Journal Post #3

Twin Peaks

Created by David Lynch, Twin Peaks came crashing into the TV industry, and it was a phenomenon. It was mainly a hit because it was different, a fresh medium for TV viewers.

Shows in the 80s followed a typical set of formula for success, similar set of storyline, clearly defined heroes and villains. These shows were entertaining, no question, but they were never shows that challenged viewers and kept them guessing. These were shows still routed in the ordinary, focusing on institutions that exist. Twin Peaks on the other hand played with weirdness, mystical elements, and can sometimes be downright creepy. At the same time, the show also plays out the soap opera. Affairs, the return of old flames, and fights over the ownership of a mill occur alongside alien abductions, possessions, and alternate dimensions. There were never any shows that would come close to as unique Twin Peaks was, and at a time where things were still relatively  conservative the show challenged the rest of the TV industry to do something original and exciting.

Twin Peak’s strength was no doubt in its aesthetics, especially the whole mystery element that the show introduced. But this aesthetic also proved to be the undoing of the show. The mystery element of the show (who killed Laura Palmer?) did a great jo TV b creating a hunger in the viewers for answers. People discussed, created theories on the real killer, and tuned into the show every week faithfully in hopes that they will be rid of their appetite for an answer. But as the season ended after eight episodes with no answer, people were frustrated, but they still wanted to find out who’s the killer. The show’s popularity and lack of closure easily signed them on for a second season. But in the second season, viewers became more irate and impatient with the writers and demanded the reveal of the killer. Although Lynch initially intended for the mystery to go unsolved, for viewers to enjoy the journey rather than focusing on the destination, ABC finally gave in to the pressure from viewers in fear that they might lose interest in the show. The viewers did lose interest anyway. After the killer was revealed in the seventh episode of season two, the show lost most of its direction. Even though the show went on for another 15 episodes, viewers count declined every week. The show did end with great final few episodes, but the reception could’ve been so much better had the show not lost its drive because of the reveal.

That being said, Twin Peaks still left a huge impact in the TV world. For a start, Twin Peaks flexed the muscles of the TV world to the people in the film industry. TV was no longer less exciting than films to viewers, and they became much more important. Film directors started to move into TV and created many successful shows, and it was Lynch who paved the way for them.

Twin Peaks have also showed that taking risk with TV can bring success, writers and executives began to take more risks and be more daring with their storytelling. Twin Peaks has also became an influence and inspiration to many writers with the introduction of the mystery genre. Shows like the X-Files, Lost, Pretty Little Liars, and even Disney’s Gravity Falls all possess the DNA of Twin Peaks; a tinge of mystery. These shows would not have existed if it wasn’t for Twin Peaks.