I can usually divide my friends into those who love David Lynch, and those who abhor him. And with those who love him, I can choose one of his feature films and create another division between the appreciators and the critics. Needless to say, David Lynch is a very distinct filmmaker who annoys as much as he delights. But in 1990 he infiltrated the mainstream with Twin Peaks, a TV show about a murdered girl in a small Northern USA town, and the FBI agent investigating the case. If that sounds normal, then the dancing backwards-speaking dwarf, possessed one-armed man, demon spirit, and kooky doo-whop score make it one of television’s greatest oddities. Even if you haven’t seen it, you know it through countless cultural references.

Season 1 has been out in DVD for several years (although the USA had to buy the set minus the excellent 90 minute pilot), and consists of the strongest 8 episodes television has ever seen. Weird, funny, scary, it captivated the global audience and ended in a cliff hanger where the protagonist, Special Agent Dale Cooper, was shot. Season 2 starts with a extended episode directed by Lynch, and an air of menace is maintained while the audience’s preconceptions of the show are tested (just watch the waiter’s thumbs up to get what I mean). Despite this, Season 2 is a series of peaks and troughs in terms of quality.

One of the mains reasons for the drop in quality was the resolution of the main arc of the show only 8 episodes in to the 22 episode season. But of course, being a Lynchian project, things aren’t that simple, and the true, underlying cause, of the murder remains an aloof figure in the Twin Peaks mythology. Regardless, ratings started dropping for the show, and I can understand why. The episodes after that range from the crazy (David Duchovny as a cross-dressing Fed) to the tiresome, with the focus on several side-stories that felt irreverent to the series. It is only in the final six episodes (commissioned only due to fan persistence), that the show picks up momentum and focuses on the Windom Earle story, culminating in one of the most stunning episodes of television drama, and the most unnerving closing moments I’ve ever seen. It’s the kind of episode people will forever debate into its meaning, and a wonderful moment of the surreal sneaking into the mainstream.

The season is spread across 6 discs, and is very reasonably priced in most outlets. The wait was definitely worth it in terms of disc quality. The video transfer is possibly better than Season 1, with rich colours saturating each frame. Sound is good, although I felt it is a little too subtle for my CRT TV.

However, if I have any real gripe with the set, it’s in the extras. There are the amusingly abstract introductions by the Log Lady, which Lynch filmed for Bravo when they acquired the show. On each disc we get a brief 5-minute interview with one of the contributors to the series. It’s mostly directors, and most of the time they can only convey how bound they were by the script (one in particular boasts about one notable opening scene, his only creative addition to the episode). Jennifer Lynch, David’s daughter, appears, but as far as I can tell her only participation to the series was writing Laura’s diary spin-off book after the series ended. There is no appearance from the puppet master Lynch or even co-creator Mark Frost, which is a real shame, especially considering Lynch oversaw the DVD transfers. Considering the importance the show had on television afterwards, you would have thought more effort would be put into the bonus material.

Perhaps the recently announced Gold Edition of Twin Peaks, due out in the USA in October, will contain more elaborate extra material.

Overall, Season 2 of Twin Peaks was a step down from the innovative and unique Season 1. It certainly lost itself, but still remains an essential DVD collection for anyone interested in David Lynch, ground-breaking American drama, or just mystery.