(CNN) In the Monday-morning quarterbacking that followed the "Game of Thrones" finale, a frequent criticism has been that the seventh season moved too fast as it sped toward revealing Jon Snow's lineage and paving the way for the conclusive battles to come.

Yet the stark contrast between the HBO series and "Twin Peaks: The Return" on rival Showtime demonstrates that in the TV version of the tortoise and the hare, a drama that races is generally preferable to one that crawls.

Obviously, that isn't necessarily an either-or proposition, and there are plenty of first-rate shows -- "Better Call Saul" comes to mind -- that benefit from spooning out story at a slow but steady clip.

Nevertheless, in an age with so many options and so much ambitious serialized storytelling, there's a fine line between creating mood and atmosphere and simply wasting the audience's time.

"Twin Peaks" will conclude with a two-part finale on September 3, wrapping up a season that can be viewed as a disappointment on multiple levels. After the hoopla that surrounded its start, the linear audience per week has slid below 500,000 viewers, a pittance even by pay-TV standards.

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