Television
WHEN Twin Peaks aired in 1990, it was considered one of the best things since cordless remote controls.
Created and directed by David Lynch, it went on to become a cult classic for reasons which are unfathomable for me. On May 21, the reboot – written and directed by Lynch, and a continuation of the story, which ran for two seasons – premieres in the US, and comes to our M-Net 101 screens on May 23 at 9.30pm.
Ahead of this, M-Net launched its Binge channel to show all the previous episodes so we could update ourselvees with the ever-increasing Lynch weirdness (often accused of inserting a little person just to achieve this). I set my series recordings and sat back, ready to be refreshed, reminded, and awed.
I made it through one and a half episodes. It was awful.
The acting was dreadful, the dialogue stilted, and emotions overdone, particularly the scenes where Laura Palmer’s mother learns of her murder. Laura’s schoolmates were devastated too, and the boys stormed around in testosterone-fuelled indignant rages – at each other, and the authorities. So much ranting and raving and chest-beating and wringing of hands. This appears to have been deliberate (see below) but it could just be how bad television used to be, when we knew no better.
Kyle McLachlan as FBI agent Dale Cooper – who reprises his role in the new series – was tolerable. Watching something from 25 years ago, you just can’t get the thought “oh my, they all look so young!” out your head, which is distracting.
And so, with 29 and a half more episodes to go, I decided to break up with Twin Peaks. Life is too short. If I wanted to know what happened, that’s why we have Wikipedia, which says: “The series follows an investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington. The narrative draws on elements of crime drama, while the show’s uncanny tone and supernatural elements are consistent with horror tropes, and its campy, melodramatic portrayal of eccentric characters engaged in dubious activities draws from American soap operas. Like much of Lynch’s work, it is distinguished by surrealism and offbeat humour, as well as distinctive cinematography. The show’s acclaimed score was composed by Angelo Badalamenti in collaboration with Lynch.” That was the only bit I enjoyed – a lovely haunting piece of music playing over the opening credits, which instantly tapped the nostalgia button. After that, it was downhill.
And before you judge me for not loving something you think I should, there was a reason Twin Peaks only ran for two seasons; it was cancelled following declining ratings. The viewers had spoken.
Regardless, there has been much hype about the new version, which has been banging around for years. A continuation of where the old one left off means more drama, intrigue and chilling homicide. The limited series event, Twin Peaks: The Return, consistof 18 episodes.
Returning cast members include Lynch, Sherilyn Fenn (nominated for Golden Globe and Emmy awards for her role as Audrey, who ties a knot in a cherry stalk with her tongue), Mädchen Amick (Riverdale), Dana Ashbrook (Chicago PD, Rosewood), James Marshall (A Few Good Men), Peggy Lipton (A Dog’s Purpose), Everett McGill (JAG), Wendy Robie (The Magnificent Seven) and Lee (Dirty Sexy Money, Rosewood).
New cast members include Laura Dern (Big Little Lies), Naomi Watts (Diana), James Belushi (According To Jim), Michael Cera (Arrested Development), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Weeds) and Tim Roth (Pulp Fiction).
Of course, I will give it a chance. But only one.
Training Day (Vuzu AMP, Tuesday at 9.30pm): Making television series from great movies always worries me, and for good reason; they are seldom as great. Training Day (2001) was damn good. Denzel Washington can hardly put a foot wrong, in my opinion. The series picks up 15 years later with late