In April 2018, Showtime sent members of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences voting for the Emmy Awards a DVD set containing all 18 part of Twin Peaks: The Return. This five-disc set was in advance of the “For Your Emmy Consideration” campaign launched in May that year. There was an event held on May 2 with David Lynch, Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern, an advertising campaign and another DVD set mailed to members containing only two episodes of the third season. Let’s take a closer look at the five-disc set created for a masterpiece of a show.
SHOWTIME’S FOR YOUR 2018 EMMY CONSIDERATION TWIN PEAKS DVD MAILER
I recapped the history of “For Your Consideration” mailers in a previous article. In summary, networks like Showtime, HBO and others used these sets to showcase important television shows to Emmy voters in hopes they would cast votes in favor. The five-disc Twin Peaks was one of three sets from Showtime that also included The Chi and SMILF.
The front cover contained a black and white chevron pattern similar to the Red Room. The back contained an image of red drapes along with the Showtime logo. All 18 episodes were available in the five included discs or members could watch the full episodes at Sho.com/FYC. Access ended on August 31, 2018.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TWIN PEAKS DVD SET – PAGES 2-3
On the inside cover, there is an image from the Red Room along with six quotes from various media outlets about Twin Peaks: The Return. The opposite page features the “Welcome to Twin Peaks” sign with the first category for Emmy voters – “Outstanding Limited Series.” The quotes come from different reviews including the following:
- “Best show on TV … a Masterpiece” – This quote is from Matt Zoller Seitz’s article in Vulture on July 6, 2017 titled, “The Best Show on TV is Twin Peaks: The Return“. Zoller Seitz writes: “The sky is blue. Twin Peaks: The Return is a masterpiece. Books will eventually be devoted to explaining why this is; each will examine the series from a different, specific angle, and come to different conclusions about what it’s showing us and telling us. The series speaks in the language of dreams, and we interpret the sentences and pictograms differently depending on our life experience and worldview.”
- “Transcendent” – This quote from The Washington Post most likely comes from Alyssa Rosenberg’s article published on June 22, 2017.
- “The Most Groundbreaking TV Series Ever … a Dazzling Work of Filmmaking” – This quote is from Sean T. Collins’ article in Rolling Stone on September 4, 2017. Collins’ writes: “Twin Peaks: The Return was a dazzling work of filmmaking. But unlike its jittering cameras, flashing lights, billowing smoke and ambient whooshing and whirring, its emotional foundations were rock solid. We may marvel at the cosmos Lynch and Frost created – a universe of vast purple oceans, towering metal fortresses, billowing red curtains and infinite fields of stars. We may spend another 25 years attempting to puzzle out Audrey’s location, the glass box’s bankroller, the true identity of “Judy” and what, exactly, became of the girl with the bug in her mouth. But there’s nothing ethereal or mysterious about abuse, trauma and the irresistible death-march of time. That part of Twin Peaks, the part that counts most, is as clear as your reflection in the mirror.”
- “Brilliant … Most Mesmerizing Hours of Network Television in History” – and
- “Mystifying, Entrancing … Makes Watching TV Feel Different Than What Has Preceded it” – Sonia Saraya wrote these words for her September 4, 2017 article for Variety titled, ‘Twin Peaks’ Finale Recap: The Story Ends — Forever? — With a Mystifying, Entrancing Finish.” In it, she said about the show’s final episode, “It’s scary. Above all, this is a scary episode, from Cooper leading Laura out of a scene from ‘Fire Walk With Me’ to the final moments, where Lee appears to be in slow-motion, blinking with an unnerving languor. The scene offers the type of cold frisson that chills even the comfort of fandom, making coffee and pie and donuts feel as far away as Saturn. And maybe most terrifying, it’s a moment that makes watching TV feel different than what has preceded it.”
- “…Pure Television Poetry” – This quote is from a September 4, 2017 article in The New York Times titled ‘Twin Peaks’ Season 3 Finale: The Curtain Call.” Once Part 18 aired, critic Noel Murray described the best moments from Lynch and Frost’s work: “The best moments throughout ‘Twin Peaks: The Return’ though could be enjoyed as pure televisual poetry, regardless of their larger meaning.”
The “Welcome To Twin Peaks” sign image appears to be something photographed when the sign was first revealed. Showtime released a video titled “Twin Peaks – Now In Production” on December 18, 2015 on YouTube. The video shows the being moved into position against a line of trees.
The sign’s covered is removed to reveal the iconic welcome sign. Steven LaRose served as the painter for both the original sign in 1989 and the sign seen above Twin Peaks: The Return. You can follow his work at StevenLaRose.com and on Instagram at @Larosian.
Most likely, they photographed the sign in this spot and added additional leaves via Photoshop
The “Welcome To Twin Peaks” sign page also contained a sleeve to hold the first DVD. This disc contains Parts 1-4. The foggy tree background image comes from key art posters created for the show featuring images of Dale Cooper and Laura Palmer.
This is how the DVD menu for the first disc appears. There is no music but it does have an expanded image of the trees in fog from the DVD disc.
“Property of Showtime” appears periodically throughout all 18 episodes similar to the image above from Part 16.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TWIN PEAKS DVD SET – PAGES 4-5
Pages 4-5 were created for Kyle MacLachlan’s three characters from Twin Peaks: The Return – Dougie, Mr. C and Dale Cooper. Showtime encouraged voters to select MacLachlan as “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.”
There are two critic quotes featured on page 4 about his performance.
- “MacLachlan’s Performance Has Been a Miracle” – This quote is from a June 12, 2017 article in Esquire titled, ‘Twin Peaks’ Finally Revealed Diane’s Identity.” Critic Corey Atad discussed Kyle’s performance after Part 6 aired saying, “Underneath the joke, though, is a sadness. It’s right there on Kyle MacLachlan’s nearly expressionless face. A resting sadness. It’s been noted by some, but at this point it’s safe to say MacLachlan’s performance has been a miracle. Even within such a ridiculous plot, inhabiting such a ridiculous character, MacLachlan has brought unexpected pathos alongside the comedy, all in a role with few words and even fewer emotional shifts. Hell, it’s there in his apparent obliviousness at seeing the One-Armed Man tell him to wake up, and ‘don’t die.’ As we saw, death is a very real possibility given the terrifying ice pick assassin sent to kill Dougie.”
- “Kyle MacLachlan is Giving One of His Best Performances in Television History.” – This quote by Ben Travers from IndieWire was published on August 12, 2017. I discussed it in this article featuring an individual advertisement for MacLachlan as part of Showtime’s “For Your Consideration” campaign.
The sleeve on page 5 contains the second DVD disc with Parts 5-8. The Woodsman (Robert Broski) from Part 8 is prominently featured in the artwork.
The image repeats on the DVD menu for the second disc.
It’s such a beautiful shot by on-set photographer Suzanne Tenner. As an aside, make sure you watch this discussion between John Thorne, Co-editor of “Wrapped in Plastic” and author of “Ominous Whoosh: A Wandering Mind Returns to Twin Peaks,” and Josh Eisenstadt, Screenwriter, Director and long-time “Twin Peaks” fan, as they discuss meaning, symbolism and connections in the incredible Twin Peaks – Part 8.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TWIN PEAKS DVD SET – PAGES 6-7
Turning the page, we see Laura Dern as Diane Evans on page 6 and the late Miguel Ferrer on page 7 as Special Agent Albert Rosenfield. They were suggested as “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie” and “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie” respectively. There were two additional quotes from television critics from Entertainment Weekly and The Hollywood Reporter.
- “Dern’s Powerful Portrayal of the Strong-Willed Diane Evans in… Twin Peaks Was One of This Summer’s Highlights.” – This quote from critic Christina Everett for Entertainment Weekly was published on September 11, 2017. In her article titled, “Twin Peaks: Laura Dern on the true ‘love story’ of Agent Cooper and Diane,” she said, “In a year dotted with moments that can only be compared to a bowl full of garmonbozia, 2017 has at least blessed us with a big helping of Laura Dern. Sandwiched between her scene-stealing moments in HBO’s Big Little Lies and her upcoming role in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Dern’s powerful portrayal of the strong-willed Diane Evans in David Lynch’s 18-part revival of Twin Peaks was one of this summer’s highlights.”
- “Characters Make The World of Twin Peaks That Much More Engrossing” – The Hollywood Reporter’s Chris Hayner wrote this quote on July 23, 2017 in his article titled, “‘Twin Peaks’ Reveals Becky’s Father.” This thought was shared following Part 11 when it was shown that Bobby and Shelly’s daughter was Becky: “Most importantly, though, the revelation that Bobby and Shelly were married goes a long way in showing how life went on after Twin Peaks ended. These are characters that were living and breathing, even when fans were not watching. Given that the series went away for 25 years, adding these developments to deepen the relationships and characters makes the world of Twin Peaks that much more engrossing.”
Page 7 contained a sleeve with the third DVD containing Parts 9-12. Mandie, Candie and Sandie are pictured on the front of the disc.
The trio’s publicity image also appears on the DVD menu.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TWIN PEAKS DVD SET – PAGES 8-9
The late Robert Forester as Sheriff Frank Truman and Michael Horse as Deputy Hawk appear on pages 8 and 9. They were both being suggested as “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.” Two more critic quotes appear from Esquire and Decider.
- “Lynch Proves to be an Actor’s Dream, Able to Pull Out Incredible Performances From His Cast” – Corey Atad wrote this subheader for his article titled, “The Most Shocking Part of Twin Peaks Is Jim Belushi’s Hilarious Performance” for Esquire on July 24, 2017.
- “Brilliant Character Actors Playing Wonderfully Eccentric Characters” – This line in Decider’s article titled, “‘Twin Peaks’ Cast: Your Ultimate Guide To All The New Characters,” was written by Meghan O’Keefe on May 22, 2017: “Twin Peaks has always been the place to see brilliant character actors playing wonderfully eccentric characters. And the new Showtime series is continuing that tradition in a great big way. Last April, it was announced that the new series would boast a cast of 217 characters, many of them brand new to David Lynch‘s television universe. In the first two episodes alone, we meet over 30 new faces, all with their own special part to play in the mysterious saga of Twin Peaks.”
The fourth DVD disc with Parts 13-15 is found on page 9. It contains a publicity hot of cherry pie and a coffee cup from the Double R Diner set. I thought the disc’s image was scratched at first and proceeded to correct it in Photoshop.
Once I saw the DVD menu for this disc, I realized the graphic designer added a distressing effect to give the image a vintage feel.
The original publicity shot was captured by Patrick Wymore at Twede’s Cafe during location production in North Bend, Washington around September 2015. The graphic designed blocked out the pie stand and other details on the DVD and DVD menu.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TWIN PEAKS DVD SET – PAGES 10-11
Pages 10-11 in the For Your Consideration DVD set features David Lynch as Deputy Director Gordon Cole and Naomi Watts as Janey-E Jones. Similar to Laura Dern and Miguel Ferrer on pages 6-7, Lynch and Watts were suggested as “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie” and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie” respectively. Two more quotes related to the third season appear.
- “Perfectly David Lynch” – The phrase is from The Hollywood Reporter’s Chris Hayner’s article on September 4, 2017 titled, “‘Twin Peaks’ Finale: How ‘The Return’ Ended For Every Main Character.” Hayner writes, “Twin Peaks: The Return went out not with a whimper, but an ear-piercing scream, with a finale that was as confusing as the series was entertaining. In other words, it was perfectly David Lynch, which is about as much as you could ask for when it comes to a series he co-created, wrote and directed.”
- “Incredible … Amazing … Watts Owns Every Emotional Beat.” – Zach Sharf wrote an article titled, “‘Twin Peaks’: Naomi Watts Reunited With David Lynch After 15 Years, And It Was An Acting Powerhouse” for IndieWire on May 30, 2017. While the quote is truncated for the DVD set, here is what Sharf said about Naomi Watts.
- “Perhaps Michael Cera’s absurdist Wally Brando stole all the cameo thunder in Episode 4, but it’d be a shame to overlook just how incredible Watts is in her “Twin Peaks” debut.”
- “Part of what makes Watts’ introduction to the series so amazing is how Lynch utilizes her. He puts her right in the middle of the most comedically absurd episode of “Twin Peaks” ever, but has her go full-blown dramatic instead. Her first scene directly follows the surreal humor of Cooper’s outing at the casino, and it affords Lynch and Watts the opportunity to really amplify the dramatic tension of her introduction. We meet Janey-E as she slaps Cooper, who she believes is her husband Dougie, and demands answers for where he’s been and why he missed their son’s birthday party. It’s “Twin Peaks” in soap opera mode, but Watts guides the tone into more frantic drama as her scene progresses.”
- Janey-E has a minor panic attack as she questions her husband’s whereabouts and his new appearance (Cooper’s slick hairdo and black suit are worlds away from Dougie’s longer locks and colorful blazers), and Watts owns every emotional beat. Simply put, she’s acting her ass off in a way her movie roles as of late haven’t let her.”
The final disc is contained on page 10 and features an image of Dale Cooper, Diane Evans and Gordon Cole walking in the dark.
A closer shot of the trio appears on the DVD menu for this final disc.
The same image would be used in another “For Your Consideration” advertisement with the word “Transcendent” that Showtime published in May 2018.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TWIN PEAKS DVD SET – PAGES 12-13
The final two pages from this DVD set contain an image of Agent Cooper and Laura Palmer in the Red Room. There are two categories that Showtime wanted Emmy viewers to consider: “Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special / DAVID LYNCH, Directed By” and “Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special / DAVID LYNCH, Written By and MARK FROST, Written By.”
There are also more quotes about Lynch and Frost’s work from a number of media outlets.
- “David Lynch Remains a Master” – Liz Shannon Miller wrote this phrase for the title of her IndieWire article, “‘Twin Peaks’ Season 3 Premiere Review: David Lynch Remains a Master — But The Brutality Toward Women Feels Dated” on May 21, 2017.
- “The Single Greatest Pleasure of The 2017 Season”– Critic Verne Gay wrote this line on August 30, 2017 for Newsday in his article titled, “‘Twin Peaks’ review: Kyle MacLachlan leads an electrifying season.” After summarizing Twin Peaks: The Return, Gay wrote, “BOTTOM LINE: The single greatest pleasure of the 2017 TV season.”
- “Brilliant” – Hank Stuever’s one word description is found in his Washington Post article on May 22, 2017 titled, “‘Twin Peaks’ premiere is full of surprises, the biggest being how much fun it is.” Stuever writes in the introductory paragraph, ” If you gave David Lynch free rein to do whatever he wants on the TV screen for 18 hours, you might understandably brace yourself for the result to be either brilliant or excessively self-indulgent and perhaps even willfully inscrutable. So the very good news about Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost’s revival of their cult classic supernatural mystery series “Twin Peaks” (four hours of which premiered Sunday on Showtime), is that it’s certainly watchable, visually delightful, sufficiently disturbing yet periodically funny and — yes — in moments, it can be brilliant.”
- “A Television Experience Genuinely Unlike Anything That Had Come Before.” – For a September 5, 2017 article titled “David Lynch Found the Perfect Ending in Twin Peaks” in The Atlantic, David Sims writes, “But there’s nothing wrong with questions. “Good art asks questions, you know?” the show’s star, Kyle MacLachlan, said in an interview given after the finale aired. And Twin Peaks: The Return was good art indeed, diverging from the 1990 ABC series it sequelized in so many ways but giving viewers the same thing its forbear did: a television experience genuinely unlike anything that had come before. In the months since the revival debuted, I’ve been foolish enough to try and predict where its story arcs might be heading, what conflicts might be bubbling to the surface week to week. But the creators Lynch and Mark Frost (who cowrote every episode together, with Lynch directing) never let an episode pass without a scene that rendered me dumbfounded at its ambition.”
I love this image of Cooper and Laura in The Red Room, so I removed the critics’ quotes. It’s wild to think the chair Cooper is sitting in was actually on display at the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Museum during the Real Twin Peaks 2024 event courtesy of Bookhouse Boy and fellow Twin Peaks Blog author Jason Mattson.
The series was nominated in several categories including the following:
- Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special: David Lynch and Mark Frost were nominated, but Charlie Brooker won for Black Mirror: “USS Callister”
- Outstanding Directing: Lynch and Frost
- Production design
- Editing
- Sound editing
- Sound mixing
- Cinematography
- Makeup and hairstyling
Sadly, Twin Peaks: The Return was shut out during the 70th Emmy Awards in 2018 and yet, I’m still talking about it years later. To paraphrase Sean Collin’s article, I may spend “another 25 years attempting to puzzle out” this wonderful and strange show.
You can download high-resolution images from this DVD set on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha75/albums/72177720320934630
