When Twin Peaks premiered in 1990, it changed the television landscape in ways the creators – David Lynch and Mark Frost – could not have imagined. I wouldn’t watch the show for another two decades, but its surreal weirdness paired with gruesome violence and sardonic humor still stood out as a unique phenomenon. This was made possible in large part by the singular vision of Lynch, whose fine brushwork approach largely colored the aesthetic, tone, mood and setting of the series. Unfortunately, studio pressure and a shift in priorities contributed to a less stellar and more derivative second season, with Lynch delivering an epilogue prequel film to complete the story.
Its return, over 25 years later, brings Twin Peaks into a very different world of television, one where the medium has since offered much more freedom and has seen the rise and fall of hundreds of imitators in all their guises. be it the mysterious characters and supernatural happenings of Lost, to the detectives and otherworldly aspects of The X-Files, the small-town idiosyncrasies of FX’s Fargo, and the murder-mystery iteration of The X-Files. Archie Comics teens in Riverdale.
At the time, Twin Peaks offered something television was not yet known for. Its quaint suburban American atmosphere with an underbelly of odd happenings contributed to its charm. It helped that the actors embody the enigma of the characters, from Kyle MacLachlan as Agent Cooper to Lara Flynn Boyle as Donna Hayward. But it’s also a case of being a much fonder memory for the most part due to how much time has passed. Audiences then dropped out of the show after Lynch was pressured by ABC to reveal the killer sooner than they wanted, which ultimately turned the rest of season two into a dragging mess, especially since the Lynch and Frost’s control has diminished.
David Lynch as Gordon Cole in an image from Twin Peaks
Photo Credit: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime
Twin Peaks: Why you need to watch David Lynch’s surreal TV show
The new Twin Peaks comes at a very different time, as it’s seemingly surrounded by dozens of author-led upstarts, such as Noah Hawley’s Legion and Fargo, Jonathan Nolan’s Westworld, Vince Gilligan’s Better Call Saul, and American Ryan Murphy’s Horror Story to name one. a few, all of whom are pioneers and influential towards them. In the era of Peak TV, it’s much harder for a series to stand out or be truly groundbreaking. And since the return of Twin Peaks can’t handle that, it doubles down on its quirky feel, refusing to stick to any conventional narrative sense, or even a central character who can tie it all together, unlike even its own first season. .
In that sense, Lynch – who hasn’t directed a feature film since 2006’s Inland Empire – saw fit to increase the Lynchian counter to 12. Although they feature Angelo Badalamenti’s iconic and haunting score, the first four episodes – two airing on Sunday, and two more were released shortly after to encourage signups to Showtime’s streaming service – are somehow weirder, more shocking and off-putting, and deliberately run at a snail’s pace. It’s like Lynch daring his audience to stay, not caring at all about inviting newcomers.
The first new shot shows a van delivering shovels to Dr. Jacoby (Russ Tamblyn) living in the forest, and it appears to have been deliberately composited with the characters off-center to encourage viewers to let their minds wander. One of the final scenes features a giant empty glass box watched over by a man – a literal mystery box – in a Manhattan loft owned by an anonymous billionaire, which floats across our screens for several minutes. The Man From Another Place is now a sentient tree with a blob of talking skin on top, the odd creation thanks in part to actor Michael J Anderson’s falling out with Lynch.
Ben Rosenfield as Sam Colby and Madeline Zima as Tracey Barberato in an image from Twin Peaks
Photo Credit: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime
A segment of two vomiting Cooper lookalikes is so sickening that I felt like throwing up myself and had to momentarily look away. There are scenes that contain nothing but characters silently staring at each other or turning their heads very slowly, and on the other hand, there are jarring scenes that could cause epileptic behavior if played for too long. .
Where modern television creators have found a way to balance their artistic inclinations with a sense of narrative cohesion, Lynch considered the network carte blanche for Twin Peaks to channel the purest form of its weird and eccentric vision, distancing himself from all traps. In the first two hours, this can make for an infuriating, disconcerting, and disjointed experience that only begins to make sense with future episodes. For all Showtime’s reliance on Lynch, Twin Peaks seems designed as a binge-watch experience, not least for its adoption of multi-hour television as a movie formula.
It’s even more unfortunate that Showtime has yet to strike any licensing deals outside of its home territory. Unlike CBS’ partnership with Netflix for the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery and Amazon’s ongoing daily release for Starz American Gods, the new owner of Twin Peaks has yet to come up with a similar arrangement, leaving all international fans into the dust, and possibly force them to watch by illegal means. It’s entirely possible that the network will wait to see how the show pans out in the US (early numbers aren’t very promising), which will result in a delayed release in overseas territories.
Nicole LaLiberte as Darya and Kyle MacLachlan as Evil Cooper in an image from Twin Peaks
Photo Credit: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime
This confusion and disinterest can also be felt in the two-hour premiere of the return, which defies a coherent plot and moves between sprawling threads between New York, South Dakota and Twin Peaks, supporting new storylines with gruesome murders. and unexplained, and pieces of fan service in the case of the latter. It’s still just as primitive, weird, and terrifying, though there’s also a bit of self-indulgence on the creators’ part. MacLachlan spends more screen time as “Evil Cooper” (inherited from the spirit of BOB), wearing a snakeskin jacket and long hair, than he appears as the charming young detective who helped us understand the community of Twin Peaks.
Still, for all its flaws, it’s great that Lynch isn’t just interested in revisiting the glory days of Twin Peaks. A lesser showrunner would have given us more of what audiences loved about the show’s first season, the perfect throwback to the past, a la Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Instead, Lynch serves up a sequel to the story 25 years later — the Showtime president described it as “Agent Cooper’s odyssey to Twin Peaks” — while still being its own goofy thing. Despite so much time gone by and the more polished TV narratives we’ve seen since, the new Twin Peaks is still a singular vision of one man: David Lynch, who directs all 18 episodes of season three, which is why it’s worth the shot stick around.
We discussed Twin Peaks Season 3 in our weekly Transition gaming and pop culture podcast. You can subscribe to it via Apple Podcasts or RSS or just listen to this episode by hitting the play button below.
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