Twin Peaks Review

"I'm going to take your clothes off, wrap you in plastic and throw you in ice cold water." So (the story goes) said David Lynch to Sheryl Lee when describing the character of Laura Palmer that Sheryl was to play for his new TV series Twin Peaks. "Who killed Laura Palmer?" became the question that launched the most influential TV show of the past 20 years. When it went off the air, TV was forever changed.

Twin Peaks was initially a mid season replacement series.  A pilot episode of 2 hours was filmed and shown but it was deemed to be too strange for the American public. Despite this the popularity of the pilot was so great that ABC decided to give it another 7 episodes. The popularity of this "first season" was so high that Twin Peaks was the most popular show on TV. With less creative control and ABC forcing a resolution of the murder in the middle of the second season, the series declined in popularity and was canceled after a total of 30 episodes. 

Twin peaks was a change point in Television. The cinematography was of a higher quality than had previously been seen on TV. The production values were also higher which led to the current trend in big budget TV series today. The character development of the small town people was closer to a novel than to the typical TV series of that day. These seemingly simple people were shown to be far deeper than any characters on TV. They had complex motives and there was a dark and menacing side to their lives. Additionally their lives were constantly involved with unknown elements that would at times drive them in very odd and mysterious ways, much like a modern horror film. Elements of parody and satire: of TV, of American values, and of traditional story telling made the series not only the most interesting thing out there, but a continually new experience with every episode. Although this description may make the show sound gloomy, it wasn't The show contained a kind of self parody that made for a lot of very funny humor. Northern Exposure (CBS), Picket Fences (CBS), The X-Files (FOX), and American Gothic (CBS) are some of the few that were heavily influenced by Twin peaks. Shows where the characters do not fit a type but have both positive and darker sides did not exist before Twin Peaks.



Twin peaks is a show for people who don't like TV shows. Unusual, funny, both frustrating and compelling in its ambiguity, sexy, frightening, charming, endlessly inventive, and just about any other adjective you can think of. I doubt we will ever see another one like it.