US Twin Peaks Season 2 DVD Box Set Review by Nick Hyman
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:00 pm
Nick sent this in today. Enjoy!
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Twin Peaks: The Second Season DVD (CBS/Paramount)
The first thing you'll notice about the long-awaited second season of Twin Peaks on DVD is how horribly ordinary the packaging looks. I'm sure if David Lynch were to look at the half-assed Photoshop design on the set, he would cringe. I know they were trying to make the set resemble the first season, but it looks and feels cheap in every respect.
Luckily, we don't have to judge a book by its cover. While, the three slipcases are also sub-standard, the content found on the six discs is phenomenal and underwhelming at the same time. The second season has simply never looked or sounded so good. The transfer is striking, as you can tell by the vibrancy of the burnt-in titles during the opening credits. Those of us who have viewed these episodes multiple times and in every format in which they've been released will also appreciate the new 5.1 sound mix that was supposedly supervised by Lynch himself. Each episode also has an English 5.1, Spanish 2.0 and Portuguese 2.0 sound mix and accompanying subtitles to boot. The other great news is that the Log Lady intros are here in their entirety (with subtitles) and appear before each episode.
Sadly, this set is sorely lacking in the extras department, and that's even taking into account the major surprise found on disc six. The first season DVD set will probably never be bested simply because all seven episodes included had an informative audio commentary. Perhaps a full season's worth of commentaries is probably too much to ask for, but don't we long-waiting fans deserve at least one season two episode with commentary?
On the other hand, the first season DVD set's poorly videotaped interviews pale in comparison to season two's interviews, which are handsomely photographed with what looks like a 24P digital camera. Scattered over discs 1-6 are interviews with Jennifer Lynch discussing The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer as well as episode directors Todd Holland, Caleb Deschanel, Dwayne Dunham, Stephen Gyllenhaal, and Tim Hunter discussing their experiences with the show and why the show endures. As good as these interviews are, the sixth and final disc has a more primitive version of the interactive grid from the first season set, featuring several new interviews with actors discussing three categories: origin, production, and legacy. I won't give away some of the stories (some of which I've never heard before), but the list is impressive: Kyle MacLachlan, Mädchen Amick, Sherilyn Fenn(!), Dana Ashbrook, Gary Hershberger, James Marshall, David Duchovny(!!), Kimmy Robertson, Don Davis, Mary Jo Deschanel, Lenny Von Dohlen, and Charlotte Stewart are all featured here.
These extras are great, but ironically, the imagination is somewhat lacking. Where are the Georgia Coffee commercials? The Lynch/Frost-directed ABC commercials? Commentaries? Additional interviews with Lynch, Frost, Badalamenti, Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Grace Zabriskie, Lara Flynn Boyle, Michael J. Anderson, Diane Keaton, or the Phil Donahue Twin Peaks episode? Behind-the-scenes footage? Invitation to Love episodes and deleted scenes? What about a comprehensive documentary about the shows impact and influence, Fire Walk With Me deleted scenes, or so much more? CBS/Paramount, I've laid it out there for you"”go to it.
This set seems to be for those who already have an imported version of the pilot and the first season and who want to own the series in its entirety. If that's the case, then you can start planning a marathon now. However, we've been promised that a comprehensive set, Twin Peaks: The Complete Mystery, will be released before the end of the year, and will include both seasons as well as the first U.S. DVD release of the pilot. The Complete Mystery set should include unique extras that are not on the first or second DVD sets that have already been released, and nothing from the previous releases, including this latest one, will carry over. I'm crossing my fingers for wealth of extras (see above) and perhaps a new DVD of Fire Walk With Me that includes deleted scenes. Too good to be true? I hope this ideal Twin Peaks DVD collection becomes a reality before I become a man in a smiling bag.
By Nick Hyman
http://www.undertheradarmag.com
http://www.wrappedinplastic.com
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Twin Peaks: The Second Season DVD (CBS/Paramount)
The first thing you'll notice about the long-awaited second season of Twin Peaks on DVD is how horribly ordinary the packaging looks. I'm sure if David Lynch were to look at the half-assed Photoshop design on the set, he would cringe. I know they were trying to make the set resemble the first season, but it looks and feels cheap in every respect.
Luckily, we don't have to judge a book by its cover. While, the three slipcases are also sub-standard, the content found on the six discs is phenomenal and underwhelming at the same time. The second season has simply never looked or sounded so good. The transfer is striking, as you can tell by the vibrancy of the burnt-in titles during the opening credits. Those of us who have viewed these episodes multiple times and in every format in which they've been released will also appreciate the new 5.1 sound mix that was supposedly supervised by Lynch himself. Each episode also has an English 5.1, Spanish 2.0 and Portuguese 2.0 sound mix and accompanying subtitles to boot. The other great news is that the Log Lady intros are here in their entirety (with subtitles) and appear before each episode.
Sadly, this set is sorely lacking in the extras department, and that's even taking into account the major surprise found on disc six. The first season DVD set will probably never be bested simply because all seven episodes included had an informative audio commentary. Perhaps a full season's worth of commentaries is probably too much to ask for, but don't we long-waiting fans deserve at least one season two episode with commentary?
On the other hand, the first season DVD set's poorly videotaped interviews pale in comparison to season two's interviews, which are handsomely photographed with what looks like a 24P digital camera. Scattered over discs 1-6 are interviews with Jennifer Lynch discussing The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer as well as episode directors Todd Holland, Caleb Deschanel, Dwayne Dunham, Stephen Gyllenhaal, and Tim Hunter discussing their experiences with the show and why the show endures. As good as these interviews are, the sixth and final disc has a more primitive version of the interactive grid from the first season set, featuring several new interviews with actors discussing three categories: origin, production, and legacy. I won't give away some of the stories (some of which I've never heard before), but the list is impressive: Kyle MacLachlan, Mädchen Amick, Sherilyn Fenn(!), Dana Ashbrook, Gary Hershberger, James Marshall, David Duchovny(!!), Kimmy Robertson, Don Davis, Mary Jo Deschanel, Lenny Von Dohlen, and Charlotte Stewart are all featured here.
These extras are great, but ironically, the imagination is somewhat lacking. Where are the Georgia Coffee commercials? The Lynch/Frost-directed ABC commercials? Commentaries? Additional interviews with Lynch, Frost, Badalamenti, Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Grace Zabriskie, Lara Flynn Boyle, Michael J. Anderson, Diane Keaton, or the Phil Donahue Twin Peaks episode? Behind-the-scenes footage? Invitation to Love episodes and deleted scenes? What about a comprehensive documentary about the shows impact and influence, Fire Walk With Me deleted scenes, or so much more? CBS/Paramount, I've laid it out there for you"”go to it.
This set seems to be for those who already have an imported version of the pilot and the first season and who want to own the series in its entirety. If that's the case, then you can start planning a marathon now. However, we've been promised that a comprehensive set, Twin Peaks: The Complete Mystery, will be released before the end of the year, and will include both seasons as well as the first U.S. DVD release of the pilot. The Complete Mystery set should include unique extras that are not on the first or second DVD sets that have already been released, and nothing from the previous releases, including this latest one, will carry over. I'm crossing my fingers for wealth of extras (see above) and perhaps a new DVD of Fire Walk With Me that includes deleted scenes. Too good to be true? I hope this ideal Twin Peaks DVD collection becomes a reality before I become a man in a smiling bag.
By Nick Hyman
http://www.undertheradarmag.com
http://www.wrappedinplastic.com