Twin Peaks: Complete Season 1 [DVD] [1990]

RRP: £49.99
Our Price: £14.00 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

One of the most influential TV shows of the 1990s, the first series of Twin Peaks has lost none of its quirky and queasy power to get under your skin and haunt your dreams. Without its groundbreaking mix of convoluted plotting, complex character interactions, surreal fantasy sequences and a continuous story arc, we would probably not have had The X-Files, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under or even The League of Gentlemen. So brew up a pot of some "damn fine coffee", dig into some cherry pie, and lose yourself in David Lynch and Mark Frost's murder mystery-soap opera, which unfolds, in one character's words, "like a beautiful dream and terrible nightmare all at once".

Twin Peaks was a pop culture phenomenon, for this first series at least, until the increasingly bizarre twists and maddening teases so confounded audiences that they lost interest in just who killed Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). This series was also a career peak for most of its eclectic ensemble cast, including Kyle MacLachlan as straight-arrow FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, Michael Ontkean as local Sheriff Harry S Truman, Sherilyn Fenn as bad girl Audrey Horne, Peggy Lipton as waitress Norma Jennings and Catherine Coulson as the Log Lady.

On the DVD: Twin Peak, Series 1 comes as a four-disc set that contains the original pilot plus the first season's seven episodes (inexplicably, the pilot episode was omitted on the American Region 1 DVD release, but is reinstated here). Special features include episode introductions by the Log Lady, commentaries by assorted episode directors (but not Lynch), and features from the archives of the fanzine Wrapped in Plastic. The 4:3 picture has been digitally remastered, and is now accompanied by a Dolby 5.1 soundtrack. --Donald Liebenson

Twin Peaks (of delight)
Review date: 2010-05-04 Rating: 10 out of 10

Twin Peaks, complete season 1. Absolutely loved this DVD box set. We watched the series when it came out in the late '80s and was surprised at how enjoyable it still is - David Lynch's creation simply doesn't conform to the predictable format of a typical TV series, it twists and turns, mixing comedy and tragedy with the surreal. Of course we had to order the 2nd series immediately after....

Reviews

My God! That cherry!
Review date: 2010-05-03 Rating: 10 out of 10

I was lent this boxed set of Series One of Twin Peaks and screamed at the end when - but better not say how it ends. I didn't realise there was a Series Two - thank goodness there is! How I managed to miss this when it first came out twenty years ago I can't imagine. I only had the self discipline to make the seven episodes last 9 days... now I want more, more, more. It's not hard to understand why it's so popular. The interwoven plots are crazy but believable, the characters recognisable and wonderfully weird. Oh, and extremely attractive. The Sherilyn Fenn cherry scene was hysterical, and must have led to men passing out en masse across the country. Everything about this series is addictive, even the music.

Twin Perks
Review date: 2010-01-30 Rating: 10 out of 10

Now when the series originally was aired it was met with consirderable inqury. And to this day it still brings forth questions. But with the man behind Blue Velvet, Eraserhead and Wild at Heart this man being non other then David Lynch. The intricate Knots of Thought unravel and the Doors of Perception open. So it begins to make a bit of sense.If your not into a bit of surrealism dont fret because Twin Peaks has everything a good drama needs. A dead girl "rapped in pastic" check, an FBI agent with an verocious appetite check, countless affairs and intertwining plots that will leave you wanting to see the next episode. I sure wasn't disappointed when i purchased the first season and im now looking to get the second.
so purchase this classic 90s drama that makes every drama series before or since seem common place.

Brilliant!
Review date: 2010-01-25 Rating: 10 out of 10

I've bought Seasaon 1 for my boyfriend for Christmas, which we thoroughly enjoyed! Now, we have Season 2 - excellent the viewing can continue!

Fun and atmospheric
Review date: 2009-10-28 Rating: 8 out of 10

I didn't watch this series when it was on the telly, so I'm coming to it rather late. I can see why it was a cult hit: it's quirky and easy to watch. Although the plot is standard murder mystery fare, there's enough that's engaging in the acting and the direction to raise it above the norm.

I can't pretend I was able to follow the plot - to begin with I had trouble even telling several characters apart. The acting and scripts are melodramatic, and there is something decidedly kitsch about the whole thing - I assume this is deliberate. Certainly, several episodes are played for laughs rather than drama, with Kyle MacLachlan's portrayal of the eccentric, kind-hearted, pie-guzzling, coffee-gulping FBI agent Dale Cooper tending to steal the show with his slow, careful delivery and droll mannerisms.

If you're coming to this DVD because of the David Lynch connection, you will probably like it, but don't expect an all-out weird-fest: he wasn't the sole writer or director, and it is rather lighter in tone than most of Lynch's films. In particular, the oddball cast of characters reminds one of the Coen Brothers - one suspects the latter were influenced by this series. Dreamlike weirdness is mostly limited to the earlier episodes, although thanks to the strange red lighting and the hypnotic music playing throughout, the whole thing is very atmospheric.

As I said, tying all the strands of the plot together was more than my non-multi-tasking brain could manage. Did anyone ever watch "Twin Peaks" for the plot, though? I doubt it. Above all, it's a nice bit of visually and aurally appealing escapism.

Product Details/Specifications

Actor(s):
Kyle MacLachlan
Michael Ontkean
Mädchen Amick
Dana Ashbrook
Richard Beymer

Creators:
Kyle MacLachlan (Primary Contributor)
Michael Ontkean (Primary Contributor)
David Lynch (Writer)
Mark Frost (Writer)

Recording label: Playback
Manufacturer: Playback
EAN: 3259190273511
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 4
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2002-11-05
Number of discs: 4
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 411 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1990-04-08
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: Italian (Subtitled)
Language: German (Subtitled)
Language: Greek (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: Norwegian (Subtitled)
Language: Hungarian (Subtitled)
Language: Portuguese (Subtitled)
Language: Turkish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Italian (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)
Language: German (Dubbed)