Dany Ramdhanie
Upon its release Twin Peaks captured many viewers with its innovative style and combination of genres. Creators David Lynch and Mark Frost came up with the idea for a show that had complex characters which appealed to more than one type of viewer. The show follows a detective as he tries to solve the case of Laura Palmer’s murder. There is also a lot of focus on relationships of the residents in town. Audiences across America sat and partook in a television phenomenon that left a large wake after its time. Critics and fans would agree that Twin Peak’s surreal nature, expressionistic techniques, and soap-opera/horror feel was ahead of its time.
The first couple episodes drew in over 30 million viewers which was groundbreaking for its time, considering, the only way to watch it was by tuning in every week. However, its fame was only short lived and the show lost half its viewers, halfway into the first season. The show was canceled after the second season in 1991 after only a year. There are several possibilities as to why the show was canceled, but the most prominent was that the audience got lost. There were not any reruns and audiences could not access the show. If you missed an episode, that was it you were lost forever, At least so it seemed.
Twin Peaks became somewhat of a model for many shows and games in the 21st century. It has been one of the most influential shows to hit television. Critic Mark J. Charney explores the soap-opera, “Invitation to Love”, within the world of Twin Peaks. Interestingly Mark highlights the overlapping themes between “Invitation to Love“ and Twin Peaks. According to Mark the events in the soap-opera “Invitation to Love“, “Parallels activities of characters who live in Twin Peaks”. Mark suggests that the audience is offered some insight to the characters through the show. For example he mentions Shelly’s excitement for tuning into watch “Invitation to Love” but is quickly distracted by Bobby and “abandons the television romance for one of her own”. One can even go as far as to say Shelly’s actions are an imitation of the soap-opera. In many ways, life imitates art and we like to do what see on television. Nonetheless, David Lynch included this in his episodes to draw similarities and reveal underlying thoughts.
Mark also analyzes David Lynch’s overall style and compares it to that of a soap-opera. David’s ability to add depth and relationship to these characters through camera angles and movement is remarkable. This is one of the reasons the show is so highly acclaimed .Lynch is able to “create interest in the viewing audience about the future of these one-dimensional characters” . For example Leo Johnson is seen as a bad character almost immediately. You may not know why, but you get the feeling right away. This might have a great deal to do with the way he is presented to the audience. Mark explains “ Leo Johnson is frequently shot from an extreme low angle, heightening his threat to the other inhabitants of Twin Peaks” .
By way of contrast, Mark gives good reason on how Twin Peaks differs from the soap-opera style by mentioning the cinematic intro and surrealistic endings. He also touches on how Lynch plays with first impressions to mislead audiences. Mark’s essay was well thought out and to the point. His choice of topic is rooted in the show and his examples helped further his ideas. Even though I have not seen all the episodes Mark J. Charney provides enough context.
Twin Peaks drew in a cult following of fans who also critique and analysis the show. Author Daniel Kurland on fan blog Den of Geek writes about unique content within Twin Peaks that directly influenced other Tv shows. Daniel compares Twin Peaks to A&E’s Bates Motel and NBC’s Hannibal. Creator of Bates Motel, Carlton Cuse,“We pretty much ripped off Twin Peaks… If you wanted to get that confession, the answer is yes. I loved that show. They only did 30 episodes. Kerry and I thought we’d do the 70 that are missing.”. More recently, writer Mike Mariani from The Atlantic sheds some light on Lynch’s contributions to the television and film world. In his article The Remarkable Influence of David Lynch, Mike provides us with a lot of interesting facts. The article is a breakdown of Lynch’s past works and how they have affected the industry. The information is concise, informative, and delivered in a direct manner. Opposed to scholarly journal that are in depth and lengthy.
This is paper just touches the surface on analyzing Twin Peaks because there are so many layers to the show. This complexity has become somewhat of a norm today but is not always executed correctly. It takes a talented team to put shows like this together and I think the Twin Peaks revival is gonna be a hit. David Lynch’s style has been refined over the years and hopefully viewer will be able to stream the show.
Works Cited
Charney, Mark J.. “Invitation to Love: The Influence of Soap Opera on David Lynch's "twin Peaks"”.Studies in Popular Culture 14.1 (1991): 53–59. Web.
Kurland, Daniel. "Twin Peaks: The 25 Year Influence of the David Lynch TV Series." Den of Geek. N.p., 07 Oct. 2014. Web.
Mariani, Mike. "The Remarkable Influence of David Lynch." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 23 Jan. 16. Web.
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