Back Once Again – Twin Peaks: The Return

Sky Atlantic
Airing Weekly: Tuesday 9pm
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It is happening again. Or is it? After twenty-six years of waiting and wondering, Twin Peaks is back. With all the media fanfare, teasers and online speculation, Peaksmania is at a fever pitch, the likes of which have not been seen since the final episode aired in 1991. If you’re looking for a carbon copy of the original series wedged into a modern setting, however, the first double-part episode may disappoint you.

The opening episode of series three felt more like the spiritual successor to Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (the 1992 Twin Peaks prequel film) or what could have been had David Lynch been allowed to actualise Mulholland Drive for television. This is largely due to the much darker tone of the episode by comparison to the original Peaks. Thanks to loosened network restrictions, many moments were considerably more explicit than even the most intense scenes of the original series. Combined with the digital shooting of the episode, this gave it a very ‘new’ feel on the whole.

An episode more interesting than the average post-watershed fare

That’s not to say I wasn’t utterly taken when the original characters and locations appeared onscreen. After the aforementioned ghoulish scene-setting, seeing those familiar faces brought back the realisation that I was, indeed, watching a brand new series of Twin Peaks. The editing and sound design is the most atmospheric and immersi

ve of any series released in recent years. The slow, paced angles and evocative use of light (the ‘broken’ flashlight moment was a personal favourite) make the episode more interesting than the average post-watershed fare. Lynch’s sound editing is incredibly dense, with subtle sounds like tree rustles and scratches layered beneath the dialogue to create a truly hypnotic experience. Every so often the overt tension maintained throughout the episode was punctuated by lighter moments which gave some much-needed breathing space. Seeing the Chromatics play at the Roadhouse was an unexpected delight.

The first episode has raised many intriguing questions about where the series might go over the coming weeks and what form it will take. That element of mystery, which made the original 1990-91 series of Twin Peaks the show that fans adore, is not lost from the new episode. The enthusiasm of the cast and crew for the show is palpable, giving an emotional depth beyond what audiences may have come to expect from a popular reboot. So maybe it isn’t happening again, as fans had anticipated. But it certainly is happening.

 

Episodes 1 and 2 of Twin Peaks Season 3 are available now on Sky Atlantic ‘On Demand’ with the next installation, episodes 3 and 4, ready to binge.

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