Fire Walk With Us: The Seminal Legacy of 'Twin Peaks'

"Twin Peaks" may have abruptly ended back in 1991 only after two seasons, but the seminal, bizarrely funny ABC serial mystery never really went away, thanks to devoted fans and Tumblr culture, keeping the show's torch lit for over two decades.

And "Twin Peaks" apparently isn't going away anytime soon.

Earlier this week "Twin Peaks" creators Mark Frost and David Lynch announced they were bringing back the show for a third season in 2016 with nine self-contained episodes on Showtime. Though there's little to go on, there was a nugget of important information: The very, very good news that Frost and Lynch will write all episodes, with Lynch promising to direct all nine.

Still, there are a good two years before fans get to watch the final product, which won't be a reboot or a recreation of the original 30 episodes of "Twin Peaks." The nine Showtime episodes will be set in present day and continue story lines established in the second season -- 25 years later.

"Frost emphasized that the new episodes will not be a remake or reboot but will reflect the passage of time since viewers last checked in with key characters," Variety wrote.

If fans have lived this long without "Twin Peaks" then they can hold off for two more years.

Actually, that's not entirely true. Though "Twin Peaks" has technically been off the air for over two decades, it has existed in different forms of media online. Its influence has borrowed its way deep into the fabric of pop culture, and it rears its surreal head in everything from TV, movies, music and even fashion.

The story of the murder of high school sweetheart Laura Palmer was riveting and transcendent, and viewers soon found themselves immersed in the "Twin Peaks" universe. But it's not just the story, the clever and hilarious writing, the quirky characters, the catchphrases or the acting that made "Twin Peaks" a phenomenon. The show's overall aesthetic had an everlasting affect on pop culture.

"Twin Peaks" has taken a second life on Tumblr, with thousands, if not millions, of screen caps and .gifs reblogged across countless times on the social media network. Everything from the funniest quotes ("That's a damn good cup of coffee!"), to Agent Dale Cooper flashing his signature thumbs up, to the pics of the radioactive green font over that iconic waterfall, to the Log Lady, are essential staples to any trendy millennial Tumblr blogger. Its e-popularity with youth culture has only propelled the weird '90s show into the hipster cannon.

For them, "Twin Peaks" defined the '90s in an ironic way, even though nothing about the show or Lynch is ironic: The long, tan trench coats, the slicked back black hair, baggy XL wool sweaters and saddle shoes were all accents of "Twin Peaks" that brought the show into another world. But today, you'll likely walk down the street outside of a college campus and see students dressed like the devilish Audrey Horne (maybe you'll see her slink along a wall while a soft jazz plays out of a jukebox) or tough guy James Hurley, donning a leather jacket and rolled up blue jeans... but they've probably never seen an episode.

The music of "Twin Peaks" has also lived on during its 25 year absence. The show's infamous, lullaby-like opening theme, "Falling" by Julee Cruise, is probably ingrained in every musician who has come across the show.

Cruise's debut album, "Floating into the Night," which was exclusively written by Lynch, is a masterpiece of its own, and was produced by the show's composer, Angelo Badalamenti.

Badalamenti's emotional score, which was like the soft floating Muzak you'd hear in a daytime soap opera but reflected in a funhouse mirror, perfectly reflected the emotional state of characters in the "Twin Peaks." A gut-wrenching piano swells anytime Laura Palmer is mentioned; smoky jazz beatniks listen to is cued when Audrey Horne is up to something mischievous; slow-burning '50s beach rock floats by during a scene with lovebirds Donna and Jimmy; or rumbling synths bloom when wife beater Leo Johnson is on screen.

The show and its music have left an incredible impression on the music world, and artists are still opening themselves up to it. On Lana Del Rey's excellent album "Ultraviolence," which dropped earlier this year, she references the haphazard "Twin Peaks" prequel film "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me," cooing the lines: "He's got the fire and he walks with it / He's got the fire and he talks with it," on the song "Sad Girl."

The most popular song by singer-songwriter Natasha Khan, aka Bat For Lashes, is called "Laura." Some say the song is a love letter to Laura Palmer -- see the lyrics: "You're the train that crashed my heart / You're the glitter in the dark / Oh Laura, you're more than a super star" and "You'll be famous longer than them / Your name is tattooed on every boy's skin."

Heck, there's even a band called Twin Peaks, which put out an album in August. (Pro tip: Check out the haunting Extreme Animals remix of electro artist Pictureplane's "Body Mods" track -- it samples some classic "Twin Peaks" tunes.)

But it all comes back to how good "Twin Peaks" really is. The show's first episode is easily one of the best pilots in TV history. As if the stars aligned, Frost and Lynch and all of the actors on "Twin Peaks" come together in perfect unity, expressing the pure emotion of devastating loss... at least for the first season. About halfway through the muddled season two, it's clear Frost and Lynch checked out, with Lynch pretty much leaving Robert Engles as show runner (did you know they let Diane Keaton direct an episode?).

But this is exactly why "Twin Peaks" needs to come back. Season two was left with a huge cliffhanger, and fans weren't satisfied with what happened to Agent Dale Cooper and the rest of the crew. This is also the first time in over a decade Lynch has been inspired; he hasn't had any output (besides a few shorts and some strange albums) since 2006 and the release of "Inland Empire."

It's still hard to reconcile that in two years my life will be filled with 9 hours of "Twin Peaks," all by Lynch and Frost. Like millions of people, I can't wait to check in with the Log Lady, the owls, and have a fine piece of pie and a damn good cup of coffee in the Black Lodge. That gum I like is finally going to come back in style.