Twin Peaks. Pilot. Season one. Eps 1-4 [DVD]

What happened to Laura Palmer? This became one of pop culture’s most discussed questions when this pilot for David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” was first aired on television. Kyle MacLachlan plays FBI agent Dale Cooper who comes into the sleepy small-town Twin Peaks to investigate Laura Palmer’s murder and discovers that underneath the banal facade the town hides a labyrinth of perversity and evil. As with “Eraserhead” and “Blue Velvet”, Lynch uses macabre humour to expose the psychological neurosis and psychosis that underlie the supposed normality of middle-class America. Both wickedly funny and savagely shocking, “Twin Peaks” radicalised the potential of the TV mini-series by introducing generic forms and psychological content that had previously been isolated to independent cinema. Ep 1: An autopsy reveals a few unexpected clues relating to Laura’s actions on the night of her murder. Laura’s secret lover James Hurley, is released from custody. Ep 2: Agent Cooper turns to unconventional criminology methods, lecturing the local Sheriff’s office on the wisdom of Tibet. Several important plot threads are also revealed in this episode, while a new and uneasy friendship forms between the sultry and spoilt Audrey Horne and Laura’s best friend, Donna Hayward. This episode, directed by Lynch himself, ends with the much discussed surreal dream sequence where Agent Cooper encounters strange figures such as the One-Armed Man, the Magician, the dancing Man from Another Place and Laura Palmer herself. Ep 3: This episode begins the morning after Agent Cooper’s dream in which Laura Palmer revealed to him the killer’s name. Unfortunately, Agent Cooper has forgotten, and he and Sheriff Truman must continue the investigation with FBI forensic expert, Albert Rosenfeld’s assistance. Meanwhile, the town readies itself for Laura’s funeral and deals with the arrival of Madeline Ferguson, Laura’s dark-haired but otherwise identical cousin. Ep 4: Agent Cooper’s dream visions begin to materialise in this episode as Sarah Palmer, Laura’s mother, has a vision of the evil man named Bob, and Deputy Hawke has located the One-Armed Man. Laura’s classmate, Audrey Horne, has also been looking for clues as she begins to suspect that her father may have some involvement in Laura’s murder. “Twin Peaks” is a soap opera and police drama as reinterpreted by the leading urrealist of contemporary cinema.