Twin Peaks - Premiere Episode (1990)

For a couple of hours in 1990, David Lynch took over the network airwaves and subtly, subversively transformed American television forever. Amazingly, the TV series that followed this rich and strange feature-length pilot became an international phenomenon as people all over the world became obsessed by one question: Who killed Laura Palmer? Twin Peaks is the apotheosis of all things Lynch, and arguably his single greatest achievement. Set in the dark, damp, woodsy atmosphere of a small mountain town in the Pacific Northwest, Twin Peaks is a murder mystery, detective saga, soap opera, sitcom--the essence of television distilled into one mind-blowing serial. Lynch subverts TV conventions right and left, not the least by concentrating on the grief of Laura's friends and family, and orchestrating their tears into a symphony of mourning. Twin Peaks is about the endlessly seductive idea of "mystery," of the ways human beings find to deal with the unknown. It was never about solutions; after all, answers (which are invariably anticlimactic) only kill the Mystery! So, although it took another year or so before Lynch and his partner Mark Frost were eventually forced (by the network and public opinion) to reveal the identity of Laura Palmer's murderer, the tantalizing clues are the real heart of the enterprise, and they're all right here in the debut. And so are some excerpts from Agent Cooper's surrealistic dream sequence (which appeared in the third episode of the series), featuring the dancing, backward-talking little "Man from Another Place," as part of a special European-release finale (you wouldn't want to use the word "conclusion") for this video version. --Jim Emerson Amazon.com

Misleading Review of Twin Peaks - ATTENTION

The review of this movie by Lawrence Bernabo is incorrect and misleading. Bernabo states that this version is not the alternate version. In fact, it is. Please read the Amazon editorial review above and take note of the language and runtime in the description. Save both yourself and the seller the headache and lost money by NOT buying this movie thinking it is NOT the alternate version. May 12, 2008

This is the Best Show That has EVER been on Television.

Mindblowing...mezmerizing...incredible. This is the best show that has ever been on television. July 10, 2005

Laura Palmer is dead . . . wrapped in plastic . . .

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?
June 8, 2005

Start here.

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. May 31, 2004

SENSATIONAL--MINUS 20

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! December 18, 2002

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