NON SPOILERS: Twin Peaks: Season 3 on Showtime Thread

[SpookyDollhouse]

Episodes 3 and 4 got a 0.04 / 195,000 rating according to Showbuzz Daily. Disappointing but obviously most fans streamed the episodes ahead of time. The real test is next Sunday's ratings, but this does not bode well for any additional seasons after this. Sigh.... I will have to be happy with these 18 but part of me hoped that popularity would follow and Lynch would be inspired to keep creating in this world for years to come.

I'd hope it does well enough to strengthen Lynch's relationship with Showtime in hopes of more original movies/shows from him outside Twin Peaks. He's got them in the palm of his hand as his TV arthouse venue.

[Hockey Mask]

How exactly do they figure ratings on a show like this? It seems to be playing several times a week on Showtime and is available On Demand.

I understand Showtime is more interested in subscriptions than ratings but do they tally ratings only on the initial viewing?

[Twink Peaks]

[Hockey Mask]

Sounds like a spoiler.

[mtwentz]

That report looks to be little more than unfounded speculation.

[SpookyDollhouse]

Total speculation but like

what if

what if

[AgentEcho]

The reactions have been interesting. Honestly there would be something amiss if there weren't polarizing reactions, but it's interesting that the disparity has been greater among fans than critics, who largely seem on board. Some people hated the first two episodes and loved the next two. Some vice versa. I'm personally liking it so far but thought 3=4, at least on initial reaction, was so far the weakest works Lynch has directed in the TP franchise. I will most certainly watch all four episodes again before episode 5 airs and perhaps my opinion will change a bit. And of course it almost certainly will change once I've seen how the entire series plays out. I always find people are too quick to rush to judgement with episodic series with many chapters left to air.

3 too?! I can see that reaction with 4, which had some weak spots and was generally the most low-key entry so far (though there was some brilliant stuff in there too). But the first 35 minutes or so of 3 are among the boldest visual work Lynch has ever done with some gloriously trippy conceits, dazzlingly executed. Are you just considering 3/4 as one unit in your head, having watched it all together?

Oh I agree about the beginning of episode 3... I absolutely loved every part of it. And you are correct, my first viewing was a four hour binge so episodes 3 and 4 started to blur together a bit.
I'll also say after a second viewing my opinion of the episodes improved a bit. And it wasn't necessarily negative to begin with. Any negative impressions I have so far I'm willing to re-evaluate when the whole thing is over.

[David Locke]

I seem to recall a poster here theorizing that, after The Return came out with its likely alienating Lynchian qualities, it'd only make the original series (and even FWWM) seem older, further away, as if preserved in amber.

That's basically what's happened. The original series has always been deeply nostalgic and warm and cozy, a place one enjoys immersing themselves in, but it's even more like that now, now that we have the colder and harsher Return to compare it to.

I'm actually watching Episodes 5 and 6 right now, the old Peaks, and it's just crazy how different it is in every way from the new episodes. I mostly love the Return but I totally get why people have a hard time letting go of that intoxicating aura of the old Peaks. There's little to no of the soap-opera aspect in the new episodes (and I don't mean soap as a pejorative). And the beautiful, warm orange-red-brown cast to so much of the original series, plus its more mobile, fluid camera-work, couldn't be more different from the often cold/sterile digital look of the new episodes, which are also full of static master shots and wide shots instead of going in closer.

[LostInTheMovies]

I seem to recall a poster here theorizing that, after The Return came out with its likely alienating Lynchian qualities, it'd only make the original series (and even FWWM) seem older, further away, as if preserved in amber.

That's basically what's happened. The original series has always been deeply nostalgic and warm and cozy, a place one enjoys immersing themselves in, but it's even more like that now, now that we have the colder and harsher Return to compare it to.

I'm actually watching Episodes 5 and 6 right now, the old Peaks, and it's just crazy how different it is in every way from the new episodes. I mostly love the Return but I totally get why people have a hard time letting go of that intoxicating aura of the old Peaks. There's little to no of the soap-opera aspect in the new episodes (and I don't mean soap as a pejorative). And the beautiful, warm orange-red-brown cast to so much of the original series, plus its more mobile, fluid camera-work, couldn't be more different from the often cold/sterile digital look of the new episodes, which are also full of static master shots and wide shots instead of going in closer.

It's interesting how it contrasts with FWWM too; FWWM is much darker than the original series, but certainly not colder. This indicates that perhaps Lynch has moved onto a "third stage" (maybe a fourth or fifth depending how we categorize Eraserhead, Elephant Man, and Dune), especially when we consider the static/ambient nature of The Missing Pieces. More Things That Happened may be the first indicator of this style (though it feels a bit more hypnotic, and more reliant on close-ups than masters).

Inland Empire itself works both as a culmination of the earlier now-"middle" period but also a pivot to the later one - since it's digital, less overtly romantic, and, perhaps most significantly of all, his first feature since Wild at Heart not edited by Mary Sweeney.

Another interesting thing to consider: Lynch's only major work edited without Sweeney between the killer's reveal in '90 and Mulholland Drive in '01 was the Twin Peaks s2 finale. Which is probably the closest the original series ever comes to feeling like The Return.

In this context,

Spoiler:

the "purple" sequence in pt. 3, despite feeling like a radical step forward in Lynch's aesthetic, is also in a sense more of a callback to his early digital work which still tapped into the impressionistic, dreamy vibe of his post-FWWM celluloid films.

[djerdap]

While I exactly know what you're thinking in terms of style, I don't think "cold" is the right word though, since there is plenty of emotion to be found (and will be found) in Cooper's journey. Maybe more clinical.

[mtwentz]

. I mostly love the Return but I totally get why people have a hard time letting go of that intoxicating aura of the old Peaks. There's little to no of the soap-opera aspect in the new episodes (and I don't mean soap as a pejorative). And the beautiful, warm orange-red-brown cast to so much of the original series, plus its more mobile, fluid camera-work, couldn't be more different from the often cold/sterile digital look of the new episodes, which are also full of static master shots and wide shots instead of going in closer.

And it's important to emphasize again, this is relatively small minority of die hard Peaks fans who have not been able to enjoy the new series. They are more notable by who they are (long time posters to this and other forums) than by their actual numbers.

[Shadow In My House]

I agree that the term 'cold' feels incorrect. Despite the more detached tone and the absence of coral filters there are many moments of warmth to be found here - both thematically and stylistically. 'Clinical' is better. Despite having a wholly signature style, his love of Kubrick and Tati has never felt more pronounced.
So far, the new season - whilst being a somewhat incremental evolution in Lynch's most recent work from a visual and directorial standpoint - feels more like a career spanning summation.

[dkenny78]

Episodes 3 and 4 got a 0.04 / 195,000 rating according to Showbuzz Daily. Disappointing but obviously most fans streamed the episodes ahead of time. The real test is next Sunday's ratings, but this does not bode well for any additional seasons after this.

Absolutely agree that this Sunday's episode will be critical and very telling as to how the rest of the run will play out. I really really do think they bungled the release strategy for this. The reviews are largely positive, many of them ecstatic, and the social media conversation is extensive. If this were on Netflix, Amazon or Hulu, it would be considered an unprecedented hit. But I fear a whole summer of bad ratings will overshadow a lot of the positive buzz.

[Panapaok]

Content advisories for parts 9-12 are up:

Part 9: Adult Content, Adult Language, Violence
Part 10: Graphic Language, Adult Content, Violence
Part 11: Adult Content, Adult Language, Violence, Nudity
Part 12: Adult Content, Adult Language, Violence

[N. Needleman]

Nobody cares about the ratings. They care about the prestige and buzz. The show has plenty. Plus it's not in a ratings war or fighting for a renewal - it's a closed series designed to end. I think if Lynch/Showtime decide to do more the numbers will not be a huge factor. What I've heard for years and the talk Showtime is still pushing is that this is about prestige and perception for them, and the online streaming/subscription numbers certainly help as well.

And no - I don't think its numbers would be much higher on Netflix/wherever, only that we wouldn't know them.