Reality blurs in mist of the Peaks
Twin Peaks is back but it’s nothing like fans imagined it to be. Debashine Thangevelo looks at how David Lynch masterfully blends reality and dark fantasy, keeping viewers frustrated yet transfixed
AS A TEENAGER, I remember Twin Peaks becoming my weekly TV fix. Everyone at school was completely immersed in the journey to find out who killed Laura Palmer.
The image of her pale body, wrapped in clear plastic, and lips that have turned blue, are firmly etched in the minds of fans.
David Lynch explored his whodunit narrative in a style of eeriness that was unusual for a TV series in the 90s.
This era pre-dated the birth of Google, social media and binge-watching. It became a cult-hit nonetheless – that’s how much impact the show had.
The 2017 version of Twin Peaks takes place 25 years after FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) found his guy.
In the opening scene, Twin Peaks is swathed in mist. There’s a very menacing overtone – after all there is a legacy to be upheld.
Lynch, who directs all 18 episodes, flits between showcasing present-day Twin Peaks with its forested outskirts.
Two episodes in, I’m still trying to get my head around all the unfolding bizarreness, gruesome killings and how the random scenarios are connected.
What I have managed to deduce is that Dale Cooper is in an alternate reality. He is trapped in a room, draped in red curtains and populated by weird robotic characters.
Meanwhile, his malevolent doppelganger, who is a bit on the chubbier side and wears his hair long, roams the town, terrorising folk. He also goes on a bit of a killing spree. Meanwhile, there is a student who is hired for a science experiment. He has to sit on a couch in a room, looking through an encased glass cube, which is a portal into the city. He is visited by a very attractive young woman from the coffee shop.
She pops by with coffee in the hope of being invited in this heavily guarded room. Her tenacity bears fruit eventually, but it also spells her demise.
Then there is a woman gruesomely murdered in her flat. What’s worse is that she was decapitated but that body wasn’t hers.
Hawk (Michael Horse), who is now the deputy chief of police, gets a disturbing call from the Log Lady. She asks him to dig up all of Laura Palmer’s case files because there’s something he has missed.
Amid all these happenings, Lynch tries to establish a sense of normality with scenes that show the town folk chilling at the local pub, catching up with old friends.
The series boasts familiar faces and new ones like Laura Dern, Naomi Watts and Michael Cera. Of the recognisable faces, I have to say Ray Wise (Leland Palmer) doesn’t look like he’s aged over the decades. He either takes amazing care of himself or he has the best plastic surgeon on hand.
Twin Peaks may be a bit different. But the script is imbued with plenty of humour, supernatural mystery, deadly deception and a minefield of secrets to ensure buffs from this golden era of TV will revel in the unfolding shenanigans of this dark fantasy horror. Twin Peaks airs on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) on Tuesdays at 9.30pm.
DAVID Lynch was blessed in that he got most of the actors from the original series to return. Here are a few faces to take fans down memory lane.
KYLE MACLACHLAN AS DALE COOPER/ EVIL COOPER
This Emmy and Golden Globe winner has been Lynch’s mascot long before Twin Peaks. He appeared in two of his cult movies: Dune (1984) and Blue Velvet (1986). MacLachlan went on to explore the big and small screen with equal gusto. His prominent TV roles since include: Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He’s 58 now but still as compelling as ever in reprising his iconic character.
CATHERINE E. COULSON AS THE LOG LADY
Fans are going to be a little heartbroken to learn that she passed away at the age of 71 in 2015. The scenes we are seeing now were shot before her death. Like MacLachlan, she also crossed paths with Lynch when she worked with him on Eraserhead (1977), a low-budget classic that was four years in the making. Twelve years later, they were reunited for Twin Peaks, the two seasons as well as the prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and this third TV offering. In between, she was spotted in an episode of Psych in 2010 and Portlandia in 2012. She was also in Gary Lundgren’s Redwood Highway movie.
DAVID LYNCH AS GORDON COLE
The director, who co-wrote all 18 episodes with Mark Frost, is 71 but still at the top of his game. He needs no introduction. But if you are trying to understand his vision, let’s just say he’s a fan of filmmakers like as Stanley Kubrick, Federico Fellini, Werner Herzog and Jacques Tati. He approaches his projects with a dreamlike and unsettling vision. But he is impactful all the same.
DAVID DUCHOVNY AS DENISE BRYSON
Yes, he is better known for his role as FBI agent Fox Mulder in The X-Files and Californication. He’s also got a few movies under his belt and is currently in Aquarius, a crime thriller, which was canned after the second season. Lynch is being very tight-lipped about Duchovny’s return.
SHERILYN FENN AS AUDREY HORNE
The 52-year-old actress started her career in B-grade sexploitation movies. Of course, she started bagging better projects later on. She briefly dated pop singer Prince in 1985 and then Johnny Depp, for several years, from 1986. In one of her interviews about her return to Twin Peaks, she said: “I think (the reboot) will probably, hopefully, be some of his best work. The beauty of age is we grow, we learn. We have more wisdom.
MÄDCHEN AMICK AS SHELLY JOHNSON
Recently cast as Alice Cooper in the series Riverdale, this 46-year-old actress has many films and TV shows under her belt. Some of her prominent roles include: Gilmore Girls, ER, Joey, Dawson’s Creek, Witches of East End and American Horror Story: Hotel.
PEGGY LIPTON AS NORMA JENNINGS
This former model gained prominence after bagging a Golden Globe for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for her role in The Mod
Squad in 1970. She has a few films to her credit and has done her rounds on the TV circuit with roles in Wings, Alias, Rules of Engagement, House of Lies, Psych and Angie Tribeca.