Twin Peaks Rises Through the Mist

The Cult Classic Returns for a New Generation of Acolytes

Fringe ArtsMatteo Ciambella — Published March 30, 2015

“I’ll see you again in 25 years.”

It’s the haunting line Laura Palmer tells Agent Cooper in the penultimate episode of Twin Peaks, in one of the most memorable dream sequences ever aired on our TV screens.

On April 8, 1990, the pilot for Twin Peaks premiered on ABC. Since then the series has built an impressive amount of fans, reaching cult status almost immediately after its release.

Its style borrowed elements from the camp imagery and dramatic structures of soap operas, as well as from experimental filmmaking (the kind David Lynch, creator of Twin Peaks, was familiar with, as seen in his debut film Eraserhead).

While the content of the show dealt with violence, sexual violence and the darkest aspects of the human psyche, the humour was often bizarre and unexpected. The result was inevitably surreal, quirky and terrifying, and as far as television production goes, absolutely groundbreaking for the time.

Despite its growing number of aficionados, the series stopped somewhat abruptly in 1991, leaving the viewers with a thrilling, yet enigmatic ending.

Until recently, all hopes for new developments of the plot have been deluded. In 1992 the series was followed by a feature film, which consisted of both a prequel and an epilogue: the rather mediocre Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.

Told from the perspective of Laura Palmer, for the most part it simply explicated the events that in the series were purposefully kept as a kind of sacred mystery, the main one being the murder itself.

Despite the fiasco of the film, the loyalty of the fans has never declined—if anything it’s increased exponentially, thanks to institutions on the subject like Welcome to Twin Peaks (welcometotwinpeaks.com), which gathers fan art, comments, music, articles and pretty much anything else you can think of concerning the world of Twin Peaks.

Finally, it seems our patience will be rewarded. It’s been 25 years and David Lynch has kept the promise: his cult TV series will be back to haunt us.

The release of a nine-episode third season of Twin Peaks, set for 2016, was announced last October by Lynch himself. Since then, Lynch and Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost have kept new hints and surprises coming. Frost made it clear that the new season will not be a remake. The world of Twin Peaks will start from where we left it and, to make things even more appealing, David Lynch will be directing the new episodes.

On Jan. 12, Lynch revealed on Twitter that Kyle MacLachlan will return for the role of the eccentric, coffee-drinking Dale Cooper. Sheryl Lee has also agreed to reprise her role as Laura Palmer, and long-time Lynch collaborator Catherine E. Coulson will once again interpret the iconic character of the Log Lady.

More news is to come: on April 8, for the 25th anniversary of the pilot episode of the series, Welcome to Twin Peaks has a “special surprise” in store and will be releasing clues and details regarding what will take place in the third season.

They are also accepting submissions for _Twin Peaks_-inspired art and music, while also focusing on David Lynch’s entire output. The website is a “portal to the artist’s entire oeuvre,” which shares and discusses Lynch’s efforts in many fields, such as his recent stint as a recording artist.

With four solo albums, Lynch is bringing his distinct touch to electronic music, recording dreamy ballads with simple, apparently innocent lyrics that often take a sinister turn—much like the town of Twin Peaks itself after it’s shaken by the murder of Laura Palmer and the secrets of its inhabitants begin to crawl to the surface.

On March 14, the Twin Peaks community was left with a major cliffhanger, as some of the fans reported that they had just heard David Lynch speak at a Q&A event and mention “complications” with the developing process of the show’s third season.

Fans might be reassured by the words of MacLachlan in his interview for the online movie show Popcorn Talk on March 18, only a few days after Lynch’s vague and preoccupying statements.

“There’s still things to be worked out but I’m holding a very good thought that we’re going to return to Twin Peaks,” he said.