The Twin Peaks Reboot

Maybe it's not a reboot? We'll have to see what Mr. Lynch has prepared for us.

I've been a David Lynch fan since Eraserhead came out, which I saw in some theater in Troy NY in the late 70's.

Lynch has directed the entire new series, so I'm expecting some great weirdness.

And Naomi Watts! Be still my heart! Big fan here.

thanks for reminding me to program my DVR.  If this is as good as season 1, it's going to be terrific.  Lynch and Frost lost their way in season 2, but to be fair, they never expected to get a second year.  There's a nice hour-long video synopsis on YouTube of seasons 1 and 2 and Fire Walk With Me.  After all these years, I needed to brush up on the history before I watch the current season.

here's a fun video.  The MFAP teaches you how to speak backwards.  Until lately, I didn't know how they achieved that weird speaking effect in the Red Room.  They filmed everything with the actors speaking their dialogue and moving in reverse.  The film was then reversed when it was played, and the dialogue would be spoken in the proper order, but the words had that weird dreamlike sound to them.

ml1 said:

Lynch and Frost lost their way in season 2, but to be fair, they never expected to get a second year. 

True, but it's a little more complicated than that. The network pressured them into revealing Laura Palmer's murderer. Lynch and Frost had intended that investigation never to end, because it was the trunk of the tree from which all the other branches came. Lynch likens the murder investigation to the goose that keeps laying golden eggs, and the network forced them to kill the goose. Once the murder was solved, a) much of the audience had their curiosity sated, and b) there was no longer a central structure tying everything together. Lynch and Frost saw the problem coming, but they couldn't convince the network to follow their lead. 

There is truth to that.  But I also think it's Lynch and Frost doing some revisionism.  At some point, viewers probably also would have lost interest if there was no resolution to the mystery.  They can blame the network for forcing them to reveal it sooner than they wanted, but they have no one to blame but themselves for how weak the storylines and pacing were after the murder was solved.  And they can't blame the network for their movie's lack of focus and pacing.

But I'm looking forward to this new series because I expect it to have more shape and focus as a limited series than the original open-ended broadcast run.

BrickPig said:

ml1 said:

Lynch and Frost lost their way in season 2, but to be fair, they never expected to get a second year. 

True, but it's a little more complicated than that. The network pressured them into revealing Laura Palmer's murderer. Lynch and Frost had intended that investigation never to end, because it was the trunk of the tree from which all the other branches came. Lynch likens the murder investigation to the goose that keeps laying golden eggs, and the network forced them to kill the goose. Once the murder was solved, a) much of the audience had their curiosity sated, and b) there was no longer a central structure tying everything together. Lynch and Frost saw the problem coming, but they couldn't convince the network to follow their lead. 

Agreed. I'm not trying to excuse them. Ultimately it was up to them to come up with another golden-egg-laying goose, so to speak. I'm just saying it was a little more involved than the two of them simply "losing their way." They had a plan, but it was pulled out from under them.

I'm also really looking forward to this. Trying to keep my expectations in check, but it's pretty hard to do.

yes.  It was a case of the network wanting the show to continue for business reasons, when it should have ended for creative reasons after one season or one and a half.

I actually worked at the network during the second season.  But I wasn't there when the decision was made to bring it back.  It was a business decision of course, but there was also a very real sense of pride that they were doing creative groundbreaking TV.  Around the same time, they had signed Steven Bochco to a long-term production deal.  The first of his shows was the now-infamous "Cop Rock."  Bochco took a lot of swings at ABC, and most of them missed.  But the one time he did hit, it was with NYPD Blue.  It's hard to remember now what a revolutionary show that was.  But you can draw some pretty direct lines from NYPD Blue to The Shield, The Sopranos, Sons of Anarchy, Deadwood, etc.  It was a cool time to work at ABC and feel proud of the efforts to make TV programs that didn't emerge from the same cookie cutter.

BrickPig said:

Agreed. I'm not trying to excuse them. Ultimately it was up to them to come up with another golden-egg-laying goose, so to speak. I'm just saying it was a little more involved than the two of them simply "losing their way." They had a plan, but it was pulled out from under them.

I'm also really looking forward to this. Trying to keep my expectations in check, but it's pretty hard to do.

I think that scene was one of the greatest set pieces in cinema.

ml1 said:

here's a fun video.  The MFAP teaches you how to speak backwards.  Until lately, I didn't know how they achieved that weird speaking effect in the Red Room.  They filmed everything with the actors speaking their dialogue and moving in reverse.  The film was then reversed when it was played, and the dialogue would be spoken in the proper order, but the words had that weird dreamlike sound to them.

Was Lynch even involved in season 2? I thought he wasn't.

BrickPig said:

Agreed. I'm not trying to excuse them. Ultimately it was up to them to come up with another golden-egg-laying goose, so to speak. I'm just saying it was a little more involved than the two of them simply "losing their way." They had a plan, but it was pulled out from under them.

I'm also really looking forward to this. Trying to keep my expectations in check, but it's pretty hard to do.

What I've read is that he left the show after season 2, episode 7, wherein Laura's killer was revealed (and which Lynch directed).

I have to say, too, that I actually think season 2 was still pretty good. Clearly it's not on the same plane as season 1, and I don't deny there are problems with it. But I find it quite enjoyable. My wife and I just did a binge rewatch of the entire series in preparation for the new episodes, and I *still* think season two is better than it gets credit for. Obviously I'm in the minority, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Never saw Twin Peaks until watching it last night.  I thought I might have nightmares if I kept watching but couldn't turn it off.  Like a Fellini movie and breaking bad meets sci fi terror.  

Giddy.  Just positively giddy over it. And I'm still trying to figure out what the hell just happened.  

And my pie was awesome.

Is it recommended to watch the old series first before this one?  The old series is in my binge watching "todo" list.  My roommates in college were into it - but I never paid much attention.

You'd probably have to.  We decoured the first run in college, and I still had to shake off the cobwebs. 

There's an article somewhere which identifies the episodes to watch if you just want to do a quick review of the original series. I think one said that watching the pilot, episode 3/season 1 and episode 7/season 2 would be a decent intro.

FWIW, David Lynch was quoted as saying you don't have to have any prior knowledge of the show to watch these new episodes. Of course, it's very easy to say that if you DO have prior knowledge. And if it's in your best interest to get as many people watching as possible (which may or may not be important to him; that's hard to determine).

I watched every episode of the original series, and saw the movie, and I couldn't remember all of it this many years later.  I found this 55 minute summary of the series and movie to be a pretty good overview of all the important plot points.  It certainly doesn't convey the very deep oddness of the series, but it gives you all important factual stuff.  If I'd never seen the show, I'd watch episodes 1 and 3 to get the vibe of the series, and then watch this synopsis:

http://welcometotwinpeaks.com/...

I still haven't watched all of the first episode. I got a little freaked at the scene of that dead body in the bed. Whoa.

But what I've seen so far tells me that Lynch has taken off his gloves for this one.  Full bore weirdness is on the menu.

Forced myself to get thru episode 3.  I'm done.  Boring as hell.  Not interested in Lynch's arthouse pretensions.  Don't care what, if anything, the long tedious virtually contentless scenes mean.  It's unwatchable.  

I've loved Twin Peaks previously, but have to agree this is becoming tedious.

I haven't watched last night's episode yet, but based on the previous ones I'm still all in. Given that Lynch had more-or-less total control over this project, the tone and pacing is pretty much exactly what I expected it to be. Although I realize the whole point of "The Return" means, by necessity, that we (or at least Cooper) has to start out somewhere else, I still don't love the fact that so much of this is taking place outside the town of Twin Peaks. But I'm just taking it for what it is rather than what I might wish it to be. Admittedly, though, I'm a sucker for Lynch in all his weirdo glory. Obviously not everybody will feel that way.

vermontgolfer said:

I've loved Twin Peaks previously, but have to agree this is becoming tedious.

Glad I am not the only one. I watched last night before and after I watched the TONYS which was on in the other room. I note that Bette Midler did not thank David Lynch.

I've only gotten through Ep1/2 so far - I've been watching Handmaid's Tale.

But I'll definitely stick with it. Like BrickPig, I love the Lynchian weirdness. I mean, that's the point.

WTF?

It's David Lynch man!

I'm still catching up. Only up to ep4 or so, but I'm diggin' the weirdness. However, it has worn out my viewing partner, so I'm gonna have to go it alone from here on.

vermontgolfer said:

WTF?

vermontgolfer said:

WTF?

I'm pretty sure we just saw the origin of BOB, somehow generated by the first nuclear detonation and somehow related to the shadowy people. And maybe origin of the (the spirit of) Laura Palmer, in the gold bubble, although the timing for her is weird.

Of course this is Lynch unbridled, so trying to assign/ascertain meaning may be completely futile. 

I keep recording and watching but I'm not sure why.

I think I understand why there have been no comments on this thread for a while.

I have a lot to say about it, but nothing I can write in anything resembling a concise manner. My coworkers and I discuss it relentlessly each week, but there's simply no way for me to write about it in a forum-friendly number of words. 

Overall I do think that, although we still don't have much of a clue where it's all going, it has gotten progressively more linear and consequently easier to follow since episode 8.