I've just watched MULHOLLAND DRIVE again for the first time in a couple of years and this was the first time I really came away wondering: what would the intended MULHOLLAND DRIVE tv series been like?

i.e. What would a "weekly episode" of the show have been like?

I wish we'd had the chance to find out. Maybe it would have been a little different if a few years had passed and a cable company tried to do it instead, since ABC obviously didn't know what they had. And it's unfortunate that it made Lynch vow to give up on television because it would have been interesting to see what he did with another continuing storyline and world. All the elements were there in the original script. Since Adam was supposed to move into Betty's apartment complex at the end of it, two sleuths might have eventually become three.

I just remember him saying that it would be a series of mysteries that spun out of each other and would never have a conclusion, unlike 'Twin Peaks'. He was very upset that Laura's killer had to be named and said he would not let that happen again. In the end, between the time the Pilot was started and when it was delivered, Disney had bought ABC, all the people who had been behind MD The Series were gone and the wind had gone out of the sails.

And based on David's Twin Peak's experience, how would David have built a buffer between himself and the Network bean counters, errr...., I mean, the people at ABC responsible for tracking the ratings?? You have a lot of latitude in any TV series as long as your ratings remain high but if they start to wane that's when the network suits want to exercise creative control. That's really the reason I don't think David is well suited for TV. He has too much artistic integrity to cater to things like ratings.

And keeping ratings is a difficult thing. I suppose Lost is regaining momentum but it was in decline for a little while, and that was a show that was arguably getting better as it went along. There's a saying that a lot of TV viewers could benefit from -- the key to the treasure is the treasure. TP demonstrated what would happen when the casual viewer got his answers--"Great, that's over. Don't have to watch anymore."

Even the cable format is no guarantee of patience. Carnivale didn't last. Another case where people seemed more interested in where it was all going to end rather than the world itself.

I'm of the opinion that it would have been a disappointment. I think the detectives and mobsters story arcs would have quickly gotten old. 1612 Havenhurst would have been the core center of the story I also think that would have been too Melrose Place meets Twilight Zone to really interest me.

I think that Lynch was lucky as turning it into a film allowed the loose ends to flourish and interest so many of us.

You say that like it's a bad thing!

Naturally, Lost wll continue to decline in the Ratings: it's too late for enough newcomers to hook onto the story-line in any meaningful way.
As far as 'storytelling' goes, Lost has it all over TP or most series. ( Some of this just has to be to the credit of the writers and episode directors. There were some goofy and silly episodes of TP that 2nd season.)
It's like Jazz vs Metal: sure, Jazz produces some incomparably great moments ( atmosphere), but Metal ( or Rock or Classical or whatever) is more cohesive and , ultimately , more satisfying, especially on repeat listening( structure.)
DL is the undoubted master of atmosphere. MD and FWWM also had effective structures and character development. The roll-your-own structure and plot of IE is really charming, the epitome of his art, so far, and probably suis genris( 'one-of-a-kind'? doesn't look right; guess I never typed it before.)
But TP or the aborted MD series: nah, interesting but cheezy, really. One can not substitute atmosphere and characterization for Story over multiple seasons. People will stop tuning in.
Of course, series TV is difficult because there is no one auteur: ditto for films, obviously. They are ( and I am sure this is annoying to an artist) collaborative efforts. This makes the series that really work, like Carnivale, Deadwood, Big Love...all the more impressive ( and rare.)
( , all IMO, of course.)

I did a rewatch last night and I'm not sure that the series would have been as good as the film.

People like stories.

Twin Peaks was full of stories, and some of them got resolved and some of them didn't. After the main story got resolved, ratings sank because there was no longer a compelling narrative. (Sorry, Windom, you're not compelling enough.)

Lost does a very good job of keeping the story fresh, mostly through the use of flashbacks. Some stories get tied up, and some stories keep going. (The scene where Locke and Sawyer go to the Black Rock? Mighty fine TV.) It's available online, so it can keep drawing in new viewers, which, after the rerun of season 1, TP couldn't do.

I'm concerned that MD the series would have wound up either like Twin Peaks or like Inland Empire.

MD the movie had a resolution: Diane tried to kill "Rita" because "Rita" had dumped her for Adam, so the story comes full circle. There are a few weird ends, such as the dude behind Winkie's, but virtually every detail has a correllary somewhere else in the film. Once you enter the world, everything gets tied in a neat little bow.

If TP had ended right after they caught the killer, there would have been a few floating ends, but most of it could have been wrapped up fairly nicely. The biggest clunker would have been the shooting of Cooper, but since most of the other stories revolved around couples, it's okay to let those go at the end of the show. As it was, the show died a fairly slow, painful death.

Inland Empire, on the other hand, I just could not get my head around. I know a lot of people claim to be able to follow a narrative in the film, but God help me, I'm too stupid to find it. I sincerely believe that DL had no idea where he was going with the film. I think one of the advantages to film is that it slows down the creative process.

If MD-the-show had been planned out as a one-season event, like a miniseries, that could have been epic. But I've heard no rumors to that effect.

I think we're better off having this perfect little film than having a train-wreck of a series.

Black Rose.

I didn't like MD in the long run. To me, it feels like an extremely good 90-minute TV pilot with 45 minutes of weird sh*t tagged on to the end!

Whether it would have lasted on TV: I doubt it. And it's inevitable that serialised dramas such as Lost or Battlestar Galactica will experience a slow ratings death: any show will inevitably experience a drop-off of viewers as time goes by, as some people won't like the direction it goes in. At the same time, a serialised drama will find it hard to pick up new viewers.

I loved Twin Peaks, in spite of some shaky season two moments. And although I prefer the original final episode script, the fact that David Lynch was able to get away with putting out as dense and weird an episode as that on network TV is a thing of glorious wonder!

I can't imagine the series at all. It would be cool to see some kind of continuation of MD, though. Sequels aren't good ideas, but David would probably do something that could stand on its own.

Bad idea, I know.

I don't see David ever doing TV again, only because he is aging and is taking longer between films. It would be cool, but it would end up like Twin Peaks: abandoned, and canceled.

A torrent for the pilot episode has made it's way onto Demonoid.com
I can hook you up with an invite if you want.