Caffeinated Clint
Couple of clock movements ago, Showtime – and those kids who wet-their-pants while doing the retweet dance – let us know “Twin Peaks” was returning to the air… some 402 years after it first aired.. or something.
This new 9-episode ‘mini’ series, which will reunite most of the cast but predominantly creators David Lynch and Mark Frost, will likely be part-sequel, part-reboot (despite what they say) and so won’t follow on from the events of the show’s second season. Yes, it’ll tie-up what happened to Cooper after he made love that mirror with his forehead, and it might even let us know whether Audrey Horne is still both alive and horn[e]y, but it won’t be so much a season three as it will be.. something new. Think a ‘very cool’ ‘Next Generation’.
But what if CBS had renewed “Twin Peaks” for that third season waybackwhen? Was there a plan in motion, storyline-wise, just in case those ratings had picked up in time for a “OKay, last shot guys” from the network brass?
You bet. And that’s exactly why Season 2 ended on a cliffhanger – Frost, Lynch, and EP/writer Bob Engels didn’t want to give ABC any other choice but to renew the show.
Which they didn’t.
But thankfully, we got about 12 seasons of the Henson-produced “Dinosaurs”.
But I digress, what was that third season going to be about? Was it mapped out like a Bookhouse Boys mission?
I dug up an old interview I did with Engels – which was largely about prequel feature “Fire Walk With Me” – and realized he’d actually shared quite a lot with us in terms of future “Twin Peaks” storylines. Will some of these happenings make their way into the new ‘thing’? Maybe… or not. Still, interesting. (And yes, Audrey Horne lives – according to Engels, anyway).
The bank bombing. Who would’ve made it out of alive?
“Audrey survived”, Engels said, suggesting Sherilyn Fenn wasn’t going anywhere (even if her film career was crackling away at the time). “They all survived”.
The main story of the third season? Doppelgangers.
“That world of doppelgangers and a reality that’s just behind another reality – there can be another Audrey – that was the area I would’ve liked to have explored.”
Any more on Audrey? Yes, there was!
“I think it was Harley Peyton who thought up the idea of Audrey being pregnant”, Engels said.
A jump-in-time scenario was planned for Season three
“We discussed the idea of going ten-years forward… the screen would say ‘Ten Years Later’ and all the characters would be doing different things.” It’s very likely, I think, that element will make it into the new show (‘Duh, Clint’).
So there’s that.
And here’s this bit (remember, this is from a few years ago) :
Caffeinated Clint : Would you ever like to return to ”Twin Peaks”?
Bob Engels : Oh sure. It’s a funny thing… I think if we could figure out a way to do it, I think everybody would have fun going back. You just don’t want to do Return to Mayberry. It’d be a miracle to get the whole group back together again but I think, all things being equal, they’d say ‘I’m in’. I certainly would.
Caffeinated Clint : I know David has said in interviews that ‘Twin Peaks is still there’ and that he still thinks of it, so that’s what makes me think one day he might..
Bob Engels : Completely. I get a call once every six months or so from someone asking, ‘What do you think about doing Twin Peaks again?’ but it’s not my call. If David and Mark are in, then yes.
Caffeinated Clint : So these people calling – are they fans? Studio execs?
Bob Engels : Both fans and the network. The network will come to me and say ‘What do you think about this?’ Thing is, all the writers and directors from the show have gone to have nice careers, and none of them will want to come back and do, as I said, Return to Mayberry. When people think of Twin Peaks they usually think of it as this show about a town full of weird people… and that it was quirky. But I think what they’re forgetting is that it also had a lot of heart. There was so much emotion to it. It’s a quirky town, sure, but there’s so much more in it – and it gets lost when people try to revisit that.
While it’s ultimately down to Lynch who resurrects “Twin Peaks” – so no surprise to see he’s totally captaining the new tug – you might also recall another crowd trying to relaunch the brand about a decade ago.
Phoenixmedia announced plans to make another “Twin Peaks” movie – to follow “Fire Walk With Me” – called “A Thousand Angels”. The project quickly went away, likely the moment Lynch got wind of it.
Interesting, exciting times… a new “Twin Peaks” coming 2016. Never thought I’d see the day.
