DVD Review: Twin Peaks (Season 1)
Written by: Kage Alan

Film Rating: A
DVD Special Features: B

         Picked up as a mid-season replacement, series creators David Lynch and Mark Frost were given seven episodes to see if the could Peak audience interest enough to order a second season.  The question of who killed Laura Palmer was first and foremost on everyone's mind, but it was the expansion of the cast's characters and overall writing of the show in its bizarre humor and warped sense of reality that really brought in and kept its audience.  There were as many subplots to keep track of as there were characters and these seven episodes can only be described as masterful in fleshing out the promise of more to come and ending with one heck of a cliffhanger.

Fortunately and in Artisan's defense, since the original pilot episode is in
rights limbo (see the review for "Twin Peaks 'The Pilot'" for information on
where you can find the foreign DVD and order it), they were nice enough to
include a little booklet with a summary of the story thus far.  This combined
with a list of "Important characters from the Twin Peaks Pilot" will prove to
especially helpful to viewers who have never seen the show before.

As for plot, Season 1 continues to follow the investigation of FBI Special
Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean) in trying to discover who killed Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), whose body washed up onto shore wrapped in plastic in the Pilot. Unfortunately, the quiet little town of Twin Peaks isn't so little and isn't quite as quiet as one would hope.  Subplots within subplots wrapped around mysteries make it impossible to even begin to guess who the killer may be, though there are plenty of red herrings.  The cast, for the most part, is extremely talented and really brings something extra to their characters.  It's am impressive ensemble and Lynch and Frost would rather stay and visit with them for a while rather than rush out and solve the mystery.  For anyone wondering, there is no resolution at the end of Season 1.  You'll have to wait for Season 2 to find out who did what to whom and when.

Artisan has really been touch and go with their releases in 2001, but I'm
pleased to say that they've outdone themselves with "Twin Peaks Season 1."
The picture quality is excellent and the audio is a gorgeous surround that
really does enhance Angelo Badalamenti's score as well as the numerous
outdoor ambient noises.  It's rich material here and Artisan went all out in
making it a like visiting an old friend who's just had some plastic surgery;
they look better now than they did back then.

The extras on the disc are both excellent and also very disappointing.  Each
episode features an audio commentary by either the director of the episode
(with the exception of David Lynch who doesn't like to deconstruct his work)
or the writer, set-designer or lighting director.  Honestly, some of them are
much better than others, but how much you get out of the commentary depends entirely on what you are looking for.  If you are looking for insight into the mythos of "Twin Peaks" or any deep theories about the series and the
characters, don't waste your time listening to any of the commentaries
because there's none to be found.

The directors instead discuss how they were chosen, why they set shots up the
way they did, how they approached the work, what their relationship was like
with Lynch and their take on what scenes were important to them.  If you are
a film student and want to learn about set design or lighting set-ups, then
you'll get something out of those commentaries, but I was bored stiff.  This
is why I say that whether or not you enjoy the commentaries depends entirely
on what you want to get out of them.  For diehard fans looking for depth,
forget it.  For those looking for more technical information, then there's a
good chance you'll find something that holds your interest.  I kept fighting
the urge to change the audio back and just listen to the series itself.

For each episode menu, there is a not-so-hidden Easter egg that, when
pressed, shows a brief clip of the person providing the commentary.  Also on
the episode menu is an option that allows you to (when you see a fire symbol
on the screen) access behind-the-scenes information about deleted scenes and
other assorted bits and pieces.  I found this to be extremely distracting,
actually, and difficult to use because it's easy to unintentionally skip
ahead several chapters into the episode and not even realize that you are
doing just that.  Instructions included in the little booklet that came with
the box set would have been appreciated.  I just got frustrated with it in
the end and gave up playing with the feature.

As for other extras, there is an optional introduction by the Log Lady that
can be viewed before each episode starts.  The video quality is extremely
poor during these sequences, but it's kind of neat to see, though not
necessary to the show.  The last disc has a series of little documentaries.   
My favorite features new interviews with various cast members as they discuss
how they got their role, how they approached it, how they interpreted it and
how Lynch interpreted it.  There are some fond memories shared, some humorous and some frustrating and it's 20+ minutes well spent.  There's a very strange videotaped phone interview between two men from Wrapped In Plastic-The official Twin Peaks Magazine and Mark Frost.  Again, there's some interesting bits of information to be found here.  Another section features instructions on how to talk in the Red Room.  If you don't know what the Red Room is, watch the show and you'll understood soon enough.

All in all, I'm more impressed with how Artisan has remastered the series in
how it looks and sounds rather than what extras they included.  Now, don't
get me wrong, I've very pleased with their efforts as far as the extras go
and I think they did a fantastic job, but I'm really disappointed with the
lack of information on the whys of things and what Lynch was thinking when he created it.  One does get the impression that even he didn't know, so I guess I have my answer.  Anyway, "Twin Peaks Season 1" is an outstanding set of seven episodes and absolutely worth owning.  Let's hope Artisan keeps up the solid work if they choose to release Season 2.                                                       

Kage holds degrees in Creative Writing, as well as Film & Video. He has been featured in a Life Journey Tele-Course, published poems in several national anthologies, been a contributor to The Third Coast Magazine and written several novels. kage@modamag.com