding Twin Peaks.)

Episodes 21 and 22 were originally shown as a double-length episode in the US; that's a pretty impressive turnaround for us to get the first half just hours later!

The following year Fire Walk with Me receives a significant amount of coverage on the BBC's film discussion programmes, and in July 1993 Lynch and Frost's short-lived sitcom On the Air receives late-night (read: between midnight and 2am) screenings on BBC Two. Two years later, FWwM receives its BBC premiere on 12 November 1995, Lynch is interviewed for the film discussion series Scene by Scene in 1999, Sheryl Lee presents the retrospective I Love 1990 in 2001, and various other related programmes crop up over the years -- see, for example, this radio documentary on the show from 2015 -- but those initial airings were the only outings for the show itself.