Even though ABC said Laura Palmer's murder would be resolved in the season finale of "Twin Peaks," executive producer Mark Frost said he never made such a promise.
"I don't know what they would have been basing that on," Frost said. "We never told anyone that was our intention."In fact, Frost said, it was decided long ago to keep the audience guessing right to the end to force the network into renewing the prime-time soap opera.
"We had no guarantee that ABC would ever renew us," Frost said. "I intentionally structured that last hour so that if ABC was really curious about who killed Laura, they'd have to pick up the show.
"Our sole strategy was survival. By withholding the identity of the killer, we thought we were down to our last coin."
An ABC spokesman told the press in early May that the mystery would be solved in the last show.
The promise was at best another riddle. And yes, "Twin Peaks" will be back in the fall, along with, it appears, disappointed viewers who charted every dizzying turn of the show's nine hours trying to figure out who murdered the sleepy Northwest town's homecoming queen.
On April 8, television was introduced to a world out of kilter, confected by Frost and film director David Lynch, who made "Blue Velvet."
The ratings were only mediocre, but die-hard fans threw "Twin Peaks" parties and more was written about the program than any other in recent memory. So with much ballyhoo, "Twin Peaks" hurtled toward its season finale with viewers waiting for the solution to Laura's murder, as promised by ABC.
"There were a lot of people who were disappointed that they didn't learn the identity of Laura's killer," Frost said. "I just think there was a misunderstanding somewhere.
"I can't give anything away, but when viewers come back - and we're coming back with a two-hour premiere - I think their curiosity will be satisfied."
What about the dancing dwarf who spoke backwards? And series star Kyle MacLachlan, who had three bullets pumped into him at point-blank range in the last episode?
"There are a lot of different ways that that can go," Frost said. "I think that when you see the show next year, you'll understand why we left it that way. With scrutiny, everything so far will come together."