TWIN PEAKS

[Thor 7,506]

2 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

Recent influx of free time and quarantine had me reconsider giving this show another shot. If I hated Season 1, is it worth pushing through?

 

No.

[Jay 37,367]

28 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

It’s that consistent over all those years? I want to like it, because it seems a lot of my favorite contemporary stuff is heavily inspired by it.

 

It was extremely influential, you'll pick up so many things that you've seen reference in subsequent works by others.

 

It's not consistent in tone throughout, no.

 

You've seen season 1; That general blend of quirkiness, comedy, and dark themes is more or less the same when season 2 begins, up through the reveal of who killed Laura Palmer and it's immediately aftermath.  Then the writing takes a nosedive as they dind't really have a plan of what to do next, so they kind of veer deeper into absurd comedy for a while, introduce some new characters, it kind of loses it way.  But it all comes together in the end.

Then, the movie, made almost right after the show was canceled, has a different feel entirely from the show.  Gone is almost all of the comedy and lightheartedness, and doesn't even really feature Dale Cooper.  It's primarily just showing you the life of Laura Palmer the days before she's killed, so it's just dark and grusesome and kind of icky.

The followup season made 2 decades later is more like the movie than the original series.  It does have some light moments and levity, but a lot of darker themes.  Tons of new characters too, some favorite from the show are in it a lot (Kyle Maclaughlin is in every episode) but some only appear a couple times.  Some characters from the show get nice followup endings, some get lame ones.  And it sort of answers some lingering questions leftover from the show and movie, but also introduces a million others.

 

Each individual person has their own favorite, between season 1 / season 2 / the movie / the revival.  But if you truly >hated< season 1, and weren't just being hypobolic, I can't imagine season 2 and the followup works would be any different to you.  Unless what you hated most was the comedy and "every day life" aspects, as season 2 and the movie delve much more into the supernatural world than season 1 ever did, or if you watched season 1 so long ago that you tastes have changed since then.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Very informative, thank you! I was debating on whether to rewatch Season 1 or just continue with Season 2 to have everything fresh in mind. I did actually enjoy the comedy of it. It was the more overtly serious plot beats and side characters I didn’t care for. Everything seemed melodramatic and soapy at the time. Hate might have been too strong a word since I did like Cooper as the protagonist. I don’t recall there being any supernatural elements in Season 1 though, and that seems to be the aspect of the show that was most influential and is definitely the part I’m most interested in experiencing. I can tell shows like True Detective and Fargo borrow heavily from it. 

[Jay 37,367]

Yea IIRC the entire pilot episode doesn't have a single supernatural element at all.  There's a little bit of it during season 1 for sure, but it's really starting with the double-length season 2 premiere that they really delve into the supernatural and from that point on, it is pretty much always there, more or less.

 

It's purposely melodramatic and soapy; It's a parody of soaps as well as everything else it is.  They do on-the-nose soap parody with the soap-within-the-show the characters are sometimes seen watching, but some of the plots themselves are based on soap tropes as well.  This is only for the 2 seasons of the show; The movie and revival aren't really soapy at all except for some elements of the revival.

 

Dale Cooper is a legendary protagonist, and he really gets more to do in season 2 than he did in 1.  Him alone can really carry you through the show if you don't like all aspects of it, he's so good.

 

After this discussion I think you'd probably appreciate it all if you did watch and would probably recommend starting over with the pilot instead of returning directly to season 2.  

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yeah you’ve convinced me. Starting over from the beginning and gonna give it a fair shake. 

[Edmilson 7,457]

I watched S1 and S2 over 10 years ago, when I was a teen. My father is a great David Lynch fan, and he had all the DVDs, so I just binged the seasons. 

 

However, when the revival came in 2017, I had already... moved on? I mean, I tried to like it, I really did, but it was all so confusing. It's hard to get involved with all the mood if you have no idea of what is happening. S1 and 2 had their share of moodiness, but they also had an understandable plot. S3 is just about mood and continuing story threads from the previous season, so you gotta at least have all this lore inside your head when you go watching the revival.

[Jay 37,367]

The revival is purposely confusing, and purposely brings up questions it doesn't care to answer.  You have to just enjoy the ride.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The revival is a goldmine of memes.

[fommes 153]

On 4/10/2020 at 12:45 AM, Jay said:

The revival is purposely confusing, and purposely brings up questions it doesn't care to answer.  You have to just enjoy the ride.

 

If you watch that four-hour explanatory video afterwards, it actually mostly makes sense though!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Just finished Season 1; onwards to Season 2!

[Jay 37,367]

Did you like it this time? 

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Much more, yeah. Still some extremely cringe acting from the Palmer parents, but I accepted the eccentricity upfront and just embraced it. 

[Jay 37,367]

Oh man, I think Lara Palmers dad is great. I loved his appearance in Fargo season 3.  Maybe the parts I'm remembering from him are from season 2 though

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

Don't diss Ray Wise!

 

[Koray Savas 2,251]

2 hours ago, Jay said:

Oh man, I think Lara Palmers dad is great. I loved his appearance in Fargo season 3.  Maybe the parts I'm remembering from him are from season 2 though

I liked him in Fargo as well. That episode is the catalyst for me seeking Twin Peaks out again. I mean I suppose he’s doing a good job portraying an insanely broken father, but his performance in Season 1 is comical, and not in a good way for me. Except for that dance scene, that was funny. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

His performance isn't dark and disturbing enough.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

Twin peaks is all about weird characters. What about the log lady, Koray?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Twin peaks is all about weird characters. What about the log lady, Koray?

I’m fine with weird characters, but the Palmers are different to me for some reason.

 

Log lady is great, as are Andy and Lucy. 

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

11 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

I liked him in Fargo as well. That episode is the catalyst for me seeking Twin Peaks out again. I mean I suppose he’s doing a good job portraying an insanely broken father, but his performance in Season 1 is comical, and not in a good way for me. Except for that dance scene, that was funny. 

 

I thought the way he reacts to the news of Laura's murder in the prologue is heartbreaking. Of course, he goes all whacky afterwards, but that's part of what the show is like (and he still does it brilliantly, even when it's intentionally over the top).

[Thor 7,506]

I love the over-the-top Palmers. Goes hand in hand with the soap opera element that pervades the original series.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

It is happening again.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

10 hours ago, Þekþiþm said:

It is happening again.

Who are your favorite Twin Peaks babes, Drax? I know you got a list!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

14 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

Who are your favorite Twin Peaks babes, Drax? I know you got a list!

 

[Thor 7,506]

Audrey, no doubt. Something unattainable about her.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,533]

Norma Jennings always had style.

[Jay 37,367]

Audrey for sure

[Naïve Old Fart 9,533]

...especially considering what she can do, with a cherry stalk...

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

 

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I’m halfway through Season 2. Do we ever learn who that figure was early in Season 1 that was in the woods when Bobby met up with Leo to get the drugs in the football?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

No

[Holko 9,526]

2 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

Do we ever learn

It's Twin Peaks, the answer to most of the questions starting like this is "no".

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It isn’t some mythological question. There was a man behind a tree that Bobby saw. Was just wondering if it’s ever revisited since it hasn’t been addressed like 15 episodes later. 

[mstrox 6,651]

It is not revisited.  Leo seemed aware of the person when Bobby said something, so a safe bet is that it’s some associate of Leo’s - maybe Jacques?

 

That was one of those things that creeped me out a lot as a kid.  We had the series taped off of TV on old VHS dubs.  Once it hit DVD when I was in high school, the shadows became less dark and that particular scene became less frightening to me.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Maybe it was one of the woodsmen?

[mstrox 6,651]

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

 

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Just finished Season 2. What a cliffhanger to get canceled on!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Now watch the movie.

[mstrox 6,651]

[Naïve Old Fart 9,533]

Like most people, I watched Season 1, Season 2, and then FIRE WALK WITH ME.

Is that the preferred way, among JWfaners, or is there any advantage to watching FIRE WALK... first, and where does THE MISSING PIECES (or whatever it's called), fit in?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

27 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Like most people, I watched Season 1, Season 2, and then FIRE WALK WITH ME.

Is that the preferred way, among JWfaners, or is there any advantage to watching FIRE WALK... first, and where does THE MISSING PIECES (or whatever it's called), fit in?

 

You watched it the right way.

 

Although technically FWWM is set before Season 1, it makes not-so-oblique references to the Season 2 finale, which won't make sense unless you watch the series first.

[Thor 7,506]

2 hours ago, Þekþiþm said:

 

You watched it the right way.

 

Although technically FWWM is set before Season 1, it makes not-so-oblique references to the Season 2 finale, which won't make sense unless you watch the series first.

 

That is true for the first time you watch this, but for subsequent walkthroughs, I've always started with FIRE and on from there.

[mstrox 6,651]

Release order is the answer for everything.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,533]

Even STAR WARS, Mike? How does that work?

[mstrox 6,651]

While the prequels chronologically occur before the OT, they were by their nature also reactive and referential to it.  Over the years I’ve tried it both ways and 1-6 doesn’t work for me.
 

Same with LOTR/Hobbit, Indiana Jones, Twin Peaks, etc.  There’s no scenario for me in a Twin Peaks walkthrough where Fire Walk With Me would work well first.  It’s also a nice tonal segue into The Return, which is darker, uglier, and weirder than FWWM.

 

If anything, on a Twin Peaks rewatch I’d add Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire between FWWM and The Return.  Even though they’re not part of the series, they work in the TP->The Return flow.

[Jay 37,367]

9 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Like most people, I watched Season 1, Season 2, and then FIRE WALK WITH ME.

Is that the preferred way, among JWfaners, or is there any advantage to watching FIRE WALK... first, and where does THE MISSING PIECES (or whatever it's called), fit in?

 

Watching the movie first is a bad idea IMO.  It's the perfect bridge between the original series and the new series, since it springs off the events and characters from the original series but introduces a new style and tone that the revival series mostly used.  Also, as much as it is primarily a prequel showing Lara Palmer's life before the pilot episode, it is ALSO a continuation of events that happens at the end of season 2, so really only makes sense to watch it after watching both seasons of the original show.  The Missing Pieces is simply a collection of deleted scenes presented as one giant chunk, that you can choose to watch after the movie if you want, or skip it entirely.  Or if you are Alex Cremers, you can watch it thinking you are watching the actual movie, and then complain how confusing it was.  Personally we did not watch it and had no problem following the revival series. 

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Fire Walk With Me is on the Criterion Channel, so that will be next. Then I’ll probably use a free month of Showtime to watch The Return. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

We have Twin Peaks on DVD here. Dunno how or why you Americans watch everything on the internet.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,533]

Probably because it's cheaper, and it takes up far less space, than a physical collection.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

Stealing through Napster has always been cheaper.