Staff Writer
The
cancellation of Twin Peaks in 1991
left many fans of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s surreal show hungry for
more. The show, which revolved around
the disappearance of a local girl in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, captured
the public conscience in a way that few shows before or after have. It was a cultural phenomenon, with people
spending large parts of their day discussing the show’s many mysteries and
twists. It helped start the careers of
Kyle MacLachlan and Heather Graham, and the stars of the show graced the cover
of entertainment magazines all across the country.
Then,
after the end of its second season, the show was cancelled. It disappeared as soon as it arrived, and
anyone who watched the show to its cliffhanger ending felt as if they had been
cheated. The finale created more
questions than it answered. A
continuation felt natural, but any attempts to bring the show back were
unsuccessful until last year when Showtime announced that it would revive the
series for a nine-episode continuation of the story.
Fans
were thrilled, especially when MacLachlan confirmed his involvement and it was
revealed that the episodes were written by Lynch and Frost. It seemed like everyone’s hopes would be
fulfilled, but a recent announcement that Lynch would not be returning to direct
the series and would not be involved in the production made many people
skeptical about the new season. On Twitter, Lynch said that, “After one year
and four months of negotiations, I left because not enough money was offered to
do the script the way I felt it needed to be done.” The new episodes have not been called off, but
some people are doubting if it would even be a good idea to bring the show
back. After all, Lynch was the one who
gave the series its signature style and atmosphere, and a return without him
could feel like an empty imitation.
In
the current age of television, a lot of credit is given to the showrunners of
television shows. Thanks to programs
such as Twin Peaks and The Sopranos, people are now familiar with
the creators of their favorite shows.
Vince Gilligan, the creator of Breaking
Bad, became almost as famous as the show’s cast during its run. This means that fans think of a show’s
creator as being the one person behind its successes and failures. This was especially true of Lynch, as his
brand of filmmaking was so distinctive that it overshadowed almost everyone
else involved in the show. Kyle
MacLachlan said in an interview that, “There's not very many filmmakers like
David, particularly in America.” Even
though Twin Peaks was co-created with
Mark Frost, Lynch is the person that viewers thought of while watching the
show. His absence in the new season
could potentially doom the revival before it is even seen.
This
is not the first time that a popular TV show has returned after a long hiatus
without its original creator. The Boondocks, Adult Swim’s acclaimed
satire program, aired its fourth season last year after an extended break. However, the show’s creator, Aaron McGruder,
was not involved in the production.
Despite all the excitement on the internet, many people viewed the
season as a diminished return and blamed its flaws on McGruder’s
departure. Community’s fourth season was made without creator Dan Harmon, and
it was almost universally disliked by critics.
When he was put back in charge of the show in the series’ fifth season,
fans saw it as an improvement. There
seems to be a trend of shows losing their spark along with their creator, and Peaks may continue that.
This
doesn’t mean that Peak’s third season
won’t be worth watching. Like all TV
shows, Peaks had many people working on it throughout its run. Of its 30 episodes, Lynch only directed six,
and there were long stretches when he wasn’t involved at all. It still hasn’t been announced if Mark Frost
will be working on the new season, but there are still many people involved in
the original run who can continue the story. Plus, countless filmmakers have been inspired
by Lynch and his influence can be seen in television even today. It wouldn’t be unrealistic to think that the
show could return to its former glory. Still,
this could be difficult without the man who made that glory possible in the
first place.
