Pilot (20 Jan. 1998)

In the peaceful coastal New England town of Capeside, Massachusetts, Dawson Leery, a 15-year-old film buff, lives a fantasy life of movies and filmmaking with his lifelong friends, tomboy ... See full summary »

Director:

Steve Miner

Writers:

Kevin Williamson (creator), Kevin Williamson

Stars:

James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
James Van Der Beek	...	Dawson Leery
Michelle Williams	...	Jen Lindley
Joshua Jackson	...	Pacey Witter
Katie Holmes	...	Joey Potter
Mary-Margaret Humes	...	Gail Leery
John Wesley Shipp	...	Mitch Leery
Mary Beth Peil	...	Evelyn 'Grams' Ryan
Nina Repeta	...	Bessie Potter
Nicole Nieth	...	Nellie Oleson
Mitchell Laurance	...	Benjamin Gold
Leann Hunley	...	Tamara Jacobs
George Gaffney	...	Bodie Wells
Ed Grady	...	'Gramps' Ryan
Ted King	...	Newscaster Bob
Rick Forrester	...	Big Guy

Storyline

In the peaceful coastal New England town of Capeside, Massachusetts, Dawson Leery, a 15-year-old film buff, lives a fantasy life of movies and filmmaking with his lifelong friends, tomboy Josephine "Joey" Potter and the outgoing and clownish Pacey Witter. On the day before starting the new school year as a sophomore, Dawson meets and falls for newcomer Jennifer "Jen" Lindley who arrives from New York City into the house next door to Dawson's to help her grandmother care for her invalid grandfather. Dawson's new bonding with Jen makes Joey slightly jealous which comes out during a movie outing with her, Dawson, Pacey and Jen. Meanwhile, Pacey finds himself growing in love with a new mystery woman that comes to town, Tamara Jacobs, who turns out to be the new English teacher at Capeside High School. Also, Dawson tries to get into Capeside High's film class, but is denied for being a sophomore.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to katie couric

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 1998 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New Hanover High School - 1307 Market Street, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Outerbanks Entertainment, Columbia TriStar Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the first episode, when Grams is calling Jen from Dawson's room, it was a different actress who was wearing a wig and not Mary Beth Peil.

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Goofs

The mascot of their high school is the Patriots. But in some early episodes you can see posters hanging in the school that say Go Wildcats. That is the mascot of New Hanover High School in Wilmington which is where they filmed school scenes in the first season before moving locations to UNC-W.

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Quotes

Joey: I just think our emerging hormones are destined to alter our relationship and I'm trying to limit the fallout.

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Connections

References Gandhi (1982)

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Soundtracks

"As I Lay Me Down"
by Sophie B. Hawkins

User Reviews

The journey begins!!!

I thought it was a good way to begin the series.Dawson is a dreamer who loves movies. Joey is the girl next door. Pacey is the slacker.Jen is the the wild child from New York.The acting is very will done, emotion and comedy is shown. The reason the show is so great is because it deals with real issues every day teens go through.This episode in particular shows that a certain age the thing you did when you were younger are no longer appropriate.And that growing up is inevitable.Also the music in this episode is great, i particularly like the song called "Good Mother" by Jann Arden which is herd in the scene where Bettsy is putting lipstick on Joey, another song i enjoyed was "Hey Pritty Girl" by the Bodeans which is herd in the scene where Jen gets out of the taxi. One of the funniest parts of the episode is when Joey asks Dawson what time of day he walks his dog and he yells out the window to tell her.I enjoyed this episode a lot.