A Place Both Wonderful and Strange: The Extraordinary Untold History of ‘Twin Peaks’

The short-lived 1990 TV series Twin Peaks cast a long cultural shadow, according to this energetic account from film critic Meslow (From Hollywood with Love). In 1988, filmmaker David Lynch and TV veteran Mark Frost brainstormed the project as a surrealist mystery centered on the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. The premise left the show’s creators in something of a bind, Meslow explains, as they sought to “keep moving the mystery forward” without fully resolving the murder “because no one had any good ideas yet for what a post–Laura Palmer Twin Peaks might look like.” The show was canceled shortly after the killer was revealed in season two, though its cult popularity continued to grow thanks to buzz generated by its cliff-hanger ending and “hyper-serialized quality,” which made it an “irresistible prospect on DVD.” Frost and Lynch later returned to the material, with Lynch making a prequel film, 1992’s Fire Walk with Me, and the two teaming up for Twin Peaks: The Return, an 18-part miniseries released 25 years after the original show ended. Meslow interweaves his diligent account of the show’s cultural legacy with delightful peeks into its idiosyncratic production and the eccentric directorial style of Lynch, who advised Lara Flynn Boyle during one long, difficult-to-shoot scene to “think of how gently a deer has to move in the snow.” Fans will be riveted. (Feb.)