Article: TV's leap into the unknown: ABC hopes its avant-garde "Twin Peaks" will win back upscale viewers.

Network executives do not often gamble with prime time. But NABC, faced with a rapidly shrinking audience, rolled the dice on April 8 with "Twin Peaks," a bizarre new murder mystery by one of America's most eccentric film directors, David Lynch.

Entertainment mavens predicted ABC's venture would fail. Young & Rubicam Executive Vice President Paul Isacsson pronounced the show "too weird and too slow." But its 22 rating and 33 share put "Twin Peaks" up there with megahits like "The Cosby Show," earning it the No. 5 slot for the week and silencing the skeptics. What's more, the ratings held through 2 hours, suggesting that the show stands a fighting chance even in ...

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