There are few works of art I’m comfortable bestowing the
term “perfect” upon. Such a work must not only be great in its own right, it
also must initially hit me at the perfect time of my life as well as continue
to give through the years with repeated listenings/viewings. It must speak to
me on multiple levels and become an integral part of my life. Experiencing it
is a sacred experience. To be all these things and more that I can’t define
with mere words means they are worthy of being called perfect: Ride the Lightning.
Whiskey for
the Holy Ghost. ‘Salem’s
Lot. Spirited Away.
Twin Peaks.
You may have heard that Twin Peaks is coming back. New
episodes are set to air in May. Many fans, including some of my closest
friends, are excited—this is something they didn’t think would ever happen. And
I…I am not. This piece is about me trying to figure out why that is, exactly. I
can’t quite put my finger on it, so maybe writing it out will help.
I watched Twin Peaks during its original run, alerted to
it by my best friend. I think it was the fourth or fifth episode I first
caught, and from there I did not miss a single one. Nights Twin Peaks aired
were kept clear of any other plans. I’d take in each episode with the
concentration of a student studying for a difficult exam and turn over each
piece in my head for the following week until the next episode revealed more
mystery. I was so taken by everything—the characters, the story/mythology, the
music, the camera work. Since the show concluded, I still watch episodes
regularly (first on VHS, then DVD.) Even during the period in the mid-to late
90s when I lost my taste for David Lynch altogether. (That taste would return,
incidentally. I obsessed so hard on his work for a while that I simply had to
take a break.)
And then the movie. I saw Fire Walk
with Me twice in the theater (sitting front row in a virtually empty
theater both times) and once or twice after. Last night I watched it for the
first time in well over a decade. Panned when released, it seems to be getting
some reconsideration now, as well it should—if it’s not Lynch’s best film (that
is either Blue
Velvet or Mulholland
Drive) it’s damn close. I get why it bombed. It’s dark, dark, dark. There’s
none of the quirky humor and far less of the quirky characters from the
television show. It’s a different but related vision, one I think was there all
along but the show gave you a chance to escape, while the movie makes you
suffer. One of the first things I ever did on the internet was find a copy of
the original screenplay (which would have been a 4-6 hour movie) and was a
completely different but fascinating beast…FWIW, I think they made the right
call to focus on Laura’s story for the film.
There were other gifts the series gave. The comedown
hours of many acid trips were scored with the original soundtrack, Laura’s Theme in
particular, which so tenderly captures the sadness of existence and
inevitability of demise in a cold universe. The hilariousness of Real Indication and surrealism
of The Black Dog Runs at
Night from the movie soundtrack. The
Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, while no great literary work, was one of the
rawest things I had read up to that point, the first work I encountered to deal
with incest. It does so in a devastating and frightening way (which the movie
would take its cues from; perhaps that’s why I was more open to the movie?)
Snatches of dialogue that became embedded into the conversations with many
friends, even ones who weren’t a fan of the show. Etc. Etc.
So why will I (probably) not be watching Twin Peaks’
return?
Leaving aside thorny issues of what the show itself may
or may not be, let’s start with something simple: access. The new episodes will
be aired on Showtime. I don’t have access to Showtime. It’s not clear on their
site if you can simply rent episodes or series, or if they will be available in
other channels (Amazon, Netflix, etc.) I won’t be subscribing to Showtime
simply to see one show when it premieres. I would assume that eventually the
show will be available in other channels (like the resuscitated X-Files was.)
However, all the discussion around it will happens as it premieres, as with any
pop culture event in this here now, gone a second later hot take culture. There
will be no slow growth, no considered analysis after the fact. I’m not stating
that this is good or bad; it simply is. So, if you want to participate in a
discussion of the show’s merits, you have to get instant access. And this is
not something I’m likely to do, though I’ll reserve judgment until I see what
the final options are.
Content and context: where to begin? Though readily
identifiable as early 90s era production, Twin Peaks is not as beholden to its
era as many shows are, largely because it eschews pop-culture references and
creates its own dreamworld. That said, it clearly exists in its era: there are
no smartphones, computer usage itself is comparatively rare, the internet doesn’t
exist, five million dollars is exchanged via check. It is easy to believe this
town can pull down the curtain and be cut off from outside influences when it
chooses to. All of which is essential to making whatever is lurking in the
woods—in the Black Lodge—terrifying. One aspect of the show that resonates
deeply with me, as I grew up in rural, forested Washington State, is the foreboding
darkness and isolation in both the town and its surrounding woods. The new
episodes appear to be set in modern day Twin Peaks, 25 years after the
original, and as such will need to contend with modern technology in some way
or else the ability to immerse the viewer in its strange world is threatened by
the inability to even partially suspend disbelief. This has defeated many a
modern horror story, regardless of format (movie, book, etc.) The ones that
succeed generally are smaller character studies (It Follows, for example)
and Twin Peaks, by working with a broad cast of characters including law
enforcement who would certainly be using modern technology, can’t do that. There’s
probably plenty of Black Lodge information on the internet; piecing together
the mystery is no longer a painstaking, mysterious process of physical clues
and dream logic.
Well, maybe the mystery won’t be important, maybe there
won’t even be a mystery. It’s all about the characters, right? The residents of
that glorious backwater known as Twin Peaks? And it’s here I think the creators
are making a crucial mistake by bringing (most) of these beloved characters
back. Seriously, take a look at
the returning cast. Where to start unpacking this? Let’s first look at the
mix. That’s probably 85% or so of the key original characters. But a few of the
absences are glaring. Michael Ontkean (Sheriff Harry S. Truman) and Lara Flynn
Boyle (Donna Hayward) stand out. It’s not clear if either of these characters
will be played by another actor or not used at all, and while there is
precedence for using another actor (Donna Hayward was played by Moira Kelly in
Fire Walk with Me) in general it doesn’t work. Sheriff Truman was an integral
grounding presence in the original series. Other notable absences include Piper
Laurie (Catherine Martell), Michael J. Anderson (The Man from Another Place),
Joan Chen (Josie Packard), Eric Da Re (Leo Johnson), and Heather Graham (Annie
Blackburn.)
The bigger issue for me is that so many *are* returning.
In order for them to return, elements of the original series either have to be retconned
(annoying) or explained in some manner (far worse.) Honestly, I don’t *want* to
know what happened to Cooper in the Black Lodge. It’s far more powerful to
leave one with the final image of the series, Cooper (or his doppelganger)
looking in the mirror and laughing, trapped in the Black Lodge. And that’s just
the most prime example. There’s also Audrey returning (so are they gonna retcon
her getting blown up in the bank?) and Benjamin Horne (so he apparently didn’t
die in the final episode after Will Hayward attacks him?) And I don’t even want
to speculate on what kind of gibberish they are going to use to justify Leland
and Laura Palmer’s presence. One can hope it’s just a historical, looking back
context. If they actually bring them back…ugh. “Hey everyone! It was all just a
dream! Ha!” I’m prejudging here, and ok, that’s not fair. We’ve had 25 years to
ponder the ultimate outcome for these characters, and having them return
trivializes that experience. Done wrong, it will wipe away much of the power of
the original series.
Also critical is the high school age of many of the
original characters. Bobby, Mike, Audrey…they ain’t gonna be in high school anymore.
Their youth informed their actions; I don’t really want to see a bunch of
haunted middle-aged folks, ravaged by years of drug use or born again or in
denial. Is the series going to have a new set of high school kids, or will the
setting be jettisoned altogether? Are we gonna have whispered conversations in
the halls (“have you heard the tale of Laura Palmer?”) The one way I would be
interested in a new Twin Peaks is if it featured largely new characters,
perhaps just a couple of returning folks in more of a background role.
Basically, creating a new story in the setting, eliminating the need to tie up
loose ends from the original series and bringing all those characters back. I
realize such an idea would probably not get financial support (and here we get
into the thorny issue of whether this is more of a cash grab than a project
with any kind of vision, but I’m not comfortable speculating on motive) and
would probably annoy many fans. This is why I’ll never make it in Hollywood or
TVLand.
Have you seen Inland Empire? To
date it’s the last film David Lynch made. It’s fascinating, difficult and
unlike anything else out there. I want to see new work by Lynch, even if it
means waiting a decade for it, not a rehash of past glories. But Inland Empire
more or less bombed, and the rumor after was that Lynch was burned out on
making films. Will revisiting Twin Peaks rekindle that spark? If so…maybe this
whole enterprise is justified, regardless of the quality of the new show. I
just wish, if he must go back, he would do so with a largely new cast and new
story. We just don’t need a continuation of the Laura Palmer saga. It might
work if he focuses more on the Black/White Lodge mythology, but for Twin Peaks
to truly work as a series we need those subplots to keep that large canvas of
characters engaging, and if most of those characters did their dirty deeds 25
years before…it just starts to look like ruined magic.
The title of this piece is most likely a lie. I’m sure I’ll
end up watching at least an episode or two at some point, if not right when it
comes out (which becomes its own challenge, because if you want to avoid being influenced,
you have to go into media blackout.) When that happens, I really, truly hope I
look back at this essay and wonder why I was concerned at all. I want to be
knocked out. The original Twin Peaks set an almost impossibly high bar, and if
it can’t at least equal that bar, then let Laura Palmer rest in peace.
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