The Owls Are Not What They Seem

There are many series that get hailed as groundbreaking or game-changing but I would have to say this is genuinely one of them. Thirty years ago today, a series debuted that is almost impossible to define in a nutshell. Part crime drama, part soap opera, part supernatural thriller, part oddball comedy, part philosophical meditation and pretty much all strange, Twin Peaks brought a cinematic sensibility to prime time American television and is one of the key series that popularised the current trend for serialised drama (albeit one that was clearly operating without a long term plan).

By this point in his career, David Lynch had known both commercial and critical success (Elephant Man, Blue Velvet) and failure (Dune) and, following the collapse of the studio that was due to make his next film One Saliva Bubble (a comedy starring Steve Martin and Martin Short - yep, that does sound like an insane combination), found himself open to tackling a television project. Enter Mark Frost, who had previously worked as a story editor on Hill Street Blues. On paper, that mix of art house film making and television procedural would seem unlikely to gel together to create anything and yet that combination produced a television series that is utterly unique (despite many subsequent imitators). After all, how many series could produce a follow up season after nearly 26 years that proves to be even more strange and mystifying than the original.

It’s a series that’s hard to recommend as it is difficult to know who will take to its blend of mundane small town Americana and weird supernatural mysticism. It was at the time a complete pop culture phenomenon but, as time wore on and the show kept stringing its central mystery out (David Lynch notoriously was uninterested in ever solving the question of who killed Laura Palmer) while Lynch stepped away to make Wild At Heart, audiences turned off. I think that’s a shame as there is still some wonderful stuff in the second season and Lynch ultimately returns to give us one of the most surreal conclusions to a TV show ever seen on prime time TV*. 

The prequel film and subsequent revival series have got a much stronger Lynch influence upon them although Mark Frost’s hand in keeping the histories of the various characters as well as the town itself can still be felt. For a series to come back after decades away and prove to be just as fascinating and strange as it was the first time round is a feat that can't be underestimated. 

So, happy 30th to Twin Peaks. I started a rewatch yesterday and am tempted to start posting an episode by episode blog commentary (I took notes, just in case). Well, time on our hands is certainly something that we’re not short of, right?


*The Prisoner probably just edges it on that one...