Twin Peaks and The Twilight Zone are why television is the art form it is today
A shame Serling and Lynch never got a chance to collaborate. Imagine the mind-blowing art these two could produce together?
shareThat would've been one hell of an interesting team. I'd like to think Serling would've been a fan of Lynch...has Lynch ever talked about being influenced by Serling? I'd be curious to know if he was a fan, I'd imagine so.
In general, too, TV has surpassed films nowadays as far as I'm concerned.
I find it hard to believe that episodes like "Shadow Play," "Come Wander With Me," "And When The Sky Was Opened" and "The After Hours" didn't have a profound effect on a young, impressionable Lynch. I've never heard Lynch discuss Serling but I bet he was one of "TZ" most die-hard devotees back in the day.
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I kind of agree with you. I saw Lynch's "Eraserhead" back around when it came out and loved it! But I never much cared for anything else he did (although I did kind of like "Dune" and I guess "Elephant Man" was good (and sort of seems like the closest to a Rod Serling type story) although I never had any desire to see it again), and I still don't quite get his popularity. But maybe its like you said. Another thing is, I heard that Stanley Kubrick seemed to be a fan of Lynch, so that is saying something I guess.
But yea, Serling had this moral force to his teleplays (I just watched his "The Strike" again) that was completely absent from Lynch's work.
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I agree with you 100%, landofree. The high regard in which David Lynch is held confounds me. As a Boomer, the best explanation I can offer is that he pushes buttons for people of a certain age; and for all his weirdness he's never really threatening or provocative. I hated every minute of Blue Velvet, found it pretentious, without inspiration, with the director ramping up the bizarro volume instead of showing the viewer that he has talent. He knows how to shock, I'll give him that much. From what little I could stand of Twin Peaks it was goofy, like a Rod Stewart video, what with the dancing midgets or whatever they were. Again, more "safe satire". Rod Serling came from a very different place, would likely have viewed Lynch as an "adult child" who wants to shock his elders,--or, as they used to say, the squares,--except that there aren't any real squares these days. I can't see Serling working with Lynch at all. Spielberg, yes. In fact, Spielberg did work for Serling. I can imagine Serling viewing Spielberg as his "spiritual" heir. Another Boomer film-maker I can see Serling admiring: Ken Burns.
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