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The return of “Twin Peaks” promises to be the greatest television event since the moon landing.
As an obsessive fan of the original, I’m counting the days until May 21 when the new series debuts on Showtime.
I fully expect the revival to be confusing, crazy and creepy – just the way it was when the show was first screened over 25 years ago.
That’s because writer-director David Lynch is at the helm again and in contrast to most of today’s showrunners, he’s not the type for wrapping every story neatly in a bow.
Nightmare images, unconventional narratives and bizarre behavior are more his style. So my hope is this new series makes millennial viewers, who must be hungry for something completely different on TV, feel inspired to discover not only the original “Twin Peaks” series but also classic Lynch movies like “Blue Velvet,” “Eraserhead” and “Mulholland Drive.”
When I caught up with the 71-year-old auteur at a press event for the reboot, I was curious to hear what he thought people should expect of the new series. “This word ‘expect’ is a magical word,” he said. “People expect things, and their expectations are hopefully met when they see the thing.”
What we should not expect is a remake. Instead, the new series is a continuation of the original, set in the present day and revisiting most of the old characters. “I love this world of ‘Twin Peaks.’ I often thought about what might be happening there,” added Lynch, explaining why he and co-creator Mark Frost wanted to bring back the show.
Unlike the saccharine Netflix revivals of “Gilmore Girls” or “Full House,” Showtime has backed something a lot more sinister in “Twin Peaks,” which, for the uninitiated, is about dark goings on in a small town.
The original aired on the ABC network in 1990 and 1991 but now being on cable for 18 episodes frees up Lynch to indulge his taste for the edgy and the terrifying and should give TV viewers this summer a real shock to the system.
“I think this is the pure heroin version of David Lynch and I’m excited to put it out,” Showtime president David Nevins said at the Television Critics Association winter press tour.
“We broke the mold for television. We’re about to break it again,” one of the returning stars, Mädchen Amick, told TV Guide. She is back as waitress Shelly Johnson alongside other fan favorites like Sherilyn Fenn as femme fatale Audrey Horne and Kyle McLachlan, heading the cast again, as Special Agent Dale Cooper. Also back is the show’s composer Angelo Badalamenti, whose score was so responsible for the eerie atmosphere of the original.
Something else to get excited about is the addition to the cast of rock stars Eddie Vedder and Trent Reznor as well as movie stars Ashley Judd, Amanda Seyfried and Naomi Watts. But I’m more pumped for the return of quirky supporting characters from the old series such as Log Lady (Catherine Coulson), transgender FBI agent Denise Bryson (David Duchovny) and Agent Cooper’s oddball superior Gordon Cole (played by David Lynch himself).
“Twin Peaks” was a topic of old school social media – I used to discuss it with friends on the morning after each episode. Now in this new digital age it can be enjoyed and debated by strangers the world over, united by their love of this cauldron of unsettling and unforgettable elements.
It has been named as an inspiration for many other great TV shows, including “Lost,” “The X-Files” and “Stranger Things.” But nothing has ever been quite as special as “Twin Peaks.” New viewers are about to discover just how special.
When people ask me how I’ll be spending the summer this year, I won’t talk about trips to the beach or overseas vacations. Instead I’ll tell them happily, “I’ll be watching the return of the greatest show on television.”
