Let me be honest up front and say that I haven’t made it through the complete set yet. You really can’t rush yourself thru 22 of the best hours in TV history. However, after getting a look at the first 7 eps and a handful of extras, I think I’m ready to give my review on the DVD set of Twin Peaks Season 2. If you haven’t been able to tell from the fact that I devoted a whole week of the blog to this release, I’ve been anticipating this set ever since season 1 came out 5 years ago. I scoured the net for any news about the release at least once a month over that time and when I was finally able to purchase this set on Tuesday, I actually felt a joy in my heart that I haven’t felt since you were first able to buy Star Wars on VHS. I’m saying all this because obviously I come into this review with rose colored glasses on, so while I can’t be completely objective I’ll do my best.
Packaging
The set comes in a box that echoes the season 1 set. This is a nice touch considering this is a completely different studio releasing these discs so the synergy is greatly appreciated. There is no slip cover ala Laura Palmer on season 1 but I’m not really sure what they could have done here to match that. Inside there are 3 of the ever popular slim cases. These are the super thin cases that have become all the rage in DVD sets over the last couple of years. Personally I’m a big fan of the larger boxes that fold out, like season 1 or all the Buffy sets. Each case has a different picture on the front and feature The Giant, Windom Earl, and TMFAP (aka the midget), and the back features episode info. Overall the packaging isn’t as great as season 1 but again the fact that CBS/Paramount made an effort to match the exteriors lends me to give these 3 out of 5 stars.
Video and Sound
The only way most of us have seen a season 2 episode in the last few years has been on grainy VHS tape, so it’s impossible not to be happy with this transfer. However, once again this set falls short of the season 1 release. Each disc contains 3 to 4 episodes on this set where as season 1 only had 2 on a disc. The result is that they had to knock down the video quality a tad. Don’t get me wrong it still looks better then it did even on TV but the blacks seem a little crushed in spots and the amazing crispness of the season 1 transfers is just not there. Still when compared to other sets of modern shows, like Lost for example, it certainly matches that quality. The sound on the set also suffers from the amount of eps crammed into a disc. On season 1 there was a DTS and a Dolby mix to choose from and here we only have the DTS. This doesn’t really bother me as I’m not a sound techie but I’m sure it will rankle some feathers out there. I really have no complaints about the sound as it all sounds fantastic but those of you out there who really care might be disappointed. Video and sound earn another 3 out of 5 stars.
Extras and Menus
Season 2 rivals season 1 in this category. The big negative is that there are no commentaries on any of the eps which I found very disappointing. Instead we get various sets of interviews. The first by Lynch’s daughter Jennifer features her discussing The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, a tie in book she authored during the show. It’s a fine interview except for the fact that Jennifer still seems tight lipped about the series as if we’re watching this before the season 3 premiere. The second features director Todd Holland this is a very engaging interview but at roughly 5 minutes is far too short and makes you wonder why they couldn’t have done a commentary track instead. On the rest of the discs there are more one on one interviews but it is the final disc that has the most to enjoy. Disc 6 features interviews with some of the cast members such as Cooper himself Kyle MacLachlan. These interviews are a nice touch because some of the cast has been MIA for some time. We also get the Log Lady intros that were featured on Bravo and the season 1 set. For some reason the transfer of these wasn’t cleaned up so the video and audio are quite horrible but that’s a minor quibble as it’s always nice to listen to what Margaret has to say. I wasn’t expecting Lynch himself to make an appearance but some new stuff with Mark Frost would have been nice. The one place I’ll say season 2 definitly exceeds season 1 are the menus. Each disc has you zooming over what turns out to be a map of Twin Peaks . The extras are easy to navigate which is something season 1 faltered at. Oddly there aren’t any chapter points in the episodes but if I remember correctly that’s Lynch throwing in his two cents again as I seem to remember him discussing his hatred for a tool that allows audiences to skip ahead in a film. Again I’ll give this area 4 out of 5 stars.
Overall
The rumor going around these days is that is this set sells well; CBS will release a box set of the entire series including the long lost pilot late this year. On the off chance that doesn’t happen I strongly recommend you pick up this set. Could it be better? Yes and maybe a box set would allow Lynch and CBS to give us more extras like commentaries or a documentary on the Twin Peaks festival that’s still going strong. I know I’d drop $150 bucks for a complete set and a Twin Peaks Sherriff’s department coffee mug. In the meantime though this set does satisfy my quench for season 2 because at the end of the day the extras, packaging, video and sound are all secondary to the true star of this set and that’s the episodes themselves. Season 2 of Twin Peaks is TV101 and should be required viewing for any child, studio exec and gosh darn it any decent human being. Because of that I’m going ahead and giving the whole set 6 out of 5 stars. Now if we can just get those 40 minutes of cut scenes from Fire Walk with Me released….
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