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By: Trisha Gregorio/ANDY Writer
On April 8, 1990, Twin Peaks aired its pilot. In 1997 the episode made it to TV Guide’s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time, and by the early 2000s, the series has been consistently named one of the best television shows of all time. It wrapped up on June 10, 1991 with two seasons and a total of thirty episodes, followed by a movie called Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me in 1992.
Twin Peaks revolved around the murder of high school student Laura Palmer, whose death starts a chain sequence of events that becomes the catalyst for the show’s main storyline. As with many of director David Lynch’s works, the show does not adhere to norms of any particular genre. The show, all at once, contains supernatural factors and surrealist elements, underlined with both melodrama and humour. It achieved cult movie status over the years that followed its second season, and has become widely considered a television classic.
25 years later, co-creators David Lynch and Mark Frost are bringing the series back for a new season. The sequel has been in the works for a year now, but budget issues have stalled production. Originally slated for a 2016 release, Dazed recently revealed that the third season has been pushed back to a 2017 broadcast on Showtime.
Eighteen episodes have been confirmed, all shot digitally, and will continue to be directed by Lynch and co-written with Frost. The creators have stressed that the new season is not a remake — rather, it will directly follow and allude to the events of the first two seasons, chronologically set 25 years after where the last episode left off.
“The story continues,” clarifies Frost. “The seeds of where we go were planted where we’ve been.”
Long-time fans are apprehensive about the changes the time skip would add to the classic small town setting the series is known for. Even more so, there’s much debate about who from the original cast is coming back after 25 years, and who’s done with the show for good.
So who’s in and who’s out? Nothing’s set in stone quite yet, but last week, along with the announcement of the pushed back release, Dazed also published a basic run-down of who’s in talks to return.
Unfortunately, many supporting actors have passed away since the end of the show’s last run. Catherine E. Coulson passed away earlier this year, and will not be reprising her role as the fan favourite Log Lady. Similarly, Jack Nance, who played her lumberjack husband Pete Martell, passed away in 1996.
Michael Ontkean, who played Sheriff Harry S. Truman and has discreetly avoided the limelight since, also declined the offer to return.
The good news, however, is that many crucial main actors are back to reprise their roles. Kyle MachLachan and Sheryl Lee are back as central characters Dale Cooper and Laura Palmer, respectively. Ray Wise and Grace Zabriskie are also set for return as Leland and Sarah Palmer, and Peggy Lipton returns to the Diner as series staple Norma Jennings. Other returning actors are Lara Flynn Boyle as Laura’s best friend, Sherilyn Fenn and Richard Beymer as the Hornes, Kimmy Robertson as secretary Lucy Moran, and Michael Horse as deputy Tommy “Hawk” Hill.
Additionally, aside from the series’ creators taking complete control of the follow-up season, composer Angelo Badalamenti is also set for return. A long time collaborator of Lynch, Badalementi is responsible for the signature Twin Peaks theme song, and will no doubt spin something new into the unsettling synth score the series is known for.
With roughly two years between today and the tentative release date, all that’s left to do is to wait. To fill the gap, creator Mark Frost revealed that a book called The Secret Lives of Twin Peaks will be published before the new season’s release, meant to cover the entirety of the time skip.
It might be set 25 years later and the storyline might be facing some contemporary changes, but the majority of the main cast and crew is looking to be the same quirky bunch that made Twink Peaks the television classic that it is.
Photo Credit: David Lynch
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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara
4 out of 5 stars
Myles Herod
Entertainment Editor
A little more than a year after gaining critical acclaim for The Social Network, David Fincher is at it again, adapting another well-loved story for the big screen.
In The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Fincher seems to have extended stylistic leftovers from his previous outing and supplanted them into his newest effort with much aplomb.
Keep in mind, this is a remake – disaster could have prevailed. Luckily, the modern day auteur (seemingly unaffected by Hollywood execs) is incapable of making a bad film.
Even his worst film, Alien³, is actually so well crafted and unique in vision, that for all its problems, it manages to avoid pitfalls of a picture obviously sabotaged by producers.
On the basis of my viewing experience, the Americanized version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a stark and grittier product than its Swedish counterpart. That’s right, it’s a superior remake.
Both director, and writer (Steven Zaillian) do an intelligent job of keeping, adapting and removing various parts of the novel to benefit the film’s flow. The dialogue is natural and terse, allowing characters to consciously step on each other’s lines to add a sense of authenticity.
One of Fincher’s most undervalued talents is his attention to character nuance – avoiding clichés of stilted performances, which in essence builds the unique universes he’s so revered for.
The film follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) and his experiences in Sweeden during the investigation of a 40-year-old murder. Hired by the wealthy Vanger family to uncover clues to the murder, Blomkvist ends up using the assistance of an accomplished but socially awkward investigator Salander (a equally sultry and scary performance by Rooney Mara).
The bulk of the two and a half hour film consists of observing Blomkvist and Salander as they unravel the lurid mystery from the isolated Wanger Island.
By building both characters up front, the audience is compelled and completely indebted to the investigation. Fincher uses his great eye for imagery and pacing to really sell the picture – particularly in scenes that could have fallen to contrivance, or dullness.
For instance, one set piece shows the two characters in separate locations compiling research and fitting final clues together. About ten minutes into this sequence it dawned that there had been almost no meaningful dialogue. Instead, the entirety of its structure was just a series of pictures, computer screens, printed words and reaction shots. It was also one of the most intense and suspenseful sequences of any film from 2011. Saying it’s impressive would be an understatement. This is Fincher working on all cylinders.
Mara is a revelation as Lisbeth Salander. Both physically and emotionally, she goes all-in with her portrayal. From the multiple piercings to the detailed tattoos and punk aesthetic, it’s hard to believe that it's the same sweet girl who opened The Social Network as Mark Zuckerberg’s girlfriend.
One cannot discount Craig’s performance either – a fine partner to Mara’s bold interpretation. In addition to the two stellar lead performances, Fincher gets great acting out of Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard and Joley Richardson.
Fincher does not hold back in portraying adult material here. From two horrific rapes scenes to the depths of torture and mutilation, the film confronts uncomfortable visuals in bleak whites and murky shadows. These scenes are necessary, though, as the audience ends up feeling empathy for the characters, which, in turn, helps ramp up tension.
Overall, this is a masterfully crafted ‘action’ film – one that makes you think as you recoil or guffaw at its sinister subject matter, or streaks of black humour imbued throughout. Fincher, again, has proven himself a master, elevating his clout amongst Hollywood’s most intriguing talents. You can call it a remake, but I prefer to think of it as a superb continuation of his style and mood so effectively refined in 2010’s The Social Network. Heck, he even got Trent Reznor to come back and do the score.
