TV on DVD Buzz

OK, I know Twin Peaks was technically on for more than one season, but just barely. 29 episodes plus a pilot doesn’t really qualify for two seasons, so I’m using editor’s discretion and featuring it today anyway. So there.

Twin Peaks was created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. It premiered on April 8, 1990 and was like nothing we had ever experienced on American TV. It ran for a season and a half, ending on June 10, 1991. A “prequel” movie, Fire Walk With Me, followed in 1992.

In its first season, Twin Peaks was honored with 14 Emmy nominations, 2 Emmy awards, and the Peabody award. They also took home 4 Golden Globes out of 5 nominations.

The show was set in the fictional town of Twin Peaks in northeastern Washington state. The story centered around coffee-loving FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and his investigation of the murder of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). Palmer was a high school student and homecoming queen. Her body was found on the river bank, wrapped in plastic - a very memorable and iconic scene. We soon find out that Laura Palmer was not the wholesome girl she appeared to be and Agent Cooper begins the daunting task of untangling the sordid web of characters she was involved with.

In addition to Kyle MacLachlan (Desperate Housewives) and Sheryl Lee, the show starred Michael Ontkean as Sheriff Harry S. Truman, Ray Wise (Reaper) as Leland Palmer, Sherilyn Fenn (Gilmore Girls) as Audrey Horne, Peggy Lipton as Norma Jennings, and Catherine Coulson as The Log Lady. Also starring were Lara Flynn Boyle (The Practice) as Donna Hayward and Miguel Ferrer (Bionic Woman) as Albert Rosenfield.

The 10-disc DVD set, which releases today, includes “Greetings from Twin Peaks” collectible postcards and loads of bonus content. Here’s what you’ll get

• All 29 episodes plus the original pilot (both the U.S. verison and the International Version With Alternate Ending)
• The complete Log Lady introductions.
• The ‘Falling’ music video with Julee Cruise.
• “Return To Twin Peaks”: Follow a group of the show’s devoted fans and cast members at the 2006 Twin Peaks festival.
• “A Slice Of Lynch”: David Lynch takes a stange and amusing look back with help from Kyle MacLauchlan, Madchen Amick and John Wentworth.
• “Secrets From Another Place”: A feature-length documentary exploring the show’s origins, production and impact, featuring brand-new interviews with the cast and crew and never-before-seen footage.
• Interactive Map: the show’s unforgettable locations and how to find them in real life.
• A ‘Saturday Night Live’ segment featuring a monologue and a ‘Twin Peaks’ sketch featuring the SNL cast.
• Georgia Coffee Commercials: Five Japanese-only commercials for a canned Coffee named “Georgia.” The spots feature several of the cast members, and together they form a brief story arc about a missing Japanese woman.
• Three imaged galleries: The Richard Beymer Gallery, Unit Photography and the set of Twin Peaks Trading Cards. The first is a gallery of about 60 photos takrn by actor Richard Beymer. Gallery 2 is 55 promotional and set pictures from the show. Gallery three is a look at a 1991 trading card series. The gallery includes front and back images from all 76 cards.
• 1-900 phone messages. Eight audio messages included, plus a short video spot promoting the service, which costs $2 for the first minute, $1 per minute after that (none of the spots run longer then three minutes).
• Lucy Bumpers: Six short bumpers that were used to go into commercials. All of them are a shot of the “Twin Peaks” sign with a short message such as “Stop sawing logs…Twin Peaks will be right back.”
• Deleted Scenes: There are four deleted scenes. “Jerry’s Wandering Eye,” “27 Going On 6,” “Lucy, Andy And Donuts” and “Something About Johnny.”