I’m not sure if we can chalk the return of Twin Peaks up to the ‘True Detective Effect’, but it looks as if that gum you like is going to come back in style. The original team of David Lynch and Mark Frost hinted as much when they tweeted last friday and Kyle MacLachlan (FBI Agent Dale Cooper) suggested he would return as well with “Better fire up that percolator and find my black suit 🙂 #TwinPeaks.”
Twin Peaks is indeed returning as a nine-episode miniseries, set in the present day, written by Frost and Lynch and directed by Lynch. It will air on Showtime in 2016.
There is a strange, but ultimately nice, movement in television happening, a shift, really, back to the days of the Anthology format. One season, one story, one cast. Next year, all new people, all new stories, all new cast. Mini-Series, or more aptly, Anthology-Shows may be a recurring trend in the future of television. It makes sense. It allows you to tell self-contained stories, it removes issues about serial nature of shows or making sure people get continuity. It allows shows to capture big stars for a year and getting performances that are rare within this medium in terms of rawness and size.
I don’t know what you’re watching but “Game of Thrones”, “Fargo”, “Breaking Bad” and plenty of other productions are top notch, using their talent to the fullest and giving us juicy story-lines that can actually develop characters and go in larger directions beyond what a 90-120 minute movie could ever dream of. IMO, this is the future. As a Stephen King fan, nothing would make me happier than seeing “The Stand”, “The Dark Tower” series or other novels told in a 8-12 episode format. If HBO or somebody busted out the budget to create a Neal Stephenson novel like “Diamond Age: A Young Girl’s Primer” or “Snow Crash” would be insane. Or what about, ‘The Foundation’ by Asimov. Or maybe some small screen H.P. Lovecraft? There is so much great fantasy, horror, sci-fi and drama out there to be told in a longer format.
Quality television is quality television. And I’m sure Twin Peaks fans, both young and old (and yes there are loads of young TP fans out there– just google twin peaks tattoos), are fans of plenty of current shows like the above mentioned. Hell, the creators of those shows might be fans as well. This golden age has just started to get shiny. Compared to the endless uninspired reboots and sequels and ridiculous prices at the megaplex, I’ll gladly get wrapped up in a long and compelling story in the comfort of my home any day/night of the week.
I liked Twin Peaks, but I didn’t love it. I’ve heard that most of the “passionate fanbase” consider the last few episodes, especially the finale, to be a return to form for the show, and a glimpse at what might have been if a third season had followed. Still, I hope they explain what the eff the Black Lodge is and we get to give Cooper the ending he deserves.
-Dagobot

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