David Lynch Was a Legendary Filmmaker. With ‘Twin Peaks’, He Left His Mark on Television

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David Lynch is renowned as a cinematic auteur, yet he has always been versatile, working across various mediums such as painting, radio broadcasting, and coffee production. However, Lynch’s last directorial effort was the 17-episode series “Twin Peaks: The Return,” which aired on Showtime. Despite some skeptics arguing otherwise, this show undeniably qualifies as a TV series. For Lynch, it served as a return to television after a 25-year absence. With the initial ABC drama “Twin Peaks,” Lynch and his co-creator Mark Frost had already revolutionized television. In “The Return,” Lynch solidified serial storytelling as an integral part of his artistic legacy.

Stepping into the realm of small-screen storytelling has become commonplace for renowned filmmakers these days – but it’s still a sight to behold when a visionary like David Lynch strides in after “Blue Velvet,” shaking up the prime-time TV landscape with his unique brand of narrative. Before we saw the likes of Park Chan-Wook, Alfonso Cuarón, or Hirokazu Kore-eda gracing our screens with their television series one after another, before the creative freedom that cable and streaming networks offered became the norm, Lynch paved the way. And he did so as a true maverick, bucking all conventional TV trends by crafting works that were lyrical rather than logical, visually striking instead of verbally driven, and impressionistic rather than strictly linear.

However, Lynch consistently tapped into the essence of American culture, and it could be said that his lifelong endeavor might lack completeness without an experience at a quintessential American institution like television broadcasting. Lynch crafted striking visuals that contrasted the tranquility of mid-century ideals with the shadows they hid. For instance, the ear buried in grass in “Blue Velvet” and the body of homecoming queen Laura Palmer, discovered wrapped in plastic on a beach at the start of “Twin Peaks,” were such examples.

In his unique style, David Lynch skillfully balanced both aspects of this dualistic scenario. He acknowledged the raw, unformed malevolence that haunts Twin Peaks, portraying it with chilling authenticity through Frank Silva’s terrifying portrayal of Bob. Even a frozen frame of this scene evokes an intense feeling of fear. However, Lynch also genuinely embraced the goodness in characters such as Kyle MacLachlan’s Special Agent Dale Cooper. The casual camaraderie between Cooper and the residents of Twin Peaks embodies a hopeful outlook. Lynch never viewed the dark forces as the defining characteristic of this Pacific Northwest town, nor did he believe its sense of community was a facade.

In simpler terms, “Twin Peaks” served as an early example of the frustrations found in mystery box TV series, where viewers anticipate straightforward answers from a character who thrived on ambiguity. The question of who killed Laura Palmer, for instance, was answered with a supernatural entity from another realm. The peculiarities of the red room and its chevron flooring were explained through Lynch’s personal visions. Although many felt that “Twin Peaks” lost its charm after revealing Bob’s identity, the series remained consistently bizarre and unique in an otherwise predictable genre. It was undeniably a one-of-a-kind production, setting itself apart as a groundbreaking exception to the norm of collaborative efforts. The distinctive theme music by Angelo Badalamenti, with its twangy notes, instantly reminds us of cascading waterfalls and lost purity.

Twin Peaks: The Return” took on a more solemn and leisurely pace, contrasting with its predecessor’s energetic and vibrant tone, much like how “The Irishman” differs from Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas.” This shift was necessitated by the somber ending of the original series, where Cooper’s spirit was banished to the Black Lodge and his body was taken over by the wicked Bob. Interestingly, the second installment premiered a year after the first election of Donald Trump, who might be seen as embodying some of Lynch’s peculiar, eccentric characters. The series maintained a melancholic, reflective atmosphere that mirrored the national mood, while introducing lighter elements through new quirky characters such as Michael Cera’s Wally Brando or Kyle MacLachlan’s Dougie Jones (a Cooper character who suffered brain damage and donned a green blazer).

Although “The Return” wasn’t initially billed as David Lynch’s last project, there was a feeling of accumulated significance to his first significant work in over a decade since “Inland Empire” in 2006. The series paid homage to past collaborators like the late David Bowie, whose character Agent Phillip Jeffries from a prequel film was depicted as transformed into a large, kettle-like apparatus. Moreover, it featured an almost primordial origin story in the extraordinary “Part Eight,” a monochrome nightmare that traces the genesis of something sinister to the explosion of the atomic bomb. Furthermore, its conclusion was, in essence, eternal: perplexed Cooper queries about the year before Sheryl Lee’s heart-wrenching scream echoes through the darkness.

The Return,” initially born from the era when television growth spurred bold moves to capture audience interest, now stands as a triumphant finale in an impressive body of work. It serves as a conclusion after the original series’ unfortunate termination. In a sense, “The Return” mirrored and flipped the trend of cynical revivals such as “Fuller House,” while David Lynch had no inclination towards fan service or explanation. Instead, “The Return” transcended being just a recycled rehash, offering an opportunity to revisit a medium that Lynch played a significant role in making more welcoming to avant-garde works like his own. Essentially, “Twin Peaks” paved the way for the TV landscape to embrace “Twin Peaks.” What a remarkable return indeed!

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2025-01-17 03:47