Twin Peaks is a mid-sized northern city just south of the Canadian border. It is a rural, logging-driven town and is fairly peaceful, at least that's how it seems on the surface. When a teenager, Laura Palmer, is murdered in a very unusual manner, Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean) makes a call to the FBI and gets the unconventional Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan).
As the pair (and the rest of the Twin Peaks law enforcement squad) investigate this murder, it becomes pretty obvious that there is something much darker that runs throughout this city. In fact, one of the common themes of this show is that no one is innocent.
Cooper and Truman complement each other because Truman is a fairly straight-laced cop who has a pretty good feel for the city and Cooper relies heavily on strange forms of deductive reasoning, dream interpretation and a set of personal moral philosophies that make him seem quite quirky to the rest of the characters. One such oddity has Cooper tossing rocks at a jar some 100 feet away as he speaks names of suspects. When a rock actually breaks the jar, he feels he has made a breakthrough in the case and starts to investigate that particular suspect even more. Then, of course, there is his strange dream involving a midget, Laura Palmer and broken speaking that sort of makes sense, but requires subtitles. From this dream, Cooper realizes he needs to find a one-armed man, that man's buddy Bob and even get the lowdown of what's going on in a nearby gentleman's club, The One-Eyed Jack.
Besides the great character development that occurs in this series, another interesting aspect is its serial format. Similar to shows like Lost, 24 and Heroes, it is hard to start this series in the middle or even skip an episode. Each show builds upon the events of the previous one and if you miss any one, you will be somewhat lost. Since this show first aired in 1990, I'm pretty sure it was one of the first American TV series to take on this serial format.
If there is one thing Twin Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition has going for it, it is special features. Not only is there a featurette about David Lynch (the creator of Twin Peaks), but also deleted scenes, a reunion piece for the cast of the show, the Saturday Night Live skit as well as a general remastering of the video and audio.
Even if you didn't watch the show when it originally aired, most likely you will still find this show great. If you are a mystery fan or you like a good serial-style drama, then Twin Peaks is just the show for you, and if you need to buy this show, The Definitive Gold Box Edition gives you the most bang for your buck.
