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The Arrow
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Twin Peaks: Season One (1990) |
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PLOT-CRUNCH: |
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THE LOWDOWN: |
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I’m thrilled to say that the
“Twin Peaks” magic still worked wonders on me like a finger snapping
midget in a red room. I watched all 7 episodes back to back and was fully
engulfed by the world of the show. I didn’t want it to end!!! What makes this series so special, you may ask? Well...it’s
everything. First off, the setting is novel. Think of a small town that’s
set in the present but that feels timeless with its 50s-like ambiance.
Who wouldn’t want to live there? The surrounding is absolutely gorgeous
with its awe-inspiring waterfalls and its skyscraping mountaintops. Now
take that serene setting and inject a mysterious but omnipresent dose of
pure evil underneath it and you get an idea of the vibe that “Twin
Peaks” gives off. David Lynch pulled off a similar hat trick with
“Blue Velvet” where he slowly uncovered the layers of evil under the
happy-go-lucky surface of “Middle America”. Here, with the help of Mark
Frost...he does it again. The storyline that fills the scenes is equally gripping. You’ve never seen a whodunit treated this way. The show takes you to places that you’d never think you’d visit. And I mean NEVER! Twin Peaks’ unpredictable nature weaved a web around my brain and made everything so much more engaging. The murder mystery is the main storyline but around it, we also have a multitude of other tales being told simultaneously. You’ll never get bored here. The very likeable and quirky characters also helped keep me anchored to the show. Agent Dale Cooper (McClachlan), for example, is a favorite of mine. You just can’t go wrong with this guy. He’s super positive, his intuition is uncanny, his investigating methods are unique and his “Buddhist” philosophies make him such an original character. The show also sports top-notch writing and manages to balance all kinds of different moods effortlessly at the same time without ever dropping a ball. Take Laura’s funeral scene for example. It's incredibly sad but when Leland (Wise) loses his marbles, it winds up being genuinely funny. I was feeling both emotions at the exact same time…now that’s a feat! “Twin
Peaks” also has the courage to venture where no other TV show ever dared
tread ground before. On a surface level, it may have the same ingredients
as
your average “soap opera” including murder, adultery, betrayal, a
surprise twin, a one-armed man (a nod to "The Fugitive") and cliffhangers
galore, but “Twin Peaks” takes those conventions and spins them on
their head. The show is spiritual, humanistic, supernatural, sexy, scary (think
Bob…brrr), deals with
dark issues and also likes to use
the simplest things to charm us or to communicate emotion. I have never
seen a show use “eating” or “dancing” the way “Twin Peaks”
does. They are mundane events...yes, but in this world, they mean so much
more. Dance Leland...dance you crazy bastard! This
first season has a lot of classic “Twin Peaks” moments in it. We get
our first visit to the “Red Room” with that backward talking, dancing
midget. We get to check out a cozy brothel called “One Eyed Jacks”. We
get Nadine’s (Robie) obsession with silent “drape runners”. We get
those loud Islander party animals keeping Coop awake. And we also get to see Audrey (Fenn) put a cherry stem in her mouth and turn it into a
knot with her tongue. I can write about Twin Peaks for pages and pages but
I’ll end with this: You just gotta love “Twin Peaks”! |
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| ACTING: | |||||||||||||||
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Lara Flynn Boyle (Donna) comes through as the emotional “good girl”. Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey) is captivating as the love struck Audrey. She gives out a perfect blend of sexy and naïve. Peggy Lipton (Norma) plays it simple and delivers. She’s still gorgeous too. James Marshall (James) does the brooding “Jimmy Dean” thang perfectly. Everett McGill (Big Ed) is damn tall and his “man of few words” shtick worked! Jack Nance (Pete) excels in these kinds of roles. His kooky yet charming performance pleased me. Kimmy Robertson (Lucy) is a cutie…love her voice. Ray Wise (Leland) sure knows how to cry and dance. I love this guy! Joen Chen (Josie) is the least interesting actress and character here, but she’s very pretty and does what she has to do. Piper Laurie (Catherine) turned me on! Is that normal? Eric DaRe (Leo) is a scary SOB as the wife-beating
jerk. Harry Goanz (Dep. Andy) gives a sweet performance as the overly
sensitive Deputy. Michael Horse’s (Dep. Hawk) character made me feel
safe. When Hawk’s around, everything is ok. Russ Tamblyn (Dr. Jacoby)
cracked me up as the hippie, Hawaiian shirt-loving doctor. David Patrick
Kelly (Jerry) is so funny as the happy-go-lucky dude.
Wendie Robie (Nadine) is all over the place as the eye
patch-wearing loon. Nobody can insult someone like Miguel Ferrer (Albert)
can. He’s the perfect a-hole. Catherine E. Coulson brings an added layer
of mystery to the show as the Log Lady. |
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| DVD FEATURES: | |||||||||||||||
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Apart from my disappointment of
not finding the “pilot” episode on the DVD, I can’t praise this baby
enough. Check it out! IMAGE:
The episodes have been newly re-mastered in high definition. The image is in
“full screen”. It’s crisp, clear, the color tones are right on and
grain is totally absent. Perfect! SOUND: We get a 2.0 Dolby Stereo Surround, a 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound and a DTS Digital Surround Sound option. I watched the episodes in 2.0 Dolby Stereo Surround and it came through gangbusters. The dialogue is clear and at the right level. The music flowed out of my speakers effortlessly and every background noise made its way to my ears. Again…PERFECT! EXTRAS:
Each episode comes with a Commentary
and features a Log Lady Intro
(This
option has the “Log Lady” speak to the camera before each show in her
own enigmatic way) and On Screen Script Notes
(With this option on,
an icon will appear at the bottom of the screen during the episodes. Press
enter and you will get to read the script changes that were made in regards
to that specific scene in the episode. Very slick.) The commentaries are
from director Duwayne Dunham (episodes 1 & 7), series D.O.P Frank Byers
(episode 2), director Tina Rathborne (episode
3), director Tim Hunter and series writer Robert Engels (episode 4), director Leslie Linka Glatter
(episode 5) and director Caleb Deschanel and series writer Harley Peyton The last disk also includes more gnarly extras under the title “TIBET”: Mark Frost Interview with
“Wrapped In Plastic”:
Series co-creator Mark Frost gives us some background info on the
series, the casting, the screenplay process etc. Very interesting. Learning
to speak in the “Red Room”:
A harmless extra that has Michael J. Anderson (“The man from another
place”) teach us how to speak backwards like they do in the “Red
Room”. Cute. Introducing David Lynch:
This
little documentary has Sheryl Lee (Laura), Kyle McClachlan (Cooper), Peggy
Lipton (Norma) and others come in to talk about Lynch, his talent and
his methods. The Richard Beymer
(Horne) segment is hilarious! Shooting at the Mar .T. (aka
RnR) Diner:
We get an interview with the broad that owned the Mar T Diner (the RnR
Diner on the show) at the time. We learn the impact the show had on life and
her business. The gal wound up selling lots of pies. Twin Peaks Directory with
Postcards from the cast:
This odd little thang has us select cast members through a phone motif. If
your skills are up to par, you can access “video” postcards (I got
Sheryl Lee talking about her trip to Africa). You can also access
filmographies and all sorts of info on the cast and crew. I thought the
concept of this extra was good but it tested my
short-tempered nature. This DVD will make any fan of
the series a very happy “Peaker”. The set comes with a kool booklet
(where we can read a Sheryl Lee interview and a summary of the events that
took place in the pilot) and the DVD sports an eerie animated menu that
echoes the creepy ambiance of the show. ARTISAN has really outdone
themselves! |
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| BOTTOM LINE: | |||||||||||||||
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“Diane; it is now 5 o'clock. I have just checked out of the “Great Northern Hotel” and am on my way home. I will miss Twin Peaks. It’s filled with endearing folks, striking scenery, originality, dark secrets, good scares and lots of laughs…I can’t wait to go back.” God it felt good to visit “Twin Peaks” again.
Bring on season two, Artisan! I’m game! Wait a minute…is that Bob hiding
behind my bed….HELP! |
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| BULL'S EYE: | |||||||||||||||
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Episode
1: Written by Mark Frost & David Lynch/Directed by Duwayne Dunham Twin Peaks has 29
episodes in total. 30 counting the pilot. David Lynch’s
"Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" movie is a prequel to the TV show. |
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The Way The Arrow Points... |
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I’d BUTCHER my family to see this again |
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HANG me but I dug it a lot |
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An ok way to KILL two hours |
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Just sling an ARROW in my head and let me die in peace |
Crawl back to the Arrow in the Head Homestead...