The Twin Peaks Season 3 discussion thread! [SPOILERS]

As you might've heard, 25 26 years later, "it is finally happening again"

Twin Peaks is coming back for a 3rd season, and it starts this Sunday! (May 21st)

Giantbomb actually introduced me to Twin Peaks through the Deadly Premonition ER, and I think that may be the case for some of the other site members too.

So, will you be watching? Are you excited? Personally I've been preparing myself for this by re-watching the original series again, by listening to the audiobook of The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and by watching Fire Walk with Me for the first time (which I think is an INCREDIBLE experience by itself, by the way) Apparently Lynch has also said that FWWM will be vital to understanding the upcoming season. I'm also planning to make a painting per episode like I did for Game of Thrones previous season (which I'll post in a separate thread of course)

I have a feeling that this season is going to be much darker (somewhat like the movie) and will be more about the mysteries of the Black Lodge, the "evil in the woods" and the secrets of the town of Twin Peaks and its connections to these other worlds. I hope they retain the goofy side of the show too, though.

So this is the place where we can have discussions about the 3rd season as each episode is released. What are you most excited to see again?

Soon. Soooooon. Soon!

Can't fucking wait!!!

Shit, had no idea it was actually out this weekend! Suddenly pretty excited to watch it, especially since Samurai Jack is the only other show I watch at the moment and it's ending this weekend.

I also only watched Twin Peaks after hearing so much about it during the Deadly premonition runs on the site. Super thankful for it too, since it wound up being one of my favourite shows, even despite all the lackluster stuff in season 2 (on rewatches, I enjoy skipping past James and the Big Shit Adventure, since that's the only part of season 2 I truly didn't enjoy).

As someone who thought "Old Snake" was one of the more interesting/unique parts in MGS4, I'm looking forward to an entire cast of Old Snakes this season. Still sad Catherine isn't coming back, and obviously the actors who've died over the years (Pete, Sgt. Briggs) since they were some of my favourite characters.

Prediction: this is going to be a huge mess; I have no faith in this turning out well. I know I've been saying this for every retread of a past work, but I especially mean it for this one. Just looking at the bad lighting/cinematography in that trailer made me lose all hope. This is coming from a huge David Lynch/Twin Peaks fan.

I really hope they use this as there new intro

I would like if they pulled some characters from David Lynch movies like Bill Pullman from the lost highway and some characters from mulholland drive into Twin Peaks. It's possible since he said there all from the same universe.

@teddie: Yeah I'm pretty thankful to the site for it as well, as it has influenced my tastes a lot and is my all time favorite TV show now. Micael Ontkean will be missed a lot in the new season (Sheriff Truman), sad he couldn't be a part of this :(

Some great characters passed away after completing the shooting for season 3, such as Albert and Doctor Hayward. Major Briggs was one of my favorite characters in the show, pity we won't get to see him again. But overall the number of returning cast is pretty great!

I agree that this is probably going to be much darker than the original show but I love that, for the most part, I really have no idea what to expect from this. I have absolute faith in David Lynch though. Can't wait.

cautiously optimistic- i'll wait to hear what the heat on the street is before i dive in. also i don't get showtime so i'm not sure how i'll watch it (probably purchase on itunes if available).

i hope it's good though. it's such a product of its era- i'm not sure if that story and those characters will survive the ravages of time.

I'm currently mainlining Season 2 again, having not seen it in... well... 25 years, I guess. And when I watched it first time round, I was sneakily watching it from the stairs when my parents thought I was in bed (I should not have seen some of that stuff at the age I was then).

Can't wait for this. @armaan8014, couldn't agree more that it looks way darker than the original - both visually and spiritually. The 'Familiar Faces' trailer gave me huge Silent Hill vibes... which I know is ridiculous since Twin Peaks so heavily influenced Silent Hill. But all those washed-out, broken people just shuffling around? Those gloomy, claustrophobic woods? So good.

@mellotronrules: if you have cable, I would try going to showtimeanytime.com and try to log in. I don't have Showtime either but for whatever reason, it lets me log in there and watch everything.

Super excited. I 'made' a thread about it yesterday, but then erased it since I felt I was rambling or could. Twin Peaks is on my mind a lot; been listening to the soundtrack a whole lot. I live relatively close to Twedes Cafe (a little less than an hour away) which is the real Double R Diner, but I've never been. I wanted to go there before this show was out, but that won't happen. I've always kind of known about Twin Peaks, but it wasn't until last summer where I watched it. I actually got Deadly Premonition due to my excitement for the new show, and yeah, it's a lot like it with its own quirkiness in spots. I didn't finish it but liked it more than I thought I would. Also, I tried watching as many David Lynch films as I could beforehand. Fire Walk with Me was the first, and I liked it. I wonder if due to it being on Showtime, the show will be more akin to the film in terms of what they show and just language. Currently, Twin Peaks, Alien Covenant, and Blade Runner are all on my mind and things from the past I'm glad are back. I would be excited for Star Trek, but I won't be able to watch it since I'm not signing up for the CBS All Access, which is just stupid the way they're doing it. I think it's super cool that they're bringing back Twin Peaks now, especially considering in the show, when they're in the red room and Laura Palmer says to Dale Cooper 'I'll see you again in 25 years."

@ntm: Yeah it's pretty great that it almost turned out as a prophecy. Also the dancing dwarf in the red room said "When you see me next, it won't be me" Crazy because he's not returning for this season, and might even have been re-cast!

That must've been pretty scary and .. worth it :D

Yeah! The atmosphere does look like that and I feel some people might be disappointed if it does end up being more of that and less like the previous seasons. Lynch is probably going to shake things up against people's expectations. Im just excited to be getting any TP at all!

Just watched a recap last night to refresh. That show was way fucking weirder than I remember.

It's going to be one of those things I'll need to see just to know. I can't imagine, given what modern TV is and what David Lynch can do can quite ... exist.

It's David Lynch and therefore it's going to be, in some form, worth watching.

I'm watching the twin peaks pilot right now. Let's see how much of this I can re-watch before I start the new season

I've seen all the episodes of Twin Peaks seasons 1 and 2 , but I have never seen "Fire Walk With Me." Is that worth watching before seeing season 3?

Also, I'm glad they got a chance to film Miguel Ferrer's part before he passed away.

@max_cherry: It is definitely worth watching but not necessary for season 3, although bits of it could tie into the 3rd season. It is much darker and experimental than the series, so it could be good idea to tip your toes in with FWWM since older Lynch has gotten, darker and more experimental his stuff has become. Now that that the rules of the old TV are not there...

@max_cherry: @charlie_victor_bravo: It is actually very necessary for season 3. Lynch has been quoted as saying the movie is very important to understanding the new season. It definitely introduces a few bits to the lore that I could see playing a pretty prominent part.

I have never seen it before and I'm watching the first episode as I type this.

While I love Twin Peaks and it's inhabitants very much, for me it's as simple as getting more David Lynch stuff. Btw I found the idle thumbs podcast brilliant regarding all previous Peaks: https://www.idlethumbs.net/twinpeaks/episodes

@max_cherry FWWM is a really good David Lynch film and among the very finest Twin Peaks content.

I am also gonna take this as an opportunity to display my new rug.

Oh jesus. That fucking little guy haunts my dreams

I haven't watched Twin Peaks in half a decade and I basically fell off as soon as the Laura Palmer mystery was solved.
I basically picked up where I left off today and am now desperately trying to catch up as soon as possible so I can watch the new episodes tomorrow (because, yo, I'm not waiting til 2am UK time for this show on a Sunday night when I have work in the morning).

At first I thought that jumping back in mid-season was a bad idea because I had no idea where all the B-plots were going but now I'm starting to realise that even the show has no idea where all it's B-plots are going.

Fortunately the buzz around S3 sounds pretty glowing so far.

I'm super excited for this, Back when it came out I bought the audiobook for The Secret History of Twin Peaks by Mark Frost and it was a really great way to get back into Twin Peaks. I did end up rewatching the first two season as well, but The Secret Histories adds a lot of strange new layers to the show that it never tried to expose. Really recommend anyone who's interested in the show to go check it out.

I get the impression that the vast majority of Twin Peaks "fans" are going to watch this new series without ever having seen Fire Walk with Me. The Netflix crowd wouldn't even know the movie exists. To those who have yet to see the film, lemme tell you this: despite what you might have heard about Fire Walk, it is not strictly a prequel to the show. In fact, if one were to watch the film prior to having seen both seasons of the show, they'd fuck themselves up and ruin the whole story.

On the other hand, to those who have seen both seasons but have yet to see the film, I can assure you that you never got the whole story. Far from it, in fact. And don't even get me started on Special Agent David Bowie. The film raised several questions but also gave some key answers. And its soundtrack is the best film score ever made, Guinness Book World Record.

Don't watch the new season until after you've seen the film.

@armaan8014: Hm, I didn't get your reply. It didn't show on the top of the screen. I just came back on to say... It's on tonight! I can't wait. Sucks I have to work right after...

@catarrhal: I'm curious to know how many people that reviewed the film professionally even saw the show, or even filmmakers that saw it that disliked it like Quentin Tarantino. The film originally got some huge backlash, but as a fan of the show, I liked it. The only difference is that the film is a bit darker in tone, and doesn't really have the awkward, funny moments the show does. It also uses an R rating since it's a film rather than a show on a channel that doesn't allow for overly explicit content, so some swearing and sexual content, which I actually appreciated (the pink room was one thing you wouldn't have gotten in the show). And yeah, people should watch this after watching the show because it gives away the answer to the biggest question the show poses, or the biggest advertised question anyways, which is who killed Laura Palmer. It's both a prequel and a sequel. I wanted to watch the film after I saw the show, but it wasn't free to watch anywhere and I didn't really want to buy it, but finally got to see it when it was free on Demand a few months back in the ramp up to this new show. The old shows are rerunning currently on Showtime actually, and I watched the first episode last night; it was interesting rewatching it after having watched the film, knowing what's going on.

Since most of us are excited about the upcoming season, I just want to share what I think is the best piece of Twin Peaks music ever.

4 1/2 hours to go!

I'm watching the first episode of season 1 now. I don't get it.

Man I think I'm ready to shelve the idea that I'll be watching this premiere along with everyone else because...I really wanna rewatch the series and then watch the movie which I've never seen. So this will take a week probably. I guess that's fine. Hopefully I can avoid spoilers.

@slaps2: Watch the first 3 episodes, if the end of episode 3 doesn't build towards something you find interesting then you probably won't like the rest of the show.

Well, Twin Peaks is back and it's legit. That's all I've ever wanted.

That was amazing.

I just kept thinking "How do you fuck up the xfiles?". Honestly parts of the premier felt like vintage Xfiles.

I'm impressed and very relieved.

That was not what I expected, and yet exactly what I wanted. I've watched the full four episodes that are currently out and I'm not really sure what else I can say at the moment. Like I mentioned previously, anyone who hasn't read or listened to The Secret Histories of Twin Peaks then it's worth it because there are a lot of hooks to it and Fire Walk With Me in these episodes. Also that was Jacques Renault (Walter Olkewicz) behind James at the bar so I guess look for previous cast cameos as the season goes on.

I love it so far! It seems a lot colder and creepier than the original series. Good balance of new and old. Lots of Eraserhead and Inland Empire vibes so far.

@slasktotten said:

I am also gonna take this as an opportunity to display my new rug.

I've got a new tee coming in the mail: (well, hopefully, crowdfunding is weird)

Well, I am quite happy right now.

Absolutely loved the first two episodes, and there are two more available online. Guess what, this David Lynch guy is pretty talented and can do creepy weird stuff like no one else. Still can't believe that after more than 25 years, not only did he agree to revive it, but also wrote and directed 18 freaking episodes.

Unfortunately, I had to go to work right when I was about to sit down to watch the two-part episode. I just finished it though, and now I'm going to start episode three and then after that go onto four. Thanks to @dynamix for pointing out that there's more to watch. This is a lot of Twin Peaks that they're bringing out.

Boy, those first two episodes sure did have a lot of nightmare fuel.

Wally is a total badass, his scene made me feel uncomfortable with how inadequate I am compared to him.

Just finished the 4th episode. Happy to see more of the quirkiness that made the original series so memorable. RIP Miguel Ferrer.

Also, the closing credits for each episode are simply amazing.

And now, a gruelling waiting period until the next new episode airs.

Alright, just finished watching the premiere. Haven't read anything about it yet. Some thoughts:

• As some of us were expecting, it's different - Darker, moodier, and more serious. This was apparent from the trailers and the fact that FWWM was being brought up repeatedly. Another thing making this feel so serious is the minimal use of soundtrack throughout, it's very quiet. Very different from the melodramatic style of the original seasons. Apart from just being different, it's modern - a natural evolution of the style. I loved the scene at the bang bang at the end, and the song! Very similar to "falling" and other songs from before, but a modern version.
• As for Cooper, most of us knew this, but it's still interesting. The doppelganger is out in the world and he must be brought in for the good Cooper to escape the lodge (or did he already leave there at the end?) The creators of the show have done something very interesting - they've taken something that they all know we love (Cooper) and turned it onto its head.
  Holding back what we love and in turn giving us the opposite (corrupted Cooper) could lend to a very emotional payoff at the end when the good Cooper does get out, and I do think it'll happen. We're all rooting for, pining for the beauty and the purity of the original series, and instead we're being given a lot of corruption and darkness in its place. It's the complete opposite of what everyone is in love with. Many viewers might be feeling that if Cooper escapes, we might get that beauty back. And I think that's the whole setup, and the goal of this new season. Of course, what do I know, it's only a theory! :)

@ntm: I'll have to wait until Friday to see episode 3&4 unfortunately. Hope I can avoid spoilers. How good was the whole red room bit though? The dwarf! "I am the arm and I sound like this - omnomom"

Finished episode four when I woke up this morning (almost fell asleep at the end of episode three last night [or more specifically, early this morning] since I was so tired). I feel like with a show like this, at least for me, there isn't much to discuss yet. It's good so far, but it feels like it's just getting better maybe. I really want the old 'damn fine cup of coffee' Dale Cooper back, and I want to see some of the old cast back. I think it's really cool how they didn't actually recast Harry S. Truman. Even if Michael Ontkean doesn't come back into the picture, at least it's not that jarring now. I feel like it's set up to say 'hey, you can still come back on', and the decision was made to have the split Truman's when they discovered Ontkean wasn't coming back. I don't know though. I like the dark side of Twin Peaks, but I also like the juxtaposition of the quirky humor and episode three and four had more of that than the first two.

I thought that too!! It canonically doesn't make sense, because that character is hells of dead. Maybe it's just a background joke that someone who looks exactly like him works there.

Yeah, right now, the FWWM callbacks are the most exciting parts to me. Who was evil Coop talking to on the FBI line that he thought was Jeffries? Also, referencing "blue rose" is more exciting to me than any anything else (character to otherwise) that has returned so far.

I feel like I just did acid after watching thumbs up.

Just finished all four episodes. Episode 3 was a complete fever dream and felt like an episode of a Silent Hill TV show. Episode 4 felt like a classic Twin Peaks episode with all the quirkiness and humor that you would expect. As always, there's no one better than David Lynch at nailing these completely disparate tonal shifts. As others have said, it's nothing like I expected it to be, which is exactly what I expected, if that makes any sense. So far, I love it and I'm very glad that I watched the movie again right before the premiere, it feels very essential.

Considering I've never watched the original show and would like to get into this, is that even possible without sitting down and watching the first two seasons? Or is season 3 a very loose continuation?

Don't.

Not only would that be a bad idea for nearly any show (it would spoil major plot points), but the story archs in TP are already so crazy that current plotlines would be 100% inscrutable.

Also, when Lynch is in prime Twin Peaks form, he is using the pacing to actively fuck with his audience. He did this a few times in old TP, but he toys with a slow pace much more here. For people that know the series, he's reeling you in and teasing you with bits and pieces of plot just to make you flare up with anticipation. For someone just randomly watching the show now, scenes will be STRAIGHT-UP BORING. I can't stress that enough.

Also, there are a lot of dead-ends and red herrings in the original run of Twin Peaks. Watching season 3 first will undo a lot of interest you have in seasons 1-2 characters and plotlines.

@humanity: You definitely need to watch the first two seasons and based on the direction the first few episodes have gone, the movie as well.