Recently my husband and I watched the cult phenomenon Twin Peaks. I enjoyed it, thought it lost a little steam toward the end, but liked the main character so much that it was definitely worth watching.
So, why am I talking about a twenty-year-old television show?
Because I saw a preview for a new show coming to AMC called The Killing. I'm always interested in a good show, and this one looks like it could be interesting. The thing that caught my eye, however, is that it looks a lot like Twin Peaks. Go read about it here and see for yourself.
While this isn't claiming to be a remake of Twin Peaks, there are some definite similarities. I think we find that to be true in writing a lot. Someone (who I am too lazy to go through my notes and find out exactly who, but I have a sneaking suspicion it might be Brandon Sanderson) once said at a writers conference that there are no new ideas. It's how we tell a story that defines us as a writer.
There's a lot to talk about here. First of all, did you watch Twin Peaks? What did you think of it? Can you help me attribute the quote about no new ideas? What is your favorite remake? Will you be watching The Killing? How do you take an old idea and make it fresh and new?
As an interesting side note, one of the stars of The Killing is LDS. Here is Mireille Enos' biography on IMDB.
Interesting. No, I will not be watching the Killing. And I've never seen Twin Peaks. but my DH loves it and we lived 15 minutes from the town it was filmed in. So we saw lots of the places. The dinner being to most memorable.
ReplyDeleteAlso, that old show NOrthern Exposure was filmed about 90 ,minutes from there and we drove through that town once. Didn't have time to get out and look around. Every time we pass the exit to it I want to stop and see it. But we're so close to our destination (and yet so far away) that we never stop.
I think old ideas are always fresh when told from a great voice. Have a great writing voice and the story will sound new.
Hmmm, I may need to tune in and see if it captures me...
ReplyDeleteAs I've mentioned to you Deb, I was a die-hard Twin Peaks fan. Yes, I even joined the Twin Peaks fan club and still have the coffee mug to prove it. Characters, setting, and just plain kookiness were the pluses for me in that series,although the ending, I agree with you, was ultimately disappointing.
I am not a fan of remakes. In fact, I can't think of any right now that I enjoyed more than the original.