Pilot (Twin Peaks)
"Pilot" | |
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Pete Martell stand over the plastic-wrapped body of Laura Palmer. This scene reverses the peaceful atmosphere set by the beginning of the episode.[1] | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
Directed by | David Lynch |
Written by | David Lynch Mark Frost |
Production code | 1.000 |
Original air date | April 8, 1990 |
Running time | 94 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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The pilot episode, also known as "Northwest Passage", of the
Plot overview
The small northwest town of Twin Peaks, Washington is shaken when the body of
Believing that this is the same killer who struck the previous year, Cooper starts an official investigation. Meanwhile, the rebellious
The episode has two different endings, depending on which version of the episode one is watching. The American version ends with the above events, concluded by Sarah Palmer's nightmare of a hand digging into the ground and grabbing James's half of a necklace that belonged to Laura.
The international version was filmed with 20 extra minutes of footage in case the series was not picked up by the networks, rather allowing them to release it as a television movie. It contains scenes from episode one, where Sarah realises that there was a man hiding in Laura's room when she checked in it the previous day. It also contains the ending to episode two, when Cooper dreams of meeting Laura and a mysterious man who speaks to him in a disjointed voice. It also reveals who Laura's killers were.
Production
Conception and writing
David Lynch and Mark Frost pitched the idea to ABC during the time of the Writers Guild of America, East strike in 1988 in a ten-minute meeting with the network's drama head, Chad Hoffman, with nothing more than this image and a concept. According to the director, the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer was initially going to be in the foreground, but would recede gradually as viewers got to know the other townsfolk and the problems they were having. Lynch and Frost wanted to mix a police investigation with a soap opera.[3]
ABC liked the idea, and asked Lynch and Frost to write a screenplay for the pilot episode. Frost wrote more verbal characters, like Benjamin Horne, while Lynch was responsible for Agent Dale Cooper. According to the director, "He says a lot of the things I say".[4] Originally, the show was entitled Northwest Passage and set in North Dakota, but the fact that a town called Northwest Passage really exists prompted a revision in the script. They filmed the pilot for $1.8 million[5] with an agreement with ABC that they would shoot an additional "ending" to it so that it could be sold directly to video in Europe as a feature if the TV show was not picked up.[6] However, even though ABC's Bob Iger liked the pilot, he had a tough time persuading the rest of the network brass. Iger suggested showing it to a more diverse, younger group, who liked it, and the executive subsequently convinced ABC to buy seven episodes at $1.1 million apiece.[7] Some executives figured that the show would never get on the air, believing it would meet negative reviews from viewers and critics alike.[5] However, Iger planned to schedule it for the spring. The final showdown occurred during a bi-coastal conference call between Iger and a room full of New York executives; Iger won, and Twin Peaks was on the air.[8]
Improvised elements
At several points during the filming of the pilot episode,
During the filming of the scene in which
Previews
The pilot was first shown in September 1989 at the Telluride Film Festival. That same month, Connoisseur ran a cover story calling Twin Peaks "the series that will change TV forever."[11][12] After viewing the episode, Tom Shales of The Washington Post wrote: "Twin Peaks isn’t just a visit to another town; it’s a visit to another planet. Maybe it will go down in history as a brief and brave experiment. But as can be said of few other TV shows in the near or immediate future: This You Gotta See."[13]
On February 10, 1990, it was shown as part of the
In April, a screening was also held at the Museum of Broadcasting in Hollywood.[15] Media analyst and advertising executive Paul Schulman said: "I don't think it has a chance of succeeding. It is not commercial, it is radically different from what we as viewers are accustomed to seeing, there's no one in the show to root for."[15]
Release
Ratings and awards
The two-hour pilot was the highest-rated movie for the
For the
The pilot's
Critical reception
Initially, the show's Thursday night time slot was not a good one for soap operas as both Dynasty and its short-lived spin-off The Colbys did poorly.[15] Twin Peaks was also up against the hugely successful sitcom Cheers. Initially, the show received a positive response from TV critics. Tom Shales, in The Washington Post, wrote: "Twin Peaks disorients you in ways that small-screen productions seldom attempt. It's a pleasurable sensation, the floor dropping out and leaving one dangling."[20] In The New York Times, John J. O'Connor wrote: "Twin Peaks is not a sendup of the form. Mr. Lynch clearly savors the standard ingredients...but then the director adds his own peculiar touches, small passing details that suddenly, and often hilariously, thrust the commonplace out of kilter."[21]
Many critics saw the pilot as "the movie that will change TV" history, according to Diana White from The Boston Globe.[22] Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly was strongly positive about the episode, giving it a A+. While liking the story, and calling Lynch's directing beautiful, he said "[there is] not a chance in hell" the show could become a ratings hit, because of its "unsettling" story.[23] David Zurawik from The Baltimore Sun compared the pilot to the work of Alfred Hitchcock. He also said its cinematography was "about as close as prime-time television gets to art."[24] Jen Chaney from The Washington Post called the pilot "one of the most finely crafted series kick-offs in broadcast history".[25]
In 1997, TV Guide ranked the pilot #25 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[26]
Home video release/Alternative Extended European Pilot
Due to rights issues, the American pilot (94 minutes long) was not released in the United States
References
- ^ Noel Murray (20 April 2017). "'Twin Peaks' Season 1, Episode 1: Wrapped in Plastic". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
Within its first ten minutes, the peace is shattered by the plot, when Laura Palmer ( Sheryl Lee), popular high school beauty queen, is found "dead … wrapped in plastic."
- ^ "Twin Peaks - Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot "Northwest Passage" - TV.com". www.tv.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-07.
- ^ Frost, Mark; Latt, David; Ray, Johanna; Lee, Sheryl; Wise, Ray; Robertson, Kimmy; Chen, Joan; MacLachlan, Kyle; Hersheberger, Gary; E. Coulson, Catherine; Horse, Michael; Dunham, Duwayne (2007). Northwest Passage: Development of the pilot (DVD). CBS Home Entertainment.
- ^ Woodward, Richard B (April 8, 1990). "When Blue Velvet Meets Hill Street Blues". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Lynch, David; MacLachlan, Kyle; Amick, Mädchen; Goaz, Harry (2007). A Slice of Lynch (DVD). CBS Home Entertainment.
- ^ Patterson, Troy; Jeff Jensen (Spring 2000). "Our Town". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ Fuller, Graham (November 24, 1989). "A Town Like Malice: Maverick Director David Lynch had made a bizarre soap opera for American television". The Independent.
- ^ Chion, Michel (1995). "David Lynch". British Film Institute. p. 100.
- ^ Dunham, Duwayne (2002). Audio commentary for the pilot episode (DVD). Universal Home Entertainment.
- ^ "Secrets from Another Place", a featurette in the Twin Peaks Definitive Gold Box Edition DVD release of October 2007.
- ^ Grimes, William (5 May 1991). "Television; Welcome to Twin Peaks and Valleys". The New York Times.
- ^ "Twin Peaks: A Look Back at How It Was Received". 16 May 2017.
- ^ Shales, Tom (1989-09-07). "The New Heights Of 'Twin Peaks'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
- ^ a b c Roush, Matt (April 6, 1990). "High Hopes for Twin Peaks". USA Today.
- The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
- ^ Gerard, Jeremy (April 26, 1990). "'A 'Soap Noir' Inspires a Cult and Questions". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
- ^ "Advanced Primetime Awards Search". Academy of Television Arts & Science. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
- ^ "Twin Peaks Premier Episode". George Foster Peabody Awards. Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Archived from the original on 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
- ^ Shale, Tom (April 8, 1990). "Troubling, Transcedent Twin Peaks". The Washington Post.
- ^ O'Connor, John J (April 6, 1990). "A Skewed Vision of a Small Town in Twin Peaks". The New York Times.
- Boston Globe. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (April 6, 1990). "Twin Peaks". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
- ^ Zurawik, David (April 7, 1990). "ABC's new Twin Peaks series dares to be different". The Baltimore Sun. The Register-Guard via news.google.ca. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
- ^ Chaney, Jen (October 30, 2007). "Taking Another Trip to Twin Peaks". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
- ^ "Special Collector's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide (June 28-July 4). 1997.
- ^ "Twin Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition Debuts on DVD October 30". Movieweb. August 7, 2007. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
- ^ "Twin Piques Who Did It? The Answer May be Tonight". The Sacramento Bee. May 23, 1990.
- ^ Lacey, Gord (August 2, 2007). "Twin Peaks – Press release reveals the Definitive list of extras – With Art". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on July 9, 2009. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
External links
- "Pilot" at IMDb