10 Things You Need To Know About Twin Peaks: The Return
It is happening again.
It is happening again.
David Lynch confirmed years ago that Twin Peaks, the revolutionary blueprint for the prestige drama era in which we live, was as dead as a doornail. Happily, he has changed his mind. Or was lying. With him, it is invariably difficult to tell.
The show as it existed in its original, network television format centred around the brutal killing of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. Special Agent Dale Cooper was despatched to investigate under gloomy skies, which receded as he fell in love with the quaint Pacific Northwestern town and its denizens. The first season was a critical and commercial sensation - an immersive fusion of disparate genres underpinned with a beguiling central mystery and inimitable atmosphere, at once maudlin and eerie.
In the pulsating, batsh*t insane finale, David Lynch restored what was a sinking second season to unimpeachable greatness - but it was too late. Viewers, the Network, the cast, Lynch himself - all lost interest after the forced midpoint resolution of the Laura Palmer whodunnit.
But, it is happening again. Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost have full creative control over a series already in the can, broadcast by a premium cable network unable (and unwilling) to interfere in Lynch's free-form creative process. It is said, by a key cast member, to be "earth-shattering"...
Spoiler Warning: Details of the original series are contained herein.
10. The Cast List Is Not What It Seems
Showtime released a mesmeric and harrowing teaser last week, and in typically obtuse David Lynch fashion, one of the cast members featured did not comprise the 217-strong list of actors confirmed last year.
At the 0:29 mark, we see a forlorn figure in a darkened room, with a bizarrely dissonant expression plastered on her face. She is gurning almost comically, her bottom lip covering her entire mouth, but her eyes tell a more sinister story, looking downward with a glib blink. Internet sleuths have revealed her identity as Kathleen Deming (us neither). Details of her role are unknown - most everything about The Return is shrouded in mystery - but her appearance raises faint hopes of further surprises. The show has past form.
Piper Laurie returned to season two under the retrospectively dubious yellow-face of Mr. Tojamura - and Lynch insisted that the portrayal was kept secret from the rest of the cast. Most figured out the ruse within hours (with the notable exception of Jack 'Pete Martell' Nance, God rest his soul) but an attempt was made to also keep viewers in the dark (Laurie's appearances went uncredited prior to the reveal).
Laurie isn't on the released cast list, but that evidently means little in both 1991 and 2017. One need look (or rather, don't) no further at Michael J Anderson's Facebook page as proof that there's no long con here, and that he will not be appearing - but there is evident scope for surprises elsewhere.