While owning a disc jockey business in the early 1990s, I remember acquiring many CDs from Columbia House, the mail-order club offering low-cost music for an introductory price. In 1981, the then CBS-owned company launched the Columbia House Video Library, which eventually followed the same model as their music club only with videocassettes. Recently, I found 1993 advertisement from the library offering David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks pilot on VHS.
BRIEF HISTORY OF COLUMBIA HOUSE VIDEO LIBRARY
The Columbia House Video Library opened for business in 1981 by selling only one title – “World War II with Walter Cronkite.” At the time, VCRs were rare things in households across the United States, with approximately 17-percent of homes owning one. By the early 1990s, nearly every house had a VCR (and some even had VCR Plus+ to help record shows like Twin Peaks).
“I think we felt that our association with CBS and later with all the major program suppliers, gave us an advantage in an area where people reacted positively: classic television on videocassettes,” explained Harry Elias, vice president of Columbia House Video Library, to Gannett News Service reporter Mike Cidoni in an article titled, “Video Library has classic collections” from The Burlington Free Press on May 6, 1992.
In 1988, Sony acquired the CBS Records Group, including Columbia House, which had 6 million members. By 1991, Sony sold half of Columbia House to Time Warner which added Time Life’s video and music clubs. Membership was more than 10 million at the end of the year.
Around this time, the Twin Peaks pilot was first offered on VHS via the Columbia House Video Library. I found ads in newspapers from Nov. 22-23, 1991 which listed “Twin Peaks” with the order code “9766052.” People could own any six “blockbusters” for for $.69 each (nice!) plus shipping and handling charges of $1.20 each.
The pilot was released only a few weeks earlier in North America on October 8, 1991 (the United Kingdom version was released years earlier on Dec. 8, 1989). The North American pilot version had the “International Ending” or “European Ending.”
According to long-time Twin Peaks fan Jared Lyon, the broadcast version of the Twin Peaks pilot wasn’t available on DVD until the 2007 Gold Box set. But all Season 1 DVD releases have the broadcast pilot except the U.S. release. So technically worldwide, that broadcast version was available on DVD in 2001, six years before the Gold Box release in the U.S.
It was tough being a fan in the early 1990s.
COLUMBIA HOUSE VIDEO LIBRARY AD FOR TWIN PEAKS FROM 1993
The thin paper ad for the Columbia House Video Library release of the Twin Peaks has two sides. The front contains images of the “Welcome to Twin Peaks” sign spot an an iconic image of Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) holding his 1988 Panasonic RN-105 tape recorder.
I recently featured this publicity photo in an article about Fright Rags’ “Twin Peaks Day 2025” shirt containing the same image.
The ad states: “Meet Agent Cooper and the mystery that gets stranger by the minute.” Interested parties could own the “two-hour season premiere on videocassette for $4.95 with subscription.” The ad also contained a production code – 9311-TN / A-501. Sadly I’m unsure what the code means, though “TN” could refer to the ad being created for the Tennessee market and “9311” could be November 1993.
The back of the ad contains images of Leland Palmer (Ray Wise) and Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) along with a small image of the videocassette sleeve. What an interesting choice of images to show by Leland and his daughter Laura.
This is the original publicity image of Leland Palmer holding a photo frame.
The photo of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) as the Homecoming Queen is the second posed shot from a sequence of images. This same photo would be used decades later when Twin Peaks was released on Blu-ray in 2014. It’s one of the more iconic images of Laura smiling for the camera.
The description next to the photos reads:
Who killed Laura Palmer? Join the investigation from the beginning with the feature-length premiere of David Lynch’s unconventional television series —featuring footage never broadcast! As FBI Agent Dale Cooper and Sheriff Harry Truman piece together the case, they dig deeper into the dark secrets of the town of Twin Peaks. You’ll come face-to-face with the peculiar people who helped make television history: Big Ed Hurley, the inquisitive Audrey Horne, The Log Lady, The Bookhouse Boys and more.
Your first videocassette — nearly two hours long — is only $4.95 plus shipping and handling. Preview it risk-free for 10 days. If you’re not completely satisfied, return it for a full refund. As a subscriber, we’ll send the next one-hour videocassette in the series about every 4 to 6 weeks. Keep only the videocassettes you want. For each one you decide to keep, you’ll pay the low price of only $14.95 plus ship-ping and handling. There is no minimum number to buy and you may cancel your subscription at any time.
Spend some time in the town where the bizarre, strange and outrageous are a way of life. Return the order form below today.
Can you imagine waiting four to six weeks for the next episode?
The bottom half contains an order form with the awesome phrase, “Take me to TWIN PEAKS!” It’s wonderful finding this advertisement in near mint condition with the order form still attached.
