Twin Peaks is revered as one of the giants of television. Without Twin Peaks we would not of had shows like Lost, Les Revenants and True Detective. Back in the 90’s it grabbed the attention of the world with a simple premise who killed Laura Palmer? If you don’t know this answer watch the show! Far from this simple idea we delved into cinematic television courtesy of David Lynch and Mark Frost. They took American television out of the mundane family drama into this world that I adore so dearly. The question how is this wonderful and strange journey still continuing 26 years later? The main reason truly is the fans! After the reveal of Laura’s killer in season 2 Twin Peaks became even stranger and we had truly insane plot lines going on. ABC moved the show from Prime Time to a Sunday morning slot. The fans attacked the studio demanding the show to continue but it was later cancelled on a major cliffhanger! If you think Game of Thrones was big, Twin Peaks was bigger! The spirit of Peaks since 1991 has continued through fans, with festivals, screenings and conventions being held. Lynch even up to 2010 said Peaks was dead in the water and it wouldn’t return.
A certain tweet saying “Dear Twitter Friends: That gum you like is going to come back in style! #damngoodcoffee”. We all knew the great man was taking us back into this world. A slight wobble happened in 2015 when he left the project due to budgeting, but it was later settled with Showcase. Twin Peaks is a romantic, dramatic and horrifying show. Each episode is prolonged with so many genres you can never get bored of watching it. You want to move onto the next episode straight away, 26 years later it truly fits into the Netflix binge culture. Thematically it’s on point, but it wouldn’t be anything with out the cast. Special Agent Dale Cooper has always been the highlight of the show, Kyle MacLachlan a Lynch player (watch Blue Velvet before you watch the show similar themes!) almost didn’t take the role as he didn’t want to be typecast. But it was a damn fine decision for him to hop on board. Cooper is qwerky, enthusiastic, innocent and handsome. You can not hate Dale Cooper and his love for a black coffee is just the icing on the cake. The fondness for Cherry Pie, Doughnuts and Coffee through Twin Peaks is addictive, you will be wanting these treats through out your Peaks binge.
Cooper isn’t the only star here Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn), Shelly Johnson (Madchen Amick),Donna Hayward (Lara Flynn Boyle), Leland Palmer (Ray Wise), Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz) and Gordon Cole (David Lynch)…..I could go on and on. But this is a stellar cast they are all well developed and their personal story arcs never get forgotten even through season 2. You may fall in love with Twin Peaks but the characters are the soul of the whole show! Lynch and Frost have added to the cast also with big names like Monica Belucci, Michael Cera, Laura Dern, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tim Roth. Season 3 is promising to be big, but the subtle ad campaigns are adding to the mystery. We have no clue what is going to happen, all we know is we pick up 25 years after the last episode. A lot of questions need to be answered and I can not wait for them. It will take a whole series for answers or even more but it will be a truly strange and wonderful.
Why is Twin Peaks a major part of my life? Mainly for David Lynch. He is a cinematic hero of mine and his body of work has inspired me. Twin Peaks and Fire Walk with Me are masterclasses in cinema, I don’t consider the show to be television. It’s pure cinema! For it to be recognised at Cannes 2017 clearly shows the wider film community agree with my statement. The angles, editing, music, structure and cherry pies make Twin Peaks one of my all time favourite obsessions. The cheese of the drama with Angelo Badalamenti’s score makes Peaks so different and original. You want the characters to have a happy ending, you want Cooper and Audrey to hook up, you want Gordon Cole and Shelly to get married and have babies. Twin Peaks has moulded my creative side, made me think differently and to accept my inner goofball. Make sure you watch season 1 & 2 before May 21st, then get some cherry pie, doughnuts and a damn fine cup of coffee to wash it down.