Customer Reviews

Twin Peaks - Premiere Episode [VHS]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If only it were on DVD! This tape contains the classic 2 hour pilot for David Lynch's extraordinary and quirky TV cult favorite, "Twin Peaks". This 2 hour intro is NOT part of the six tape "complete" series collection that has the actual 29 episodes. There is a neat, confusing, untelevised 15 minute ending that was used to "wrap up" the whole murder when this same tape was released in Europe as a made-for-TV movie. Still, it is simply Twin Peaks at its best.

In this VHS, just the pilot episode is avaible, but, just the pilot is enought to you see what the series is about. And, of course, the first scenes, of Laura Palmer's body in the beach, are classic scenes. If you never watch the series, don't try to understand the ending scene. Buy the entire series on VHS and watch everything, you're gonna understand fast !

I've been hearing for years about "Twin Peaks", whether by word of mouth or on the internet. It's popular to mention the numerous pop-culture moments this show created and the fact that so many shows try to imitate, and fail, this landmark show. So after reading recaps of the pilot and first couple episodes, I decided to buy the whole thing.

I took a risk and I'd do it again because this show is one of the greatest achievements of all TV time. The pilot is a perfect intro to the show, establishing the characters and plots, the main one and various subplots, that it's addictive. WHO KILLED LAURA PALMER!? The mix of light and dark, quirky humor, heavy drama, fantastic production values, and so much more! If you haven't seen any of the show, stay clear of the last 15-20 minutes. I heard about the special ending and found out that the original pilot ends at Sarah Palmer's scream after her dream. End it there, watch the rest of the series, then go back and watch the ending.

Other than that, sit back, relax, and ENJOY! And believe me, YOU WILL!

I am taking a trip to the Seattle area this week and decided that I wanted to have lunch at the Great Northern Hotel, owned by Benjamin Horne (est. 1927). The hotel, which offers its guests a spectacular view of Whitetail Falls, is located slightly north of Twin Peaks, just below the base of Black Lake. The Great Northern is actually the Salish Lodge, perched on a hillside just above Snoqualmie Falls. To prepare myself for the experience, and to indoctrinate my oldest daughter into yet another cult television show, we watched the first season of "Twin Peaks" together starting with the two hour pilot episode that originally aired Sunday, April 8, 1990 on ABC. Fifteen years later, this pilot episode written by Mark Frost ("Hill Street Blues") and David Lynch ("Blue Velvet") still stands up.

Washington State is rocked when the body of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), the homecoming queen, is discovered dead (wrapped in plastic) by Pete Martell (Jack Nance). F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) is called in when another high school girl, Ronnette Pulaski, is found wandering on a bridge before lapsing into a coma. When Cooper discovers a small piece of paper with the letter "R" on it shoved under one of Laura's fingernails, he has a connection between her death and that of Theresa Banks, a year earlier. There is a serial killer in Twin Peaks. Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean) arrests Laura's boyfriend, Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook), Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) ruins a business deal her father Benjamin Horne (Richard Beymer) has been working on, and Laura's best friend Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle) and Laura's secret boyfriend, James Hurley (James Marshall), comfort each other. Things are just starting to get interesting in Twin Peaks the home of fantastic fir trees, great cherry pie, and damn fine coffee.

I can especially appreciate Lynch's impact on the pilot as a director because I got my hands on an earlier draft of the script (revisions as of February 21, 1989), and could see how key scenes were improved. Most notably is the scene early on when Leland Palmer is on the phone with Sarah and Sheriff Truman shows up at the Great Northern Hotel to tell Leland that Laura is dead. The final version achieves its dramatic impact because it has replaced sound (dialogue) with images (actors reacting). Several of Leland's lines are cut, including an entire conversation with Janet, to set up the juxtaposition of the look on his wife and the sound of Sarah's grief over the phone. The deletion or alteration of a single word can affect the mood of the scene (e.g., Truman now calls Leland by name, rather than as "sir," which makes the scene more personal). Some claimed the resulting effect went over the top, or lasted too long, but certainly it was a most memorable scene. Lynch commented at the time that he wanted the audience to be uncomfortable after watching this scene, and most viewers would certainly that the directed had achieved his goal.

There ended up being only 30 episodes of "Twin Peaks," which covers roughly a month in the lives of this peculiar collection of characters. In retrospect the problem was that the question of "Who killed Laura Palmer", which was intended to be the hook for the series, ended up being the raison d'etre, so when that was finally revealed it essentially finished off the series. The great irony was that for a television series that was being lauded by viewers, especially those on college campuses, for a being a show where you had to watch and pay attention, that so many were outraged when the first season ended and they were not "told" who killed Laura. They were "shown" it instead, which should have been enough, but was not. I understood the clues and how they made the killer obvious, but all of my classmates in graduate school said I was wrong (I was not).

When you watch this pilot again, or for the first time, you can see why it the quirky characters and compelling story won its time slot (it finished #5 for the week) and captured the imagination of the nation. The pilot won its time slot and finished #5 for the week. The pilot episode was nominated for eight Emmy Awards in 1990, including Best Drama, Best Writing, Best Directing, Best actor (MacLachaln), Best Supporting Actress (Fenn), and Best Production Design. Duwayne Dunham won the Emmy for best editing and Patrica Norris won for best costume design for this episode. Honorable mention goes to the music by Angelo Badalamenti and the singing of Julee Cruise (who sings "Falling" and "The Nightingale" in the pilot, music by Badalamenti and lyrics by Lynch), which provided the show with a sound as distinct as its look.

Warning: Do not confuse this pilot with the "Twin Peaks" movie, which has an alternate ending that suddenly solves the murder of Laura Palmer. Released on video in Europe, and eventually in the U.S., the movie ends with the One Armed Man contacting Cooper about Bob, who confesses. Then we jump twenty-five years ahead to Cooper finding himself in a red room with Laura and the Man from Another Place. Also, the pilot is not the same as "Episode One," which is the name of the second episode (i.e., the one after the pilot). It only sounds confusing, but this is "Twin Peaks." What did you expect?

Back in April of 1990, the Twin Peaks pilot aired. The aired pilot however was different from this version. The true broadcast pilot is not and never was available. If you're planning on watching the whole series you may want to look online for guidelines on watching this version of the pilot because some crucial plot details which you find out in later episodes are revealed. Overall, though this is the beginning of one of the greatest serials ever aired on TV. It's definitely worth a watching!

This is pretty much what any fan of the show or David Lynch needs to start with. It's the original movie/pilot, and is a great piece of work. The story, the characters, and the whole northwest environment really make for an interesting and sometimes creepy watch. Many cool actors showed up in "Twin Peaks", among them Kyle McLachlan, Lara Flynn-Boyle, Sheryl Lee, Jack Nance, and the sexy Sherilyn Fenn. If you enjoy this, seek out the VHS collectors series, episodes 1-7. Or the DVD first season, which is also episodes 1-7, minus this pilot.

I just found out about this series on the internet, having had no idea what it was about. The reviews were so good I ordered the tapes. I'm about halfway through the series now, and it's fantastic! I only give this one four stars because of the extra footage at the end, which caused me a lot of confusion when I first started to watch the episodes. But thanks to what other reviewers have written, it didn't take me long to figure out that some of that stuff shouldn't have been there. If you're considering buying the tapes, also be aware that the quality of the episode tapes is horrible. But I guess that's better than paying twice as much for tapes recorded in SP mode! All in all, the quality of this brilliant series far surpasses these few minor glitches.

Just want consumers to be wary that this is not the same as the pilot -- it's the modified "self- contained" version (same as the pilot until close to the end). If you're looking for the pilot, this will *not* do as a substitute. END

The inagural episode of David Lynch's Twin Peaks serves not only as a pilot for a great show but as a movie that can be appreciated independently of the series. The bizarre ending is purely Lynchian and gives us a resolution to the mystery. I am convinced that Twin Peaks would be successful as a feature film. It's that good.

Its funny how I was only able to see a few episodes back when the show was on TV. A friend sat me down to watch the series, the WHOLE series... and after the pilot, I was thirsty for more... I wanted to know WHO KILLED LAURA PALMER!!! Highly recommeneded...