It all started with ERASERHEAD (1977). Knowing very little about this creepy little flick, I stepped into one of the most bizarre experiences I had ever had in my young life. To this day I am quite distrusting of small cooked chickens. It was hard to really say whether I fully enjoyed the movie – or even had a grasp on its meaning – simply because I was so young. Either way, I was utterly infatuated with what I had witnessed. With that, my love for David Lynch grew with everything I took in afterwards. THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980) was heartbreaking and quite brilliant. Now I wasn’t a huge fan of DUNE (1984) but it had moments that I enjoyed. And then there was BLUE VELVET in 1986. If that didn’t convince me of Lynch’s genius, four years later WILD AND HEART (1990) solidified my admiration for the filmmaker.
The same year Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage shared a psycho crazy road trip, a little series called Twin Peaks arrived. This strange look into the secrets of a small Washington state town proved to be one of the coolest things on TV. The introduction of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) as the victim of some mysterious killer became an instant water cooler event. Even after the series’ short two season run, Lynch and Mark Frost’s oddity became a cult sensation. There were books, soundtracks, fan fiction, questions and a cast of beautiful people who helped cement this wonderful world for fans everywhere. However, the murder of a popular and pretty teenager was not the point. Thus, when the creators were pushed to reveal who killed Laura Palmer, the show’s solid ratings began to decline.
That brings us to TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME. Lynch has said that he never wanted to answer the mystery in the first place. So with the feature film, he at least took his strangeness to a whole new level and just focused on Laura and her downward spiral. Unfiltered from the world of network television, bringing these denizens of this little town to the big screen proved to be a bit much for many. However, I was a fan of it for a number of reasons. FIRE WALK WITH ME felt like like a David Lynch film. It was bizarre and beautiful, and actually quite scary. While the series was certainly strange, it wasn’t near the utter madness of the feature film. The R-rating allowed the filmmaker to push boundaries and make fans a little uncomfortable. For me, the prequel is just as important to the world of Twin Peaks as the original two seasons.
Ever since the untimely end of the phenomenal series, fans have been hoping for a return. We’ve loved every homage, every dedication and anything connected to this wild world. So when news spread about Twin Peaks: The Return on Showtime, most fans were frothing at the mouth to see what Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and the rest of these wacky folks have been up to. And thankfully, we’ve been rewarded with something batshit crazy in the best of ways. Much like FIRE WALK WITH ME, The Return is fearlessly bizarre. And yet, unbelievably mesmerizing. The first episodes rarely spend any time at all in the small Washington town, but what it does do is shock, surprise and excite.
David Lynch is not your typical director on any level. He is unafraid to delve into the darkest crevices of the mind. And he is also a huge fan of telling a story without a straight forward narrative. The four episodes I’ve caught range from brutal, supernatural killings, a strange box that casts out killer shadows, and a handful of doppelgängers. And don’t forget the humor. This third season is Lynch as his best. He isn’t constrained by network television. It’s not tied simply around one brutal crime. This is just Lynch’s joyful madness, one that happens to feature most of the regulars, as well as a ton of impressive talent new to the series. We are talking Ashley Judd, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jane Adams, Michael Cera, Meg Foster and a ton more.
Maybe it’s the booze talkin;, but here is a huge thank you to Showtime for letting David Lynch be Lynch. We have all the familiar faces, but there is so much more. Twin Peaks: The Return is not a single mystery waiting to be solved. Showtime has given the director the chance to really let his freak flag fly, and it is a wonderful thing. The cast is back. The Black Lodge is back. And we haven’t even really embraced the coffee and pie fully. Although I love the little coffee joke with MacLachlan – if you’ve watched the series you’ll know what I’m talking about. Oftentimes, an old series returning after years and years of waiting leaves fans cold. Thankfully, this is the return I was hoping for. It’s like saying hello to old friends, yet it feels like a brand new experience not simply relying on nostalgia. Welcome back Twin Peaks and David Lynch… we missed you! Diane, remind me to set my DVR.