As an archivist for my favorite television show Twin Peaks, I love finding ephemera created when David Lynch and Mark Frost’s masterpiece first aired in the early 1990s. Many of these paper items were produced for a specific, immediate purpose and not much thought was given to saving them for future records. This colorful brochure was produced in August 1991 to advertise the first seven episodes – 1.001 through 1.007 – would be released on VHS on September 12 that year. It gives a a fascinating look at what officially licensed merchandise was available at the time.
TWIN PEAKS’ FIRST SEASON COMING TO VHS ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1991
One of the earliest mentions of the first seven episodes of Twin Peaks being released on VHS came from Robert Sigman, Executive Vice President of Worldvision, who attended the Video Software Dealers Association convention in July 1991. An article in The Billings Gazette on July 17 mentioned Worldvision was planning to release six video tapes of Twin Peaks, “the quirky television series recently canceled by ABC.”
“There are a lot of people who didn’t watch it who thought they should have watched it,” explained Sigman. This new packaged set was Worldvision’s attempt to compete with the ever-growing cable market which offered pay-per-view movies and significant increases in higher video rental prices.
A few weeks earlier, Warner Home Video announced the “European version” of the Twin Peaks pilot would be available starting September 11.
This VHS was the much-fabled version with the closed ending that was produced for the European market in case the original pilot wasn’t sold to television networks in the United States. It contained additional footage not shown in the broadcast version, including the Red Room dream sequence later shown at the end of episode 1.002. But most interestingly, the pilot episode would not be included in the Worldvision set. The merchandise brochure will highlight this point multiple times.
Retails for the first seven episode set would be $99.95 or $14.95 individually. The European pilot would sell for $79.95.
Based on extensive research, the European version of the Twin Peaks pilot had been available in the United Kingdom since December 8, 1989. American audiences wouldn’t see a proper release of the original broadcasted pilot (the one with Sarah Palmer seeing a gloved hand picking up a rock) until the Twin Peaks Gold Box DVD set released in 2007.
Elizabeth Snead from Gannett News Service wrote about the Worldvision set in a syndicated story. She stated the “Twin Peaks Collector’s Edition” packaged the first seven episode of the show (“not the pilot)’ in a cardboard log.
More episodes would follow “if demand warrants.” Two years later, Worldvision would release all 29 episodes from the first two seasons on VHS in September-October 1993. When it comes to home video releases, Twin Peaks fans were made to suffer.
TWIN PEAKS MERCHANDISE BROCHURE COVER
The cover of this 8-inch by 10-inch, four-panel brochure includes the iconic “Welcome to Twin Peaks” sign against a close-up image of a log. There is a small circular saw graphic in the corner with an image of the Worldvision VHS set – “Now available in a collector’s series of seven original episodes.” The first seven episodes were “seven hours that captured America.”
The sign graphic looks very similar to the box packaging used for the StarPics trading cards released earlier in 1991. I wouldn’t be surprised if they lifted that graphic and modified the text for this brochure.
TWIN PEAKS MERCHANDISE BROCHURE – INSIDE PANELS
Opening this brochure is like using a time machine – there are so many memories from my early fandom presented on this two-page spread. There will be articles for every item featured in this brochure on Twin Peaks Blog (some already exist). Let’s take a closer look at what was featured.
VHS COLLECTOR’S SERIES AND INDIVIDUAL EPISODES
The VHS tapes take up the left panel and include both the seven tape set and images of the seven individual video tapes. The brochure states, “13,000,000* fans watched it. Now 13,000,000 fans can rent or own.”
There is an asterisk next to the 13 million number as Worldvision called out the set “does not include Made-For-Television Pilot.”
The description continues:
“The millions of passionately devoted fans who watched Twin Peaks(TM) can now own Twin Peaks(TM). For the first time seven original episodes that kept America spellbound are now available as a collector’s series for sale or rental*”
Notice the asterisk again as they really wanted you to know the collector’s set would not contains the Made-For-Television Pilot.
Retail for the Collector’s Series is $99.95 (suggested retail). The cassettes would be individually shrink-wrapped. Individual episodes would retail for $14.95 each (suggested retail).
Here are their catalog numbers:
- Collector’s Series – CAT #5014
- Episode 1.001 – CAT #5007
- Episode 1.002 – CAT #5008
- Episode 1.003 – CAT #5009
- Episode 1.004 – CAT #5010
- Episode 1.005 – CAT #5011
- Episode 1.006 – CAT #5012
- Episode 1.007 – CAT #5013
TWIN PEAKS(TM) T-SHIRTS
These “beautifully designed” 100% cotton t-shirts were only offered in two sizes: large and extra large. The four pictured in the brochure were just a handful of officially licensed tees. The Alpine Blossom and Gift Shoppe in North Bend, Washington carried these and even more.
Here are their catalog numbers:
- Phys. Ed shirt (grey) ITEM# 774
- Greetings shirt ITEM# 775
- Doughnut shirt ITEM# 776
- Pie shirt ITEM# 777
TWIN PEAKS(TM) SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT MUG
The Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department mug was white with the logo created for the side of Sheriff Truman’s vehicle. The item number was #3337.
Since this brochure was most likely sent to video retail stores and other shop owners, there was a special deal combining the t-shirts and mug. You could order one mug and one t-shirt for a deal. Sadly, I don’t have the accompanying order form so I don’t know how much it would cost.
A phone number was listed at the bottom of the form which in 1991 was possibly linked to Turner Home Entertainment. I found a newspaper mention in December 1991 about placing an order for an Atlanta Braves video by calling the same 1-800 number.
TWIN PEAKS(TM) COLLECTIBLE CARD ART
Star Pics released trading cards around May 1991. I am working on a complete article about this collection with thanks to Bruce Phillips, the Twin Peaks Guy, who offered a bunch of materials, packaging and more for these card. Until then, here is what the brochure had to say about Item# 5482.
“Wax pack contains 25 cards including Character Profiles, Local Sites, Famous dialogue and Scenes, Trivia and More. Never Before Revealed Facts and Tidbits for the True Fans!”
The challenge with this wax pack is that it may have never been widely released. There are packs available on on-line auction sites but they are rare to find. The original 76-card set was sold as one giant pack for $19.95.
TWIN PEAKS BOOKS
Four Twin Peaks-themed books were included in the brochure:
- TWIN PEAKS(TM) ACCESS GUIDE TO THE TOWN | ITEM #3996 – An Unforgettable, In-Depth Tour of the Town That’s Captured America’s Imagination!
- THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DALE COOPER | ITEM #7440 – Beyond the Coffee and Doughnuts … the Real Agent Cooper!
- THE TWIN PEAKS(TM) TAPES OF AGENT COOPER | ITEM #5379 – A #1 Publishers Weekly Audio Bestseller for four months; Grammy Nominee for “Best Spoken Word Recording”!
- THE SECRET DIARY OF LAURA PALMER | ITEM #7359 – A #4 New York Times Bestseller on the List for 11 Weeks!
COLLECTOR’S EDITION TWIN PEAKS GAZETTE
The short-lived “Twin Peaks Gazette” newspaper was distributed earlier in 1991 to Twin Peaks fans. This was a special edition tied to the release of the first season on VHS. The brochure said it was “Great for Give-Aways with Rental or Sale!”. ITEM #0272
The Collector’s Edition was a thing as I’ve ordered one from eBay and will hopefully have it soon to share with Twin Peaks Blog readers.
TWIN PEAKS MERCHANDISE BROCHURE BACK COVER
The back cover contains an image of Laura Palmer’s Homecoming Queen photo against a log image. This is the same pattern that is found on the outside of the season 1 VHS packaging.
Below the photo of Laura is the Worldvision Home Video Inc. logo. It was a unit of Spelling Entertainment Inc.
The copyrights are also listed:
(C) 1990 Twin Peaks Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved
(C) 1990 (Dist.) Worldvision Home Video, Inc. All Rights Reserved
TWIN PEAKS IS A TRADEMARK OF TWIN PEAKS PRODUCTIONS, INC.
Finally, there is a small code in the bottom right corner – TP-0891 – which most likely refers to when this was produced: 08 = August | 91 = 1991.
This colorful brochure makes me wish I had a time machine so I could place multiple orders of everything.
Download high-resolution images from this brochure on my Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha75/albums/72177720321190596
