World of Blue - Archived Forum 2007-2022

I can only speak for Germany, but it's interesting how the reaction of viewers towards season 3 mirrors the reaction to the original series back then.
Before the series aired, everyone was excited. 'A new TV show is coming, that is bizarre, surreal, different to the other stuff on TV'. Then the first episodes aired and people were perplexed and felt let down. And then the red room happened, and the Man From Another Plane and Bob, and people lost it. 'What the heck is this? This is just nonsense, I can't make anything out of it, Lynch must be fooling us'.
Yes, a core audience loved it, like today with season 3. But keep in mind the original show was cancelled due to poor ratings. It was only years after that twin peaks turned into a wide-spread cult phenomenon. I think the same will happen. It might take years until Twin Peaks season 3 gets the appreciation it deserves.

I guess so. I am appreciating the hell out of it right now, though

Low Entropy wrote:I can only speak for Germany, but it's interesting how the reaction of viewers towards season 3 mirrors the reaction to the original series back then.
Before the series aired, everyone was excited. 'A new TV show is coming, that is bizarre, surreal, different to the other stuff on TV'. Then the first episodes aired and people were perplexed and felt let down. And then the red room happened, and the Man From Another Plane and Bob, and people lost it. 'What the heck is this? This is just nonsense, I can't make anything out of it, Lynch must be fooling us'.
Yes, a core audience loved it, like today with season 3. But keep in mind the original show was cancelled due to poor ratings. It was only years after that twin peaks turned into a wide-spread cult phenomenon. I think the same will happen. It might take years until Twin Peaks season 3 gets the appreciation it deserves.

S1 was a cult phenomenon at the time. It is only the diehards that have kept it going since.

I don't think the reaction is the same at all just for the fact that people in '90 were enthusiastic about the show because of the mystery we felt we needed to solve. That was the real hook. With this current show, it's gone out of its way not to have that central mystery. It's just kind of plodding along in an absurdist way which, while diverting at rare times, doesn't seem to be engaging very many people aside from the core fans.

IcedOver wrote:I don't think the reaction is the same at all just for the fact that people in '90 were enthusiastic about the show because of the mystery we felt we needed to solve. That was the real hook. With this current show, it's gone out of its way not to have that central mystery. It's just kind of plodding along in an absurdist way which, while diverting at rare times, doesn't seem to be engaging very many people aside from the core fans.

Instead of one central mystery, there are numerous interlocking mysteries (what is Doppelcoop after, who is trying to kill DoppelCoop, what is the thing in the box, where did Laura go, etc?). So the sense of mystery is still there, however the plot is much more complex (and thus much richer) this time.

IcedOver wrote:I don't think the reaction is the same at all just for the fact that people in '90 were enthusiastic about the show because of the mystery we felt we needed to solve. That was the real hook. With this current show, it's gone out of its way not to have that central mystery. It's just kind of plodding along in an absurdist way which, while diverting at rare times, doesn't seem to be engaging very many people aside from the core fans.

Anyone who gave up on Twin Peaks in its original run was not going to be tuning in for Season 3. The only audience S3 has is really the core fan base. Any new viewers were probably runoff after the premiere of Part 1 & 2 and certainly by the first 20 minutes of Part 3.

mtwentz wrote:Instead of one central mystery, there are numerous interlocking mysteries (what is Doppelcoop after, who is trying to kill DoppelCoop, what is the thing in the box, where did Laura go, etc?). So the sense of mystery is still there, however the plot is much more complex (and thus much richer) this time.

The original show had many interlocking plotlines as well, but it was that central hook that tied them all together which caused people to pay attention. This show has mysteries, but Lynch has gone out of his way not to develop any of them (yet), and they're not as relatable to casual fans. We know the same amount as we did the first week. The central mystery, I guess, is who is behind this all and what is Evil Coop's ultimate goal (hopefully not to be just a drug kingpin hanging out with scum). The original show intrigued people because it melded surrealism and traditional soap opera storytelling. This is just surrealism and absurdist elements, which is fine, but it's also not even that weird to be honest. The interest in 1990 was because none of us had been exposed to anything like that before. Today weird and dark elements on a TV show are nothing new, and it's being met with indifference.

I would say the original show was much simpler and more accessible than the new one. So, if the reaction is the same, audiences have changed.

This new show has a ridiculous number of plot threads (sometimes just a single scene), the original series was nowhere near that: everything took place in Twin Peaks, at the very least.

All I'm saying is it will probably take some time until season 3 gets its full appreciation, just as it was the case with the original series. And that it's not surprising so many people feel perplexed by season 3. It was the same for season 1.

BTW I wouldn't be surprised if at the end of season 3 all (or *almost* all) (sub)plots will tie together so it is just one, big story. While the original series had a lot of subplots that could've been left out without changing the main story. So, the original series could've been much more convoluted than season 3 in the end.

Low Entropy wrote:I can only speak for Germany, but it's interesting how the reaction of viewers towards season 3 mirrors the reaction to the original series back then.
Before the series aired, everyone was excited. 'A new TV show is coming, that is bizarre, surreal, different to the other stuff on TV'. Then the first episodes aired and people were perplexed and felt let down. And then the red room happened, and the Man From Another Plane and Bob, and people lost it. 'What the heck is this? This is just nonsense, I can't make anything out of it, Lynch must be fooling us'.
Yes, a core audience loved it, like today with season 3. But keep in mind the original show was cancelled due to poor ratings. It was only years after that twin peaks turned into a wide-spread cult phenomenon. I think the same will happen. It might take years until Twin Peaks season 3 gets the appreciation it deserves.

That's incorrect. It was a cult phenomenon at the beginning. The question "Who killed Laura Palmer?" was as popular as "Who shot JR?". The show lost its viewers when it became more a soap opera than anything else (it was always a soap opera, but it went too far), and it lost everything at the revelation of who murdered Laura.
The show was saved, and lived in the history of TV, thanks to its very last episode. Without it we would not have a season 3, and probably not even so many fans. S2E29 built over S1 and made the initial cult - by then faded - into the eternal cult we see now.


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People need to keep their expectations in check or better have none. They can always write their own script and film their TV series.

yaxomoxay wrote:

Low Entropy wrote:I can only speak for Germany, but it's interesting how the reaction of viewers towards season 3 mirrors the reaction to the original series back then.
Before the series aired, everyone was excited. 'A new TV show is coming, that is bizarre, surreal, different to the other stuff on TV'. Then the first episodes aired and people were perplexed and felt let down. And then the red room happened, and the Man From Another Plane and Bob, and people lost it. 'What the heck is this? This is just nonsense, I can't make anything out of it, Lynch must be fooling us'.
Yes, a core audience loved it, like today with season 3. But keep in mind the original show was cancelled due to poor ratings. It was only years after that twin peaks turned into a wide-spread cult phenomenon. I think the same will happen. It might take years until Twin Peaks season 3 gets the appreciation it deserves.

That's incorrect. It was a cult phenomenon at the beginning. The question "Who killed Laura Palmer?" was as popular as "Who shot JR?". The show lost its viewers when it became more a soap opera than anything else (it was always a soap opera, but it went too far), and it lost everything at the revelation of who murdered Laura.
The show was saved, and lived in the history of TV, thanks to its very last episode. Without it we would not have a season 3, and probably not even so many fans. S2E29 built over S1 and made the initial cult - by then faded - into the eternal cult we see now.


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In the U.S., I think the tipping point for the original series was the opening scene of Season 2 with the old waiter and the Giant. That was the beginning of the transition of Twin Peaks from a mass to a cult phenomenon.

This new series has made no attempt to appeal to the masses- this is Lynch and Frost following their artistic integrity and creating something really awesome, but which requires a lot of investment in the original series and FWWM to understand all the subtleties.

I also remember vividly the original run. Lynch and Frost created something that blew people's minds. It was different from anything else on TV. It was a soap opera with a surrealist edge, which even had a show-within-a-show Soap that everyone watched. 25 years later most of the innovations of Twin Peaks have become part of the TV landscape. So what are Lynch and Frost to do? Re-create completely the 1990 version of Twin Peaks? They are moving the bar today as much as they did back then and that is turning off the people who just wanted Twin Peaks: Redux.

mtwentz wrote:

yaxomoxay wrote:

Low Entropy wrote:I can only speak for Germany, but it's interesting how the reaction of viewers towards season 3 mirrors the reaction to the original series back then.
Before the series aired, everyone was excited. 'A new TV show is coming, that is bizarre, surreal, different to the other stuff on TV'. Then the first episodes aired and people were perplexed and felt let down. And then the red room happened, and the Man From Another Plane and Bob, and people lost it. 'What the heck is this? This is just nonsense, I can't make anything out of it, Lynch must be fooling us'.
Yes, a core audience loved it, like today with season 3. But keep in mind the original show was cancelled due to poor ratings. It was only years after that twin peaks turned into a wide-spread cult phenomenon. I think the same will happen. It might take years until Twin Peaks season 3 gets the appreciation it deserves.

That's incorrect. It was a cult phenomenon at the beginning. The question "Who killed Laura Palmer?" was as popular as "Who shot JR?". The show lost its viewers when it became more a soap opera than anything else (it was always a soap opera, but it went too far), and it lost everything at the revelation of who murdered Laura.
The show was saved, and lived in the history of TV, thanks to its very last episode. Without it we would not have a season 3, and probably not even so many fans. S2E29 built over S1 and made the initial cult - by then faded - into the eternal cult we see now.


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In the U.S., I think the tipping point for the original series was the opening scene of Season 2 with the old waiter and the Giant. That was the beginning of the transition of Twin Peaks from a mass to a cult phenomenon.

This new series has made no attempt to appeal to the masses- this is Lynch and Frost following their artistic integrity and creating something really awesome, but which requires a lot of investment in the original series and FWWM to understand all the subtleties.

I agree that the waiter's scene was pivotal.


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