Twin Peaks: Definitive Gold Box Edition

Twin Peaks was a television phenomenon born of low expectations and launched as a word-of-mouth firecracker that burned out too soon thanks to a network that didn’t understand it, and creative talent too independent to sustain it. And finally, that tumultuous tale is told in full, from the never-before-on-DVD pilot, the international "closed” ending that in fact inspired the series’ greatest creative heights, to the second season dip and cliff-hanger finale. Creators David Lynch and Mark Frost participate in different ways: Lynch hosts a dream-like coffee and pie sit-down with actors Mädchen Amick (Shelly) and Kyle MacLachlan (Agent Dale Cooper), while Frost talks about the Twin Peaks world and evolution in an excellent feature-length doc. To their credit, everyone acknowledges the creative dip that occurred on the show after Laura Palmer’s murderer is revealed; Lynch calls that mystery the golden egg laying goose and claims it was never meant to be solved. (When the actor playing the murderer was finally told of the resolution, Lynch said, "it’s you. It was always you.”) The fact that the show found a devoted following is illustrated in fan-oriented doc Return to Twin Peaks, while the impact it had on serialised television and intelligent macro-mystery plotting can be seen in everything from Veronica Mars to Heroes to Lost and beyond. An interactive map reveals exactly where (in Washington State) key filming locations can be found, from the Great Northern Hotel to "Ronette’s bridge.” Though there are no commentaries, there are fascinating nuggets like MacLachlan’s 1990 Saturday Night Live gig (including a Twin Peaks sketch starring both Phil Hartman and Chris Farley), as well as collectible postcards, Log Lady introductions and deleted scenes. Twin Peaks fans have been criminally underserved by previous DVD incarnations and the Gold Box actually does make up for it. Plus: "Falling” music video, promos, more.