Twin Peaks: Definitive Gold Box Edition

Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Richard Beyer, Lara Flynn Boyle, Sherilyn Fenn Directed by: Various Runtime: 1340 min. Rated: Not Rated DVD Release date: October 30, 2007 - More Info
READER RATINGS:
8.7 OVERALL	Smart . . . . . . . . 9 Sexy . . . . . . . . . 8.5 Funny . . . . . . . . 8.5

The Nerve Review

My girlfriend and I were independently surprised this Thanksgiving when neither of our families wanted to talk about Twin Peaks. Sure, the show had been off the air for sixteen years, but we'd just watched the whole thing, and it has a way of lingering in the mind. Not least because of the cliffhanger that ends the series. With the identity of Laura Palmer's killer revealed in episode fourteen, most of the country lost interest, and so, seemingly, did some of the series creators, including David Lynch himself. As our own Dan Erdman wrote when the Season Two box came out last spring, you really can stop there. That eerie episode leaves a lot unresolved (and the killer at large) but somehow feels like a satisfying conclusion. The episodes that followed were directionless, containing several candidates for the Bad Subplot Hall of Fame. (Two words: pine weasel.) But the last few episodes got better, and the shockingly weird season finale, which ends with the beloved Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) possessed by the demon Bob, promised a bright future for Twin Peaks, if not for Twin Peaks. Sadly, the fan base was gone, and the series was cancelled, leaving Cooper grimacing in the bathroom of the Great Northern Hotel for all time.

It's a pretty appalling way to go out, but that shouldn't stop anyone from seeking out this beautiful set, where both seasons are at last reunited with the long-missing pilot. Rights problems kept the pilot unavailable in the States for years — I first saw the damn thing on a Japanese laserdisc — but it's here, remastered, and still a masterpiece. Rarely was the tone of the series more perfectly balanced, and for crystallizing moment, look to the early scene where the police examine Laura Palmer's body, "wrapped in plastic" on a cold lakeshore. A deputy stares at the body and starts, pitiably, to sob; the sheriff, with a mixture of exasperation and compassion, mutters, "Andy, is this going to happen every time?" It's unforgettable, and it captures the mixture of off-kilter comedy and deep sadness that made the series a classic and make this set a must-have. — Peter Smith

DVD EXTRAS: Charles de Lauzirika, the producer of the great Alien Quadrilogy set, has assembled a great bunch of extras here, including a hilarious batch of Japanese coffee commercials starring the cast. (As you can guess, Twin Peaks was big in Japan.) Unfortunately, his ninety-minute documentary on the series feels rushed compared to the extensive docs on the Alien set. Many key actors who participated in earlier sets are missing. Also missing are the director commentaries that appeared on the old Season One set. So the truly obsessed will have to spend some time on eBay.