Twin Peaks: Season One

Artisan | minutes | | | Standard DVD reviewed by: Matt Brighton

Twin Peaks is Director David Lynch's masterpiece. One of them anyway. Though it was probably ahead of it's time (like most of his work), the word 'cult classic' cannot begin to describe the Television series of Twin Peaks. With Here are some episode capsules to see what you're in for. As hard as it is to explain what Twin Peaks is about, I'll try! Lastly, I have to mention that the first episode starts out by saying "Here are some scenes from the previous episode of Twin Peaks." Ok, well the all-important episode is not included on the disc and it's a bit of a downer. If you haven't really followed the series (like me) then you only know a few characters, so having to immediately connect the dots isn't that welcome. Nevertheless, here are the episodes that are included on the discs...

Episode 1 - Traces to Nowhere (4/12/90)
FBI Agent Dale Cooper and Sheriff Harry Truman discover more about the troubled secret life of the murdered Laura Palmer; Big Ed Hurley reveals that he was drugged at the Roadhouse; a frightened James Hurley, vengeful Bobby Briggs and Mike Nelson are released from jail; Catherine Martell lays bare her plot to take control of the Packard sawmill.

Episode 2 - Zen, or the skill to catch a killer (4/19/90)
FBI Agent Dale Cooper demonstrates an unusual deductive technique for the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department; Benjamin Horne and his brother, Jerry, take a trip to One-Eyed Jacks; Donna Hayward and James Hurley pledge their love; Leo Johnson holds Bobby Briggs at gunpoint; Cooper has a strange dream.

Episode 3 - Rest in pain (4/26/90)
The townsfolk of Twin Peaks gather for Laura Palmer's funeral; Cooper interprets his dream about the killer; Truman reveals to Cooper the secret of the Bookhouse Boys.

Episode 4 - The one-armed man (5/3/90)
Cooper and Truman track down the one-armed man and some strange new evidence in Laura Palmer's murder; Norma Jennings attends a parole board hearing for her husband; Audrey Horne decides to begin her own investigation.

Episode 5 - Cooper's Dreams (5/10/90)
Cooper and Truman have tea with the Log Lady and discover a macabre crime scene in the woods; Audrey Horne takes a job at her father's department store; Hank Jennings returns from prison to the Double R Diner; James Hurley and Donna Hayward take Madeleine Ferguson into their confidence.

Episode 6 - Realization Time (5/17/90)
Agent Cooper and Big Ed pay a special visit to One-Eyed Jacks, while Audrey Horne goes undercover as a hostess there; Josie Packard shares her suspicions with Truman about Catherine Martell's intentions; Dr. Jacoby receives a phone call from the dead Laura Palmer.

Episode 7 - The Last Evening (5/24/90)
Cooper and Truman's investigation builds to a terrifying conclusion; Dr. Jacoby heads for his rendezvous with "Laura Palmer"--and its bizarre consequences; Catherine Martell and Shelly Johnson are hopelessly trapped; Hank Jennings' evil influence spreads, engulfing Josie Packard.

Twin Peaks is shown in it's original full-frame format. The episodes appear to be very clean and crisp, displaying a level of detail that I was surprised to see. For a television show some 10 years old, I again have to say that I am very impressed here. The colors are purposely muted, as per the aura of the town of Twin Peaks. The fleshtones are right on target and I saw no artifacting at all. While certainly not reference quality, I again have to comment on how good these appear.

Twin Peaks is the first television program to be presented in the DTS format. Naturally, these were not originally aired in DTS, but the sound is amazing! Twin Peaks has one of the most recognizable theme songs and the DTS takes full advantage of it. The guitar sounds awesome as you hear the "ba boing...." from the song. While the actual episodes don't have that much depth, I was very impressed at how good this sounded. The dialogue is very crisp and has little or no distortion at all. Also included is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track that sounds just as superb. I can't say it again...nice job!

While the four disc set isn't loaded with special features, fans of the series will be in heaven as each episode includes a commentary track and some script notes. The commentaries are very informative and well thought out. With a one hour show, each has time to get right to the point and expand upon what the show is trying to say. Still, they are very interesting and might I say again that fans of the show will love these new tracks. The episodes also feature the "Log Lady" introduction. A nice touch! The majority of the extra features are housed on the final disc, it contains the seventh episode of the series as well as a few featurettes and some interesting factoids. First up is an interview with Mark Frost by the editors of "Wrapped in Plastic" magazine. Clearly fans of the series/movie, they interview Frost as to how the series came up and how they shot it, etc. It is a bit odd though, as it's a phone interview. Still, I found it very informative and interesting. How to speak in the "Red Room" is an interesting little feature that has the famous room in red from the final episode. This might be one of the most noted images from the series and actor Michael Anderson takes us through how the speaking process can be very misunderstood when dealing with David Lynch! Speaking of David Lynch, most of us need an introduction to him when trying to comprehend his work. What do you know, they have one here. While it's mostly actors and people who have worked with him in the past, they tell that he has great vision and what to expect and not to expect when dealing with him. He is truly an artist and as explained here, doesn't even understand what he's doing all of the time. This might be helpful to watch first before watching the series.

17 pieces of pie is a featurette about the woman who owned the cafe in which Agent cooper had his oh so good coffee and pie. She tells of how her business took off and prospered as the show gained it's fame and fortune. While she tends to get a bit long-winded (how many times can you hear the word 'pie'), it is interesting to see how much is affected by that of a television show. Lastly, there is a Twin Peaks Diary of sorts. We have Laura Palmer in the center (naturally) and all the characters around her who were either related to her or influenced her. Delve down into one person and you get an endless branch of characters, some even have Twin Peaks video postcards to watch. There's too much to list here, but it's a one-stop reference point for your characters of Twin Peaks. As I mentioned before, fans of the series will be giddy with all of the supplements, video and audio presentation of the show. And don't forget...we still have Season Two to look forward to. But where'd that Pilot go?