TV: A Return To Twin Peaks and What Fans Might Expect

Our resident David Lynch and Twin Peaks fan chimes in on the upcoming return to Twin Peaks.

Welcome to Twin Peaks

2014 is proving to be a late but major comeback for writer-director-musician-artist David Lynch. With the recent release of Eraserhead via Criterion and his Twin Peaks Blu-Ray box, which unveiled for the first time the long awaited deleted scenes from Fire Walk with Me, you would think Lynch would be satisfied for a while and take a breather from dropping such ornate gifts upon his legion of fans. Well, according to a new teaser which surfaced on YouTube, Season 3 of Twin Peaks will begin production in 2015 and will air on Showtime around June 10, 2016. Needless to say, this is incredible news that will no doubt send fans into a tailspin of anticipation! 

With many plot details left unresolved by the conclusion of Season 2 as well as Lynch’s own lengthy hiatus from producing new material (and we always want more!), Season 3 of Twin Peaks will no doubt be a most welcome addition to the immersive worlds created by Mr. Lynch. Now, that said, what can we expect from a new offering from the world of Twin Peaks?

Story:
Between the ending of Season 2 and Fire Walk with Me, Twin Peaks ended on something of an abrupt, inconclusive note with many plot threads left unresolved. One of the most frequently discussed and compelling plot threads involves Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle McLachlan) and the mysterious Black Lodge where demons such as Bob (Frank Silva) and the Man from Another Place (Michael J. Anderson) reside. While the film attempted to bookend the second season finale, it only wound up tangling things further and leaving fans disappointed when the numerous threads ended so abruptly. 

Is Special Agent Dale Cooper possessed by a demon of some sort? What is to become of Sheriff Harry S. Truman? And where is Special Agent Chester Desmond? These are among the many riddles Twin Peaks presented and ultimately never answered. Granted, it was always Lynch’s intention to keep Laura Palmer’s killer a secret as a means to keep viewers interested. But now that those details have been out there for close to 20 years, fans deserve to have an answer or resolution of some kind. The real question people will have about Season 3 is whether or not it will bring legitimate closure to the series or continue to keep things open ended and mysterious?

Design:

"Ouch."

Unlike Season 2, which started and ended with David Lynch’s involvement and a large gap of unchecked episodes in between, Lynch himself has confirmed he will in fact direct every episode of Season 3. One of the questions viewers will no doubt have is whether or not Lynch’s internet work and newer, nonlinear style of narrative will affect the way Season 3 flows and how much it will or will not differ from his earlier approach to storytelling. After the demise of Twin Peaks and the failure of Fire Walk with Me, Lynch went on a brief hiatus before returning with the nonlinear Lost Highway, whose notions of beginning, middle and end are all over the place. 

Following the precedent set by Lost Highway came his finished feature film version of his failed television pilot Mulholland Drive. And further still came the compendium of his internet work Inland Empire. The reason I bring this up is due in large part to how fractured those narratives are, jumping freely to any point in time with little concern for continuity. Will this style have an effect on the narrative Twin Peaks fans are familiar with?

It’s also worth nothing that composer Angelo Badalamenti’s last film work for Lynch was Mulholland Drive. Since the two have parted ways. Badalamenti’s iconic score for Twin Peaks made the theme song a household name. Unless Lynch intends on re-purposing cues previously recorded for the show, it would be unthinkable not to use Badalamenti’s talents. Moreover, what would the world of Twin Peaks be without the angelic singing voice of Julee Cruise, whose work on both Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks helped define both with ethereal if not heavenly tones.

Casting:
Recasting for a show that’s over 25 years old will be a tricky task for the impending third season of Twin Peaks. Notably, some of the key cast members have since passed on. Lynch veteran Jack Nance as Pete Martel died from injuries sustained in a fight and Frank Silva as the demon Bob died shortly after completing work on Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me due to complications with HIV. 

"I take my coffee kinda weird."

Those who are still alive have aged quite considerably and there’s a question about whether or not many are able or want to return to the show. Kyle McLachlan will most likely return to resolve the doors opened by the conclusion of Season 2. Some of the cast members like Sherilyn Fenn and Lara Flynn Boyle expressed consternation with the direction Season 2 took by declining involvement
in Fire Walk with Me, making the potentiality of their return less than likely. 

As with most shows, situations in the casts’ personal lives often dictated the fates of characters. Most notably in Twin Peaks, Lara Flynn Boyle’s personal relationship with Kyle McLachlan interfered with the original plans for Special Agent Dale Cooper’s romantic interests. Even if McLachlan does come back, will he want to follow through with the threads Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost initiated? 

However, Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise and Grace Zabriskie are still here and their enthusiasm for the show remains unhindered by circumstance and time. Judging from their dinner table interview with David Lynch for the Entire Mystery Blu-Ray box set, they get along swimmingly. A brief return to the show which made them famous doesn’t sound too far fetched. And we all know Michael J. Anderson simply must come back as the pint sized Man from Another Place!

-Andrew Kotwicki