Twin Peaks is one hell of a show. Part murder mystery, part soap opera, and part David Lynch, this 90’s classic shook audiences back in the day due to it’s bizarre nature and plotting, always keeping people guessing and fearing what would come next. But not only that, the show created many memorable characters and sometimes even had a light, goofy tone despite its (really fucked up) subject matter.
Sadly, the show, created by Lynch and his writing partner Mark Frost, fell apart in its second season after ABC, who didn’t know what type of show they had on them, forced Lynch and Frost to give away the show’s biggest mystery early on. From that point on, the show went off the rails, going into almost self-parody. Some enjoy the wackiness that ensued in the back half of season 2, but this is where the show lost a lot of people. Even me.
But David Lynch returned to Twin Peaks before this year’s long-awaited revival with 1992’s Fire Walk With Me. Without his co-writer Frost, Lynch created a dark, twisted film that captured the week before Laura Palmer’s death, which was the driving force behind the show. But as with most things Lynch makes, nothing is as it seems. Many people, including the show’s fans, hated the film, as it arguably lead to more questions than answers. But, I personally love the film, and it’s the reason I think I’m going to really enjoy this new (and final) season.
For my money’s worth, Twin Peaks was at it’s best when it was bleak as hell. The show, for those of you who don’t know, is about the rape and murder of a high-school teenager. Not necessarily light stuff. And every episode Lynch directed was easily among the best, simply because he knew how to perfectly mix the goofiness with the absolutely horrifying premise without ever taking it too far. Lynch controls the mood of his films like no other, so it’s a shame to see people embrace the goofy more than the creepy world at stake. And I feel that, unlike me, that’s why they won’t like this new season.
Lynch has said that watching Fire Walk With Me is important to this show, already hinting that the brooding, violent tone of the prequel/sequel(?) is something we might see with this new season. Also, we must keep in mind that Lynch and Frost are both back together, and this time they aren’t held back by ABC’s restrictions. There’s a reason the show is over at Showtime, who’s usually very lenient with violence and or sex on their shows.
I’m just saying, I genuinely think this new season will have much more in common with it’s ugly, demented step-child Fire Walk With Me than it will with the original show. So people expecting to make memes out of the next Dale Cooper quote might be in for a disappointment. Me? I’m just super excited to see how twisted and fucked-up David Lynch‘s return to television will be. Because, let’s be real here — if you go into a David Lynch project expecting to see something you’ve already seen before, you really should be watching something else.
And if you haven’t gotten the chance to catch up on the show yet (shame on you, by the way), here’s a wonderful retrospective, “Previously, on Twin Peaks…” from Modern Mythos Media, detailing everything that’s happened in both the show and the film up until this point.
Now excuse me while I go sign up for my free-month trail for Showtime.
Twin Peaks: The Revival premieres tomorrow on Showtime at 9PM.
Celluloid 