Northwest Passage

i was only six years old when twin peaks premiered in Germany (it was no hit, by the way), but i did remember the huge a hype surrounding it at first. years later i stumbled upon it at a video store and rented the first season. i think the two-hour pilot of twin peaks is a masterpiece.

the characters and the atmosphere, the enigmatic power of laura palmer, my TV was dripping from magic. i think the show (and the resolution of her murder) never lived up to the pilot, but i still think that David lynch really proved his genius with this pilot episode. i could watch over and over again.

later on the show got confusing (well, surprise it's lynch) but you must rent the first season of this.

brilliant!!!

Twin Peaks is unique in every way. It is almost unbelievable that a series so near-perfect and daring like Twin Peaks could be shown in nationwide TV. David Lynch didn't sell-out as he turned to the small screen, instead he took TV to new forms: never before and after have I seen a TV series that made such a lasting impression. I love each and every character, the brillant dialogues, the beautiful cast (Lara Flynn Boyle! Kyle MacLachlan!) and - best of all - a storytelling so absurd, obscure and perfect that you can only wonder how they made it. Its not only my favourite TV series, it has some of the best scenes ever filmed (the second murder, BOB, etc). And BOB scared me to death, ten years ago and also nowadays - I've seen the Twin Peaks Series now 5 times in its entirety and it is as good as the first time.

With the exception of THE X-FILES, (which owes a great debt to this series, as well as several others,) no other series stimulated, captivated, obsessed and infuriated me more than TWIN PEAKS. I got the impression that by the end of its run, somewhere the great Alfred Hitchcock was nodding and smiling in approval. Of all the McGuffins ever perpetrated by filmmakers since Hitch came along, David Lynch and Mark Frost pulled off perhaps one of the greatest that ever became a TV show. And in the process, they reminded us that not all great actors are blond, blue-eyed and buffed to perfection.

Lynch cast his BLUE VELVET protégé, Kyle MacLachlan, as the quirky but diligent Agent Dale Cooper, investigating the brutal murder of town Teen Queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). Yet, just as he showed us in VELVET, nothing is at all what it seems on the surface, and if you dare to look closer, you can find the truth about fantasy and reality, as well as the fragile curtain that separates them both...if your mind can take it!

IMNSHO, once the murderer of Laura Palmer was finally revealed, that's when the whole thing should've ended. This would've made the quintessential "limited-run" series in that case. But here's where Lynch and Frost became magicians...and started pulling dead, mutilated rabbits out of their collective hat. The more questions that were answered about Laura's death, the more other questions, other mysteries were uncovered...and the Great McGuffin was on!

Looking back now, I still get a little miffed when I recall how the whole series finally "ended," (but not really.) But more importantly, was I entertained nevertheless? I'd have to concur with that and vote a definite yes.

Besides, it was a great proving ground for some budding talent behind the camera, most of whom are still with us today, and still working. And what a rich gold mine of talent on the other side. In fine, Lynchian fashion, we got glimpses of some of the best character artists and new young talent not yet found or rediscovered in Hollyweird. We witnessed the return of Michael Ontkean, Piper Laurie, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn and Peggy Lipton, amongst others. Besides MacLachlan, we got intimate with such great players as Michael Horse, Kimmy Robertson, Everett McGill, Warren Frost, Wendy Robie, Ray Wise, Don Davis and even Mr. Lynch himself.

We made the acquaintance of new talents like Dana Ashbrook, Gary Hershberger, James Marshall, Joan Chen and Eric DaRe, some of whom still appear on our radar from time to time, and some who don't.

We got to meet members of the "Lynch Repertory Players," those actors who would appear in pivotal roles in all of his work to come (and some who had been with him from the very beginning), from the late, great Jack Nance and the enigmatic Michael Anderson, to the irreplaceable Grace Zabriskie as Laura's freaky, psychic mom.

And ah, yes, the Peaks Girls. Lara Flynn Boyle, Madchen Amick, Sherilyn Fenn, and of course, the indispensable Sheryl Lee.

Not to mention Lynch's good-humored nods to "the Warhol rule," where such unlikely actors as Catherine Coulson (The Log Lady) and Frank Silva (Killer Bob) gained temporary notoriety, and eternal fame as some of the best Trivial Pursuit subjects ever.

And those guest stars. David Patrick Kelley. Heather Graham. Miguel Ferrer. And even in a brief cameo as a transvestite who just happened to be an FBI agent, some very game young actor by the unlikely name of David Duchovny.

With the release of the pilot episode to supplement the boxed set, we finally have it all...the Complete Experience. I could never stay mad at David and Mark for very long, and I have a taste for some cherry pie and coffee the way I like it...DAMN good. And HOT!

And my advice to anyone glued to BIG BROTHER 14, JOE MILLIONAIRE MEETS THE BIMBOETTE or EXTREME MONEYGRUBBING...Get to your nearest video store and buy or rent the entire series. Try some "UNreality-TV" for a change.

You can count on the fingers of your hands TV shows that really hook you after only one minute, and for the rest of your spectator's life. Twin Peaks is masterfully written, directed, photographed and played. Every single character is unique and haunt you long after the end credits. But something really upsets me with Twin Peaks, and that's the way people only credit david lynch for this masterpiece, too often neglecting the wonderful work Mark Frost did with the scripts. Sure, Twin Peaks is a visual achievement, but the way Mark Frost handled the stories, allowing david Lynch and every other guest directors to express their talents is wonderful, and it's a shame the talented mr Lynch is often the only one to receive credits for it (and I recommend to you, among many others, the Diane Keaton directed episode, which is one of the most beautiful and best "lynchian" episodes of the second season.). So, let Twin Peaks and his inhabitants capture you, let them live in you, and don't forget to thank mr Lynch & Frost for giving us the chance to be attracted in their not-so-strange world

I've always contended that David Lynch actually filmed his nightmares. This is what genius is about. The murder of a young girl in a small logging town could have been vanilla without a spark. But add to it a herd of quirky characters and the appearance of Kyle McLachlan as Dale Cooper, FBI, and a sweet handling of plot lines going in every directions, and we have perhaps TV's finest moment. I've come to love Fargo over these past three seasons, and I know I owe my my love to this offbeat masterpiece. In the Pilot, we are introduced to the murder victim, the principle characters, the town, Cooper, and Sheriff Harry S. Truman. Laura Palmer is the centerpiece, the Solar System around which everything revolves. Her encounters, her friends, her actions on the night of her death will fuel everything down the road. It is also wonderful to see the list of current stars in their younger incarnations. Off we go into the wild blue yonder.