I’m not taking the credit (or blame, depending on your viewpoint) for this idea, I saw it on another site which I can’t remember just now. Anyway, a poster suggested that since a bunch of 90s era prime-time soap operas like “90210” and “Melrose Place” are getting the “Next Generation” treatment, why not Twin Peaks? In fact, there is already some basis for a new plotline - the last episode of “TP” ended on a cliffhanger with Agent Cooper’s spirit trapped in the Black Lodge, while ‘Bob’ possessed his body. Added to that is the epilogue tacked onto the end of the European cut of the TP pilot (it aired as a feature film in Europe) in which Cooper’s spirit is still in the Black Lodge 20 years after the murder of Laura Palmer. And guess what? It’s been 20 years since she’s been murdered.
So, let’s say “Twin Peaks: the Next Generation” begins with the premise that Bob still has control over Agent Cooper’s body. Bob-in-Cooper’s-body has been in hiding in the woods and eluded capture all these years, but at last comes out of hiding to murder a hapless, popular cheerleader. A new FBI agent comes to investigate, but so does Laura Cooper (Dale Cooper’s daughter, whose mother was the never-seen Diane back at HQ.) All her life, Laura has had dreams of her father being trapped in the Black Lodge, and now she intends to free him.
Making a new series certainly could be helped by the fact that most of the original cast aren’t doing much else these days. Admittedly, that has a lot to do with the fact that most of them were cast mainly for their good looks, rather than their acting abilities. But let’s bring back - Michael Ontkean as Sheriff Truman (who has long since been replaced as Sheriff, and is now a dissolute alcoholic), Peggy Lipton as Norma Jennings (she dumped both of the loser men she was involved with, sold the diner, and is now the star of an americana themed cooking show, famous for her trademark ‘damn fine cherry pie’), Dana Ashbrooke as Bobby Briggs (after the death of his father, he joined the military and has taken over his duties investigating UFO sightings in the northwest), Eric Da Rae as Leo Johnson (now a born-again fundamentalist minister and faith healer) and Grace Zabriskie as Mrs. Palmer (who takes over for the Log Lady as the local psychic flake.)
Bring in some new characters - Parker Posey can take over Piper Laurie’s role as the scheming, surly bitch character; Nathan Fillion can be the too-good-to-be-true new sheriff; and Thora Birch and Wes Bentley (both from “American Beauty”) to play the tortured lovers. Get Steve Buscemi in there as well as the new all-around bad guy.
I don’t see the name “Lynch” anywhere in the OP, and David Lynch was the… uh… lynch-pin that made Twin Peaks something special, and not just a warmed-over version of Falconcrest or some such other crap.
You couldn’t do it without him, and these days you couldn’t really do it with him.
It’s better to just never speak of a return to Twin Peaks again. It’s not Degrassi High.
I was walking home from work late one night, when the nearby streetlamps started flickering. I thought it’d be neat if a guy was walking through Twin Peaks at night, and all of the streetlamps in town began spitting and buzzing. The guy approaches the Double-R Diner, and that big Mar-T sign explodes in a fountain of sparks. He smiles and shouts, “Let’s Rock!”
As much as I love cherry pie with a damn fine cup of coffee, I don’t think we can ever revisit Twin Peaks. I doubt that Lynch would be interested in (or even capable of) recapturing the allure of the town. Also, many of the people involved have died… Bob can never climb over that couch again; Pete will never count another 2x4 or discover a fish in the percolator.
I guess we could still put a horse in the living room, though.
The risk of a continuation “reimagining” all that has gone before approaches absolute certainty. Twenty years of unanswered questions about my favorite TV show still haunt me, but at this late date, I prefer to let those unquiet spirits rest.
I’m a huge TP fan, and I actually kinda like the OP’s proposal. I’m still a little troubled that Dale Cooper is under Bob’s control. That just ain’t right. But it’ll be so hard to capture lightning in a bottle again that I’m afraid it would just be a POS.
Is the European epilogue on YouTube or anywhere else?
I’ve been thinking that this Autumn, when it’s cool and dark outside and warmish inside, I might pick a day of the week and watch the series once a week. Maybe twice. Of course I’ll have some damn fine coffee, and possibly some cherry pie.
No, definitely not. “Twin Peaks,” up till Laura’s murderer(s) are revealed, is a unique work of art. I wouldn’t want anyone to try to capture that again; it wouldn’t work.
A couple of people have alluded to Mr. Lynch not being able to participate in such a project. Has something happened to him or are you just referring to his weirdness?
Aint it Cool mentioned that it is not totally out of the question, as Variety reported that the CW is going through other old material to find new shows:
Yeah, I’m a huge fan of Twin Peaks, but I’ve gotta say no. There’s no way to repcapture the spirit of that show without just feeling like a ripoff. It was too weird, too unique, too…well, Twin Peaks.
And it also doesn’t help that the trashy soaps that Twin Peaks was a sorta-satire of aren’t really popular anymore. That genre itself has changed a lot, and I don’t think the new style lends itself to pastiche and satire as much (especially since a lot of the new soaps are intentionally self-satirizing).