Twin Peaks burst on the T.V. scene back in 1990 with a story and a vibe that can only be described as Lynchian. The dark soap opera could only be conceived by the twisted minds of both Mark Frost and of course David Lynch. The series may have only lasted for two seasons but it has lived on in cult status. At the time it was shocking, daring, very surreal and exactly what young twenty-somethings were wanting from their TV’s.

The story centers on the murder of a homecoming queen in a little fictional logging town of Twin Peaks. Special Agent Dale Cooper arrives to find not a quaint small town but a town brimming in its beauty and its seedy underbelly. Through two seasons we meet a wide range of colorful characters and learn of the evil that can be living not just in Hometown USA, but right next door.

The genius of Twin Peaks was not who killed Laura Palmer as much as it was the journey to it. Kyle MacLachlan’s portrayal of Agent Cooper made it exciting to have a piece of cherry pie or enjoy a fresh cup of coffee. His and all of the characters were fun and refreshing in this quirky film noir style serial. Shows today like LOST owe much to its daring storylines and high quality productions that make these shows not only worth watching, but are breakthroughs in Television that will live on for years to come.

With that in mind, you would think the Emmy nominated two seasons would have been available on DVD a long time ago, but not the case. Back in 2001, the first season was released with one major flaw; the Pilot episode was not included and not available “officially” on DVD any where. That’s a problem if you want to watch the series from the beginning and in fact to this day is still not available in the US. Otherwise in general the packaging was top notch and the picture looked and sounded fantastic.

Now comes 2007 and “The Second Season” is finally released on DVD. Although the packaging isn’t as flashy as the first collection it is still worth the time and money to pick up. The Second Season finally answers who killed Laura Palmer, well sort of. That’s the funny thing about the David Lynch universe, nothing is ever that simple. One answer just creates more questions and the puzzle pieces never fit the way you think. But that’s also part of the fun.

During the second season the show started to get a little jumbled but never fear it was worth it in the end, well sort of. I say sort of because just when it was all coming together, CBS cancelled the show. Sounds familiar right? How about shows like “My So-Called Life”, “Arrested Development” and many others that had a brief moment on the screen but live on as milestones in television history. So although it’s not unusual it was still a sad end to what could have been a series that deserved at least one more season if not four or five.

Regardless, what we have is a season that continues to create a sinister wonderful world that proved it could live on beyond just the Laura Palmer murder. With its mass popularity, also brought new characters and actors with who would become household names in the near future. This season provided a love interest for Dale Cooper played by Heather Graham and David Duchovny as of all things, a transvestite DEA agent, how can you go wrong? It also brought us little guys that talk backwards, a giant and sex appeal for both male and females alike to enjoy. It’s a show that really had it all.

As with The First Season DVD, this one has a few special features to check out but not as plentiful or fulfilling as the previous collection. Every episode includes an optional Log Lady Introduction that was originally available on the VHS releases back in the 90’s. In fact they look like they were just scanned from someone’s crappy tape. Not sure why they are in such poor quality and does lessen the desire to watch them considerably. Unfortunately, the only other features are a series of interviews that are on each of the six DVDS. They do offer some fun insights and are worth checking out but it would have been nice to have some participation from Mark Frost and of course David Lynch. Not sure why they are missing and in turn make these extras seem hollow. I would have loved to know if there were future story lines for the third season in the works or any juicy nuggets and insights that only their twisted minds are privy.

The Second Season should have been a teaser for what was to come and not the beginning of the end. The movie Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me hit theaters the following year but was a prequel to the series and offered no clues or conclusion to the mysteries that are left open at the end of the second season.

Regardless, if you are a David Lynch fan then Twin Peaks is important to add to your collection. 1990 was a time period that Lynch was at the top of his form. In my book, the Twin Peaks TV series and Blue Velvet are the perfect companion pieces to an original and unique career. They show the original and the twisted that at times may entice, other times may scare you but they always fascinate and make you think.

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