Nov 10th, 2003, 12:19 PM
Bad news for Twin Peaks fans
From tvshowsondvd.com:
In a month we'll be reaching the two-year anniversary since Twin Peaks - Season 1 hit retail stores, to vast critical acclaim. Everyone agreed that this was a high-quality DVD release; with a beautiful job done of remastering (resulting in some of the sharpest video among TV-on-DVD sets ever seen), plus many terrific supplements (read our own review here). Fans who purchased the first season - whether old fans or new to the show - just could not wait to get the second season, and resolve the multiple cliffhangers which ended the first.
The problem, according to our exclusive discussions with Artisan, is that there just weren't enough of you. TVShowsOnDVD owner Gord Lacey recently spoke to the studio, where it was finally revealed to him that sales figures for the first season - while decent - just were not profitable enough to cover the high production costs of the Season 1 set.
There have been other TV-DVD releases, which didn't sell enough to justify continuing (Columbia's The Larry Sanders Show and Fox's The Mary Tyler Moore Show are the best-known examples). As with those, Artisan couldn't make the numbers make sense for moving forward with a Season 2 release. Especially given the general consensus that the second season went "downhill" after the Laura Palmer murder was solved. They tried and tried, as is evidenced by all the rumors we've heard for two years. It just hasn't worked out, though.
We've heard from a significant number of consumers that they don't want to purchase first seasons of any show until the studios demonstrate that they are willing to release further seasons, so they (the buyers) don't get caught without the full run of a TV Show. Gord and I have long maintained that this is a bad strategy for consumers, since studios definitely won't continue to release product that nobody's buying. Twin Peaks seems to have fallen victim to this curse.
There are still perhaps a couple of hopes, though. Here are some facts: Lion's Gate has recently bought Artisan for $160 million. And Paramount owns overseas rights to Twin Peaks - Season 2, and had previously indicated that it would be brought out in different foreign markets (Germany for instance)...but release dates haven't ever been named, and those releases seem to have similarly stalled. Put these facts together, and maybe we have a future where Lion's Gate can perhaps figure out a budget strategy that works to reduce production costs by using resources they bring to the table, and then maybe Lion's Gate/Artisan can work out a deal with Paramount to jointly fund the project, so that each studio can profit in their different markets. I should quickly point out, though, that this is a LOT of "maybes" and wishful thinking, and that to our knowledge the named studios have discussed no such plans. They are possibilities, nothing more. But the hope IS there.
We'll have to wait and see if it's still possible to save Agent Cooper's life, and also find out who killed Laura Palmer...stay tuned, and if anything develops on the Twin Peaks front, we'll get word to you. In the meantime, drink a damn fine cup of coffee, have a donut, and go get off your holster and buy the Season 1 set. Already have one? Good...the holiday season is coming, so it's a great opportunity to give one to a friend! Renewed sales can only help.
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