Credit: Amazon.com
Creator:
Kevin Williamson
Cast:
James Van Der Beek ………. Dawson Leery
Katie Holmes ………. Josephine “Joey” Potter
Joshua Jackson………. Pacey J. Witter
Michelle Williams ………. Jennifer “Jen” Lindley
Kerr Smith ………. Jack McPhee
Busy Philipps ………. Audrey Lidell
Mary Beth Peil ………. Evelyn “Grams” Ryan
Mary-Margaret Humes ………. Gale Leery
The Show:
I went to high school during the years of 1996 – 2000. I turned 16 in 1998. What does that have to do with anything? A show called called ‘Dawson’s Creek’ debuted that year. I didn’t watch the show. Girls in my grade watched that show. It became the “hit” show for The WB network. Everyone was talking about it. It was one of the first successful shows about teen-angst since ‘Beverly Hills 90210’ went off the air. You know the drill…kids in high school, growing up, falling in love, dealing with emotions into their college years. We’ve seen many shows like it and we still see shows like it today. ‘The O.C.’ has been called ‘Dawson’s Creek’ on the beach and that is somewhat true. This show is one that even adults can watch and enjoy.
I started watching the show on the recommendations of the some girls in my class. They were cute and I had hormones and well..you know what happens. You watch ‘Dawson’s Creek’ so that you can talk about it with them and maybe that will lead to talking to them about other things. Did it work? Not really, but I do remember the show. The first episode I saw was in the third season..I think. It was the school snow trip. Pacey and Joey were talking about having sex or something like that. It sucked me in for a bit and I think I continued to watch the show. It didn’t hold my interest when I graduated high school, though. I missed the entire fourth season as a result. I didn’t watch it again until the fifth season. Why? I got girlfriend and guess what? Yep..that was her favorite show. So I watched it with her and I enjoyed it. There was one thing that I hated about the show, though. That was the language that the kids used. They talked like their age in reality and not their age on TV. Maybe the writers knew this..maybe they didn’t. But it really bugged me, especially in the later seasons. That’s my only complaint about the show, though. Oh..and Joey’s smile. I don’t like her smile. Anyways back to the review.
Let me briefly run down the characters if you have never seen the show. The four main characters are Dawson, Pacey, Joey, and Jen. Dawson and Joey have been friends since childhood. They grew up together. They even slept in the same bed together as friends. Dawson loves movies and dreams of being a director. Joey is a tomboy, who doesn’t see her true beauty. Pacey is friends with them both. He never worked hard at school and thus didn’t make it out of high school. He began to have feelings for Joey, which created the infamous “love triangle” between Dawson, Joey, and Pacey. This became the center of the show. Jen was the new girl in town. She moved from New York City to this small seaside town of Capeside in Massachusetts, where the show was set. She lived with her “Grams”, who really became everyone’s grandmother on the show. Now soon Jack came into picture. We learned that he was gay. He quickly became best friends with Jen. And in Season Five, a new character named Audrey was introduced. She was Joey’s roommate in college. She and Pacey got into a relationship and that continued through the end of season five.
Now what about Season Six? Well..the final season found Dawson in Boston shooting a horror film. He had an affair with the leading lady, Natasha Kelly. Meanwhile, Dawson and Joey finally had sex though its consequences were not what they expected. Dawson’s relationship with Natasha surfaced the day after and during a surprise birthday party thrown by her friends in her dorm room. So their romance quickly burned out again. That sent Dawson back to Hollywood to chase after his movie-making dreams. Pacey got a job as a stockbroker, and soon was sporting stylish clothes, driving a fancy car, and spending his new-found cash. Audrey has some inner demons that get revealed and threaten her relationship between with Pacey. Jack tries to find true love. And Jen..well she faces the biggest challenge of them all. A challenge that will affect everyone.
You really don’t see Dawson that much this season. He is off in Hollywood for much the season and doesn’t interact with the other five main characters that much. The focus of the season was mainly on Joey in Boston. She drifted away from the “triangle” and found a new boy, Eddie, to love. Except..you know that will never work out, because people love or love to hate the “triangle”. I liked the addition of Eddie and Emma, who Pacey and Jack moved in with for awhile. They were welcome additions in my book. Emma even gave Audrey the chance to sing in her band. That was cool. Of course, Audrey had more of the “rock & roll” lifestyle in her than we thought.
The season really picks up in the second half. Probably the one episode that everyone remembers from this season, with the exception of the finale, is the episode called “Castaways”. Joey and Pacey get locked in a K-Mart together for the night and well..feelings begin to resurface. This set up things for the end. And how does it end? Well..I can’t tell you that. You know that Joey has to decide who she wants to be with. The “triangle” must be finished. She has to chose somehow. Someone ALWAYS gets burned in a “love triangle”. But is there a way for Dawson, Pacey, and Joey to ALL be happy? Who Joey actually ends up with is a big debate. Some fans were outraged, while some thought it made perfect sense.
This really is a great way to end the series. Some people don’t like the fact that most of the main characters didn’t really interact with each other like they used to. I say they couldn’t keep doing the same old thing. It would have been boring. The “triangle” is fun, but it gets boring if it is always around. If the three sides are interchanged every season, it gets old quickly. So it’s good to get away from the “triangle” for a bit. Yes..the “triangle” has to come back in the end to wrap things up. But for a little bit, it’s fun to see these characters interacting with other interesting characters. Every show must come to end and it’s good to see this show come to an interesting conclusion. A conclusion, that to me, made perfect sense as far as the “triangle” is concerned, but one with many other “shocks” that I didn’t see coming.
Episodes:
Disc One:
Episode 1 – The Kids Are Alright
An end-of-summer reunion in Boston reignites Dawson and Joey’s romance.
Episode 2 – The Song Remains The Same
Dawson’s efforts to woo Joey are upended by the news of his summertime romance in Los Angeles.
Episode 3 – The Importance Of Not Being Too Earnest
Joey accidently sends a heartfelt e-mail for Dawson to the entire college campus. Pacey’s first week at work provides a harsh lesson in corporate ambition and greed.
Episode 4 – Instant Karma!
The arrival of the film’s star creates problems for Dawson, and Audrey catches Pacey out of town when he’s supposed to be studying.
Episode 5 – The Imposters
Dawson goes all out to keep Natasha in the picture. Audrey is offered a chance to sing in Emma’s band.
Episode 6 – Living Dead Girl
Already worried that a ghost is haunting the set, Dawson suspects Todd and Natasha of having an affair.
Disc Two:
Episode 7 – Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell
Audrey’s drinking forces Joey to see how her roommate’s life is spinning out of control. News that Professor Freeman is moving to Chicago forces Jack to make some decisions of his own.
Episode 8 – Spiderwebs
Jen’s efforts to reunite Pacey and his girlfriend at a No Doubt concert backfire upon learning the truth about C.J. and Audrey.
Episode 9 – Everything Put Together Falls Apart
Spending the night at Eddie’s place puts Joey at risk of losing her scholarship. Emma agrees to be Pacey’s date for an office party, unaware that she’s been tricked into a “hot date” contest.
Episode 10 – Merry Mayhem
An out-of-control Audrey brings Christmas dinner at the Leery house crashing down.
Episode 11 – Day Out Of Days
As completion of the film creates an unanticipated opportunity for Dawson, Joey lands back in Boston where she comes face to face with Professor Hetson’s unruly teenage daughter.
Episode 12 – All The Right Moves
Audrey gets a second chance, Pacey is offered an unexpected promotion at work, and Joey is reunited with Eddie.
Disc Three:
Episode 13 – Rock Bottom
Joey enlists Eddie for a cross-country trek to get Audrey into rehab. Dawson finds that directing in Hollywood is going to be harder than he thought.
Episode 14 – Clean and Sober
Pacey and Jack throw a party that is full of surprises, and a visit to see Audrey in rehab brings Dawson face to face with a moviemaking legend.
Episode 15 – Castaways
In his rush to make a hastily arranged date with a beautiful stranger, Pacey ends up locked inside a store for the night with Joey.
Episode 16 – That Was Then
Dawson returns to Capeside High to discuss his career, and Pacey is drawn back home by his father’s heart attack.
Episode 17 – Sex and Violence
Joey is drafted to fill in as Pacey’s assistant, and Dawson is tempted with an offer to make a film that he doesn’t believe in.
Episode 18 – Love Bites
Eddie’s unexpected return throws Joey for a loop, and Dawson returns home to complete his script.
Disc Four:
Episode 19 – Lovelines
A benefit session of “Lovelines” exposes the problems brewing between Joey and Eddie, Jen and C.J., and Jack and David.
Episode 20 – Catch-22
As Eddie surprises Joey with an elaborate end of the school year gift, Pacey’s dreams come crashing down on the heels of a favorite stock’s meltdown.
Episode 21 – Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road
Pacey struggles to tell Dawson about his costly investment debacle, and Jen conspires to enlist her mom in helping Grams.
Episode 22 – Joey Potter and Capeside Redemption
With the future of his movie in doubt, Joey rallies their friends to help Dawson finally realizes his dream.
Episode 23 – All Good Things…
Five years into the future, Dawson and his friends reunite for his mother’s wedding in Capeside.
Episode 24 – …Must Come To An End
As the seriousness of Jen’s condition becomes apparent, Dawson and his friends seek to resolve their longstanding differences.
Score: 8/10
The Video:
The video is given in fullscreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Transfer is decent with minimal distortion. Colors look bright. The picture is sometimes a little grainy, though.
The Audio:
The audio included is in English Dolby Surround sound. There are subtitles available in Portuguese and Spanish. Now I need to talk about something right here. I have one complaint about this DVD as far as audio goes. Like ‘The O.C.’, ‘Dawson’s Creek’ was known for the music on its show. Fans loved to hear new music on the show. The theme song by Paula Cole called “I Don’t Wanna Wait” is known by every fan of the show. When I hear that song today, I think of ‘Dawson’s Creek’. With that being said, you won’t find it on this DVD set. Apparently it has been like this since the season one DVD. It seems that the producers of this show failed to secure the rights to the music when the shows were produced, and they did not wish to pay for them later. So the theme song has been changed for every episode in this season, along with music in the show. That’s a shame. When I watch a TV show on DVD, I like to be able to hum the theme song along as I watch episode after episode. When I watched this show..I was in shock! I didn’t hear the song I have come to know. It was a big disappointment in my book. So if you don’t know this already, you know it now.
The Extras
Commentary with Creator, Kevin Williamson, and Executive Producer, Paul Stupin, on The Series Finale
You know what this is all about. These two guys talk about the show and the final episode. Honestly, it’s interesting and good, but you can get it elsewhere. The finale of ‘Dawson’s Creek’ can be bought separately and I believe this is the same commentary track. In fact, the series finale that can be bought by itself is longer than the one on this DVD. So I feel, this was really unnecessary.
Exclusive Scrapbook for Fans
This was really cool. It’s a book that is full of photos and trivia. Hardcore fans of the show may know all of this, but I learned a lot by this. You can forget about certain things easily. And this is a great way to refresh your memory or learn for the first time.
Score: 3/10
