This has probably already been discussed at length, but I wanted to add my own little rant: I was disappointed by the design of the case, and especially the menus on the second season DVDs. Wouldn't you think that they'd have taken extra care to give us a very high quality presentation for a DVD set that was 6 years overdue? Artisan did such a great job! Why couldn't PARAMOUNT get it together?...they've got more money to throw around than god. I mean, the menus are SO CHEESY. I actually get mildly embarrassed watching the screen as we're zoomed over that pixelated map. Cringe. Anyway, I sincerely hope they rectify this blunder on the Complete Mystery set.

P.S. Now that I've read the previous threads about this issue, I want to make it clear that I'm VERY HAPPY that these DVDs are out. I think the series looks great! I just had a wee gripe is all.

InTwinPeaks.com

I found the S1 menus a little frustrating in their own way, to be honest, Charles: very slow to get to any extra features etc. But, at least there were some extra features worth looking at, like the info on deleted scenes, in particular. I miss that stuff on S2.

Like so many others, though, i'm just so glad to have the damn series that (so far) I'm overlooking any problems that are being discussed here and at dugpa. Most of my old VHS tapes had gotten mouldy from being in a cellar that was damper than I realized... 

http://blogaboutnowt.blogspot.com

http://suchastheyare.blogspot.com

Please don't get me wrong –I too, am very, very happy to finally have these DVDs and I know it's not really the design that counts at the end of the day...but inevitably, it does add to, or detract from the viewing experience....at least mine, anyway. Yeah, I agree about the slow pace of the season one DVD menus....but they're nice to look at and you can tell that care was taken in their design. While I can't claim to know how the 2nd season DVDs were produced, one is left with the impression that they churned 'em out for as little expense as possible and with the least effort expended.

InTwinPeaks.com

Love ya, Charles, but I've gotten put in my two pence. :) 

Since I've already expounded on this in the other thread about the S2 DVD set, I'll just paraphrase my opinion on this here:

<snipsnip>
"I must say...I'm a bit surprised that after people have whined and pitched fits for how many years? for the arrival of S2 on DVD...that all they can do is gripe about the packaging, menus, and other stupid little details. I have seen this at more places than just here (I really need to join a support group for my message board habit). I think at this point all we really should do is be relieved that the video and audio aren't reminiscent of the Korean pilot. Good god.

Man, working on the festival must have really just sapped my tolerance for complaints because I never used to subscribe to the "Shut up and be happy" concept but I'm beginning to change my stance. It's like, nobody can ever be happy. We get what we want and we still cry into our pillows that we didn't get more. It's no surprise that the DVD set doesn't meet the level of overall quality that we got with the S1 Artisan set...but you know what? That set was a whopping seven episodes. Artisan could definitely throw themselves into making a gorgeous set for seven f'ing episodes. And for seven episodes of excellent quality with nice packaging, how much did we pay? $40? Which breaks down to, what, about $5.75US an episode. S2 is 22 eps...and using the Artisan retail price breakdown as a base...that would put S2 at over $125 retail for them to profit on delivering us 22 episodes in an Artisan-quality set. CBS/Paramount isn't stupid...they know that they're not going to move as many S2 sets if they release it for that price. Or $100. Or $80. Etc. We may love the show and be more than willing to pay higher prices, but at the end of the day, CBS/Paramount is indeed a business and businesses have to look out for Number 1, and that's not us. The number of hardcore Peaks fans is small compared to, say, hardcore Trek fans. To bring in a box set at a good retail price that will appeal to more than just hardcore fans, a lot of fancy has to be sacrificed. Sucks for us, but we still get our S2 on DVD. FINALLY."
<snipsnip>

What it breaks down to is this...I feel your pain with how pretty the Artisan set is compared to the Paramount set...but at this point it's like comparing apples and oranges. It's better to just be happy we have S2 than lament the loss of whatever fantasy set we'd built up in our minds...

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

InTwinPeaks.com

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

i finally got the 2:nd season part 2! The mailman was two days late!!! But, who can't stand 2 days, when one waited so many years! Finally it's in my collection! yehoo!

 Though i am glad i have it, i don't know if i dare watch it...there seems to be so many dissapointments...

 / L 

~Night time is my time~

MSN: lilla_laura_palmer@home.se

as i said in my review, the menus grew on me. And I found the menus on the final disc much easier to navigate than the menus on the S1 disc.

If I ever have any complaint, it really is the lack of DTS on the audio. That's the only thing that really bothers me in the end.

Jordan .

I'm not bothered about the DTS. And personally (and I'm probably in the minority) I would have liked to have the original mono (or basic stereo) or whatever the original soundtrack was instead of the 5.1. But that probably says more about my set-up than about anything else.

I've not gotten to the last disc yet, so I haven't seen the menu; maybe I'll take a sneak peek. But I wondered on the other discs whether they were trying to get a Lost Highway kind of feel. It seems somehow reminiscent to me. 

I don't hate the menus, though. 

http://blogaboutnowt.blogspot.com

http://suchastheyare.blogspot.com

I loved the menus of season 1...but only the first time I saw them. Then when you actually want to watch 3 or 4 episodes in a row or just check a particular scene the menus become what they are: not practical.

As someone said above I'm HAPPY that I finally get TP complete in DVD and with very good quality. Things like menus, packages are unimportant to me...

I couldn't get the plastic off the box fast enough! LOL  I didn't preorder it or anything, and was absolutely ELATED when I saw how "reasonably priced" it was. BEYOND reasonably priced--was only $40! For 22 episodes! WOO! Which are absolutely gorgeous, by the way.  I would have paid pretty much anything anyway just to have them by season 1 where they belong.

I too really like the fact that you can just watch them all in a one fluid row, not having to stop and start the next episode. Nice. When the Complete Mystery comes out, I will have to get that too. Because it's Twin Peaks and well...because it's Twin Peaks! ;) I can't even begin to imagine how hard it was to put all these episodes together, especially so MANY! I totally dig the little preview you get...that's a very nice touch.  I found myself hearing things I hadn't heard before in the episodes. It's such an intense treat to have it so crisp and pretty as well.  The colors just pop--'specially those red hues that are just so 'Peaks'.  There will never be anything that looks like that again.  Those Red Room scenes.  Damn.

I think I need to rewatch them now....