With the passage of time, I grow concerned about losing the history of Twin Peaks. That is one reason I continue documenting everything I can about this show I love so much. After publishing Dugpa’s “The History of Twin Peaks on Video” article, I felt inspired to explore the home video releases in depth. For starters, I’m focusing on the Twin Peaks – The First Season Special Edition DVD Set released by Artisan Home Entertainment in 2001.
I’ve been following a number of Twin Peaks fan sites since the late 1990s. One source I frequently visited in the early days of my fandom was Lynchnet.com. The site was last updated in November 2008 even after an announcement was made that “big changes were coming to the site.” I’m unsure where the owner went but I’m forever grateful for the news he captured. I’ll be referencing dates and items from that site beginning with the Amazon pre-order for the set.
PRE-ORDER TWIN PEAKS – THE FIRST SEASON SPECIAL EDITION DVD SET
September 17, 2001
The Twin Peaks DVD set was made available for preorder via Amazon.
“Amazon.com has the Artisan Twin Peaks first season (minus pilot) DVD set available for preorder. It will be released on December 4, 2001. The set includes director commentaries on the non-Lynch directed episodes (sorry, no Lynch commentary!) and a DTS soundtrack.”
October 9, 2001
The first image of the set was shared on October 9, 2001.
The final cover, which is a plastic slip cover over the DVD set, is basically the same.
October 15, 2001
Specifications for the DVD were released. Interestingly, the original street date for Region 1 was December 4 but that would be pushed back to December 18 for unknown reason. The Region 2 version was released on November 5, 2002 while the Region 4 set was released on February 7, 2003.
Twin Peaks: The First Season (Special Edition)
- ID: ART10089DVD – $59.98 – Not Rated
- UPC: 017153100891 – 336 min. – 1990
- Preorder: 10/30/2001 – Artisan
- Street: 12/4/2001 – TV Classics
- Full Frame – Color – English – 5.1 Dolby Digital, 5.1 DTS, Surround – Region 1
- Joan Chen, Kyle MacLachlan, Lara Flynn Boyle, Michael Ontkean, Sherilyn Fenn
Director David Lynch’s shockingly original television series mesmerized American audiences when its two-hour pilot episode aired on April 8, 1990, forever changing the face of prime-time television in the process. The full first season (ep. 1-7) of bizarre, ingenious, hysterical, terrifying stories set in the Pacific Northwest logging town of Twin Peaks.
Gradually, the town’s facade of extreme normality crumbles, revealing an endless barrage of schemes, fronts, and hidden relationships that expose Twin Peaks as the disturbed, unsettling town that it is.
Box Set; Director’s Commentary on Selected Episodes (NOTE: No commentaries by David Lynch); Interviews; Archival Material from the Fanzine for “Twin Peaks”- “Wrapped In Plastic”; Log Lady Introductions. NOTE: This collection does not contain the original pilot episode, as Artisan Home Entertainment does not own the rights to it.
NO TWIN PEAKS PILOT EPISODE?
As nothing is ever easy being a Twin Peaks fan, this release surprisingly did not contain the Pilot Episode. How is that even possible? It supposedly came down to rights as explained by this Wikipedia entry:
“The Region 1 DVD was released by Republic Pictures, which had an output deal through Artisan Entertainment, now part of Lions Gate Entertainment.
The box set was noted for being the first TV show to have its audio track redone in Digital Theatrical Sound (DTS). The Region 1 release was heavily criticized for not including the key pilot episode, which could not be included due to the fact David Lynch sold the rights to it to Warner Home Video in order to facilitate its video release in Europe.”
“When the series was released on video in the US (twice by Spelling Entertainment’s Worldvision Home Video), the pilot episode was excluded both times. In turn, Warner Home Video released the pilot on video, however, it was actually the international version, and was labelled as having ‘bonus footage.’
The televised pilot episode up to that time had been included in the UK (Region 2) DVD release from Universal Home Entertainment. A DVD collection of Season One was released in Australia by Paramount Pictures, in 2001.”
PRESS RELEASE FOR TWIN PEAKS – THE FIRST SEASON SPECIAL EDITION DVD SET
Artisan Entertainment shared a press release about the Special Edition set on November 15, 2001.
By Popular Demand Artisan Home Entertainment Presents the Cult Phenomenon
Twin Peaks: The First Season
Digitally Remastered with DTS Surround Sound
SANTA MONICA, CA (November 15, 2001) – Artisan Home Entertainment is proud to present the legendary, cult television series, Twin Peaks: The First Season, for the first time ever on Special Edition DVD. This wildly imaginative and darkly comic television series is the first to be digitally remastered with DTS Digital Surround Sound for DVD. The maverick film noire producer/director, David Lynch, created a huge cult following with the classic and surreal television series, Twin Peaks, starring Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Joan Chen, Piper Laurie, Laura Flynn Boyle and Sherilyn Fenn. This special edition DVD will be released on 4 discs with the first 7 Twin Peaks episodes in a collectible “reveal” packaging for only $59.98 on December 18, 2001 (366 minutes).
The special edition Twin Peaks DVD is packed with special features including all of the following; newly remastered high-definition transfers of the original television program, full screen version, DTS Digital Surround Sound, 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround, 2.0 Dolby Digital Surround, interactive menus, scene access, digitally mastered, select episode analysis by the directors, new in-depth interviews with the cast and crew including: series co-creator, Mark Frost, writers, directors, film and television experts, optional Log Lady introductions to each episode, script notes: optional guide to the “unseen Twin Peaks” rare archival material from Wrapped in Plastic; the official Twin Peaks magazine.
SYNOPSIS
After the brutal killing of Twin Peaks Homecoming Queen Laura Palmer, Agent Cooper (Kyle Maclachlan) discovers the small town is seething with deadly secrets and killer cherry pie. Then, Cooper interprets an unusual dream about the murder, has tea with the Log Lady, finds a macabre crime scene in the woods and is determined to solve the mystery.
Artisan Entertainment Inc. is a leading independent entertainment company that develops, produces and distributes entertainment product in the theatrical, home entertainment and television arenas through its two wholly owned operating divisions, Artisan Pictures and Artisan Home Entertainment.
The Artisan Pictures division is responsible for the development, production, marketing and distribution of the Company’s annual slate of theatrical films. In addition, Artisan Pictures operates Landscape Pictures, an independent production company that concentrates on developing and producing motion pictures in the over $20 million budget.
REGION 1 SET – DECEMBER 18, 2001
This is the front and back of the DVD case which partial text from the press release shared in November 2001. The four publicity images are a mystery as they include stills from both the Pilot Episode and Season 2.
Here are the original images from the amazing Mauve Zone.
It’s strange that some of these shots would be presented since folks wouldn’t see these episodes during the first season.
TWIN PEAKS GRAPHIC
When opening the case, we see a familiar site – the Welcome to Twin Peaks sign that was found along Reinig Road in Snoqualmie, Washington.
I combined the two images to create one graphic presented above.
DOUBLE R DINER PANEL
Upon opening the “TWIN” panel, we see a stylized image of the Double R Diner
.The unaltered publicity shot of the Diner is from the Pilot Episode. I love that you can see snow on the ground as this was taken in February 1989.
BOOKLET PANEL
On the backside of the Double R Diner panel, you find a panel with twin mountains – the “Twin Peaks” – which contains the booklet for the set.
Remove the booklet and you get the same image of the double mountains.
THE BOOKLET
Here is the front and back cover of the booklet. I never noticed the ghosted image of Laura Palmer until editing the photos for this article. The back cover includes other home video releases from Artisan Entertainment which Twin Peaks fans may also like (um … okay).
Since this set did not contain the Pilot Episode, a “summary of the story so far” was included along with two publicity shots. I can’t imagine watching the series and not seeing the Pilot first but the summary does capture all the high points.
After publishing this article, John Thorne confirmed on Twitter that he wrote the synopsis which is why it’s so perfect. I should have known he was involved. Fellow Bookhouse Boy Dylan then confirmed that the Region 2 release in the UK contained both the Pilot Episode AND the “Story So Far” synopsis.
The inside of the booklet contains an interview with Sheryl Lee, chapter descriptions (note those pesky episode titles are absent), and a listing of important characters from the series.
Oddly, there are again two images from Season 2 – the full image of Maddy and Donna from Episode 2005 (the image was cropped for the outside of the case) and an image of Agent Cooper and Annie Blackburn from Episode 2018.
The interview with Lee is part of a much longer interview from the April 1995 issue of Craig Miller and John Throne’s “Wrapped In Plastic, No. 16.”
THE DVD CASE
The case unfolds to reveal four spaces for the DVDs.
Without the DVDs in their holders, we see four images of Donna Hayward, Special Agent Dale Cooper, Audrey Horne, and Sherry Harry Truman.
They really loved that Donna Hayward image from Season 2 as this is the third time it was used for this set.
DVDS
Below are the individual DVDs and their original publicity images as found on The Mauve Zone. Disc Three contains an image of Big Ed and James Hurley from Episode 2001.
There were reports of some of the discs having errors. One glitch occurs during the opening credits of Episode 1002. Another issue occurred 15 minutes into Episode 1004, during Donna Hayward and Audrey Horne’s scene in the Twin Peaks High School bathroom. I didn’t encounter these issues so I’m unsure how wide spread the problem was.
COMMENTARIES
One surprising detail about this set is the episodes included commentaries from the crew who worked on the series. John Thorne from “Wrapped In Plastic” wrote about these commentaries in a two-part series on his blog. Check them out – Part 1 and Part 2.
Speaking of “Wrapped in Plastic,” one of my favorite interviews from this set features the late Craig Miller and John speaking with Mark Frost. They recorded on interview on August 7, 2001 via the telephone.
POSTCARDS FROM THE CAST
There are more than 20 interviews recorded with various Twin Peaks stars, including several stars who have since passed on such as Don Davis, Peggy Lipton, Miguel Ferrer, Piper Laurie, and Catherine Coulson.
The videos were produced by Three Legged Cat Productions. The production team also spoke with Pat Cokewell who owned the Mar-T Cafe in the late 1980s. These videos are such a treasure – a snapshot in time for sure!
LEARNING TO SPEAK IN THE RED ROOM
Michael J. Anderson hosts a short video teaching how to speak backward from Red Room.
EASTER EGGS
The set contained several “Easter Eggs.” On the menu for each episode, select “episode features,” then press the up arrow button until you see the flame icon appear.
There are brief outtake clips from the Commentary Track for each episode:
- Episode 1: Director Duwayne Dunham
- Episode 2: Series Director of Photography Frank Byers
- Episode 3: Director Tina Rathborne
- Episode 4: Director Tim Hunter
- Episode 5: Director Lesli Linka Glatter
- Episode 6: Director Caleb Deschanel
- Episode 7: Series Production Designer Richard Hoover
- Tibet on Disc Four: Contains the DVD production credits
Another surprise is clips from a short film titled Specter’s Rock which was edited by Michael J. Anderson (Little Man from Another Place), and written and directed by Josh Eisenstadt.
To access it, start playing the Mark Frost interview, then press the back button. It’s wild that this was buried on an official Twin Peaks DVD release. The film was supposedly released in 2003 but the website advertised is no longer available.
On Disc Four, there is also an advertisement for the former DavidLynch.com website. Go to Title 30 and you’ll find a phone number – #X4951 – for Booth 9.
Once entered on the site, there was a short video of Laura Palmer in the Red Room with the captions “What Does She See?” and “What Does She Hear?”
SALES PERFORMANCE
According to a January 25, 2002 article in the Los Angeles Times, we get a glimpse at how the set performed for Artisan Entertainment.
“The studios generally won’t release sales figures for TV-based DVDs. But Stephen Beeks, president of Artisan Home Entertainment, says he thinks other studios are experiencing DVD successes similar to the one he had with the first season of ‘Twin Peaks’, the moody David Lynch drama about solving a murder in a quirky town. In the three years that it has been distributing videos of ‘Twin Peaks’ episodes, Artisan has sold between 30,000 and 40,000. In contrast, Beeks said, in the few weeks since the series’ first-season boxed set has been out on DVD, Artisan has sold about 150,000.”
It would take another six years before fans would see Season 2 finally released on DVD. That’s another story for another time.
