‘Twin Peaks’: Too weird the first time; weird enough now?
In the current run-up to the “Twin Peaks” revival, viewers know almost nothing about what to expect. At the same time, they know everything they need to.
There will be no critics’ reviews to tip them off before the series debuts at 9 p.m. Sunday. Showtime has kept its episodes under wraps. Instead, it has been teasing fans with only splashes of hype.
On the other hand, the “Twin Peaks” faithful have a pretty good idea of what’s ahead in the 18 episodes. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (played by returning lead Kyle MacLachlan) will be back in the weird little hamlet of Twin Peaks, Washington, a quarter-century after the original ABC series aired. He will presumably be investigating one or more fresh crimes that stir eerie echoes of a mystery that, way back when, nettled the nation: “Who killed Laura Palmer?”
Among 217 listed cast members, MacLachlan’s fellow returnees include Madchen Amick, Richard Beymer, David Duchovny, Sherilyn Fenn, David Patrick Kelly, Sheryl Lee, Peggy Lipton, Harry Dean Stanton, Russ Tamblyn, Ray Wise and Grace Zabriskie. They are joined by such newcomers as Jim Belushi, Michael Cera, Laura Dern, Eddie Vedder and Naomi Watts.
Original architects Mark Frost and David Lynch co-wrote this new series, with Lynch directing, surely guaranteeing that “Twin Peaks” Redux will replicate its predecessor’s Lynchian mix of the macabre, campiness and conspicuous obscurity.
The original series eventually — though not nearly soon enough for its viewers — revealed who had killed homecoming queen Laura Palmer. But that was never the point. The point was to transport the audience to a “Twin Peaks”-addled state of mind, where viewers would be constantly challenged, provoked, amused and confounded. Including TV critics. “I’ve watched every episode,” declared the Los Angeles Times’ Howard Rosenberg a month into its run, “and I’m hopelessly behind and confused, but loving it. I think.”
But too many other viewers weren’t so sure. All too soon, legions of them simply gave up. After its explosive launch in April 1990, the series hemorrhaged audience. By June 1991, “Twin Peaks” seemed as lifeless as Laura Palmer. ABC pronounced it dead, leaving only a cult of loyalists to grieve.
For anyone now who wants to discover or refresh themselves on what the fuss was all about, those 30 episodes are available for bingeing on Netflix.
“Twin Peaks” helped pave the way for the inventive, bizarre and mind-bending pleasures TV is now offering more of — shows like “American Gods,” ‘‘Sense8” and “Mr. Robot.”
The big questions facing “Twin Peaks” this go-round is: Can it hold its own against the stiff competition? Can it clear the ever-higher bar of TV artistry that, a quarter-century ago, it set?