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Twin Peaks - The First Season (Special Edition)

Twin Peaks - The First Season (Special Edition)

List Price: $39.98
Your Price: $29.99
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOW
Review: I was only ten when Twin Peaks was first aired on TV. I watched it every week with my parents and my older brother and sister. The show was so bizarre and twisted, and messed with my head so much, i had trouble sleeping for a few months. But despite my sleeping troubles i still watched it because there was something about the series that fascinated me. Needless to say, i was pretty much obsessed with it. I happen to think that it was a brilliantly written show. I would totally suggest buying the first season, because it's so interesting and so addicting it's hard to turn it off. I haven't bought the dvd yet, but i've seen every episode, if you haven't seen every episode and you don't feel like getting up at 5am every morning to watch it on Bravo, i would recommend getting the dvd... it's way more interesting than you would expect. (one suggestion, don't let your kids watch it... it's just a little too bizarre and twisted for most children)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Flawed, but still engrossing.
Review: I used to watch Twin Peaks all the time. Every week, I set aside everything else for one hour of this compelling murder mystery. And to be honest, I can hardly remember a thing about this series. So when the DVD of season one was released, my curiosity and desire for some early 90's nostalgia made this an impulse buy. First, let me gripe about how the 90-minute pilot is not on the DVD. Otherwise, I was rather satisfied with this engrossing first season of Twin Peaks, which is as atmospheric and twist-filled as I recalled, if not quite as solid in terms of pacing.

Anybody who's familiar with the series will know that the plot focuses on the murder of Laura Palmer and FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle Machlachlan), an intriguing, mildly eccentric man determined to find her killer. From what I've seen in season one, each episode introduces new characters and interesting subplots that add twist upon twist upon twist. If it weren't so addictive, I'd have a headache.

Let's take a brief look at the cast. There's Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean), the lovely waitress Shelly (Madchen Amick, looking just as beautiful as ever), Lara Flynn Boyle as Laura's best friend, Shery Lee as Laura's identical cousin, and...oh, geez, just watch the series for yourself. I'm having a hard time going through this whole cast, suffice to say that just about everyone is interesting and developed fairly well, which I assume would make the revelation of the killer that much more effective (and yes, I do know the identity of the killer).

As created by David Lynch, Twin Peaks is sometimes VERY Lynchian, which proves to have its good and bad points. What works: Lynch proves capable of writing quirky characters worthy of screen time, he knows how to keep a seemingly story moving forward while building in complexity, and he's got a great sense of atmosphere and small town mentality. He also teamed up with Angelo Badalamenti, who composes a truly great score, making this one of the few shows I'll actually watch through the opening credits just to listen to the music. What doesn't work: he tries way too damn hard to make each character quirky, he adds his own oddities that don't always gel well with the material (the dancing midget, in particular), and in terms of pacing, the series (at first, at least), doesn't bounce back and forth between subplots quite as well as I would have liked. But, no doubt, by episode 7, I was hooked.

There are a few other annoying things here and there. For one, the Laura Palmer look-a-like is too convenient for the plot. Obviously, Shery Lee wanted at least some screen time beyond being a mere cadaver. Some of the characters act against better judgment, such as the decision to shorten the autopsy on Laura Palmer for her funeral. Sure, I know it's out of respect and all, but given more time for thorough examination, I'm sure more clues would have been uncovered. By far the most annoying aspect is the log lady, who I'm sure must have seemed quirkily and darkly humorous on paper, but doesn't play well into the story.

The cast is mostly really good, with Machlachlan doing a surprisingly fine job as Agent Dale Cooper. Michael Ontkean is also solid as the sheriff, and yeah, these two have a pretty good working chemistry. Whatever happened to Ontkean, anyway? I'm surprised he hasn't become a bigger star these days. I'd find it a little repetitive to mention the rest of the cast, suffice to say most everyone is at least decent in their roles. I suspect the second season will reveal secrets about many of these characters (I'm most curious about Joan Chen, who looks like she's got something up her sleeve). I'm also pretty curious about how Cooper's relationship with Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) will turn out. And hey, I don' think I've ever seen a television series with this many attractive actresses (Madchen Amick, who's easily the most beautiful of everyone here, Lara Flynn Boyle, Sheryl Lee, Joan Chen, and Sherilyn Fenn).

Twin Peaks has quite a few stumbles here and there, often succumbing to silliness and often working too hard at being odd and quirky rather than trying to tie everything together coherently (though, don't get me wrong, I realize all issues will be resolved later). But this is still a very addictive television series, mostly well-paced, and with appealing characters and settings that make me look forward to the next season once it, too, arrives on DVD.
*** 1/2 out of *****

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Muy good.
Review: The biggest complaint with this DVD is that it does not include the pilot episode. So be it. If you want it, you can order the pilot episode right above this one at this very Web site. Do not expect much from the extra features here. The Log Lady intros are nice for a completeness, but the comentaries over the episodes are only interesting for the dedicated film makers. As with the rest of David Lynch's DVD releases, the material speaks for itself and does not require any additions. Although this is only the first season, the quality is infinitely better than the atrocious quality in the VHS versions. Let's hope the rest of the seasons follow soon.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Madness in great ones, must not unwatched go.
Review: Twin Peaks is perhaps one of the greatest television phenomena to have ever graced our collective sets worldwide. Twin Peaks popularity is due to the shows never-waivering endever to explore not only the ultimate struggle between good and evil, but also that ever elusive "inbetween". It is a story that incorperates all aspects of the human condition: love, abandonment, loathing, greed, lust, dispair, grief, friendship, secrets, madness and the myriad ways people try to escape it all.
Yes it sounds depressing. And at times it is.
However when the landscape of Twin Peaks has worked itself into your mind and the twists and turns common to Lynch have melted away your yearning to hide, one simple truth is simply undeniable: people are in fact WEIRD.
If you can come to grips with that, Twin Peaks is just the vehicle one needs to steer through it all and maybe find some answers.
Of course, the only answer I want now is when the next DVD is set to hit stores and how soon I can complete my collection.
It's never fun knowing only half of the story.
PLEASE GIVE US SEASON TWO!!!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Twin Peaks - The First Season (Special Edition) DVD
Review: I was unhappy with this version. Too many scenes were deleted from the original episodes. I higly recommend VHS.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What's with the obsession with the pilot?
Review: Leave it to a Lynch project to bring out the obsessives. Who cares about the stupid pilot? I don't remember seeing it when the series was on TV, and that never bothered me.

Anyway, Twin Peaks was good stuff. Funny, well-made, and bizarre. Hasn't been anything like it since.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the greatest television shows ever made
Review: The first seven episodes of Twin Peaks accomplished what many shows can't do in their entire lifespan. The characters, whether it be the good-natured Agent Cooper, the seductive, beautiful Audrey Horne, or her dad, the conniving, manipulative Ben Horne, have such distinct personalities, it feels like you actually know them. Scenes like the amazing Red Room sequence in Episode 2 and Laura's funeral in Episode 3 are what all TV shows should strive to be like. The Red Room/Cooper's dream sequence in particular is one of the greatest moments in television history. By the end of Episode 7 (which leaves a daunting and daring cliffhanger), you'll never watch television quite the same way again; especially since a suprising amount of TV shows these days use themes and ideas that Twin Peaks exposed to the media.

The DVD release of this first season is perfect. The picture quality, as well as the sound quality, is definitely reference material for anyone thinking about buying a DVD player; the extras are very nice, including commentary by the directors of each episode (with the exception of Ep. 2 and 7, which were directed by Lynch and Frost, respectively; the director of photography gives commentary for these ones), introductions for each episode by the Log Lady, and much more. The only quibble I have for the DVD, like many others, is that the pilot episode is nowhere to be found. This is most likely because Artisan Entertainment couldn't acquire the rights to it; however, there are dozens of copies of an import, region-free DVD of the pilot episode on eBay for only 10 or 12 dollars. The quality isn't that great, but it's the only DVD out that has the original broadcast version of the pilot, until Paramount gets their act together and puts out a Region 1 release of it.

I can't wait until Season 2 comes out, although I've heard it won't until next year. Here's hoping the wait will be worth it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Simply Extraordinary
Review: My Dad actually bought this set of DVDs for my mother for her birthday, he said she loved the series when it was on and she always watched it with friends. I was like 4 or so then, though. Anyway, he said that it was about an ongoing mystery of the murder of this girl. First thought that entered my mind was "OK---this sounds like the first couple episodes are great, but it should get boring after a while". We watched it, and I just loved it. I hope they put the second season on DVD soon. I recomend this series to anyone who loves a good mystery.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Pilot sold separately
Review: This is the best Twin Peaks has ever looked! Unfortunately, the pilot could not be included because of a rights dispute in the US. It is possible to get the pilot on DVD however, because the owner of the series was able to release the pilot in Taiwan. ...

All in all, this is a great boxed set of one of the greatest television shows ever. Picking up a copy of the pilot just rounds out the set and makes it complete!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great set! Now where's the pilot episode?
Review: Okay. First off, this boxed set is great! The HiDef transfers are absolutely breathtaking, the audio is great, and there are some gimmicky special features that are fun to mess around with. HOWEVER, the pilot episode is NOT included in this box. Now, this is a bit of a pain in the neck if you gather your friends around and try to initiate them after 10 years of babbling about Twin Peaks. You'd think Lynch/Frost would have released a copy simulataneously, right? It doesn't matter too much, though. My friends enjoyed it anyhow.


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