Twin Peaks: Season One- Review

I feel as though I'll be crucified for this review here. I am fully aware of how praised this series is within the community and not only that, just about anyone that I've spoken to who has indulged in it. For me, looking back on this first season has proven to be nothing more than a seedy and experimental mystery series with David Lynch's input. If you've read my review for Blue Velvet, you'll understand that I don't have an overly positive relationship with it. That being said, Twin Peaks could pretty much go hand in hand with Blue Velvet in the way that it is constructed and that it makes absolutely no sense at all.

I also had conflicting expectations. One half me expected this show to be unique and compelling (as I was told it was), whilst the other half knew it would be dated. The latter is correct.

In the moderately small and close-knit town of Twin Peaks, the community is ruptured upon the discovery of a young teenager's body. As an investigation ensues, slapstick personalities emerge from the shadows and odd twists occur at every corner.

I wasn't particularly drawn to any characters and whether it was the intention or not, found them incredibly weird and uncomfortable to focus on. Particularly speaking, Kyle MacLachlan's role of Special Agent Cooper just sent me further into the creases of the couch. Here you have a man who is supposed to take his job seriously, yet walks into the Sheriff's station from time to time with a kazoo in his hand or a childish manner when asked about his role within the FBI. Then, on the other end of the completely bonkers scale; you've got Grace Zabriskie as Sarah Palmer, the grieving mother. She's meant to be upset and distraught, yet all she does is scream this weird scream. Half her dialogue is just a scream about nothing. At first I understood that she'd be screaming over death but now it's just at awkward intervals. In all honesty, I'd laugh every time she did that.

There's just a lot about this show that relies on its characters to support it. Granted, that seemed like a good idea in theory given that it focuses on a community and an event that would ultimately decide the fate of a close-knit environment. But with personalities that have no seriousness about them, how do you expect the show to unfold?

Yes, there were things I liked about this show. The only trouble is, I can count them on one hand. They included: The music, the red-based colour palette and Audrey Horne. Like any mystery show, you need a reasonable score to create a mood and atmosphere. So having sounds that added suspense, light-bulb moments or inevitable danger really worked to at least build some excitement. David Lynch seems to like his colour schemes being noticeable, so yes, I will mention that scene involving the red curtains and tiled floor. Finally, Sherilyn Fenn as Audrey Horne. No one really understands her, yet everyone knows she's beautiful and quirky. She worked with what she was given and somewhat made her more interesting than the other characters with that little bit of brood to her madness.

I have to come out and say it though, Twin Peaks is gross overhyped at the moment. The reason being I think is partly because of Riverdale. If no one has noticed, Mädchen Amick who played Shelly Johnson (the waitress), now plays Betty's mother in Riverdale. So you've got one fan base partly introducing themselves, plus the release of a third season of Twin Peaks. It was bound to happen anyway.

I tried incredibly hard to get into this show but as a viewer, I just didn't see a point to anything I was being subjected to. There were a few philosophical terms being used by Kyle MacLachlan too but even they had no basis on anything and ended up just evolving into one pathetic and stupid scene. Eight tedious episodes was hard enough, now I have to sit through season two (despite seeing various negative reviews regarding it too) to try and see whether anything gets better in my personal opinion.

If you liked this show, that's totally fine. I wasn't to remind you all that this is my review and my own opinion. If you're a fan of early '90s telly and/ or David Lynch, then you'll definitely get more out of this than I did.

Score: 4/10.