Dawson's Creek (1998–2003)

Four friends in a small coastal town help each other cope with adolescence.

Creator:

Kevin Williamson

Stars:

James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams

6 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
James Van Der Beek	...	Dawson Leery (128 episodes, 1998-2003)
Katie Holmes	...	Joey Potter (128 episodes, 1998-2003)
Michelle Williams	...	Jen Lindley (128 episodes, 1998-2003)
Joshua Jackson	...	Pacey Witter (128 episodes, 1998-2003)
Mary Beth Peil	...	Evelyn 'Grams' Ryan (128 episodes, 1998-2003)
Kerr Smith	...	Jack McPhee (113 episodes, 1998-2003)
Mary-Margaret Humes	...	Gail Leery (93 episodes, 1998-2003)
Nina Repeta	...	Bessie Potter (88 episodes, 1998-2003)
John Wesley Shipp	...	Mitch Leery (83 episodes, 1998-2001)
Meredith Monroe	...	Andie McPhee (69 episodes, 1998-2003)
Busy Philipps	...	Audrey Liddell (46 episodes, 2001-2003)

Storyline

Set in a small coastal, Massachusetts town named Capeside, Dawson's Creek tells the story of four teenagers as they struggle through adolescence. This is particularly true for 15-year-olds Dawson Leery, an introspective dreamer and Joey Potter, a precocious tomboy unaware of her beauty. Best friends since childhood, they are about to enter that confusing time in life where nothing is the way it was and nothing is as it seems.

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Plot Keywords:

massachusetts | teenager | gay teenager | sister sister relationship | divorce | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dawson

Filming Locations:

Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Outerbank Entertainment, Columbia TriStar Television, Columbia TriStar Domestic Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (128 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Meredith Monroe's character, Andie McPhee, left the series in November 2000 almost halfway through the 4th Season. Her name remained in the opening credits until the end of that season, even though she wasn't in any of those episodes.

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Goofs

The first season took place from fall to spring in the state of Massachusetts, however the realities of a Massachusetts winter (snow, heavy clothes, etc.) never appeared.

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Quotes

Dawson: But what good is their love if it's not strong enough to overcome those circumstances?
Joey: Because in spite of the circumstances... they never stop loving.

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Connections

Spoofed in Kim Possible: Bad Boy (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Any Lucky Penny"
Produced by Adam Anders

User Reviews

A superb character driven teenage drama program

Dawsons Creek was revolutionary as it was a show that really cared about its characters, the story lines and the audience. The characters in the show were very likable, honest people who the audience grew to love. The thing that puts this show above most of the other teenage shows is the strength of the acting, the character depth, the realism of the show and the way the show is written.

Dawsons Creek follows the trials and tribulations of a group of very close teenage friends who are growing up in the fictional seaside town of Capeside. James Van Der Beek plays the main character in the show, the honest, romantic and genuinely good-guy Dawson Leery. Katie Holmes soul mate Joey Potter and Joshua Jackson was the plays his life-long best friend and funny, naughty and charming other best friend Pacey Whitter. Kerr Smith and Michelle Williams does a good job as Jen Lindley and Jack McPhee who were the other main cast in the show and who were also friends with the other three characters.

The show is mainly about these teenagers growing up through their adolescent years and it shows all the problems that they encounter, and by having each other the characters so close to each other it means they all have people they can turn too when things go wrong. This show dealt with a massive amount of issues and themes whether it be: sexual encounters, affairs, deaths, gay characters, love triangles, fights, mental problems etc and at the heart of the show is the problems they all have with growing up into adults.

Many people complain about the way that these characters spoke in sophisticated vocabulary that was unrealistic to how teenagers would really speak and that may be true to a point that was one of the good things about the show. It did not stick by the conventional teenage drama mould that has been copied many times by other shows.

All the characters in the show are very complex and because they are all there from day one the viewer learns to love each character because we come to respect and understand them. The viewer can also learn to see things they like in each of the characters and because the show stays true to itself, the characters do not change they just evolve.

The writing in this show is generally of a very good standard, and particularly in the first three seasons the music score is also great. The best episode of the show is probably "The Longest Day" as this is just superbly directed and put together and will probably rank among the best for many fans of the show.

A big strength of this show is that it appeals to a large amount of people in the teenage age group and unlike most teenage shows, it appeals to both men and women. I think this is due to the fact that the characters are not just two-dimension Hollywood cutouts and they all have deep personalities. The audience can identify with the characters because they paint a realistic portrayal of teenage life.

I personally think the show went on for too long and it should have finished after the fourth season. This is due to the fact that in Season 5 most of the characters moved away to different parts of the country and the closeness of the characters we had become to love simply vanished. The new characters that were cast into the show did not really add much to the already established show.

Go and see this show 9/10