# Twin Peaks is popular on Netflix? What? I figured out why! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864 "2015-07-11T17:28:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/21 "2015-07-11T20:48:00Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I guess you had to be there. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The end of the New Wave years, and the beginning of Grunge and coffee house culture. The nation was fairly prosperous, and we were not yet in the Gulf War. Different time, different sensibilities. The year was 1990. The first McDonald’s opened in Moscow. Joe Piscopo was making standup audiences laugh from Council Bluffs to Omaha. And a little scamp named Bart Simpson was ten for only the third year in a row. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/22 "2015-07-11T20:50:55Z")
Sorry, but I love _Twin Peaks_. I wonder just how good it could have been if the network had just left it alone? ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/23 "2015-07-12T00:14:30Z")
My log does not judge. I watched it for the first time a couple years ago. It was pretty good, but it ended up deteriorating into complete non-sense. Still, while it lasted it had some fun quirky characters and bizarre situations. It was like X-Files before X-Files. _Fire Walk With Me_ was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Shooby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Shooby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shooby)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/24 "2015-07-12T00:33:04Z")
Twin Peaks was one of the most interesting shows of its eras, and maybe all time. It really let its characters be as weird as they wanted to be, like everyone’s own inner penchant for weirdness, but dialed up to 10. They’re all incredibly memorable - I’ve only gone through the series once, maybe 10 years ago, but their personality quirks still stick with me. Most shows of the time were cookie-cutter paint-by-numbers formulas, but Twin Peaks demolished that paradigm and created something wonderfully original. I’m excited about the new series coming up, but in this current golden age of TV, it probably won’t be important or influential as it was back then. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/25 "2015-07-12T01:03:56Z")
“It’s happening again.” ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/26 "2015-07-12T01:31:13Z")
“The owls are not what they seem.” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/27 "2015-07-12T01:38:43Z")
When it came out, it was a revelation from the very first episode (I especially remember one particular moody scene which was lit so you just saw the characters’ faces). The slow pacing was deliberate and there was a sense of foreboding and even madness from the very start. The characters were all very strange (except maybe for Sheriff Truman) and it reveled in it. The dialog also was nothing like anything on TV, either before and since: evocative and mysterious and funny in odd ways. And there was a fish in the percolator. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/28 "2015-07-12T02:36:00Z")
I’ve never really watched it or been into it, but I’ve been very aware (sorry) of its existence as a sort of cult-favorite just from reading various comments and stories about it over the years. I’ve also known a lot of musicians who liked to reference it for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/29 "2015-07-12T03:37:40Z")
I mean, am I reading too much into it to think the ugly titles in the opening sequence are very much an intentional move to underline the way the opening sequence shots are both perfectly typical of a certain genre of TV popular at the time AND perfectly creepy? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/30 "2015-07-12T06:49:40Z")
I believe that the show was actively trying to make fun of the rest of the TV at its time, with the bad acting, hackneyed characters, etc. So while I can understand getting turned off by the cheese-factor, I think if you realize that that’s intentional and meant to be laughed at, you’ll experience the show a lot different. Like, you could go to your first play and complain that there’s no set and the actors talk to the audience instead of each other, and that would be a fair criticism as a comparison to modern day, big budget production film, but that’s not a comparison you should be making when you watch a play. The experience changes depending on what you expect it to be like and what the intention of the producers was. That all being said, you start to get a sense for where the writers are stalling for time and inserting cheese for the sake of padding when you watch Twin Peaks. If you let your intuition guide you, you can hit the fast forward button pretty liberally and get a much better show. I’ve probably watched the whole thing three times, and only the first time did I watch the whole thing. Subsequently, probably 40-50% got skipped. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/31 "2015-07-12T10:40:59Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Yeah that kind of thing I can overlook because of technology limitations (although even so), but what is hard for me to stomach, and I find is the case with most old shows is they just **over-act** the hell out of everything. I don’t think there was any general trend towards overacting any more than now. I can’t stand most modern popular TV and movies because every emotion is laid on with a shovel. A wheelbarrow. A dump truck. Twin Peaks was deliberately over-acted because it added to the weird atmosphere for which Lynch was aiming. Avant garde art (such as Twin Peaks) is not safe: it tends to walk a fine line between genius and dreck. The best moments of Twin Peaks are unforgettable. The worst moments make you want to cringe behind the sofa. It had more of the latter than the former, but the best moments were just magic. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/32 "2015-07-13T19:00:53Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Then I saw the scene with the midget dancing around a room to smooth jazz and thought, “ah yes, it’s that David Lynch”. “Where we’re from, the birds sing a pretty song… and there’s always music in the air.” ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/33 "2015-07-13T19:56:48Z")
People adore Twin Peaks to little bitty pieces. I watched it late in life, and then rewatched it recently, and it is fucking _weird_. And not that good, really. But Kyle Maclaughlin is pretty amazing and it is worth watching a few episodes with him. The show gets progressively weirder and nothing ever really makes sense or fits, really. Where you get fooled is that it’s just this side of reality; you could almost believe they are in the same universe. But that’s wrong. A better way to watch it is to realize it’s a different universe and accept it on those merits. Or just not watch it at all. Lots of good shows out there. “Damned good coffee. Damned good pie.” Oh and the credits are way too damn long. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/34 "2015-07-13T21:03:17Z")
You gotta love the little old Meals on Wheels lady with the creepy creamed corn kid. “My grandson is studying…MAGIC!” ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/35 "2015-07-13T21:26:15Z")
Here’s the [Twin Peaks title sequence](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTkDlfuhlVA) done completely in paper, for no good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/36 "2015-07-13T22:09:13Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Here’s the [Twin Peaks title sequence](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTkDlfuhlVA) done completely in paper, for no good reason. Except for the reason of _kicking total ass!_ _“What kind of two-bit operation are you running out of this treehouse?”_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/37 "2015-07-14T01:54:54Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Oh and the credits are way too damn long. The opening sequence? No, it’s the perfect length–just as long as that song and in 1990 it was like gently slowing your life down to Twin Peaks pace. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/38 "2015-07-14T02:05:55Z")
The Twin Peaks opening is the only opening song I don’t fast forward through\*. I think it’s fine, and fits the mood really well. - Well, Adventure Time too, but that song is like 15 seconds so by the time I find the right place to skip to it’s over. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/39 "2015-07-14T02:35:45Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > “The owls are not what they seem.” I was never into the show and had not been watching it regularly, but when I happened to catch the episode that had that line, I knew definitively that it wasn’t for me. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864/40 "2015-07-14T02:48:01Z")
But did you ask the log if it was for you? I thought so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-peaks-is-popular-on-netflix-what-i-figured-out-why/724864.md?page=3)