Part 11 - There's fire where you are going (SPOILERS)

[referendum]

re viewing figures

sure they are low but i know zero people who are watching it on showtime in europe - everyone is downloading it or watching it on Sky ( uk ) or whatever channel it is being shown on in their own country.

What the ACTUAL global viewing figures are is anyone's guess. We only have the showtime ones.

Like most people here i would love to see this go to a series 4 and if Showtime release a box DVD of this series i would definitely buy it, because i am watching it on download/rip ( cough) and want to show my appreciation of what Showtime/ Lynch have done by actually paying for it at some point.

Hopefully if they make enough from DVD sales a series 4 might have more chance of going ahead...as, I guess, would a few major awards.

i also think there is some merit in a limited cinema release for this, as a further money making exercise. i reckon a lot of people would go for a three or four night marathon on a big screen if such an ' cinema event' ( as opposed to ' event series') was attempted in a few large cities. I would, anyway.

[Jasper]

I would take those second week viewing figures with a grain of salt. People who got Showtime's streaming service could watch the first four episodes on the very first night! And most of them probably did (I didn't. I didn't want to go two weeks without seeing anything at all, so I only watched the first two episodes the first night, and the next two episodes a week later, but I'm sure I was in the minority). I think that's why the numbers for Eps 3-4 are so much lower than any other week. A lot of people had seen them already.

Yes, absolutely. I watched them all that night. I tried to save 3 & 4 for later, but after a little breather I went right back and watched them both. I imagine that if they hadn't been released early online, the ratings for 3 & 4 would have at least been in the ballpark of what we see for parts 5 through 8.

I watch it on HBO Nordic. One or two weeks ago (before Game of Thrones new season) HBO Nordic shared a post with the currently most streamed shows. Twin Peaks The Return was no 2 on that list.

Great news! Thanks.

[mtwentz]

That's pretty much how I perceive it as well. If Twin Peaks was just an assortment of bizarre and ultimately meaningless scenes, even if they possessed an artistic value, then it would not be very enjoyable. The great thing about it is that there are meanings, there is cause and effect, and there is a good reason to speculate about it all. We may be wrong most of the time, but it's not because the show is devoid of plot. It's just that it's so difficult to anticipate where it is going to go. I can't stress it enough that I am not trying to be negative about TPTR. I am enjoying it immensely. I am just worried that we are running out of time to explore all of the interesting threads that have been drawn out in various directions. I wish we knew that there is another season to go.

Don't get me wrong- I love the fact that Twin Peaks has a plot. Personally, I prefer Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Lynch's works that have a more coherent plot.

It's just that I also love certain scenes on their own, tasty diversions I would call them. Such scenes do not require a future 'payoff' in my opinion. Thus, if we never hear about the barfing girl in the car again, I will still love that scene.

[PeaksCarnivaleLost]

Parts 1 & 2 — 0.506
Parts 3 & 4 — 0.195
Part 5 — 0.254
Part 6 — 0.270
Part 7 — 0.294
Part 8 — 0.246
Part 9 — 0.355
Part 10 — 0.267 (Game of Thrones season 7 begins)
Part 11 — 0.219

huge bump after Pt 8. Definitely to be expected but they didn't seem to hold it. See if the time change on 8/6 gives it a boost. Too early for me but good to rewatch the same night.

[Nighthawk]

Don't get me wrong- I love the fact that Twin Peaks has a plot. Personally, I prefer Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Lynch's works that have a more coherent plot.

It's just that I also love certain scenes on their own, tasty diversions I would call them. Such scenes do not require a future 'payoff' in my opinion. Thus, if we never hear about the barfing girl in the car again, I will still love that scene.

I totally agree. Those little intangibles are great and it's perfectly fine if not all of them tie into the main plot.

[Nighthawk]

Based on what has transpired so far this season, I predict that Gordon Cole is headed inexorably to the Black Lodge. I wonder if he will be pivotal in freeing the remaining bit of Cooper's personality to make him whole again. I am afraid that Cole will have to sacrifice himself in order to do that, which he will if given a choice.

[Metamorphia]

Based on what has transpired so far this season, I predict that Gordon Cole is headed inexorably to the Black Lodge. I wonder if he will be pivotal in freeing the remaining bit of Cooper's personality to make him whole again. I am afraid that Cole will have to sacrifice himself in order to do that, which he will if given a choice.

Do you remember that clip from one of the trailers with Coop and a figure walking down a dark corridor/room? You would think with almost certainty now that it's Gerard, but Madchen Amick said "I think that's David Lynch!" in her trailer reaction video. Maybe?

[Metamorphia]

With regards to ratings, it's almost impossible to gauge how well it's doing. It is almost entirely based around the streaming figures (globally too, including how the partnerships with subscriptions to companies that directly/indirectly pay Showtime work).

The simple broadcast viewing figures really mean nothing. Totally different world of viewing television now for shows like this.

[PsychoFox]

Actually, are we sure that Steven is having an affair with Gersten ?

I think she looks motherly to him on the short picture we saw.

[sewhite2000]

I can't put together the logic of the many people who are saying this. Why would Becky shoot up her door if she's his mother? And the ages don't work out, unless Gersten had Steven like two years after she played piano for the Palmers.

[Taperecorder]

1. There's no reason all of the storylines should resolve. In real life everyone doesn't experience some neat little kind of resolve at the same time, if ever. Lynch famously either avoids resolution, or leaves resolution very much open to interpretation (just look at the various interpretations of the end of Blue Velvet).
2. The entire narrative arc was written ahead of time, over the course of years. They wrote the entire story they wanted to write, then Lynch filmed it, then cut it up and arranged it into "parts". There's not going to be an issue with Lynch having said "Sorry gang, I was so busy filming this stuff I didn't have time to film the whole story that we wrote, so I just stopped at 75%."
There's been a lot of concern along the lines of:
Oh my gosh! THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME!
THERE'S. NOT. ENOUGH. TIME!!!
They're telling the story they wanted to tell. The whole thing.

Hear, hear!

[Taperecorder]

This whole season has had an intentional b-movie vibe, which we saw most clearly in Part 8, but Part 11 also was full of b-horror references. The woodsmen are meant to be campy like a Bela Lugosi film.

Huh? That is not at all what I am getting from this TP:TR experience. Not at all. Please don't state your opinion as fact. Part 8 was the furthest thing from "an intentional b-movie vibe" to me. Part 8 was an unbelievably emotionally moving piece of art that I will never forget. It was one of the greatest things to grace television sets across the world. It went from stunning to creepy to sweet to horrifying. I state this as my opinion, not fact.

[Esselgee]

Honestly, I don't see this show getting much if any awards attention. It may be praised by critics and certain segment of viewers, but it doesn't seem to have the level of buzz that is usually associated with shows that get nominated for awards. I would compare it to HBO's "The Leftovers" where it is just too different for the tastes of most award voters. I think that show only got a few random acting nominations. I think the style of acting in this season of TP is not something that lends itself to being award worthy in itself. It may be able to squeak in a nomination for Kyle as a lead actor in a limited series, but I think that's even a long shot.

[pinballmars]

So, what DO people think? One person hinted at distressing ratings news in a post some pages back on here without any elaboration whatsoever, but I haven't seen any concrete info at all. Anyone know how Twin Peaks: the Return is doing?

Showtime reported their biggest day and weekend of new subscriptions for their streaming service when Twin Peaks began. A lot of people are saying that these subscriptions are the most important thing from a business standpoint, including Showtime.

I don’t have any international figures for live viewing. U.S. live viewership (which does not include streaming) in millions is as follows:

Parts 1 & 2 — 0.506
Parts 3 & 4 — 0.195
Part 5 — 0.254
Part 6 — 0.270
Part 7 — 0.294
Part 8 — 0.246
Part 9 — 0.355
Part 10 — 0.267 (Game of Thrones season 7 begins)
Part 11 — 0.219

The huge drop between the first week and the second week (and then its rise again after that) shows how big the streaming audience is because 3 and 4 were streamed in advance in the first week, so only a fraction of the audience even watched it live.

[C-Lee]

I'm pretty sure Showtime mainly cares about subscriptions, and I remember reading that The Return brought in their biggest batch of subscribers yet.

With that and the rave reviews, also the fact that they're making legendary television, I think the show is a success and Showtime would be interested in doing another season.

This all depends on Lynch/Frost though.