NON SPOILERS: Twin Peaks: Season 3 on Showtime Thread

[Ross]

I think it matters to Lynch personally though. He was extremely hurt by the initial reaction to FWWM.

And while I agree name recognition will get people at first, there still needs to be enough promotion for the general public to know about it. There are still plenty of people right now that have no clue it's coming back in may.

[N. Needleman]

I'm all for more promotion. I'm just not sure bigger promos will happen beyond the type we have right now.

[Snailhead]

The cast list is what has me most excited about what's to come. The majority of the key players are returning, and most of the new additions are very strong actors. It'll be great to spend time with characters who didn't appear in FWWM ...

[BEARisonFord]

I think you, almost everyone, are really overestimating the power of the critics. Who really watch something based on what a critic liked? Almost no one. I know there's some people, but in this day and age, people are watching things based on what people like and what comes in their way, not based on what *critics* like. I do think one of the things Nevins meant by saying "this show will be unconventional in every way" are going to be in the way they market it, by *not* giving it to critics. Because you don't need that in 2017. It's the old kind of marketing.

I don't really have the energy to debate the merits of whether or not critical acclaim is still relevant these days other than to say : I disagree, and I would question the metrics you're using to measure that it's not.

If critics weren't important, you quite simply wouldn't see an effort to have any of these prestige shows reviewed, much less in advance. Are reviews personally integral to my viewing enjoyment? Not always. Do I understand that a fair amount of people still give lots of weight to what someone else thinks before they check something out? Absolutely. There is still good business in being well-reviewed. It leads to more buzz around the proverbial watercooler. Girls isn't necessarily a "successful" show from a numbers perspective, but for awhile, it was a big talking point amongst every media outlet, leading to a whole lot more exposure for both the show and the network. This is/was good for all parties involved.

I'll go back to my original point, which still stands: I believe you will see an effort by Lynch/Frost/Showtime, however minimal, whether it's a full episode(s) or a 20 min sizzle reel, to get this show in front of some people before it airs. This is pretty standard industry stuff.

[mtsi]

I'll never get the mixed appeal of FWWM.... I saw it on opening day and loved it....the dark journey, the catharsis, the redemption. All there in crystalline. I thought it was brilliant. I believe it still.


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[Sidgwick]

As a father with a very time-consuming job, which drives much of my personal viewing - and a wife with a disposition to sleep on command - I am unabashed in letting critics shape our viewing habits. I don't have time to take a risk, and I gather most others don't either.

They're usually right, is the thing. The backlash we speak of re: FWWM...do we see that anymore? I'm not convinced. At least not on my go-to sites.

I'm not mindless - the graphic on Netflix drew me to Stranger Things, and I persevered with True Detective S2, even though it was (rightly) panned.

But critical acclaim - whether directly or indirectly, via the buzz it generates - is a very powerful tool, for the cynical at least.

Then again, The Walking Dead gets horrible reviews and massive numbers. So maybe I'm full of it.

[BEARisonFord]

Then again, The Walking Dead gets horrible reviews and massive numbers. So maybe I'm full of it.

There will always be exceptions to the rule. TWD, like Star Wars, is essentially a cultural phenomenon that has transcended critical acclaim. TWD has gotten such big numbers, they were somehow able to maintain an enormous, manipulative cliffhanger from their last season and parlay that into a gigantic season premiere that no one saw before it aired. That's a rare luxury, and one that I highly doubt Twin Peaks has.

[Soolsma]

I think the show will do good with critics. (near) Universal acclaim doesn't seem entirely out of the question.

[BEARisonFord]

I think the show will do good with critics. (near) Universal acclaim doesn't seem entirely out of the question.

I don't know, both David Lynch and Twin Peaks have always been very polarizing with critics (and fans for that matter). I have fairly open expectations, but it wouldn't shock me if season 3 followed suit.

[Soolsma]

I'm very aware of that. A combination of factors gives me the feeling that this will do better than the average Lynch production; the very able cast, what's maybe the most legendary cult director, the open-mindedness of today's TV landscape.

Also, I think that the world of TP has always been one of the more accessible and streamlined of Lynch's (and have to give Frost a major credit here) worlds. It's not one person's psychotic fugue or nightmare we are traversing through, it's a way more diverse space, with quirky little odds and ends to relate to.

[BEARisonFord]

I'm very aware of that. A combination of factors gives me the feeling that this will do better than the average Lynch production; the powerful cast, what's maybe the most legendary cult director, the open-mindedness of today's TV landscape.

Well, I hope you're not disappointed then!

[Soolsma]

To be completely honest, I don't care much about how well it's received by people who are proclaimed to be the leading expertise on what's quality or not. To be precise, about a rat's ass worth.
I use review aggregators like rottentomatoes quite often and think that general consensus there is usually something I can relate to. However, I also find that a lot of times they are blatantly wrong. This can be due to bias created by overhyping, the general love for chewed-out and not-too-complicated storylines or the chronic state of aesthetic xenophobia most of human kind seems to be in.

[indyit]

I think it's very likely there will be early press screeners at least to the top publications and websites with an embargo to only release reviews on the day of or day before the premiere. They will get all four eps, similar to what other new shows do so critics can get a feel of the show and give a better well-rounded opinion. There will be all sorts of restrictions depending on the embargo day. Maybe only day after for all four, day of or day before for the premiere.

I think we're getting all four at once cause that's what critics were gonna get.

[ForKeeps]

I know several people whom, despite my love for them, won't go see a movie unless it gets critical praise in advance. It is what it is.

It isn't my only metric, but it is usually the first thing I consider when deciding how to portion out my time and money among the movies out there (of course, I live in NYC, where the options are almost limitless and the tickets expensive). That is to say, the consensus of a certain segment of professional critics who have a track record of being thoughtful and having similar tastes to mine. My preferences are arcane enough and my taste picky enough, I guess, that listening to my friends and family and co-workers, or to Joe and Jane Internet, isn't a very good indicator for me. If I listened to those folks, even the ones I love, I would never watch any Hou Hsiao-hsien films but I would go to every Transformers movie.

Not to say I don't love a good stuff-go-boom blockbuster, but even there I find smart critics are a pretty good filter separating the blah ones from the ones that stand out.

But again, we originally began this discussion by talking about reviews coming out before the premiere. A television premiere and a movie premiere are two very different things in 2017. A movie, generally, lives or dies based on it's opening. Here's the quote from Nevins I referenced earlier, from Variety:

Nevins no longer views the linear premiere as sacred, which explains Showtime’s tendency to offer its season premiere online ahead of their linear debut. “There’s nothing magical for us about getting people to watch it on premiere night,” he said.

Doesn't mean that ratings aren't important, but a show with a built-in profile like TP and the desire to keep the plot a total mystery, I think that outweighs any slight benefit in "day of" ratings you might get from some positive reviews (which, btw, you can't guarantee any more than I can guarantee the show will be a big success).

[djerdap]

Yeah, the conversation totally diverged from the original point, which is that I doubt there will be any reviews released before the premiere.

Of course critical acclaim is important.