leahcim

Yup, bought just now

Maxflier

Just received my set from B&N. Do you recommend the original pilot or the international one?

Pointyskull

My advice - or at least the way I'm doing it - is original pilot, S01, S02, FWWM.
Then the international pilot (as a curiosity) - which was meant to be a somewhat standalone "movie" for Euro audiences, as I understand it.

Dan

Do NOT watch the international cut until you've watched at least the first 10 or so episodes, if not the entire series and FWWM.

The last 30 minutes or so deviate from the story told in the TV show and give it an entirely different ending. You don't want to watch that... not until/unless you're curious about it. It doesn't contain any spoilers from the first 10 episodes, but it just goes in such a different direction that it would be confusing to watch the international cut then the rest of the series.

Maxflier

Well I have seen the entire first season before, but I will stick to the original pilot regardless.

Dan

Okay, I wasn't sure where you were at in the series.

Season 1 doesn't end with the big reveal, so I still recommend watching Season 2 until you get to that part, even if you already know all about it. I'd still leave the longer pilot until you've watched the whole series and FWWM, just because. But that's me.

Shannon Nutt

The International Cut was available on VHS between the 1st and 2nd seasons and plenty of fans watched it then...I don't think it ruins anything - except the ending to Episode 2.

rocket1312

Got my set today and the first thing I did was check out the FWWM deleted scenes. There are a couple of things:

1. There's definitely an audio sync issue on my PS3. I didn't try my standalone player yet. The amount of delay varies from scene to scene. Some are off by just a little, some are off by more than just a little, and some seem perfect. The two worst scenes are the scene at the saw mill and the scene at the Briggs house. It's pretty noticeable on those two scenes, but I'm not heartbroken about it because...

2. as a Twin Peaks/Lynch fan, the scenes are interesting to watch once, but I can't imagine revisiting them too often. For anyone who might be disappointed that the scenes weren't integrated into the film, all I'll say is don't be. Other than a few odd snippets here and there, they are nothing but filler. Lynch was absolutely correct to cut them. It's fun to see "new" Twin Peaks in any form, and there are a few moments that provide some more info on the mythology, but otherwise the joy lies solely in the knowledge that after all of these years we finally get to see this footage.

Josh Z

Only the original broadcast version of the pilot is considered canon to the series. The international version was designed to be a self-contained movie that wraps up the story early in case the series didn't get picked up. The new ending (which adds about 20 minutes after the point the broadcast version stops) contradicts later events. Also, Lynch repurposed some of the footage to use in a later episode, so you'll wind up watching the famous Red Room scene twice.

Josh Z

This must be a PS3 issue. I didn't have any sync problems watching the deleted scenes on my OPPO BDP-93.

I agree that the scenes don't belong incorporated into FWWM. They would have really distracted from the story of Laura Palmer. Honestly, I can't even see where most of them would go in the film. There's no place for them at all.

However, I disagree that the scenes are "filler" or disposable. They provide a look at what was happening in the town during and around the events of the movie. They're like watching mini episodes of the show, and it's really great to spend more time in the company of these characters.

Also, discovering that the Agent Jeffries character actually had a somewhat coherent story beyond his cameo in the movie, and that Lynch had a plan to tie the movie directly to the Season 2 finale is pretty cool.

Dan

Yeah, I didn't mean to suggest it RUINS the show. Like Josh said, it's just not canon, so for a newcomer, I wouldn't recommend watching it until watching the entire series and movie first.

caligulathegod

When Cooper describes his dream in the following episode, he describes the International ending rather than what we see at the end of episode 2. I think it is OK to watch the International version after watching the first three episodes (pilot, E1 and E2). You are basically seeing Cooper's actual dream rather than the edited version we get in the series.

rocket1312

I'll have to check it out on my Panasonic player. Everything I've read online seems to suggest it's not just a PS3 issue and may be related to player/display settings. I've read turning 24fps to "off" will help. I've also read either you should or shouldn't bitstream. There's also reports that some of the episodes and maybe even the movie are affected as well. I would have been fine if just deleted scenes were affected, but if the main content is also messed up, then I'm going to be annoyed. The fact that the *same exact* thing happened with the Gold Box makes it all doubly infuriating.

Like I said, any "new" Twin Peaks is welcome (and worth watching), I just can't imagine revisiting them much if at all. The scenes that give a little more info into the nature of the ring/black lodge are neat if you're really into the mythology and it's nice to see some of the characters that got cut, but, for example, is seeing Ed/Norma pine away for each other for the hundredth time really that interesting? I did like the scene in the Hayward home. That was one of the few that I think might actually play well as part of the film proper.

The Jeffries scene was one I was actually kind of disappointed with. That sub-plot was so bizarre and I always imagined the deleted Jeffries material would be some sort of magic key that would unlock some of the film's bigger mysteries, but that was not the case. I did think the scene tying into the finale was one of the more interesting ones. Even then, it really adds very little to what we already knew. I also never cared for the Annie character, so seeing more of her did little for me.

All that said, I don't want to sound like a complete party pooper. I am very glad to finally have this footage. Anyone who's a fan of the series will want to watch it. It's just that for years now they've been the absolute holy grail for Peaks fans, and I'd be lying if I said they didn't leave me feeling a little cold. I'm sure inflated expectations are part of the problem. I also have a 3 month old at home and have been really tired lately.

hdnmickey

Unless a whole bunch of people have been lying, it's definately not just a PS3 issue. Now we wait and see if there will be corrected discs made available or everybody is told they just have to deal. Another reason to hold off buying IMO.

rocket1312

Were there ever replacements made available for the Gold Box? I don't remember any. That doesn't give me much hope that anything will be done about the BD set. Although, social media in 2014 is a much more powerful tool than it was in 2007. Maybe there will be enough pressure for something to be done.

stvn1974

The first run of the Gold Box Set with the postcards had the problem for certain DVD players and once that run ran out they fixed the problem. I remember sending my discs 4 and 6 in to CBS and having replacements mailed back.

rocket1312

No kidding? I must have missed that. Was it just the menu glitches that were fixed, or was the audio sync fixed as well?

Josh Z

I don't disagree with this. However, the problem with watching the international ending this way is that it does not clearly distinguish "This footage is a dream" vs. "This is really happening to the characters."

From a spoiler perspective, the alternate pilot ending is safe to watch after you've seen the first three episodes, but it still can't be considered canon. It's a curiosity.

Josh Z

Interesting. My OPPO player is set for 1080p/24 and bitstreaming audio. I had no issues with audio sync on the deleted scenes, FWWM, or any of the episodes on Disc 1. (Nor any of the bonus features in the set, and I watched all of those.) That's as far as I've gotten so far.

Shannon Nutt

That's exactly what mine is set for as well (also an OPPO). Despite claims on other sites that it's a player issue, I suspect it's either A) a bad run of discs or B) a receiver issue in decoding the audio. I've watched the first four discs (including the supposed problematic Episode 9) with zero issues.

rocket1312

Well, I tried turning off 24p on my PS3 w/Onkyo receiver (via component) and it improved the sync considerably, but it was still off by a little. I was only looking at the deleted scene with Pete at the mill (that's the most egregious in my opinion), so turning off 24p may have made the other scenes perfect. Changing from bitstream to pcm didn't seem to make a noticeable difference.

The same is true on my Panasonic w/Yamaha receiver via HDMI. I'll try to play around with it a little more, including checking some other scenes, tonight.

stvn1974

OH NO! They Lucased Twin Peaks

LorenzoL

What am I supposed to look at?

Shannon Nutt

They CGI'd out a blue boom mike (first photo).

LorenzoL

Thanks!