Hi everyone! I've been collecting Twin Peaks stuff for a while now. I've just recently bought two different VHS boxes of the series. Please have a look at the picture below. The box on the left contains episodes 1-29. So it doesn't include the pilot which I think is odd. I think this box was released before the box on the right.

The box on the right contains only episodes 1-7. So where's the rest? Are there more VHS boxes? Why isn't the pilot included in this box either?

The tape at the bottom in the picture is the pilot with the closed ending. Is the "real" pilot available on VHS at all?

I haven't actually watched these tapes. My VHS player is up in the attic somewhere. So I could be wrong about these tapes but I don't think so.

I've started buying the series on Laser Disc too but I only have the pilot with the closed ending so far. Is it the same thing with the Laser Disc boxes as it is with the VHS? No "real" pilot included?

:)

The broadcast version of the Pilot was never available in any format until it was released by Catalyst Logic on DVD in 2001.

You also have the order of the release of the tapes wrong. The first season VHS set was released before the full series set. The bonus of the season one set is that the tapes were set to better quality (SP vs. EP), so only 2 hours of tapes was available but the visual quality was much better. The full series VHS set was in EP mode, 6 hours per tape, thus the quality was worse.

You could only get the closed-ending version of pilot (known as the euro-pilot), on VHS and Laserdisc. As I said Catalyst Logic put on the first broadcast version of the pilot on DVD in 2001, but then there was no euro-pilot version available on DVD. This was the only way for people in the US to view the pilot on DVD, even after the first season was released on DVD! In all regions but the US, the pilot was featured on the DVD release of the first season. This wasn't true for the US release.

Funny enough, even though the euro-pilot was available on VHS and Laserdisc, it wasn't available on DVD until the release of the Gold Box edition (which also was a god send for the US folks as it finally had the pilot on DVD). Previous to the Gold Box set, the US people had to get the Catalyst Logic import DVD, and it's quality was really sub par.

You're not in the US, right? Does your VHS player play in the NTSC format? Hope so, or you can't play the tapes.

If you really want to be a collecting fiend. There are two VHS sets released in Australia, one VHS set in the UK, and one in Japan, that I know I've seen pics of.

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

Straight from the horse's mouth! The master himself! :)

Thanks for your answers! :)

The first box which only has season 1, was there no season 2 box to follow it?

Yes, mine can play NTSC but I'm not going to play them. I just collect them for fun.

What is SP and EP?

Why did they cheat the US people out of getting the pilot? I don't understand why they didn't include the pilot in the boxes. The boxes aren't complete without the pilot.

The follow-up was the complete series. There was no Season 2 VHS set.

SP and EP are VHS tape settings. One can fit more footage, but the quality is reduced (that's EP). Any VHS tape can be used with either setting. 

Rights issues in the US caused the Pilot not to be released with the first season DVD set. Apparently those rights issues were not a problem for the international releases of the set.

rights issues.  think of the pilot as a financed film and the series as ABC working with Frsot/Lynch productions.

 yeah, the first season came out long before the whole series -lol, I still think of those later ones as recent. 

the first season came out in 1991 summer?  I think.  The full set at the end of 1993 beginning of 1994.  I was so excited because I could finally get and see the first half of 2.02.  Back in the day, my mom swtiched the channel on the old trusty VCR, so my tape had the season premiere and then a half hour of the new Carol Burnett show.  I think I cried!

The first tape of the new one -at least the one I got -with Leland on the cover -jumped from episode 1.04 to the second season premiere.  They were so messed up.  But nice art work.  (Cooper and Audrey in the middle, natch!)

Check out this article I did a few months back regarding releases of TP on home video:

http://dugpa.com/twinpeakshistoryonhomevideo.php

-B

Great article as always, Dugpa.  When I viewed the series for the first time, I ran into just about every problem you described about the VHS tapes.  I rented the Euro pilot VHS and was confused about the ending when seeing Season 1.  Then I rented the box set with all 29 episodes on 6 tapes and had the defective copy of the first tape.  Only it had episodes 1, 2, 3, 8, and 9 on it.  Then the second tape had episodes 6, 7, 8, and 9.  So I was extremely confused when they were describing all of the events that happened the night Cooper was shot and I hadn't seen any of them.  Because of all that, I had never actually seen Episodes 4 and 5 until the Artisan DVDs came out.  Until then, I had no idea about Cooper's trip to the Vet's office or his run in with the llama.  

Yes, it is quite a hard life we TP fans lead...

PsychoAU

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

 Thanks for the link! Man, am I glad I wasn't a big fan of the show back in the 90's. I would have gone crazy! I'm glad everything has been solved now with the Gold Box. 

Did you guys in US and Canada buy the European release of season 1 on dvd since that one included the pilot without the ending? Here in Sweden, season 1 on DVD has the pilot without the closed ending. So when I bought it a few years ago I didn't have anything to complain about. Lucky me :)

I do have them with the commercials...couldn't bear to miss anything!!! ;)

I haven't watched the orginals in like 12 or so years...but I do remember watching the old commercials before the VHS sets came out...nice retro trip. Shoot--almost makes me want to dig them out and go back in time...LOL

This may not be the place/thread to ask...but...was there a CD at one time that was a Twin Peaks soundtrack, but it had a donut on it??

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

I still have my original set of Tapes from the VCR complete with all the commercials.  Chris is spot on, they're very nostalgic and gives you a nice time capsule of the early 90's.

I had recorded the series when it was re-broadcasted on Bravo in 2002. Since it was shown at 4 AM every day, all the commercials were for things like Swiffer mops. But then I downloaded the series online from caps of the run it had on the Scream network in Canada. So I got rid of both VHS and endless Swiffer ads.

Praise be to Cheez-Its 

I have the complete set VHS UK release - except it's still in my mothers' house in England. Still, Gold Box solves all ills, right?

 I actually missed the first couple of shows when they were first broadcast (I don't recall, but I'm assuming they would have been broadcast in the UK after the US original screening dates) and as a result I never watched the show - I knew enough that jumping in at the third episode would leave me completely bemused. In 1993, though, someone I worked with told me he had the complete series on VHS, and I borrowed it and was immediately hooked - I watched every episode in three days! I recall him telling me to turn off the pilot when the traffic light came up for the second time - ahh, great days.

I'm attending the Twin Peaks Festival for the first time this year. I will dedicate by first attempt at the Tibetan Rock Toss to Matt Bellingham, my old work buddy who lent me those tapes!