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Video:
1.33:1 |
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Anamorphic:
No |
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Audio:
English (DD 5.1)
Spanish (DD 2.0 Mono)
Portuguese (DD 2.0 Mono) |
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Subtitles:
English
Spanish
Portuguese |
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Runtime:
1035 minutes
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Rating: NR |
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Released:
April 3rd, 2007 |
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Production
Year:
1990-1991 |
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Director:
Various |
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Released
by:
CBS DVD/Paramount |
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Region:
1 NTSC |
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Audio Commentary by Steve
Ryfle and Friends |
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Slide Show of Original Movie Posters |
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Featurette: Art Of Suit Acting |
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Twin Peaks -
The Second Season
By Gerry Donaghy |
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 The premise of Twin Peaks was simple: popular teenager Laura Palmer is found murdered, her body, wrapped in plastic, washed up on the banks of the river. An FBI agent arrives to investigate while the townspeople try to understand how such a
tragedy could befall them. But creators David Lynch and Mark Frost had a larger concept at work, one that Lynch introduced in his 1986 film Blue Velvet, which was to examine what they imagined to be the dark, seething underbelly of Americana. The effect of the film and television show was akin to pulling back the canvas on a Norman Rockwell painting to discover that it covered one of Otto Dix'sLustmord images.
Looking back on television in 1990, it's amazing that a show like Twin Peaks ever got on the air in the first place. A quick Google of popular television shows at the time turns up Cheers, Rosanne, The Cosby Show and America's Funniest Home Videos; hardly a landscape willing to embrace a show featuring a cryptic giant, a dancing dwarf and a murdered prom queen. While the show resonated with a certain demographic and won heaps of critical praise, it was never a ratings juggernaut. But somehow the quest to find Laura
Palmer's murderer managed to capture the zeitgeist of Reagan-Bush (the H.W. variety) America, with millions of viewers tuning in each week not only to try and piece together the mystery, but also to see just how far off the deep end Lynch and Frost would go.
While Twin Peaks was a drama and a mystery, it was first and foremost a surrealistic soap opera parody. Lynch seemed to state as much, as he often showed his characters watching a lurid soap opera called Invitation To Love, where the characters in the show seemed to be mirroring the actions of the residents of the town. And, just like a soap opera, the first season of Twin Peaks ended with a cliffhanger of epic proportions, with nearly every major character facing certain death: cuckolded, axe-wielding Leo Johnson has been shot while trying to kill Bobby Briggs. Leo has trapped his adulterous wife Shelly in the burning lumber mill with Catherine Martell. One-eyed drapery
maniac Nadine Hurley is in a drug induced coma after a botched suicide attempt, Audrey Hone is about to be propositioned by her own father (long story) and Special Agent Dale Cooper has just been shot three times at point blank range by an unseen
gunman. There's more even more going on here, but you get the idea. And viewers were even farther from discovering who killed Laura Palmer then they were when the pilot aired.
The second season of Twin Peaks picks up the action the following morning.
"We haven't this much action in one night since the Elk's Club fire of˜59", Doc Hayward, one of the few characters not facing peril the previous episode, tells Cooper as he's recovering from his wounds. Before blacking out, Cooper was visited by a giant, who relays to him several opaque clues for solving the mystery. These clues will eventually help Cooper find the killer. In the
meantime, new mysteries arise and more villains reveal themselves.
 Some of these plotlines work better than others. The Laura Palmer investigation continues to entrance and terrify. However, once that is resolved, some tangents, like Deputy Andy competing with the effete Dick Tremayne for the affections of ditzy police receptionist Lucy, Nadine thinking that she's an abnormally strong teenager, hotel baron Benjamin Horne losing his sanity as he recreates the Civil War in his office, and dunderheaded romantic James Hurley riding off on his Harley into a domestic conspiracy that is so dopey Dashiell Hammet wouldn't blow his nose with it, makes one think that Lynch was probably neglecting his child and leaving it with an abusive babysitter. When the writers resort to such soap opera clichés, I'm grateful for the fast-forward button.
 However, even though some the parts that don't work, the best parts remind you that even at its worst, Twin Peaks was better than any other show at the time, and better than most nearly twenty years later. There are moments to savor in the second season: the unmasking of Laura Palmer's killer, Agent Cooper's fight against trumped up drug charges (featuring
a pre-X-Files David Duchovny as a transvestite DEA agent), and best of all is the cat and mouse game played on Cooper by his former partner Windom Earle. Played with psychotic verve by Kenneth Johnson, Earle is a perfect shadow to Cooper's light, each of them the epitome of the forces they represent. Their final confrontation in the Black Lodge provides an enigmatic conclusion to the show, as well as what is probably to this day one of the creepiest things ever broadcast on a major network.
 Sadly, the even bigger cliffhanger finale of season two would never be resolved as the show was cancelled by the network (you get the sense that when Lynch found out the fate of the show, he went as over-the-top as he could). Even more tragic was Lynch's decision to make a Twin Peaks film that would act as a prequel rather than a sequel that would tie up the loose ends. This isn't to say that the loose ends needed to be addressed, but rather, prequels in general rarely work. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is probably the only time Lynch has ever done a project purely for the sake of the viewers, in this case the hardcore fans of the television show.
 Presentation
This DVD box set is not only an improvement over the previous VHS release of the series, it's a vast improvement over Artisan's 2001 release of season one. The colors, from the greens of the Douglass Firs, to the reds of the cherry pie at the RR Diner have a luster that is peerless when compared to most television shows on DVD, with blacks as solid as a strong cup of coffee. Even the night scenes are clearer than in any previous edition of the show. Long story short, it's time to throw out your tapes; especially if (like me) you're still watching ancient copies that were taped on a home VCR during their original broadcast.
The English language track is in Dolby Digital 5.1, a fitting compliment to composer Angelo Badalamenti's mournfully memorable score. Other language options include Spanish and Portuguese, both in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. Subtitle options include Spanish, Portuguese and English, which are especially helpful to follow along with Leland Palmer as he sings Mairzy Doats.
 Extras
Lots of fun to be had here, even if there was no participation from the shows creators. There is an Interactive Interview Grid, which will allow viewers to watch short (2-5 minutes long) interviews with about a dozen of the actors from the show, including David Euphony (DEA agent Dennis/Denise Bryson), Sherilyn Fenn, James Marshall (James Hurley) and Kimmy Robertson (Lucy Moran). Of course, as fun as these are, you'll find yourself wishing that a few more actors would have made themselves available. The interviews are insightful, even if most of the actors spend a good chunk of time fawning over David Lynch. The grid allows you to watch the interviews one at a time, or all at once. But I wouldn't call this feature special. In fact, it's almost expected.
There are additional interviews with series directors, including Caleb Deschanel, Todd Holland, Stephen Gyllenhaal (yes, Jake and Maggie’s father) and Tim Hunter. They talk about how great Lynch was to work with and how much fun they had, but I Don't think they lend any particularly valuable insights to the proceedings. Also included is an interview with Lynch's daughter Jennifer, the author of The Secret Diary Of Laura Palmer, which would have been much more interesting if she had taken a moment to apologize for Boxing Helena.
 As with the first season, the Bravo Network filmed Log Lady Introductions for each episode are included in this release. The video quality is rather poor on these, and their entertainment value limited. Watch them once and you're set for a lifetime.
Bottom Line
Good things come to those who wait. If you managed to avoid buying import of bootleg editions, you patience has been rewarded. The only reason not to buy this right now would be if you don't already own season one and are waiting for the promised set containing the complete series. Short of a commentary track by Lynch, the only thing that could make this better would be if it came with a pound of David Lynch's Signature Cup coffee.
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