Nostalgia fuels a gorgeous, odd ‘Peaks’

Lynch’s revival even weirder than original

These days, being baffling may not be enough.

That’s not to say that the appeal of David Lynch’s original

Twin Peaks, which had the same effect on TV in 1990 as that meteor did on the dinosaurs, was limited to its ability to leave an audience feeling bewitched and bewildered. But there’s little doubt that one of the big draws back then was

Peaks’ mind-boggling, groundbreaking willingness to leave an audience confused. It was a breath of fresh — if incredibly unsettling — air.

Well, that was then. Showtime’s revived Twin Peaks (Sundays, 9 ET/PT, out of four) lives in a whole new TV universe. There still may be no one who can match Lynch when it comes to “what-thehell?” odd images, but his is clearly no longer the only bizarre game in town.

Certainly, storytelling, at least in the common sense of the word, was not foremost in Lynch’s and co-writer Mark Frost’s minds in last Sunday’s two-hour return. (The third and fourth episodes air this Sunday.) So what was? Well, nostalgia for one, a chance to let us say, “Look, Margaret ‘Log Lady’ Lanterman is still talking to her log.”

More important, the revival’s premiere seemed to be their chance to use new techniques, bigger budgets and more creative freedom to be even more visually creative and nightmarishly weird.

Put them together, and you got two hours that were often gorgeous, sometimes goofy, frequently disturbing and far more violent than the original. You could accuse it of being self-indulgent, but that’s the entire point of bringing Peaks back: To indulge Lynch’s desire to revisit the series with his gifts and desires completely unleashed.

Whether Showtime did Lynch any favors is another question. After all, part of what made the original so intriguing was the juxtaposition between what Peaks was doing and what the rest of ABC was doing. The problem, and the reason ratings collapsed, was that the more the original let go of convention and gave in to oddity, the less intriguing the show became.

Which is why the decision to jettison convention entirely may send up warning flares for some viewers. Just as for others, another chance to wander through the red-curtained halls of Lynch’s imagination may be ideal. If that’s you, also prepare to be baffled.