Can we pinpoint a moment in time where watching TV shows took a step closer to the production value and feeling of a movie? Nowadays, this is something we’ve grown used to with multi-million dollar budgeted tv shows on places like Netflix and Max, but in the 1980s this really was not the norm. There were no streaming services, little to no premium networks, and few TV shows that were even attempting to push the envelope. The closest we got was the occasional TV movie but they generally had a low budget, were scrappily made, and really became mostly popular in the 2000s thanks to Disney Channel and the like. Near the end of the 80’s however, tv show writer Mark Frost and David Lynch met while working on a scrapped Marilyn Monroe biopic titled Venus Descending. Frost suggested to Lynch that he develop a tv show based off the small town American life he somewhat captured in 1986’s Blue Velvet. At the time this was rather unheard of, a movie director writing and creating a TV show, however it was pitched to ABC, and was developed into what we know today as Twin Peaks.
Twin Peaks was a gamble to ABC. The show was an off-kilter surrealist look at small town life, directed by the man who gave us The Elephant Man and Eraserhead. Because of this, we were given two versions of the pilot: an hour and 30 minute version that is the pilot we know and love today, and a two hour feature length version that self contained the story within the first episode, solving the Laura Palmer mystery differently than what we’d see in Season 2. The plan was to sell the two hour version as a TV movie to European distributors in case the pilot failed. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, and Twin Peaks got to fulfill his true potential in it’s own time.
Over the course of 1990-1991, we watched the story of this small Washington town unfold, taking more twisted turns, as well as leaving more questions than answers. The initial first season run was an instantaneous success, and ABC proceeded to order almost triple the number of episodes in Season 2, going from 8 to a whopping 22 episodes. During this time too, the network put continued pressure onto Lynch and Frost to reveal the killer near the beginning of the season with Episode 7. This was originally against the wishes of what Lynch wanted, as he never wanted to reveal the killer and keep it a mystery, but this pressure from the network alongside Frost wanting to reveal the killer eventually put tension between Frost and Lynch, leading to his departure from the show after Episode 7, not having major creative control until the season finale. Frost also gave up major creative control in the show two episodes later, however stepped back in with Episode 19.
This period in between the revelation of the killer and the finale is considered to be the low point of the series for many fans, and while I myself may have certain feelings on this, even the worst episodes of Twin Peaks are some of the best television that I’ve ever watched. Unfortunately, this dip lead to a corresponding dip in ratings, and after the incredibly crafted season finale, the series was ultimately left on a massive cliffhanger, with Bob inhabiting one of the show’s most beloved characters.
It was a devastating moment for all fans of the show, and an all too familiar sight: the death of a show due to overreach from a network. Lynch and Frost had a vision, one that was stomped on by network executives and people who thought they knew better. However, to Lynch this wasn’t the end of the series, and with the help of Robert Engels the first movie in a Twin Peaks trilogy was planned. In true Lynchian fashion though, the decision was made to follow up the show with... a prequel?
In Fire Walk With Me, we follow through the last seven days of Laura Palmer’s life, with psychological horror that amplifies the most terrifying moments of the original series. It explores the most disgusting and darkest crevices of what we weren’t able to see in the show, but also establishes themes and motifs that will take almost 25 years to actually develop. Where the series gave us humor and comedy to fill the space between, this gives us pain and sorrow.
Garmonbozia is a substance present in the show, resembling creamed corn. It represents a physical manifestation of pain, sorrow and negative energy. Something so ridiculous and dark, only Lynch could've come up with it.
Not only is The Man from Another Place feeding from the garmonbozia of Laura and her revealed killer, its eating from the garmonbozia of us as the audience. Lynch scrapped a lot of the lighthearted scenes with fan favorite characters we don’t see in the movie (this did end up getting edited together in 2014 and released as The Missing Pieces) to make us feel the pain of Laura’s final days of life, as well as live in her terror. This was one of the film's main criticisms upon release, which lead to it bombing in the box office and being panned by critics. Many felt that it lost the original spirit of Twin Peaks, leaving many fans feeling alienated. The resulting trilogy was then cancelled, and that was it. That was the end of Twin Peaks, and the cast as well as Lynch and Frost parted ways.
On May 21st 2017, 25 years after the release of Fire Walk With Me, we were graced with Twin Peaks: The Return, the final installment in the series, and what many consider to be David Lynch’s magnum opus. The moment that the original theme kicks in, you feel an excitement that we’re back once again, similar to how the movie waited to bring in Laura Palmer’s theme until the very end of the movie.
The Return, while different than the original series, brings back beloved characters, finally introduces us to Diane, and brings conclusion to the series while still leaving the audience with the right questions. While the ending is also a cliffhanger of sorts, it’s one that feels more final. Lynch never truly wanted to reveal anything to us, he felt that the audience was smart enough to analyze and draw their own conclusions, and this season is absolutely packed with that. We see one-off explorations into beloved side-characters like Audrey and Ed, we get to see how the work of the black and white lodge impacts the world at large, discover the origins of Bob, and none of it is done in a way that makes the audience feel dumb.
While I loved Fire Walk With Me upon first watch, and the rest of the world has given it a modern reappraisal, this season helps connect things that were explored in that movie and makes them feel more purposeful. Tarantino famously said of the film, “David Lynch had disappeared so far up his own ass that I have no desire to see another David Lynch movie until I hear something different," but what he and a lot of the world missed at the time was that this wasn’t about instant gratification. Lynch could’ve made a fan service film where they wrap up the conclusions of the series finale, but he wanted us to understand the Twin Peaks universe on a larger level, outside of what was contained in the series; delayed gratification. He made a prequel with a purpose, where it needs to be watched after the original show to understand the context of what happens, and it makes a rewatch of the original series feel a lot different. That is what The Return did to Fire Walk With Me, upon my rewatch of the film it connected so many dots that I had not connected before, and brought clarity to some of the things I originally felt confused about. What makes this whole series the highlight of Lynch’s career is that he never compromised when he had control, and he gave us something with an immense pay-off while still leaving room to explore. In the same way that the original series marked a new point in television The Return did the same by setging the standard for what a cinematic odyssey across TV and film could be.
With the recent death of David Lynch, it’s pretty much certain that we’ll never step foot into this world again, but he didn't need to. Lynch, unlike many others in the entertainment industry, knew the value of restraint and purpose. That’s what he practiced over the almost 30 year run and development of Twin Peaks. The beauty of it is that there’s always more to unpack and always more to discover. This self contained 3 season run and film will continue to live on and inspire people for generations, with new theories and discoveries still being discussed to this day. This show might be about the evil in humanity, and the pain and sorrow that it causes, but it gives us the outlet to release our garmonbozia out, to the red room and to the black lodge. Maybe we can do so over a cup of damn fine coffee.
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