I started re-watching season three of Twin Peaks last night. I haven't seen it for maybe two years. What I'm learning is that a lot actually happens right from the start.
The first time I watched it I was excited to see it but I had expectations and that was a problem. The biggest problem was that I knew that the whole thing was limited to about eighteen hours so I had my own ideas about how things should have been paced and it felt like it was going too slowly.
But watching again I think it's more that the actors are so low key. They speak quietly and slowly but in two episodes there three murders, evidence of two other murders, and we get to see the core group of the main characters along with some new characters that wind up being very important later.
In a way it shares something with Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Both of these take time to let us visit a different world and not every single event is meant to further the story. Usually that is a problem. But these are worlds that are worth hanging out in, relaxing and soaking it in, and I think that in both the atmosphere that is established ultimately draws you in to the point that the events of the story feel more real and important when they do happen. It's kind of hypnotic and while there is always tension you have time to kind of relax and let the world pull you in. You get comfortable there.
I almost skipped ahead to the episodes I really want to see again but I'm glad I didn't. It's still available on Showtime and you can get a free trial if you don't have it.
I also watched the first episode of "Your Honor" starring Bryan Cranston, also on Showtime. It was very good. Some of the same issues as Breaking Bad, someone who chooses to break the law to protect his family, and it looks like he's also going to wind up facing a very dangerous criminal enemy. It's almost like they figured out a way to take the issues of Breaking Bad and create a new story around them and I wouldn't be surprised if it was written with Bryan Cranston in mind for the title role.
It's shot really well and it's very believable.