Twin Peaks: The Second Season

It’s hard to believe two things: that Twin Peaks, the surreal, eccentric mystery chockablock with dancing dwarves, talking logs and coffee- and Tibet-obsessed detectives still holds up, looking richly vibrant and timeless, and that it was ever on TV at all. By the conclusion of this, its final season, Twin Peaks changed the landscape of what TV could be — forging new paths for The X-Files and Lost — but also put the fear into network suits, who don’t want a repeat of auteur David Lynch’s unusual, uncompromising vision. This second season sees the resolution of Laura Palmer’s murder and the expansion of the show’s purview into the larger community of the fictional town, where land development deals clash against sudsy teen storylines and the unusual always lurks below. With interviews with episode directors and creator David Lynch’s daughter Jennifer (who penned Laura Palmer’s famous secret diary) ¾ though there’s nothing from Lynch himself ¾ this should be a no-brainer must-have for TV junkies. That it’s not isn’t the fault of this set — the screw-up stems from the ongoing absence of the show’s two-hour pilot from DVD shelves. Yep, the murder of Laura Palmer herself, the introduction to all these strange shenanigans, remains an untold story ¾ the series’ first season was also released without it. And that makes any Twin Peaks collector howl like Bob at a full moon. If and when that’ll get corrected is unsure, which makes me wonder if waiting for the complete series box set isn’t the better way to go.
Plus: interactive interview grid, Log Lady introductions.