Dan

Special thanks to spainlinx0 for the original idea that has now become DVDTalk TV Rewind!


DVDTalk TV Rewind 01 23/12/2009-Twin Peaks Pilot-”Northwest Passage”
Originally Aired: 08 April 1990
Directed By: David Lynch
Episode-specific discussion begins: 23 December 2009
Next Episode begins: 06 January 2010


Summary:


Availability: While CBS has every other episode available for streaming (those links will be provided for each episode), the original Pilot episode is not available. For those members that do not have access to the Pilot on DVD or any other means, the summary from the Season One DVD set has been transcribed below. It is not ideal, but it includes all the relevant information from the Pilot without spoiling the rest of the series.



Important Characters from the Pilot


Do NOT watch the “European” or “Movie-version” of the Pilot.
It contains scenes that are contradicted by the rest of the series.
Roughly the first 90 minutes of the infamous "international cut" of the Pilot is exactly the same as the proper Pilot. It's the very end of Sarah Palmer's scene, around the 90 minute mark, that is different; along with the remaining 30 minutes. If you are forced to watch the "international cut", stop immediately at the shot of Sarah Palmer running down the stairs in slow motion (again, this is roughly around 90 minutes into the Pilot). Then, go ahead and read the last few sentences of the Summary I've transcribed above.

Log Lady Introduction:




About DVDTalk TV Rewind
DVDTalk TV Rewind is a series of threads dedicated to re-watching a TV series, one episode per week, just as if it were airing for the first time. All members of DVDTalk are encouraged to participate in the discussions about each weekly episode, but should be aware that for some members, this is the first time they've ever seen the show.
Please do not provide spoilers for episodes that aren't already being discussed!

For this incarnation of DVDTalk TV Rewind, we have decided that we will be watching Twin Peaks: Season One. Should these discussions prove to be popular, we can continue through Season Two.
Weekly threads will be started every Wednesday. This day was pretty much chosen at random. As long as you watch the episode on or after the date shown in the thread title, then you're safe.

Should there be any interest in running another DVDTalk TV Rewind series, please start a "DVDTalk TV Rewind Nominations" thread. For the purpose of keeping TV Talk uncluttered, we should keep the official threads limited to two or three unique shows at a time.


To allow members enough time to prepare, this very first thread has been created in advance of the “discussion” date, and the next episode’s discussion will not begin until 06 January 2010!

About Twin Peaks (edited from imdb.com)
Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Lara Flynn Boyle, Sherilyn Fenn, and more.

The body of a young girl, Laura Palmer, is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate her strange demise.
The story begins with the murder of Laura Palmer, a teen aged girl who lived in the quiet town of Twin Peaks, near the US/Canadian border. Everyone seems surprised and devastated by the girl's murder, and the town's sheriff welcomes the help of FBI agent Dale Cooper, who comes to investigate the case. As Cooper begins his search for Laura's killer, the town's secrets are gradually exposed. This is definitely not an average quiet town, it seems as everyone has something big to hide.

Who killed Laura Palmer?

About the Episode Titles
Titles were assigned to every episode by a German television network. At the time of production, proper titles were not given to any episode in the series. These titles are not official, but are the easiest way to identify the individual episodes. Further, the Log Lady introductions were not aired during the original broadcast of any episodes, but only during re-runs. Links will be provided to any introductions that are found.

Here we go!

spainlinx0

Excellent job on the thread creation. I hope it gets even more people interested in these threads.

My Other Self

This is fantastic. I think it's a great idea. Are we going with the regular pilot for the first viewing then? I can get it I just want to make sure.

Superman07

Great write-up something more! I took the 23rd off from work so I know what I'll be doing.

Gizmo

Twin Peaks theme song in my ringtone

islandclaws

Great series to start with, and a fantastic job on the write-up. This is one of my favorite TV series ever, so I look forward participating.

Dan

Yes. The regular pilot is about 90 minutes (without commercials). The "bad" pilot is closer to 120 minutes, I believe. If you can only find the longer one, then you need to stop watching right after Sarah Palmer's scene (Laura's mother) around the 90-minute mark.

Thanks everyone! I can't wait for the true discussions to begin on Wednesday! There's a lot to say about this Pilot episode!

Tscott

Sunday night, April 8, 1990. I sit down in front of the TV with a Calculus book opened and ready to study for a test the next morning. The ABC "movie" of the night is starting. I vaguely remember seeing the adds for it- something to do with a weird and somewhat menacing shot of a traffic light. Maybe I'll check this out while I study...


... two hours later, I'm in awe of what I just saw. And I'm no more prepared for my calc test than I was when I first sat down.

I'm looking forward to the discussion on Wednesday and revisiting this.

Shannon Nutt

Still the best pilot for a TV show I've ever seen. Heck, still one of the best TV shows I've ever seen.

pinata242

I'm ready to watch the pilot on Wednesday. I'll be down at my parents' house for the Christmas festivities. I'm planning to hook my laptop up to the tv and watch it. I'm sure my dad would be interested to revisit it. I was only 11 when it first aired, but I remember him and my mom watching the show.

Rypro 525

i was wondering too, is there any explicit time frame on wed on when we can start posting our thoughts on the particular episode (mainly since i'm a nightowl as many of you prob know),and can prob get the ep done at around 3am my time.

Dan

Good question. I think it's fair to say any time on the first day. People may want to assume that there's spoilers contained within the thread (in all posts after 12am EST). I'd like to avoid everyone putting spoiler tags on every one of their posts...

By entering the episode-specific threads (this first one being the only exception... until Wednesday), we should expect details to be discussed (except, of course, in the first post of each thread, where I'll only provide basic summary info, the CBS.com link, and the Log Lady Introduction link)

Michael Corvin

Nice work on the first post SomethingMore. I've never seen the show so I'm looking forward to it.

Just a thought, since we are trying to capture that "watch as if it just aired" feel, we should follow the way other threads are done in TVtalk, the thread is created in the morning, episode airs that night and that's when the discussion begins. So, Wednesday night on.

spainlinx0

That's the plan, but we wanted a little more exposure for the first thread to get more people on board.

JayDerek

GREAT idea for a thread guys.

I'm just about done with my big Lost-rewatch and have wanted to revist TP for a while. This gives me the perfect excuse.

Thanks!!

Dan

Michael,
I can agree with that.
That said, if people want to start sharing their thoughts about an episode earlier in the day, they should be allowed to do so, but should be very clear at the beginning of their post that they've watched it. I just want to make sure we don't have to spoilerize every post "just in case", you know?

As with the threads for currently-running shows, the only post that can be guaranteed to be spoiler-free is the first post in the thread. Spoiler tags will be used for things like the Episode Summary and Log Lady Intros for those people who really want to go into each episode "blind", but those two things will never contain actual spoilers.

I'll create the subsequent threads on the Wednesday mornings whenever possible, but may have to do it late on the Tuesday nights in some cases.

Question for everyone:
Do we still want to delay the next episode until January 6th? If there's enough interest, we can bump it up to December 30th. We originally decided on a delay to give people more time to get/watch the pilot, and because of the holidays, but it seems like everyone's ready to go... so it's up to y'all.

cdollaz

Not only do I love the series, but all 3 of the related music cds are great. Well, 2 of them are great and one is darn good.

cdollaz

I would watch it tonight, but my dvds are in storage as we just sold our house and have not found a replacement. Bummer.

Heat

I never did watch the Twin Peaks series since at the time it was airing I didn't have a TV (I was in college).

Now would be a good time to start.

pinata242

I'm afraid the 1/week might be a little slow for an effort like this. It just feels like we could easily do 2/week since they're on DVD or streaming somewhere.

But I'm sure we'll address that in the future if others agree.

bunkaroo

Cool thread - this will finally help me get through my TP set.

I've never seen the show all the way through. I think I'm on 4th disc so maybe a few episodes into the 2nd season?

I've been having a hard time getting through set, but not because I don't like it - I think it's great. It's just I can't watch it when I'm tired or busy or whatever because it really demands your attention.

I'm cool with one a week but could 2-3 as well.

chuckd21

So I think the pilot still holds up amazingly well. It's a slow burn, but there's lots of plot threads being dangled and all of them are pretty damn compelling.

But the one thing that always makes me cringe, I mean hide my face cringe and hum until it's over, is Cooper's totally random, nonsensical "Get me a donut" line to Truman during the police chase.

Dan

Wow! I kind of forgot just how much I enjoyed this show.

I still get chills when Leland and Sarah are on the phone and they realize that Laura's dead when the sheriff shows up at the hotel. In fact, every scene where a character makes the same realization.
There's a lot more 'love triangles' going on than I remembered. Actually, it's more like one big love octahedron!

Audrey and Shelly are just as cute as I remember

Gotta love Special Agent Dale Cooper. It's a good thing he's the lead character, because he's still my favourite (for now).
"Diane, I'm holding in my hand a small box of chocolate bunnies..."

LickTheABCs

I loved the shot of Leland on the phone and you just see the cop car pull up behind him. That whole scene was beautifully shot.

I couldn't help but laugh every time Bobby walked or talked. He was meant to be tough but it just didn't work. at him yelling in the jail cell.

Every few years I forget how hot Mädchen Amick is, but then I see her in something and I'm reminded.

chuckd21

Sherilyn Fenn and Madchen Amick were a big part of my teenage years. This Rolling Stone cover was on my wall for years.