That Gum You Like is Going to Come Back in Style

Hey kids- I'm afraid it's been too long since my last post. I hope you haven't forgotten me! I'm sure you've been clamoring for my latest entry- and here it is! I feel like I need to write to get over some painful events that have taken place in the past 24 hours. So I'm going to talk about one of the greatest television shows ever to grace the silver screen. Of course, if you haven't already guessed from the title of this post- it's Twin Peaks!! Yes, that show from the 90's that caused millions around the country to gather round the boob tube every week to learn who killed Twin Peaks' sweetheart, Laura Palmer.

You see, back in 1990 I was actually living in sunny Southern California, struggling to be a starving actor. The newspapers and TV guide and entertainment fanzines were all hyping a new show by mastermind director David Lynch that was going to premiere in April on ABC. (Remember, this was back in the days when the internets was just a twinkle in Al Gore's eye.) It sounded interesting, so I watched the pilot episode- and I was immediately hooked. It was like nothing I had ever seen on television before. It was weird, funny, surreal, frightening, and weird, all at the same time. The characters were bizarre, to say the least, and the jazzy musical score added an extra layer of unearthly lushness to each episode. Essentially, it was a soap opera. It had a murder mystery set in a small town, but it also juggled multiple other sub-plots dealing with a plethora of characters. (I believe this is partially what led to its early demise- I think it tried to do TOO much.) But I loved it, and I couldn't wait to watch it each week.

The first season was only 8 episodes, and much to my delight, it was picked up for a second season. That's when the wheels started to fall off. Several things contributed to its death. First, the network wanted the murder resolved, so just a few episodes into the second season, the killer of Laura Palmer was revealed. But now what? The showrunners struggled to create new interesting story lines to want to keep people tuning in. Second, it's masterminds, David Lynch and Mark Frost, had less to do with the show, leaving it to other people. The show limped along in its second season, but Lynch came back for the finale, and it was great! Unfortunately, its ratings had dropped so much, that the network cancelled it. And the show ended on a massive cliffhanger!! What was to become of Agent Cooper???

Why did I love the show so much? Several reasons. Something I've learned about myself is I am really drawn to a story if I like the characters. And Twin Peaks has one of my favorite fictional characters of all time- Agent Dale Cooper. I thought he was so friggin cool. And when he spoke the infamous line "You know, this is- excuse me- a damn fine cup of coffee", I knew I had a soulmate. There were other eccentric characters that I was drawn to as well. All richly drawn, and just a bit strange. The other thing I'm drawn to in a show or film are the visuals. And David Lynch has such a unique, surreal visual and aural style. In fact, I will admit, that I am willing to forgive holes in the plot or other flaws if I am taken in by the characters or the visuals. Recently, my dear friend Alex Greenwood (who is a celebrated novelist- check out Amazon for his newest book "Pilate's Blood"- you won't regret it!) dismissed my darling show as being "weird for weird's sake". And he may be right. But I don't care, because I was drawn into the world of Twin Peaks, and I loved every minute I was there.

So why the sudden interest in a show that's been gone for almost 25 years? Well, brace yourselves kids, just a few weeks ago it was announced that in 2016 Twin Peaks will return for 9 episodes on Showtime, and they will all be written and directed by Frost and Lynch!!! When I saw that, I squealed like a little girl and peed my pants just a bit! You see, in the final episode, in one of the bizarre dream sequences, dream Laura Palmer told dream Dale Cooper she would see him again in 25 years. And it will be 25 years in 2016!!!! Finally some closure! But I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm a bit. Seldom do sequels that have taken decades to get made live up to the originals. (I'm looking at you Phantom Menace, and Indiana Jones.) But a girl can dream, can't she? I can't wait to see the return of Cooper, Sheriff Truman, Audrey, Laura, and the remaining cast of kooks! It may not live up to the original, but with Lynch back at the helm, I know it's going to be a trippy ride! So in 2016 I will subscribe to Showtime, bake a cherry pie, make a pot of hot, black coffee, and step through the Black Lodge (avoiding the dancing dwarf) into the the small, dreamy, northwest town, that is known as Twin Peaks. See you there!!!