The Owls Are Not What They Seem

I just learned that Don S. Davis died a couple days ago.  He was Major Briggs in Twin Peaks and General Hammond in Stargate, among many other roles.  But those were the two that I grew up with.  Briggs was my mom’s favorite character in the disappointing second season of Twin Peaks.

We all remember those big events in life – where were you when JFK was shot, when the Challenger blew up, when Twin Peaks was abandoned by David Lynch? After spending a summer trying to recover from the epic season one finale, season two was a long, terrible slide into satanic betrayal.  Mom, never quite sane, was a little unhinged as the second season drove into nothingness.  But Major Briggs always cheered her up, and that was good for me.  Because when the shit got really bad around the Heather Graham period of season two, I received the brunt of her anger.

Of course, because it calmed mom, I came to greatly admire the somewhat subdued, even-handed acting of Don Davis.

I had long since left home (and mom) by the time Stargate: SG1 hit the air, but Davis still held that same place in my heart.  And I enjoyed building on the incidental connection between Major Briggs and General Hammond in my mind.  Both Air Force officers, both involved in top secret alien stuff, and both with troubled families.  Of course, it helped to see a connection when the first few seasons of SG1 mentioned a cover story that was awful close to what Major Briggs was doing.

Yeah, I watch too much sci fi.