Television. One DVD at a Time.

"Listen to me, Lucy Moran. You just listen. When the Tacoma Sperm Bank was looking for donors, naturally I applied. It's my civic duty, and I like whales. A routine physical examination revealed that I'm sterile. Sure, I thought it meant I didn't have to take a bath, but the doctors told me the truth. They told me I can't have babies. So, what I wanna know now is why you're having one and how?" - Harry Goaz as Deputy Andy Brennan

Twin Peaks: The Second Season DVD Review

By Jonathan Boudreaux

In real life, crimes sometimes go unsolved. The Zodiac killer, who terrorized California in the '60s and '70s, has never been definitively identified. After ten years, Jean Benet Ramsey's killer is still at large. And O.J. Simpson is still off looking for the culprit who murdered his ex wife (I guess his house doesn't have any mirrors.) Television fans, however, like for their mysteries to be solved quickly and wrapped up with a neat bow. When Twin Peaks premiered on ABC in April 1990 for its abbreviated first season, it quickly became a cultural phenomenon as viewers tried to figure out its central mystery - who killed Laura Palmer. Twin Peaks was not as much a soap opera parody as a soap opera viewed through a funhouse mirror. The series was part murder mystery, part soap opera, part comedy, and completely different from anything else on television. By the time Twin Peaks: The Second Season began that fall, the backlash had begun. The series was too weird, too different, and it was taking too long to solve the case. In fact, viewers would definitively know the killer's identity by the fourteenth episode of the series, and the entire case would be wrapped up by the sixteenth episode. Luckily, the TV-watching public has become a little more patient lately, allowing serialized shows like Lost and Prison Break to flourish.

The patience of even the staunchest Twin Peaks fans was tested as recently as the last few years. Season one of the series was released on DVD in 2001. Just when it seemed like the series had been lost in the Black Lodge, Twin Peaks: The Second Season is finally appearing on DVD.

Watch any other soap opera or drama that ran concurrently with Twin Peaks and the first thing you'll probably notice is the extremely dated fashion. Remember Brandon's mullet in Beverly Hills 90210? Twin Peaks, on the other hand, is timelessly stylish. Steeped in Americana, the series features clothing, cars, and furnishings from many different eras. The result is a look that is just as fresh today as it was in 1990. (The only exceptions are a laptop computer that's about the size of a minibar refrigerator and a cell phone that's slightly larger than a shoebox, but we can't stop progress.)

Once the murder of Laura Palmer is solved, the series admittedly loses its moorings. The writers seem to struggle with keeping the series moving forward. With the case closed, there's really no reason for FBI Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) to stay in town...except, of course, for the fact that he is the show's main character. After a few false starts (including the bland storyline featuring Then Came Bronson's Michael Parks as drug-dealing baddie Jean Renault) they settle on Windom Earle (Kenneth Welsh), a serial killer who has ties to Cooper's past. The Earle plotline does have its creepy moments, but it never quite lives up to the Laura Palmer murder.

Several memorable B-stories help to take up the slack. Wendy Robie is hilarious as Nadine Hurley, who now has superhuman strength and thinks that she's a teenager. Leo Johnson (Eric Da Re), now a drooling, wheelchair-confined vegetable after a gunshot wound, proves to be just as menacing to his wife, Shelly (Madchen Amick), and her lover, Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook), as he was before his attempted murder.

For every successful plotline in season two, there are several failures. When a heartbroken James (James Marshall) hits the road on his motorcycle, he becomes embroiled in a pointless storyline about a murder plot. After being accused of killing Laura Palmer, Benjamin Horne (Richard Beymer) begins to reenact the Civil War, a lame storyline that seems to last longer than the Civil War itself. It often feels as if the writers are just killing time, filling up the allotted number of episodes. Many of these tales simply peter out with no real conclusion, as if the writers, too, grew disinterested.

Late in the season, Cooper proclaims to Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean) and deputies Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz) and Tommy "Hawk" Hill (Michael Horse) that "coincidence and fate play a large part in our lives." Season two relies a bit too much on coincidence. Still, the series' uniqueness trumps its flaws. Even after all these years, Twin Peaks is a fun place to visit.

With a cast that seems to number in the thousands, season two includes a number of familiar faces in guest roles. Be on the lookout for Alicia Witt (Cybill), Royal Dano (Gunsmoke), David L. Lander (Laverne & Shirley), Ian Abercrombie (Seinfeld), Clarence Williams III (The Mod Squad), Gavan O'Herlihy (Happy Days), Molly Shannon (Saturday Night Live), David Duchovny (The X-Files), Brenda Strong (Desperate Housewives), David Warner (The Omen), Billy Zane (Titanic), Heather Graham (Boogie Nights), and Willie Garson (Sex and the City).

The twenty-two episodes that make up Twin Peaks: The Second Season are divided onto six discs. The discs are housed in three slim, clear plastic keepcases, each of which holds two discs. The fronts and backs of the cases include large images from the series. The backs of the cases also include a listing of the episodes numbers and the special features found on the discs. (The series' episodes are untitled, just numbered.) Plot synopses are not included, so be sure to keep track of which episodes you've watched. The interiors of the cases include large images from the series. The keepcases slide into a cardboard outer sleeve.

The full-motion menus are simple yet evocative. Viewers can choose to play all of a disc's episodes or view an individual one. There are no scene selection menus, but the episodes are divided into chapters.

As with many releases from CBS DVD, the first disc opens with a Paramount logo that is meant to allow viewers to either choose to watch previews for other DVD releases or proceed directly to the main menu. In Twin Peaks: The Second Season, this screen appears, but viewers cannot choose either option. It is hard to tell whether this is a mistake or, this being Twin Peaks, an intentional joke. Either way, be prepared to stare at the Paramount logo for about a minute before the DVD automatically defaults to the main menu.

Video and Audio

These episodes look terrific. The sharp, crisp video could have been shot last week rather than almost twenty years ago. Apart from an occasional white speck, these shows look pretty flawless.

English, Portuguese, and Spanish audio tracks and subtitles are included.

The episodes are also closed captioned.

Extras

When Twin Peaks made its cable debut, series co-creator David Lynch filmed introductions for each episode featuring the "Log Lady," Catherine E. Coulson. The season two DVDs include these introductions. Viewers have the option of watching the introductions before the episodes or watching them separately. Another option is not to watch them at all. While it is nice that these were included, they most certainly aren't necessary for the enjoyment of the show.

Each disc contains an interview with a member of the series' creative team. Jennifer Lynch, author of Laura Palmer's Diary, is featured on disc one (3:49). Lynch discusses how she was given much leeway in creating Laura Palmer's back story, and at one point she was one of only three people who knew exactly who killed Laura Palmer. Todd Holland, who directed episodes 11 and 20, is interviewed on disc two (4:13) and reveals how he came up with the memorable opening shot that kicks off episode 11. Disc three features Caleb Deschanel, director of episodes 15 and 19 (4:22). He talks about why he feels the series is much more realistic than it is often given credit for. Duwayne Dunham, director of episodes 18 and 25, takes center stage on disc four (4:03). He gives his theory of why the series has endured and divulges that the pilot's original title was Northwest Passage. The director of episode 27, Stephen Gyllenhaal, discusses the series' actors on disc five (3:45). Finally, director Tim Hunter (episodes 16 & 28) is included on disc six (2:44). These interviews don't really add up to much - they are too brief to provide much information.

Disc six also includes an "Interactive Grid" which includes interviews with Kyle MacLachlan, Madchen Amick, Sherilyn Fenn, Dana Ashbrook, Gary Hershberger, James Marshall, David Duchovny, Kimmy Robertson, Don Davis, Mary Jo Deschanel, Lenny Von Dohlen, and Charlotte Stewart. The interviews are divided into three subjects: origin, production, and legacy. The grid allows viewers to create their own interview format based on whatever options they choose. For example, click on the place where David Duchovny intersects with origin on the grid and you'll hear how he got his role. Click on his name and you'll hear his entire interview. You can also view the interviews by subject (all of the origin segments, for example) or play all of the interviews. The total running time is 38:55. The individual segments are brief, but the actors are charming. The grid is a must-see for fans of the series.

Summary

Twin Peaks: The Second Season loses its way when the creative team has to come up with an entire season of episodes, but it's still a trip worth taking.

3/26/07