The opening credits of Twin Peaks play to gentle music overlaying images of a saw mill in action. The camera zooms into the saw blade being sharpened. This picture symbolizes the ideals of the show – it’s set in a worn-in working town. Because the blade is being sharpened, it’s dull and needs a bit of fixing. The blade is also an image for something sinister and violent. It is a tool of destruction. I might be reading a little too much into this one image, but when you’re working with David Lynch you can count on every frame meaning something. For me that’s half the fun of the show – it’s a puzzle that I feel obliged to solve or at the very least plug away at.
Set in a sleepy town in Washington State, minutes from the Canadian border, Twin Peaks revolves around the murder of Laura Palmer. On the surface she’s got the All-American Dream. She’s the prom queen. She’s dating the high school quarterback. She comes from a wealthy, respected family. But that’s just the surface. Like everything else in Twin Peaks, Laura is not all what she seems to be. She leads a double life, one filled with pain, sleaze and sorrow.
This idea of duality is a common theme for all of the show. It’s right there in the title. Laura isn’t the only one with secrets. Everyone has them, whether it’s cheating on your spouse or significant other, running shady business, plotting to take down others – everyone’s got a story. But one of the things that makes the show so interesting is that on the surface everything appears to be black and white. Laura Palmer is good, therefore her murderer must be evil. It’s this battle – the one between the good and evil – that ultimately fuels the bizarre storyline.
Twin Peaks plays like a soap opera. Every episode is filled with melodrama, over-the-top lines of dialogue and a dizzying web of relationships. It even acknowledges its roots through an ongoing cut to the in-house soap “Invitation to Love” which appears throughout the show’s first season. But there’s something more to Twin Peaks than a simple soap opera. It merely provides the show with a framework or style to play inside. It gives Twin Peaks a lot of its quirky and fresh feel. And although it’s partially a soap opera, it also fits into other genres as well. It’s a mystery, it’s science fiction, it’s comedy, it’s romance. Created by Lynch and Mark Frost, Twin Peaks seamlessly morphs into whatever form it needs to in order to forward the story.
The first season is strong throughout. Although more twisted than your average primetime drama, it’s solidly grounded in the investigation of Laura Palmer. There’s plenty of other things going on, but the murder is central to everything. The second season is where things start to go a little odd, even in the context of the show. Much of the focus is lost as it moves in a different direction. And although there’s plenty to show for in the way of foreshadowing, the change seems abrupt and unsettling.
Even still, it’s rare I become this addicted to a show. It happens, but primarily with fast-paced action shows like 24 and Prison Break where the cliffhangers almost force you to “watch one more episode”. With Twin Peaks it was simply because the show was so original and engrossing that I wanted to keep watching long into the night and neglect my chores the next day, much to my wife’s chagrin.
Twin Peaks – The Definitive Gold Box Edition DVD Review
Finally, the series is complete. After two separate releases for season one and season two from two different companies (and yet no pilot on either), Twin Peaks is brought together in one set with “The Definitive Gold Box Collection.” The pilot comes in two versions: the original North American version that launched the series and an international variation that tied up the whole Laura Palmer case with an additional 20 minutes of rushed scenes. The 29 episodes from the show’s two seasons (seven in season one and 22 in season two) are all included in this ten-disc set. The picture has been re-mastered and looks great, especially when compared to the non-cleaned up Log Lady intros that are optional on every episode. While the program is clean, the intros look as though they were taped of off television onto a cheap VHS tape in 1983 on the worst possible setting. Audio has been upgraded in Dolby Digital 5.1 Stereo, however the original 2.0 Stereo audio is also included. Dubbed Spanish and Portuguese versions are available in mono. English, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles are also included in the set.
As far as extras go, there’s plenty to go around that will satisfy both the casual and the hardcore fan. “Secrets from Another Place” is an extensive exploration of the making of the show. Running 105 minutes, it includes tons of recent interviews with numerous cast and crew on the origins of the show, the filming and the response. If you think sci-fi shows and movies starting with the word ‘star’ have hardcore fans, well Twin Peaks has a few of their own. While they might not form an intimidating army, they come together for “Return to Twin Peaks”, a look at the annual festival that brings fans and stars to the filming site to talk about their favourite bits and eat cherry pie. There’s also an accompanying interactive map that goes through many of the original shooting locations. “A Slice of Lynch” is a 30-minute is perhaps the most bizarre retrospective I have seen, but I guess it is David Lynch. There he sits in a coffee shop and a bar chatting with Kyle MacLachlan, John Wentworth and Mädchen Amick, chatting openly about the show, his triumphs and his regrets. Although a little odd, it’s tone is fitting for the show and the personality. Four deleted scenes totaling about six minutes are in about the same shape as the Log Lady intros, but nonetheless an interesting look at the show’s history. Also included are several production documents, Kyle McLachlan’s opening monologue from a guest spot on Saturday Night Live and the ensuing skit, promo spots, Japanese coffee-in-a-can TV ads, a 1-900 number ad that responders could get show clues for a price, the 1-900 clues that others paid for (suckers 😉 ), the music video for “Fallen” by Julee Cruise, 12 collectible postcards (with 61 total in the set so get trading) and an extensive image gallery.
Like the show it represents, Twin Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition is an eccentric lot of features that bring the show full-circle.
