Killer BOB, often referred to simply as BOB, is the primary villain of the TV series Twin Peaks. He is a malevolent entity that survives by feeding on human's feelings of pain, suffering, and fear, which he collectively refers to as garmonbozia. His murder of town homecoming queen Laura Palmer set off the chain of events which made up the main action of the series. He was played by Frank Silva.
Character history
The impetus for the series "Twin Peaks" was the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer. When production began on the pilot, series creators David Lynch and Mark Frost had decided that the murderer would be revealed as Leland Palmer, Laura's father. During the filming of a scene in the pilot taking place in Laura's room, Frank Silva, a set dresser, accidentally trapped himself in the room prior to filming by inadvertantly moving a dresser in front of the door. Lynch had an image of Silva stuck in the room and thought that it could fit into the series somewhere, and told Silva that he would like for him to be in the series. Lynch had Silva crouch at the foot of Laura's bed and look through the bars of the footboard, as if he were "trapped" behind them, and filmed it, then had Silva leave the room and filmed the empty room; after reviewing the footage, Lynch liked the presence that Silva brought to the scene and decided that he would put him somewhere in the series. [1] Later that day, a scene was being filmed in which Laura Palmer's mother experiences a vision which frightens her; at the time, the script did not indicate what Mrs. Palmer had seen to frighten her. Lynch was pleased with how the scene turned out, but a crew member informed him that it would have to be re-shot, because a mirror in the scene had inadvertantly picked up someone's reflection. When Lynch asked who it was, the crew member replied that it had been Frank Silva. Lynch considered this a "happy accident," and decided at that point that the unnamed character to be played by Silva would be revealed as Laura Palmer's true killer.[1]
BOB
BOB is an evil entity from the Black Lodge, a realm of evil which exists on an alternate plane of reality. BOB has existed since before European settlers came to the United States; he was known by the Native American population of modern day Washington State, who feared him as a being of pure evil. Like the other beings which inhabit the Black Lodge, BOB lives by consuming pain, suffering, and fear, which he and the Black Lodge residents refer to collectively as "garmonbozia." In order to obtain garmonbozia, BOB possesses human beings and then commits acts of rape and murder; he then feeds on the fear and suffering of his victims. Oftentimes, the people whom BOB possesses are unaware that they are possessed and have no idea what acts they have been forced to commit under BOB's control. BOB came to Twin Peaks after possessing Leland Palmer, a small boy on vacation in a nearby town. He Bob possesses people and uses their bodies to murder and rape. He is an evil spirit of some kind, who has a connection to the woods and the owls outside the town. Everytime BOB kills someone, he places a letter underneath the victim's nail to spell out his real name "ROBERT". Bob's victims are not fully aware that they are possessed. Leland Palmer was possessed by Bob when he was still a boy. As an adult, Leland molested, raped and eventually murdered his daughter, Laura, all while under Bob's influence. It is implied that Laura allowed herself to be killed, because she knew that death was the only escape from being Bob's next host. Bob's bloodlust took over and he killed Laura through Leland, robbing himself of his new chosen host body. By the end of the series (including the prequel film), Bob is known to have killed at least three people through Leland: Teresa Banks, Leland's mistress; Laura Palmer, Leland's daughter; and Madeline Ferguson, Leland's niece. He kills Leland by repeatedly smashing his head into a door. In the final episode, Bob seems to come out as the ultimate victor in the Twin Peaks saga by absorbing the soul of Windom Earle as well as triumphing over his nemesis Agent Dale Cooper by possessing him in the Black Lodge. Bob is a symbol of the evil that can lurk beneath the surface of apparently ordinary people. FBI agent Albert Rosenfield articulates this at one point, suggesting that Bob is not a real entity unto itself, but rather an embodiment of "the evil that men do". The all-capitals form of his name, "BOB", is described in Jennifer Lynch's spin-off book The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer as a warning for people to Beware Of Bob.
