If there is one Twin Peaks home video set that’s near to my heart it’s the 1993 release from Worldvision Home Video. This special collectors edition set was the first time that all 29 episodes (minus the Pilot) were available on VHS. It’s also how I got to see Episodes 2001 to 2012, which I binged during Christmas break that year. Let’s revisit the packaging and graphics used for this vintage treasure.
MY TWIN PEAKS JOURNEY BEGINS
The year 1993 was an important one in my Twin Peaks journey. In late September, Angelo Badalamenti’s music from the official soundtrack on vinyl became my gateway to this wonderful and strange world. Subsequently, I borrowed the International Pilot (what was up with that ending?) and the first seven episodes on VHS from my public library in Grove City, Ohio.
Immediately hooked after seeing the first season, I wanted more. My only option was David Lynch’s 1992 masterpiece, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me on VHS. So I borrowed that film from the library too. I know, I know – what was I thinking?
It was only after I learned who killed Laura Palmer in Lynch’s film that I discovered Bravo TV was rebroadcasting the series, something that had started in June 1993. I picked up on Episode 2013 but had no idea what was going on. Having completely missed the Killer BOB storyline, Windom Earle became THE villain of my first Twin Peaks experience. Even today, I still adore Kenneth Welsh’s over-the-top portrayal of Agent Cooper’s costume-changing nemesis.
That Christmas, my parents gave me this boxed set which allowed me to catch up on the episodes I missed. Everything made a lot more sense then, relatively speaking.
I’m dying to find the original advertising flyer shown above. It’s difficult to believe the six VHS cassette set was $89.95 or $14.98 if sold separately (which would be about $162 or $27 respectively today).
WORLDVISION VHS SET RELEASE DATE AND DETAILS
The UPC for this set is 0726697050707 and it was released in in the United State on either September 15 or October 1. The former date comes from an eBay listing that also included the description below. I’m wondering if a higher-res image of that flyer would provide a definitive answer.
Director David Lynch’s shockingly original television series mesmerized American audiences when its two-hour pilot episode aired on April 8, 1990, forever changing the face of prime-time television in the process. A bizarre, ingenious, hysterical, terrifying murder mystery set in the Pacific Northwest logging town of Twin Peaks, the series opens with the discovery of the body of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), a seemingly straitlaced high school student. Assigned to the case is FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), a quirky man who converses regularly with Diane, his portable tape recorder. As Cooper settles into his life in Twin Peaks, he meets a revolving cast of characters who are all off-kilter in their own personal way. Gradually, the town’s facade of extreme normality begins to crack mightily, revealing an endless barrage of schemes, fronts, and hidden relationships that expose Twin Peaks as the disturbed, unsettling town that it is. Lynch, who directed only a handful of episodes, nonetheless employed a group of writers and directors who were able to bring his startlingly distinct vision to life, creating an unforgettable landscape that is one of the most unique projects ever to appear on major network television. This set includes all 29 hours of the series.
According to Dugpa’s History of Twin Peaks on home video, early releases of this set contained errors:
“A portion of the original run of this 6 Tape VHS set was found to be defective as many reported issues with tape one jumping from episode 5 to episode 8 (season 2 premiere). Imagine how confusing it would have been to someone NEW to the series, wondering what all the fuss was about – going from the discovery of Jacque’s apartment to Cooper laying shot on the floor! Later runs of the VHS set were corrected.”
One thing I love about this set is there are no pesky German episode titles (that’s a story for another time). Rather, the VHS use numbers to indicate the episodes with episode 8 being the start of Season 2. On Twin Peaks Blog, I prefer using episode production codes – Episode 1 is Episode 1001; Episode 2 is Episode 1002; Episode 8 is Episode 2001, etc.
The catalog numbers for the videos are:
- Episodes 1-5: Catalog No. 5059, 235 minutes
- Episodes 6-9: Catalog No. 5060, 237 minutes
- Episodes 10-14: Catalog No. 5061, 243 minutes
- Episodes 15-19: Catalog No. 5062, 242 minutes
- Episodes 20-24: Catalog No. 5063, 241 minutes
- Episodes 25-29: Catalog No. 5064, 243 minutes
- Boxed set of six tapes above: Catalog No. 5070, 1441 minutes
There are five episodes per tape recorded in Q.E.P. – Quality Extended Play by Technicolor. The sound and visual quality were terrible compared to today’s standard of high-definition imagery and miraculous surround sound.
WORLDVISION VHS SET OUTER CASE
The six VHS cassettes were presented in a cardboard box that when placed together spell the word “Twin Peaks.”
The back of the packaging may be one of my favorite graphics ever used – a nod to the mysterious woods with a chess board motif.
The same design is repeated on both the left and right sides of the outer case.
The bottom of the box contains the trademark info for WorldVision Home Video, Inc.
WORLDVISION VHS SET EPISODES 1-5
The front of each VHS paper cover contains a similar design – a Twin Peaks character and icon floating over the chess board woods scene.
The top of each case contains the words “Twin Peaks” presented on black.
One thing I learned during this analysis of the set is the unidentified designer used a variety of publicity images but many were either stretched or reversed.
For example, the Leland Palmer image on the cover is taken from this original publicity photo of Ray Wise, but it’s stretched. You can see a faint outline of his striped maroon and navy shirt.
The back of each case contains a similar opening paragraph and a synopsis of the particular episodes. The icon reappears – the traffic light for this first cassette – along with two publicity images.
The opening paragraph reads:
From three-time Academy Award(R) nominee DAVID LYNCH (Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man), it’s the wildly imaginative, darkly comic mystery-thriller series that became one of the most acclaimed events in television history, “Twin Peaks”!
Where is Mark Frost? He should be represented too, but I digress.
The episode description reads:
After the brutal killing of Twin Peaks homecoming queen Laura Palmer, Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) discovers the small town is seething with deadly secrets – and killer cherry pie. Then, Cooper interprets an unusual dream about the murder, has tea with the Log Lady and finds a macabre crime scene in the woods.
On the back of the case, James’ publicity photo from Episode 2002 is reversed. Here are the original images as shared on the incomparable The Mauve Zone.
The 1993 cassette release contained a sticker with the WorldVision Home Video Inc. logo and other copyright information.
After Spelling Entertainment purchased Republic Pictures in 1994, Worldvision’s home video division was folded into Republic’s Home Video division.
This means there are certain cassettes produced after 1994 that contain the Republic Pictures logo, not the Worldvision Logo.
In September 1997, Paramount Entertainment assumed control of Republic’s video rental operations. A year later, Spelling “licensed the American and Canadian video rights to its library to Artisan Entertainment, while the library itself continued to be released under the Republic name and logo.” Artisan would eventually release the first season of Twin Peaks on DVD in 2001.
WORLDVISION VHS SET EPISODES 6-9
The case front for Episodes 6-9 contains an image of Catherine Martell and a white cassette tape.
Piper Laurie’s image comes from the Pilot episode which shows something that doesn’t happen in the broadcast version.
Ben Horne is seated behind Catherine, not next to her during the Town Hall meeting with Special Agent Dale Cooper.
The episode description reads:
Between cups of damn fine coffee, Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) turns up new clues in his search for Laura’s killer. Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) goes undercover at One-Eyed Jacks, Donna Hayward (Lara Flynn Boyle) responds to a strange message and Leland Palmer (Ray Wise) finds from frightful evidence of his own!
The two images are a publicity shot of Nadine Hurley (Wendy Robie) and the Giant from Episode 2020
Neither image is reversed for this case.
The 1993 version of the Episode 6-9 VHS cassette.
WORLDVISION VHS SET EPISODES 10-14
A reversed Special Agent Dale Cooper (foreshadowing?) and a floating coffee cup and saucer are found on the front of the Episodes 10-14 VHS case.
The image is a reversed shot of this publicity photo of Kyle holding the iconic tape recorder.
The episode description reads:
The trail of clues in the Laura Palmer case leads Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and Sheriff Truman (Michael Ontkean) in a startling new direction. Then, several pieces of incredible cherry pie are followed by a daring raid on the One-Eyed Jacks club, after which Cooper is able to reveal the identity of Laura Palmer’s killer!
The images of Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) and Josie Packard (Joan Chen) were again publicity shots.
The bottom image was taken at Kiana Lodge during the filming of the pilot in March 1989.
The VHS cassette for Episodes 10-14 from 1993.
WORLDVISION VHS SET EPISODES 15-19
The front of the VHS packaging for Episodes 15-19 contains a Jack of Hearts playing card and two red poker chips (both supposed to be a connection to One Eyed Jacks). The image of Audrey is from her brief visit as the new girl at Jacks.
Once again, the publicity shot from Episode 2001 is reversed and stretched for the packaging.
The episode description reads:
Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) gets a hand from the one-armed man. Then an FBI Agent arrives with unpleasant news: Cooper’s activities are being investigated by the Bureau and the DEA! Fortunately, Cooper’s “white glove test” reveals a helpful clue … and some really hot coffee is served.
The image of Dick Tremayne and Mr. Pinkle is a cropped publicity shot from Episode 2017.
Annie Blackburn’s image from Episode 2018 is reversed on the box.
The VHS Cassette for Episodes 15-19. Does it bother me that the label is slightly crooked? Yes .. yes it does.
WORLDVISION VHS SET EPISODES 20-24
Our home video journey is almost complete with a look at the VHS case artwork for Episodes 20-24. Sheriff Harry S Truman is joined by a half eaten doughnut.
His image is stretched again but matches this publicity shot. We get a great look at his badge (#289). The reflection shows the word “Policeman” has been painted over and the word “Twin” is written in gold.
The case describes the episodes as follows:
Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) indulges even more coffee as he reveals the frightening story of his former FBI partner. Then, Cooper pleads with Josie Packard (Joan Chen) to tell him what she knows, Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) meets her fated love (Billy Zane) and Cooper finds himself strangely attracted to a reclusive young woman (Heather Graham).
Enter Windom Earle. The reversed image on the packaging uses this publicity shot from Episode 2014.
The image of Sara Palmer is from the Pilot. Look carefully and you’ll see the image, complete Laura’s homecoming photo, is also reversed on the packaging.
The VHS Cassette for Episodes 20-24.
WORLDVISION VHS SET EPISODES 25-29
The final video contains Episodes 25-29 along with an image of a Diary and Laura Palmer’s homecoming photo.
There were several angles taken for Laura Palmer’s Homecoming photo. The packaging uses angle #2 which has been rotated and stretched (I recreated it in Photoshop to be sure it matched).
The episode description for this cassette reads:
The Sheriff’s department goes on a midnight visit to the depths of Owl Cave, where Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) finds a mysterious hieroglyph [sic]. Then, in the electrifying series finale, Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) stages an act of civil disobedience and Cooper risks everything in a heart-stopping plunge into the darkness of Black Lodge!
Laura’s image of her wrapped in plastic is cropped.
Meanwhile, the Giant’s image from Episode 2001 is reversed.
The final VHS cassette in this set featuring episodes 25-29.
If you want to download super high-res images from this collection visit this album on The Mauve Zone.
I loved reading this! This VHS set was my introduction to Twin Peaks. I bought it on a whim and fell in love with it immediately, watching the complete series over a couple of weeks in the summer of ‘95. However, I didn’t realize that Episode One wasn’t the start of the series. Upon viewing the first episode, it just felt like it wasn’t the beginning of the story. I was so confused. Then I remembered seeing a Twin Peaks video for rent at my local video store. So I raced over there the next day and yep, it was the pilot episode that was available for rent. So I watched the pilot and THEN continued on with the series. I always watched the show in the middle of the night — I was a teenager and my parents were in bed — and nothing was more special than immersing myself in Twin Peaks in the still of those summer nights.