In terms of stoking audience interest, Twin Peaks was most certainly the Lost of its day, an uncommonly compelling show that wrapped itself up in enigma after enigma, to the point that viewers were in sheer agony while waiting to find out the identity of homecoming queen Laura Palmer's (Sheryl Lee) killer. Much of the show's success can be attributed to Kyle MacLahlan's performance as eccentric FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, alongside the host of other wacky characters filling out the roster, pretty much all of whom are suspected of killing Palmer at one point or another. Master surrealist David Lynch presents a smoothly controlled murder mystery interspersed with countless scenes of obtuse surrealism, often involving dwarves, bizarre hidden messages, metaphorical locations and spiritual entities. Though the show certainly lost its momentum in season two, and the reveal of Laura's killer was disappointing, it still proved to be never less than compelling, and that infuriating final cliffhanger has left fans wondering what would've happened next ever since...
12. Oz
One of the very first shows in HBO's eventual revolution of the TV medium, Oz premiered in 1997 and instantly put the small-screen world on notice. With its absolute lack of restraint to sex, violence, swearing and bodily fluids en masse, creator Tom Fantana was able to build a deeply depraved but endlessly engaging depiction of prison life inside the maximum security Oswald State Correctional Facility. The show concerns itself with the prisoners, their families and the support staff, all of whom have conflicting political and sociological ideas about the state of Oz. Pretty much an episode of the show doesn't go by without an inmate (or occasionally, someone on the outside) being violently raped or murdered, and though this frequency gets pretty close to comical at times, the visceral brutality is difficult to turn away from because the performances throughout are so consistently excellent. Lee Tergesen's performance as protagonist Tobias Beecher, and his brutal feud with white supremacist Vern Schillinger (an electric J.K. Simmons) formed the crux of the show's conflict, leading to an explosive and darkly comic resolution near the show's conclusion. It's deeply unpleasant and simply too raw for many tastes, but for the viewer with a strong enough stomach, it is cable TV at its very finest.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
