"Twin Peaks" (1990-91)
By: Erin Huang-Schaffer
I really don't like writing negative reviews. Especially on a show that I have heard so many awesome things about. I saw the first five episodes of the cult-classic television show created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, Twin Peaks.
First, let me give you a little backstory. Without giving away any major plot twists, the story takes place in the fictional small-town of Twin Peaks, Washington, where a beloved young resident (Laura Palmer, played by the then-unknown Sheryl Lee) is found murdered. The main storyline involves the investigation, while several subplots involve characters who knew the deceased and are desperately trying to keep their secrets covered.
The show parodies soap operas of that time, with the outrageous music (I found myself skipping the opening title after a couple episodes), the laughably poor acting of minor characters, and the constant love affairs going on in that little community. But I probably would have been able to put up with all of that if it weren't for my dislike of the show's unique genre: surrealist horror.
I happen to not like watching scary shows and movies. As long as I don't find something scary, I am able to genuinely enjoy it. I don't think I need to explain it that much; we all have our own preferences.
Twin Peaks succeeds so well in being nightmarishly unsettling that I could not go to sleep at nights without hearing the screams of Laura Palmer's mother. It's been a really long time since something creeped me out so much (more than Psycho).
Still, I have to say that Kyle MacLachlan as FBI Agent Dale Cooper made for a very interesting protagonist. It's the quirky detective thing that I love so much. He was able to bring so much light to the show, with his "damn coffee" and messages to the mysterious "Diane". By the way, who is "Diane"? I'd almost like to know the answer to that more than who killed Laura Palmer.
Maybe someday I'll finish Twin Peaks and know the whole story, giving it the admiration that perhaps it might deserve. But for now, it's just a feel-bad show with a depressing theme song.
First, let me give you a little backstory. Without giving away any major plot twists, the story takes place in the fictional small-town of Twin Peaks, Washington, where a beloved young resident (Laura Palmer, played by the then-unknown Sheryl Lee) is found murdered. The main storyline involves the investigation, while several subplots involve characters who knew the deceased and are desperately trying to keep their secrets covered.
The show parodies soap operas of that time, with the outrageous music (I found myself skipping the opening title after a couple episodes), the laughably poor acting of minor characters, and the constant love affairs going on in that little community. But I probably would have been able to put up with all of that if it weren't for my dislike of the show's unique genre: surrealist horror.
I happen to not like watching scary shows and movies. As long as I don't find something scary, I am able to genuinely enjoy it. I don't think I need to explain it that much; we all have our own preferences.
Twin Peaks succeeds so well in being nightmarishly unsettling that I could not go to sleep at nights without hearing the screams of Laura Palmer's mother. It's been a really long time since something creeped me out so much (more than Psycho).
Still, I have to say that Kyle MacLachlan as FBI Agent Dale Cooper made for a very interesting protagonist. It's the quirky detective thing that I love so much. He was able to bring so much light to the show, with his "damn coffee" and messages to the mysterious "Diane". By the way, who is "Diane"? I'd almost like to know the answer to that more than who killed Laura Palmer.
Maybe someday I'll finish Twin Peaks and know the whole story, giving it the admiration that perhaps it might deserve. But for now, it's just a feel-bad show with a depressing theme song.