Showtime’s revival of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s 1990’s TV phenomenon launches with a two-parter and finds the characters a quarter of a century older, but not necessarily wiser. We, the audience, continue to be bemused and confused, but it’s still a damn fine brew.

One mistake that people make is in describing Twin Peaks a cult TV show. That suggests it was some small, undiscovered gem, but the reality is that it was on prime time ABC. It was huge, and when on 10 June 1991 viewers saw the show conclude with a serious cliffhanger – Agent Cooper (Kyle McLachlan) has been possessed by Bob, the spirit of the forest – there was uproar aplenty. How could they leave it like that? Follow-up movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me promised to tie up the loose ends, but instead served as a prequel and added little to the resolution. And so when this new series was announced there was the tantalising prospect of some closure.

Starting with a flashback to a scene in the Red Room of the Black Lodge where the dead Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) tells Cooper: “I’ll see you again in 25 years” the story begins with a very different looking Cooper who now appears to be a hardened criminal.

Immediately apparent is the change in look from the original show. It no longer feels like the Peyton Place daytime soap homage, now being more akin to Lynch’s movies – I picked up on Wild at Heart and Mulholland Drive. Spared the shackles of network TV, this a violent show that features Lynch’s shock tactics – there’s a particularly gruesome slash attack on a couple – as well as strong language and nudity. In many ways this is the follow-up we wanted Fire Walk With Me to be, but cannily there’s a lot of new cast members to ensure it’s not unduly shackled to the past.

Familiar faces from the original emerge as the narrative twists and turns. Part of the fun is in saying ‘Wow, look who it is!’ or ‘Surely that’s not so and so?’ and I won’t spoil who we meet. Cleverly, the former regulars are slowly introduced, sometimes in standalone moments, doing the most random things. In most cases we’re just catching up with where they’re currently at, and with an 18-episode canvas to play on, what’s the hurry?

My only concern when watching the opening episodes is just how impenetrable it would be for a new viewer. One could argue that even Twin Peaks aficionados such as myself would struggle to fully explain what’s going on, but this new season either assumes you know what has gone before, or just doesn’t care. Lynch has never been a slave to linear storytelling and there’s even a scene in the Red Room where the question is raised whether this is in the present or the past.

One casualty is the Angelo Badalamenti score, which feels very low in the mix, or is spotted very infrequently. It’s such a huge part of the show’s identity and I hope that its presence increases as the story unfolds. McLachlan is great in the dual roles of regular and possessed  Cooper. As the latter he’s in full-on Bob mode, long-haired and ruthless.

Verdict: It’s taken 26 years (just one longer than Laura promised), but at long last we’re getting a show that feels like Twin Peaks, while being very different. Prepare to scratch your head, be shocked, laugh and wonder what the Lynch is going on. I’ll be there for the whole crazy road trip, and kudos to Showtime for giving this remarkable show the platform to enter its next (final?) chapter. 8/10

Nick Joy