10 Things We Learned From Twin Peaks: The Return Premiere

6. How To Replace An Unhinged Holdout

Good Cooper
Showtime

The Little Man From Another Place - the iconic, backwards-speaking dancing dwarf of the Black Lodge - will not appear in The Return.

The actor who portrayed him, Michael J Anderson, felt short-changed by the contract offered to him by Showtime and fell out with Lynch in the most dramatic of circumstances; one vile and infamous Facebook post even saw him accuse Lynch of child molestation and murder. Fortunately, Lynch's famed ability to circumvent constraints is evident. The absence of the actor created scope for perhaps the most memorable scene over a completely indelible two hours.

The exposition - MIKE introduces this tree-like neuron entity as "the evolution of the arm" - is the only unfortunate element of a brave and drastic creative compromise. Somehow, Lynch captures the cryptic essence of a unique character via the most radical shift in form imaginable, in one of several instantly iconic Red Room sequences.

This bodes well for the remaining parts, as Lynch insists they are known. Many hardcore fans were nervous at the prospect of the continuation, given the untimely death of series villain BOB decades before it was conceived.

In once again demonstrating his ability to incorporate serendipitous accidents and sidestep unavoidable accidents, Lynch has assuaged those concerns.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!