By Tarifah Bin Sulayem
DUBAI – Set in a fictitious town called “Twin Peaks,” the classic mystery crime show begins when the body of beloved high school student, Laura Palmer, is found dead and wrapped in plastic.
Earning 14 nominations at the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards, the show still maintains its small but highly dedicated fan base from the early ‘90s. The award winning show’s unique combination of mystery and paranormal themes was what preserved its presence 25 years later.
“Twin Peaks” dramatically changed the world of mystery crime shows. Newer shows began to steal a lot of the concepts and ideas that David Lynch introduced in “Twin Peaks.”
After “Twin Peaks,” shows introduced supernatural characters, creepy or gory dream sequences or began their shows with the death of a well-loved character in a small town where none of the characters are what they seem. It has greatly impacted how movies are usually produced and challenged entertainment media in terms of elements used to tell the characters’ stories and reveal plot twists.
The creepy dream sequences where the protagonist either receives a major clue or an extremely vague riddle is later seen on shows like “Lost” or “Pretty Little Liars” where none of the characters were what they seemed.
Shows like “Bates Motel” seem to have copied the small, dark town of “Twin Peaks” and dream sequences or hallucinations that were used to reveal clues or plot twists. American “Horror Story” heavily uses supernatural themes especially in their fourth season, “Freakshow,” where several of the characters were either dead, possessed or have strange powers.
The show has also greatly influenced modern movies like “Twilight” which is set in a similar, dark, northwestern town with several mysterious deaths.
Unfortunately, its cult show status and later influential reach was not enough to keep the show from getting cancelled during the run of its second season.
As a response, director Lynch wrote and released a prequel film to give his fans some closure to the abrupt and confusing finale. The prequel, “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” focuses on the final week of Laura’s life leading up to her murder.
In a recent turn of events, the show was resurrected in an announcement last year. After 25 years, “Twin Peaks” is set to return very soon.
Back in April, there were some issues getting Lynch on board due to a disagreement concerning the show’s budget. Some of the actors threatened to quit if production decided to go ahead without Lynch. A Twitter hashtag #SaveTwinPeaksran on Twitter for over a month until the budget conflict was resolved.
On May 16th, Lynch announced on Twitter that he would be working on the reboot and excited his fans when he announced that the scripts for all 18 episodes were ready.
Lynch promised his fans that this would be the ending he wanted them to have almost 25 years ago.
Although the scripts have been finalized and the teaser video on IMDB announces its premier in 2016, other sources (including creator Mark Frost) indicate a later release the following year.
This story was originally published on Sept. 21, 2015. It was re-uploaded on Dec. 25, 2020.
