10 TV Shows Ruined By One Dumb Decision

9. Twin Peaks - Forcing Lynch To Reveal The Killer

Twin peaks: Lonely Souls
ABC

Twin Peaks is, quite rightly, revered as one of the most groundbreaking pieces of television ever produced, but that doesn't mean its entire run was good. The eight-episode first season is a masterclass in building tone and mystery, but it's in the second - and interestingly, after one of the show's greatest moments - that things went off the rails.

In Season 2, Twin Peaks was struggling in the ratings, and so the ABC bosses forced David Lynch's hand: he had to reveal who killed Laura Palmer, the mystery central to the entire series. Lynch did so with his usual style, unveiling Leland Palmer - overcome by BOB - as the killer in an episode so mesmeric, so unhinged, and so terrifying that it'll haunt your every waking and sleeping moment long after watching.

Because of that, though, relations between Lynch and the network were broken. He didn't work on another episode of Season 2 until the finale, and in the intervening period the show became a goofy, laughable mess. The bizarre became baffling, the twisted became confused, and the show would be off the air for some 20+ years. No one hates Season 2 more than David Lynch himself, and thank the lord he came back with Twin Peaks: The Return to give it a proper send-off.

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Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.