The X-Files and Twin Peaks are two of the strangest and most influential television shows of all time. Neither of them is a traditional drama series. The X-Files follows two FBI agents, a skeptic and a believer, trying to solve cases of the weird and paranormal all over the country.
Whereas Twin Peaks centered on a small-town where the death of a young, well-liked woman named Laura Palmer shakes the town and everyone in it to its core and unleashes a dark evil on the world. Twin Peaks was an extremely surreal series while The X-Files was more grounded. Regardless, both series impacted the television world heavily and their impact is still felt to this day. Here are some things that Twin Peaks did versus a few things The X-Files beat them at.
The X-Files made more sense
Let’s be honest, if you asked someone to explain The X-Files and then explain Twin Peaks, they would have a much easier time giving you an overview of The X-Files then they would of Twin Peaks. Both series may have confusing elements, but for the most part, The X-Files is pretty straightforward while Twin Peaks is anything but.
Considering Twin Peaks was created by a film legend, David Lynch, that’s not necessarily a bad thing but there were a lot of aspects to his surreal storytelling that simply didn’t add up or was totally forgotten about.
Twin Peaks was more original
Twin Peaks is a one-of-a-kind series. The storyline may have begun with a pretty traditional premise, a murder that rocks the town and must be solved, but it quickly evolves into something far more than an ordinary murder mystery.
Although it should be said that even the concept of a small town being changed by a devastating murder wasn’t something that was done on television as often as it is now. It changed the fabric of how the murder formula would be depicted in television shows forever. But it also included demons, otherworldly elements, nightmarish concepts, and more.
The X-Files was scarier in the traditional sense
Twin Peaks was definitely frightening. BOB is a horrifying entity that we witness more than once. However, for some people, Twin Peaks is simply weird and not necessarily skin-crawlingly scary. The X-Files is more nightmarish in the traditional sense.
If you get freaked out by monsters, aliens, and other creatures hiding in the night, then The X-Files is going to terrify you more. Also because The X-Files presents concepts that are very real to us in the immediate world, while Twin Peaks is more fantastical and easier to separate from our reality.
Twin Peaks had more interesting characters
Scully and Mulder are definitely iconic. No one is denying that. The Twin Peaks and X-Files fandoms go back and forth about which series had the better detectives to this day. But you can’t deny that Twin Peaks has far more interesting characters than The X-Files.
If not just Dale Cooper you’ve got Audrey Horne, Log Lady, BOB, Shelly Johnson, and more. That’s just scratching the surface. Twin Peaks is known for its many eccentric side characters and the revivals introduced even more.
The X-Files didn’t leave as many unsolved mysteries behind
The X-Files had many myth arcs throughout its long-running history, but it didn’t leave nearly as many unresolved questions and mysteries behind as Twin Peaks did. Even with the revival of both series, Twin Peaks can still baffle its most ardent fans.
There are tons of mysteries from Twin Peaks that people still argue about and overanalyze in online forums all day long. That’s not a bad thing, the endless mysteries is very much part of Twin Peaks charm.
Twin Peaks had the better revival series
This one is more up to the individual fan’s interpretation but many fans have been upset by decisions made in The X-Files revival series. A lot of fans didn’t appreciate how certain storylines developed and have taken up their grievances with Chris Carter himself.
The Twin Peaks revival has been received more favorably by most fans who felt it was a great continuation of the original series that still opens up new mysteries but also revolves some of the classic ones. It maintains the same level of surrealism and will baffle and entrance you just like the first two seasons did.
The X-Files had the best romantic couple
Not many of the couples on Twin Peaks got a happy ending or even were necessarily healthy together. Mulder and Scully certainly have their own fair share of issues too, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a fan of The X-Files who wasn’t obsessively shipping the two together or rooting for them to figure things out by the end. There aren’t as many “shippers” in the Twin Peaks fandom because the show doesn’t have a “main” couple the same way The X-Files does.
If you never saw an episode of Twin Peaks, you wouldn’t know anything about the main couples. But even if you’ve never seen The X-Files, odds are you know what people are talking about when they refer to Scully and Mulder, who practically originated the “will they or won’t they” trope.
Twin Peaks pre-dates The X-Files and heavily influenced it
The X-Files probably wouldn’t exist without Twin Peaks which makes it the slightly more influential series. Twin Peaks began in 1990 and The X-Files took over in 1993. The X-Files went on to become extremely popular in its own right, but Twin Peaks definitely laid the groundwork for a series like The X-Files to exist.
Twin Peaks predates all the weird small town shows we love and watch even today. Its impact is far-reaching and it’s impressive how influential a series that only lasted two seasons truly was.
The X-Files was more influential due to becoming mainstream
However, The X-Files’ influence shouldn’t be ignored just because it aired after Twin Peaks. Yes, The X-Files was influenced by Twin Peaks, and Twin Peaks influenced tons of shows, both older ones, and modern ones. But The X-Files was easily the more mainstream of the two series.
Supernatural wouldn’t exist without The X-Files. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was heavily influenced by the sci-fi show too. Many series were. Most media tries to mimic the vibe and atmosphere of Twin Peaks, while the format of The X-Files is typically what is followed (monster of the week/myth arc combinations).
Twin Peaks cannot be duplicated
It should be noted that even though both shows are obviously very influential and important, we will probably never see another series that truly mimic the spirit of Twin Peaks. The X-Files is a little easier to follow and we have seen many variations of it, as mentioned, Supernatural is probably the biggest example.
Even though you will watch a lot of television shows that have Twin Peaks qualities like the recent Riverdale, Wayward Pines, Broadchurch, etc. None of them can come close to the masterstroke of genius David Lynch had when she created the series back in 1990. Lynch is a true original.
Next: 10 Great Trippy Mystery Movies To Watch If You Love Twin Peaks
