Twin Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition – DVD review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

DVD available at Amazon.com

Creators:
David Lynch and Mark Frost

Cast:
Kyle MacLachlan….Special Agent Dale Cooper
Michael Ontkean….Sheriff Harry S. Truman
Lara Flynn Boyle….Donna Hayward
Sherilyn Fenn….Audrey Horne
Madchen Amick….Shelly Johnson
Jack Nance….Pete Martell
Sheryl Lee….Laura Palmer/Madeleine Ferguson

Paramount Home Video presents Twin Peaks: Definitive Gold Box Edition. The Pilot movie and twenty nine episodes on 10 DVDs. Episodes aired from April 8, 1990 to June 10, 1991. DVD released Oct. 30, 2007.

The Show

Laura Palmer was the most beautiful corpse in America during the spring of 1990. When she washed up on the lake shore wrapped in plastic, the tiny rocks across her forehead reflected like jewels. She resembled the winner of an alien beauty pageant. For several months, the viewing public had a strange love affair with this mysterious girl who floated between being the sweetest homecoming queen and a cocaine fueled whore. Her complete televised saga has arrived in Twin Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition

When it first aired, Twin Peaks was must watch TV for hipsters. Nobody expected the director of Blue Velvet to pull in the same kind of ratings of The Golden Girls, but somehow the short first season went beyond the art house crowd. You knew you were hip when square co-workers on Friday morning would shuffle by your desk to ask what really happened on Thursday night’s show. They thought you might have true insight into Laura’s killer because you wore an Eraserhead t-shirt to the company picnic. Or maybe they thought you resembled the mass murderer featured on America’s Most Wanted and figured you could spot your kind in the cast of culprits. There was a strange feeling that quirky entertainment could flourish on TV.

The first season’s two hour pilot and seven episodes are still as powerful today as they were two decades ago. This was a prime time soap opera that made people wonder if the coffee, donuts and cherry pie were laced with meth. Kyle MacLachlan’s Agent Cooper tossed out normal police procedure as he searched for clues in his dreams and broken milk bottles. He was not the second coming of Efrem Zimbalist Jr.’s F.B.I.. Sherilyn Fenn blossomed from a devious school girl to a tempting sexpot. She amazed a lot of people with her cherry stem tying trick. The show perfectly balanced the grotesque nature of a sex crime with the homespun wonders of the small logging town with its quirky moments. Nearly every resident of the town had a dark streak that made them a potential murderer. Nobody was completely innocent. The finale (episode 7) was a perfect cliff hanger with all the major characters in mortal jeopardy. There would be plenty of talk about who would survive for the second season. Would there be anyone alive to expose they mysterious Bob? Luckily with this boxset, you only have to wait the time it takes to exchange discs in your DVD player. You might want to take your time putting in Disc 4.

The sophomore season kicked off with a two hour episode directed by David Lynch. Instead of the wham-bam pace of the cliffhanger finale, we were treated to a frustratingly slow scene of a character bleeding on the floor while a clueless old man doesn’t quite get help. In the midst of this frustration a giant materializes with cryptic clues for the bleeding man. While the episode wasn’t bad, it seemed punishment for us for daring to have expectations. David Lynch reminded us that we only thought we knew David Lynch.

Instead of focusing on the established characters in the hunt for the killer, they kept introducing new faces with bizarre behavior. When Ian Buchanan arrived as the debonair Dick Tremayne, the pressure on the show vanished. Was Ian hired because Ted McGinley passed? They kept finding new Renault brothers. David Duchovny played a DEA agent who walked in J. Edgar Hoover’s shoes. Even David Lynch appeared as Cooper’s nearly deaf boss. The regular characters get more loopy. Nadine Hurley regressed to a high school girl with Bionic-like strength. The show went from playing with the conventions of a night time soap opera like Dark Shadows to spoofing storylines as if Twin Peaks was Soap or Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

The bottom fell out of the show when the big mystery was solved. Why in the middle of the second season did they give it away? The folks appearing on DVD blame the network and the audience. I blame Dallas. A decade earlier America became riveted to the mystery of “Who Shot J.R.” on Dallas. That shooter was exposed after 4 episodes (although there was a summer break and an actors strike delaying the season). While the cult of Lynch fans enjoyed the tease, the mass audience had grown bored waiting for Bob to be captured. The show went from the Top 20 to bouncing between 60 and 80. ABC moved the show to Saturday nights which transformed it from Must See TV to “Did you remember to set the VCR?” Co-workers would ask, “Did they find the killer, yet?” with a mocking tone. You were back to being the office nerd. You might as well wear a “Philip Michael Thomas Forever” t-shirt to the company Christmas party.

With Laura Palmer’s mystery solved, the new plot dealt with Agent Cooper’s old FBI partner returning for revenge. The audience that had become glued to the dead girl had little patience for an insane middle aged guy playing an evil game of Chess. The show that was a sensation year before became forgotten. After all these years, the post-Laura Palmer episodes still show a lack direction. They become engrossed in the wacky world of Lynch (or writers and directors doing their best to impersonate him). The final episode had Lynch return to the director’s chair for a full blown freak out. We had one last meeting with The Man From Another Place (Michael J. Anderson of Carnivale).

Twin Peaks is one of those shows that you can’t completely lament that it was axed too soon. The series just couldn’t handle the grind of a broadcasting season. The sophomore slump was brought on by stretching and padding the material. Maybe it would have fared better today on HBO or Showtime where Lynch, Frost and company would only have to create 10 or 12 episodes a year. The show ended at the right point. Twin Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition reminds us of the days when David Lynch made being the office freak socially acceptable at least on Friday mornings.

The DVD

VIDEO:
The picture is 1.33:1.The transfer is clean. All the wood walls glow in the hotel.

AUDIO:
The English soundtrack is Dolby Digital 5.1 stereo and 2.0 stereo. You can feel the tree limbs blowing around you. There’s also a mono Spanish and Portuguese dubs. The subtitles are in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The commentary tracks from the Artisan first season boxset aren’t here. You’ll have to keep those DVDs in the collection.

EXTRAS:

Log Lady Intros (1:50) were created when the series ran on Bravo. They are shot on video and the sound is muffled. The Log Lady (Catherine E. Coulson) gives mystical intros that might relate to the theme of the episodes. You have the option to watch each episode with her.

International Version (1:53:47) was created so Twin Peaks could be shown in theaters across the world. There’s a black out before the theatrical ending starts. Even though Lynch has admitted he had no ending for the pilot since the whole point of the pilot is to set up questions and mysteries for the series, he faked it. Much of the new footage was retooled in later episodes as part of dream sequences. The only scene that wasn’t recycled featured Lucy playing paddle ball while Andy practices his trumpet before bedtime.

Alternate Ending (22:10) is for those who don’t want to watch the entire International version to view the extra footage.

Deleted Scenes ( 5:43 ) are found on disc nine’s “Lost and Found” section. “Jerry’s Wandering Eye” has him explaining to this Icelandic girlfriend that the gal at One-Eyed Jacks isn’t really his ex-lover even though she knows the name of his yacht. His excuse is that she’s into watersports. “27 Going On 6” has Johnny Horne bow hunting near a waterfall. “Lucy, Andy And Donuts” exposes the mystery of where the donuts come from. “Something About Johnny” lets us know that Audrey was responsible for his condition. Or was she? The scenes are rough video with little editing.

Production Documents are also in the “Lost and Found” section. Thrill to the sight of real TV production paperwork!

Secrets From Another Place: Creating Twin Peaks (1:45:51) is not to be watched until you’ve seen all the shows. There’s spoilers all over the interviews. The documentary covers nearly every element of the show including the pilot, season 1, the music and season 2. Co-creator Mark Frost that guides us through the creative process and the show’s history. There’s plenty of behind the scenes footage and fresh interviews with cast and crew. Angelo Badalamenti guides us through how he developed the theme music. He also lets us know about the show’s most unexpected fan. There is a big fact problem cause everyone keeps saying there was only 3 networks at the time Twin Peaks aired in 1990. But Fox had been around since 1986 and The Simpsons was already a hit at the time.

A Slice of Lynch (29:59) has the director join Kyle MacLachlan, Madchen Amick and John Wentworth (Lynch’s former assistant that recorded sound effects) for a cup of coffee in a timber-lined bar. Lynch says what would have been quoted in the documentary. Madchen remembers her time in the Baywatch pilot. Lynch gives a riveting description of the birth of Bob.

Saturday Night Live (13:18) features Kyle’s monologue where he gives away the killer of Laura Palmer to the audience. A long sketch plays with the various characters on the show including a unique way to make a gift bow.

Return to Twin Peaks (19:41) follows devotees of the series to the fan festival in Snoqualmie, Washington to see the sights and stay in the hotel. They have a cherry stem tying contest.

Interactive Map links eight fictional locations with video of the actual locations. There are addresses in case you want to make a road trip for cherry pie and coffee.

“Falling” Music Video (4:20) has a tight shot of Julee Cruise singing the theme song with clips from the show.

Georgia Coffee Commercials (3:23) feature many of the cast members recreating their roles as they search iconic locations for a lost Japanese woman. The main push is for a coffee in a can.

Richard Beymer Gallery consists of shots taken during the production by the actor who played Ben Horne. There are quite a few great portraits of Lynch and the cast.

Unit Photography has all the promotional pictures.

Twin Peaks Trading Cards gives a video version of the 76 collectables that were hot property at your local comic book store back in the early 90s.

On Air Promos/Spots (5:51) has all the commercials ABC ran promoting the show. You even get the ABC Sunday Night movie opening for the pilot film.

1-900-Hotline (22:55) has all eight phone messages that were recaps of the show plus maybe a clue to the real killer. Back in 1990, this phone call cost you $2 for the first minute and a dollar for each minute afterward. Yikes. Lucy and other cast members give the summary. The audio quality is kinda lacking, but they messages are subtitled.

Lucy Bumpers (0:40) has all the short “stay tuned” messages that ran between the commercials.

Twelve Postcards are included in the box. Each features photos from the series. There are 61 of them in the set. Are you going to collect them all?

The DVD Lounge’s Ratings for Twin Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE SHOW

9
THE VIDEO

9
THE AUDIO

8
THE EXTRAS

10
REPLAY VALUE

9
OVERALL
8
(NOT AN AVERAGE)

The Inside Pulse
For those who decided to wait for a Twin Peaks boxset that contains all the TV episodes, your dream log has arrived. The strange part is for those who bought Artisan’s first season (that was missing the pilot movie) and Paramount’s second season set is that not all the bonus features on those DVDs have been included. You’ll have to keep them all on your shelf. The boxset does not contain the theatrical film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, but since that doesn’t feature Sherilyn Fenn, it’s not as essential. Plus you can buy that DVD solo. Rumor has it that with the success of the Gold Box, New Line wants to create a special edition of the film.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.