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Sell me on Twin Peaks?
- Thread starter lifeexpectancy
- Start date
fluffydelusions
Member
Helllooooooooooooooooooooooooooo call for help
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
Mr. Jackpots. Jade gives two rides.
Bam Bam Baklava
Member
People saying this show is "so bad it's good" are really missing the point of the show and of Lynch in general.
If anything, some of the show is all too real for most people. People don't grieve like most TV or movies show you. Laura's mom's reaction to her death is one of the most brutally real scenes in film history.
If anything, some of the show is all too real for most people. People don't grieve like most TV or movies show you. Laura's mom's reaction to her death is one of the most brutally real scenes in film history.
old
Member
Did not touch my phone. I was playing Overwatch on my other monitor.
radios shipping overview
Member
I think people who say that might be latching onto the show's use of camp. It's not there all the time, but it's there, and it's intentional (at least in the first season), when it gets into parodying soap opera tropes.
Bam Bam Baklava
Member
"Everyone is too stupid to appreciate the stuff I like except me, I'm very smart. The smartest"
A big point of the pilot was lingering on the raw grief of the town in a way that movies and TV usually avoid because its so uncomfortable and awkward to watch. Usually when someone's murdered we get a scream, maybe a brief look at a crying relative, and that's it.
But nice smartass response
Gnome Scat
Member
I love 2001, but I'm having a bit of trouble getting into Twin Peaks. I can't really figure out what angle it's going for.
Secret Fawful
Member
Not really. Their post doesn't read like that at all.
I've had to help people go through the grieving process after sudden deaths of close loved ones and Twin Peaks' portrayal is a lot closer to reality than a lot of stuff I've seen.
The neverending pain and suffering as the grieving scream and sob in pure terror and trauma is almost unbelievable. It's truly one of the most horrific things I've ever witnessed in my life, and it lasts for months sometimes if not years.
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
Call for help.
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
You might like the new season then if you're a fan of his work in general.
boredandlazy
Member
The moment I got into Twin Peaks:
31GhostsIV
Banned
THERE THEY ARE, ALBERT. FACES OF STONE.
As a Lynch fan I suggest you at least watch the few episodes he directed along with the movie. Honestly some of the best stuff he's ever done.
A little later in the season. No Bowie, though.
minor effort
Banned
I think in Season 1 the campier, soap opera elements of the show are strategically deployed for necessary counterbalance, but after Season 2 begins to lose focus in its midsection it begins to wear out its goodwill. For better or worse, the soap opera tropes it once parodied begin to dominate some of those Season 2 episodes.
It's not that I didn't understand the original Twin Peaks' use of camp, humor, or quirk, but rather that those elements don't fill me with nostalgia to the point where I'm looking for Season 3 to "play the hits". Which is why I'm glad the show is in an unhurried pace to reestablish the lives of Twin Peaks accessory characters or familiar lighthearted themes.
Bam Bam Baklava
Member
The number one response I ever see to people making rightful criticism about shows/movies is condescending and meaningless statements like "you just don't get it" or some other total nonsense. There are plenty of people who get exactly what Lynch is doing and are still right to think it sucks.
Not what I'm saying, at all.
I think people come to Twin Peaks, a show that is extremely difficult to accurately & even-handedly describe, having heard a bunch stuff that misses the mark, and then when the show doesn't fit the expectations, it can be a brick wall to enjoy. I think it's especially hard to enjoy if you've been prepped to think it's "so bad it's good" or that the acting is intentionally bad, or that it's meant as camp, because it's largely not, and if you're looking for The Room or Troll 2, you're going to be extremely disappointed.
It's a weird show with its own style, that is a blend of sincere, awkward, silly and serious, with a heavy focus on grief and trauma, that is served up with a directorial style that is willing to linger on a shot longer than the typical pace, or willing to let characters truly melt down in ways that are usually held back from.
I am not even remotely saying that everyone should like this show; I am saying that approaching it as "so bad its good" is not going to endear one to it, or give one a clue about why it has such a devoted fan base.
If you're not familiar with Lynch's style from Blue Velvet or Mullholland Drive, and you don't allow yourself a few episodes to acclimate and assess what's going on, odds are good you're going to bounce off it, especially 25+ years removed from its context.
I've seen the first season, but the second just meanders too much to me; Fire Walk is probably my least favorite film of his. I watched the first two episodes of the new season and have enjoyed it, mostly because it feels like classic Lynch.
TheLetdown
Member
Dead on.
As a big fan of Twin Peaks and having introduced it to first time viewers several times over the years, I'd say on average it takes 2-3 episodes into season 1 before getting into the groove of it and people appreciating what kind of show it is. Season 1 is supreme, first third of season 2 generally is as well, and then there's a big slump until the end of that season.
Extremely well put.
It's absolutely okay if a show isn't for you, it's just not for you. There are shows that aren't for me, and I don't lose sleep over it. It's not meant in a smug way, but rather that Twin Peaks goes against the norm and some folks don't enjoy that. Any frustration in this thread is going to likely be geared towards someone not giving the show a fair shake, and then dismissing it as terrible. You can't adequately watch a show like this and play overwatch at the same time, for example. It just can't be done. You'll miss almost everything that makes it great.
iShouldGoPro
Member
I realized that Twin Peaks is a rare show. It's a show that's incredible to some and terrible to others. There isn't much middle ground here.
I've tried to sell many of my friends on the show, but they just can't get past the soap opera feel of it, including the exaggerated acting from many of the characters.
I honestly did not like the entire pilot episode. The first portion of it was great and somewhere down the line, it lost some of my interest.
But I stuck with it, mainly because of three things:
1) I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and not many things are filmed in areas that I've lived around. It's great hearing the places "Portland", "Seattle", and "Spokane" while watching. I have a geographical connection to the show.
2) The "everything is not what it seems" aspect of it drew me in. I did not fall in love with the characters right away, so the mystery revolving around Laura Palmer's murder and how it wasn't simple to solve had me coming back for more.
3) Alan Wake. I love Alan Wake.
And I'm so glad I stuck with the show because I have NEVER witnessed a show that was cancelled 26 years ago come return with such a vengeance.
Twin Peaks looks to reinvent itself in all the right ways, and I'm eager to learn more about this world and what David Lynch has been concocting in his head for almost 3 decades.
Well, there it is.
I've tried to sell many of my friends on the show, but they just can't get past the soap opera feel of it, including the exaggerated acting from many of the characters.
I honestly did not like the entire pilot episode. The first portion of it was great and somewhere down the line, it lost some of my interest.
But I stuck with it, mainly because of three things:
1) I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and not many things are filmed in areas that I've lived around. It's great hearing the places "Portland", "Seattle", and "Spokane" while watching. I have a geographical connection to the show.
2) The "everything is not what it seems" aspect of it drew me in. I did not fall in love with the characters right away, so the mystery revolving around Laura Palmer's murder and how it wasn't simple to solve had me coming back for more.
3) Alan Wake. I love Alan Wake.
And I'm so glad I stuck with the show because I have NEVER witnessed a show that was cancelled 26 years ago come return with such a vengeance.
Twin Peaks looks to reinvent itself in all the right ways, and I'm eager to learn more about this world and what David Lynch has been concocting in his head for almost 3 decades.
Well, there it is.
Embrace the quirkiness. Embrace the confusion.
That's all I can really tell you. I've seen so many people stop watching it after a few episodes because they say they were too confused, or thought it was too cheesy. It's a show you have to go into with an open mind. The characters are weird, the story is weird, everything is weird. But that's what makes it so great. It has some of the most memorable characters and subplots of any tv show I've ever seen. The soundtrack is so moody and perfect, and the town + cinematography are like characters in and of themselves.
So yeah, keep watching and eventually I think you'll end up liking it.
That's all I can really tell you. I've seen so many people stop watching it after a few episodes because they say they were too confused, or thought it was too cheesy. It's a show you have to go into with an open mind. The characters are weird, the story is weird, everything is weird. But that's what makes it so great. It has some of the most memorable characters and subplots of any tv show I've ever seen. The soundtrack is so moody and perfect, and the town + cinematography are like characters in and of themselves.
So yeah, keep watching and eventually I think you'll end up liking it.
I agree that the 'go watch Transformers' defence sucks, but I think that poster was saying was right in that if people think e.g. the overextended grief scenes are 'so bad it's good', then yeah, they probably don't 'get it'.
Thinking it doesn't work and/or sucks is fine.
Yeah, but I didn't say that. I specifically said if you think it's supposed to be "so bad it's good" then you're going to be disappointed, cuz it's not. You can say a lot of critical, valid things about Twin Peaks (especially it's really inconsistent second season), but "it's so bad it's good" is just wrong. No one with a solid understanding of Lynch's work would characterize it that way.
cr0w
Old Member
David Lynch is like a foreign language to me, I've never understood anything I've seen of his. Dude is simply on a different wavelength than I am, and I can't get my brain into the space required to appreciate his stuff.
I watched the scene someone linked a few days ago of the old Bellhop and Cooper lying there shot and I started contemplating how much nicer it would be if I were the one with a bullet in my gut. Just don't get it.
I watched the scene someone linked a few days ago of the old Bellhop and Cooper lying there shot and I started contemplating how much nicer it would be if I were the one with a bullet in my gut. Just don't get it.
MisterR
Member
It's fine to not like it, but that doesn't make you right to think it sucks and yes, a lot of people don't get it at all and don't give it enough of a chance to ever really be able to get it.
Have you seen Mulholland Drive? That was the first film of his that I watched and I was hooked after that. I'd definitely recommend watching that if you haven't seen it yet.
Also, to the original point: I don't know if would want to sell you on Twin Peaks specifically; I'd rather sell you on David Lynch in general, and then if you like Lynch's work, you'll come to Twin Peaks on your own.
Mullholland Drive and Blue Velvet are the two films he's done that give you the best balance of uncut Lynch style and accessible movie sized story and pacing. If you bounce off those two, then maybe he's just not your thing. If you like those two, then the first season of Twin Peaks will probably click for you. The rest is YMMV, but the more of it you watch, the better prepped for season 3 you are, and so far season 3 is pretty amazing uncut Lynch really going for it all out, no holding back.
Mullholland Drive and Blue Velvet are the two films he's done that give you the best balance of uncut Lynch style and accessible movie sized story and pacing. If you bounce off those two, then maybe he's just not your thing. If you like those two, then the first season of Twin Peaks will probably click for you. The rest is YMMV, but the more of it you watch, the better prepped for season 3 you are, and so far season 3 is pretty amazing uncut Lynch really going for it all out, no holding back.
JoJoShabadoo
Member
To be honest, watching anything for 30 minutes and interrupting it to make a thread saying it's bad, and refuting what people have long established about the show... I mean... Yeah it's not for you.
Sit down, pay attention, and draw a verdict at least after a full episode.
It's like me watching 30 minutes of The Godfather and saying it's slow and that there's no action.
Sit down, pay attention, and draw a verdict at least after a full episode.
It's like me watching 30 minutes of The Godfather and saying it's slow and that there's no action.
There is no objective right or wrong when it comes to opinions, so there's an implied silent 'I think' preceding his writing about people rightly thinking it sucks.
| Praxis |
Banned
I hate weddings and the music sucked.
I got into it after Deadly Premonition because I wanted more of the weirdness Deadly Premonition offered.
It's a smart show, tbh. There are aspects of parody to the soap opera, but there are also a lot of candid sequences and an incredibly idiosyncratic cast. Very often it's dreamlike. It can be on the slow side, but that can make the comedy and horror sequences better, of which there are a lot and a few, respectively.
I wish Season 2 weren't so meandering. Quite a let down. The ending episodes of Season 1 were so hype.
It's a smart show, tbh. There are aspects of parody to the soap opera, but there are also a lot of candid sequences and an incredibly idiosyncratic cast. Very often it's dreamlike. It can be on the slow side, but that can make the comedy and horror sequences better, of which there are a lot and a few, respectively.
I wish Season 2 weren't so meandering. Quite a let down. The ending episodes of Season 1 were so hype.
Necron
Member
Twin Peaks is most of all about that "special feeling" and surrealism which you won't find anywhere else. There are moments of horror; moments of joy; moments of subconscious fear and moments devoid of all meaning. You either get it or you don't.
If you're not "getting it" by the first few episodes of season 1 - move on. The 3rd season's surrealism and darkness have been cranked up to the absolute maximum, though. It really is like David Lynch has been unshackled by all restraints and has creative inputs in tone with Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive... I love it but feel utterly confused.
Now... would you like some coffee, OP?
If you're not "getting it" by the first few episodes of season 1 - move on. The 3rd season's surrealism and darkness have been cranked up to the absolute maximum, though. It really is like David Lynch has been unshackled by all restraints and has creative inputs in tone with Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive... I love it but feel utterly confused.
Now... would you like some coffee, OP?
cr0w
Old Member
Have not. I may give it a shot eventually.
Ah shit I forgot he did Elephant Man, which I loved. Though I guess that's not really his material.
True Savior
Member
Art is subjective. If it evokes boredom then watch something else.
A more straight up answer is that TP is a murder story in a banal environment told through David Lynch eyes. If you don't like his work, it doesn't make a lot of sense to go through his longest project.
A more straight up answer is that TP is a murder story in a banal environment told through David Lynch eyes. If you don't like his work, it doesn't make a lot of sense to go through his longest project.
He rewrote the script. Definitely has his stamp on it.