|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dawson's Creek was an American primetime television drama, which first aired from January 20, 1998, to May 14, 2003, on The WB network. The lead production company was Sony Pictures Television. Reruns of the show are currently seen in the US in syndication on TBS and on The N.
Dawson's Creek generated a high amount of publicity before its debut, with several television critics and watchdog groups expressing concerns about its anticipated "racy" plots and dialogue; the controversy even drove one of the original production companies away from the project, but numerous critics praised it for its realism and intelligent dialogue that included allusions to American television icons such as The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. By the end of its run, the show, its crew, and its young cast had been nominated for numerous awards, winning four of them. The series is known for the verbosity and complexity of the dialogue between its teenaged characters—who commonly demonstrate vocabulary and cultural awareness that went beyond the scope of the average high school student, yet that is combined with an emotional immaturity and self-absorption reflecting actual teens. This precociousness has been a staple of a number of teenaged-themed shows since, notably including Gilmore Girls and The O.C.
Origins and reactionKevin Williamson, a native of the small coastal town of Oriental, North Carolina, was approached in 1995 by producer Paul Stupin to write a pilot for a television series. Stupin, who as a Fox Network executive had brought Beverly Hills, 90210 to the air, sought out Williamson after having read his script for the slasher film Scream—a knowing, witty work about high school students. Initially offered to Fox, the network turned it down. The WB, however, was eagerly looking for programming to fill its new Tuesday night lineup. Williamson said "I pitched it as Some Kind of Wonderful, meets Pump Up the Volume, meets James at 15, meets My So-Called Life, meets Little House on the Prairie". The show's lead character, Dawson Leery, was Williamson's doppelgänger: obsessed with movies and platonically sharing his bed with the girl down the creek. Procter & Gamble Productions (which produces such daytime dramas as As the World Turns and Guiding Light) was an original co-producer of the series. The company, however, sold its interest in the show three months before the premiere when printed stories surfaced about the racy dialogue and risqué plot lines. John Kieswetter, television columnist for The Enquirer wrote: "As much as I want to love the show—the cool kids, charming New England setting, and stunning cinematography—I can't get past the consuming preoccupation with sex, sex, sex". Syndicated columnist John Leo said the show should be called "When Parents Cringe," and went on to write "The first episode contains a good deal of chatter about breasts, genitalia, masturbation, and penis size. Then the title and credits come on and the story begins". Tom Shales, of The Washington Post commented that creator Kevin Williamson was "the most overrated wunderkind in Hollywood" and "what he's brilliant at is pandering." In his defense, Williamson denied this was his intention, stating that "I never set out to make something provocative and racy".
While never a huge ratings success among the general television population, Dawson's Creek did very well with the younger demographic it targeted and became a defining show for the WB Network. (The first season's highest ranked episode was the finale, which was fifty-ninth, while the highest rated was the second episode, scoring so well only because there was no programming on the other networks, which were carrying President Clinton's State of the Union address in the midst of the Lewinsky scandal.) Season overviewSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
EpisodesShow's ToneIn early seasons, the show was much like teen productions from the late 90's, however, later seasons acquired more mature storylines and were more down to earth (Eventually it becomes more and more normal for the characters to use overthought and complicated phrases as they grew up). The change in the show's tone was not accepted by fans and it is believed that it was one of the reasons the series ended. The ratings suddenly went down as many fans claim Seasons 5 and 6 (the college seasons) were the worst seasons. The constant change in the show's guest stars also became an issue as some of the characters seemed to be useless, especially in the last seasons. Also, eventually the cast spent less air time together and many of the storylines developed apart from each other. In fact, it became more common for some of the main cast members to not appear in certain episodes, including the main character of Dawson Leery, even though the show's name is 'Dawson's Creek'. However, unlike its predecessor Beverly Hills 90210 and successor The O.C., the series never shifted its storyline's tone. 'Dawson's Creek' is one of the very few series in its genre in which the cast stayed in the series throughout the whole running. CastPrincipal castRecurring Cast
Additional Cast Members
Notable Guest Stars
Andy Griffith played an actor who had appeared in Mr. Brooks' films and stole his girlfriend, appearing to say goodbye to Brooks on his deathbed. Pat Hingle, who lived in Wilmington, North Carolina, played a mechanic when Dawson's car broke down on his roadtrip with Gretchen. Paul Gleason was a trashy Hollywood producer and Nicole Bilderback was his assistant. Bianca Lawson was Principal Green's daughter, who was also a budding filmmaker. Virginia Madsen played a woman Pacey was having an adulterous affair with in the series finale. Lawrence Pressman played the superintendent of Capeside schools. Rachael Leigh Cook was a college student who first appeared as a nude model in Joey's art class and later appeared in Dawson's roman à clef film about himself and Joey. Alan Fudge was the guard at the studio gate on Dawson's first day working for Todd. Julie Bowen was Dawson's aunt. Jonathan Lipnicki was Buzz, a boy Pacey was assigned in the Big Brothers program. Scott Foley was a football player in the first season. Jason Behr was a Capeside student the gang studied with. Jack Osbourne played himself, a friend of Audrey's. Eion Bailey was Jen's former boyfriend from New York who followed her to Capeside. Chad Michael Murray played Jen's ex-boyfriend Charlie Todd. Michael Pitt played a freshman football player named Henry Parker, Jen's boyfriend in season three. Ali Larter was a student at Capeside who went out with Pacey because Andie told her he was dying. Eric Balfour was a classmate of Joey's who claimed they had slept together. Mädchen Amick was a teacher at Capeside High who dated Mitch. Mel Harris and Mimi Rogers played Jen's mother. K Callan was in charge of the Homecoming Ball, organizing it with Jen. Marla Gibbs was the admission's office secretary when Andie visited Harvard. Jaime Bergman was a prostitute in New Orleans who Pacey almost slept with. Mercedes McNab was the wife of the mugger who robbed Joey in "Downtown Crossing". Robin Dunne was A.J., who was Joey's boyfriend who she met on a college visit. Harry Shearer was the principal of Capeside High, Dave Peskin. Ned Brower was an earnest suitor of Joey's affections. Jensen Ackles played C.J, Jen's boyfriend in the sixth season. Pop band M2M guest starred as themselves on the 100th Episode of the series and No Doubt performed in the third episode in the final season. Danny Roberts from Real World New Orleans appeared on an episode acting as a French foreigner. MusicImage:Dawsonscreekalbumcover1.jpg The first volume of Songs from Dawson's Creek. Because the producers failed to secure the rights when the shows were produced and did not wish to pay for them later, some of the songs that aired in the original broadcasts (and are used in the syndicated run) were replaced in the DVD edition of the show despite the show having a signature sound. Starting with season 3, "I Don't Want To Wait" (the series opening theme song) was also dropped from the DVD releases, to be replaced by Jann Arden's "Run Like Mad". DVD ControversyMany of the fans have complained about Sony's lack of interest in making a very good DVD Collection, mainly due to the change of the opening sequence song "I Don't Want To Wait" by Paula Cole to "Run Like Mad" by Jann Arden. Adding to this, countless songs were changed in the DVD's episodes, including the very special piano version of "I Don't Want To Wait" in ep. 5-04 "The Long Goodbye". Also, some of the scenes from seasons 5 and 6 where characters Joey and Audrey perform have been deleted. Some other complaints are involved with the lack of extras overall. Even though it has DVD commentaries in specific episodes, The Complete Fifth Season has no extras related to the series (it only includes movie trailers). The Complete First Season is the only set that includes extras you might usually find on a DVD collection, including behind the scenes and alternate scenes from the pilot. StyleDawson's Creek was shot like a motion picture using a single camera and often filmed on location, rather than being largely studio bound. The series used soothing colors, similar to Party of Five, rather than the cold, harsh look of shows such as The Practice. While most of the episodes were conventional, there were two Rashomon-like episodes exploring a story from differing perspectives, and the somber fifth season episode "Downtown Crossing" featured only one regular, Joey, and her interaction with a mugger. The fourth season episode "The Unusual Suspects," was filmed as a film noir detective story—complete with camera work and music appropriate to the genre. At times, Dawson's Creek was deliberately self-conscious, as when Eve tells Dawson he is Felicity, beginning a discussion of why Dawson doesn't like television shows, which concludes with his observation that they cut away when the best part comes—immediately demonstrated by Eve, about to kiss him, is interrupted by the main titles. AwardsDawson's Creek was nominated for fourteen awards, including ALMA Awards, Casting Society of America Awards, Golden Satellite Awards, TV Guide Awards, and YoungStar Awards. Joshua Jackson won the Teen Choice Award for Choice Actor three times and the show won the Teen Choice Award for Choice Drama once. The series also won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Drama Series. SpinoffThe show had, in the words of television experts Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, a "semi-spinoff", Young Americans. The protagonist of Young Americans, Will Krudski (Rodney Scott), was introduced in three episodes at the end of the show's third season, as a former classmate of Dawson, Joey, and Pacey, who had moved away some years before and had returned for a visit. He was never referred to or seen before or since. Young Americans was made by the same company as Dawson's Creek, Columbia TriStar Television, and appeared in Dawson's Creek's timeslot when it went on hiatus during the summer of 2000. A rumored spinoff entitled "Capeside," which would follow Joey Potter as she returned to the Cape as a teacher was scrapped after Katie Holmes turned it down. Broadcast historyInternationalThe show also aired in numerous international markets, listed here with the premiere dates: Brazil, March 3, 1998 ; the United Kingdom, May 2, 1998 ; Israel, September 1, 1998 ; Poland, September 6, 1998 ; Sweden, September 11, 1998 ; Switzerland, December 27, 1998 ; Germany, January 3, 1999 ; Italy, January 3, 1999 ; France (on TF1), January 10, 1999 ; Australia, January 19, 1999 ; Romania, February 28, 1999 ; New Zealand, June 25, 1999 ; Hungary, September 11, 1999 ; Spain, 2000 ; Serbia, 2000 ; and Portugal, April 8, 2001. Trivia
CreditsFilming locationsFilmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, at EUE Screen Gems Studios and on location around Wilmington. College scenes in the fifth and sixth seasons shot at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, and additional shooting was done in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1999 some scenes were shot on the University of Richmond campus. The fourth season episode "Eastern Standard Time" also did location shooting in New York City, including at Grand Central Terminal. Wilmington benefitted greatly from the show. In addition to the money brought into the community by the project, it attracted attention to the city as a filming location and boosted tourism. The visitors' bureau distributed a special guide to sites used in the show. When the program was cancelled in 2003, the news was reported on the front-page of Wilmington's daily newspaper, the Morning Star. Many photos and addresses of the actual filming locations can be seen at the Dawson's Creek, Ghosts of Wilmington Website http://www.geocities.com/dcghosts Production creditsCreated by Kevin Williamson. Production companiesProduced by Columbia TriStar Television and Outerbanks Entertainment. Originally, Granville Productions and Procter & Gamble Productions were producers, but left the show before it aired. Executive producersExecutive-produced by Kevin Williamson, Paul Stupin, Charles Rosin, Deborah Joy LeVine, Jon Harmon Feldman, Alex Gansa, Greg Berlanti, Tom Kapinos, Gina Fattore, Jeffrey Stepakoff. ProducersEpisodes were produced by Dana Baratta, Greg Berlanti, Janice Cooke-Leonard, Alan Cross, Zack Estrin, Gina Fattore, Jon Harmon Feldman, Maggie Friedman, Darin Goldberg, David Blake Hartley, Tom Kapinos,Drew Matich, Chris Levinson, Paul Marks, Drew Matich, Shelley Meals, Rina Mimoun, Steve Miner, Gregory Prange, Jed Seidel, David Semel, Cynthia Stegner, Jeffrey Stepakoff, Dale Williams, Mike White WritersEpisodes were written by Dana Baratta, Greg Berlanti, Hadley Davis, Gina Fattore, Anna Fricke, Maggie Friedman, Alex Gansa, Diego García Gutiérrez, Liz Garcia, Laura Glasser, Holly Henderson, Tom Kapinos, Rina Mimoun, Jason M. Palmer, Jed Seidel, Jeffrey Stepakoff, Liz Tigelaar, Mike White, and Kevin Williamson DirectorsEpisodes were directed by Lou Antonio, Allan Arkush, John Behring Sanford Bookstaver, Arvin Brown, Jan Eliasberg, Michael Fields, Rodman Flender, Morgan J. Freeman, Dennie Gordon, Bruce Seth Green, Joshua Jackson, Joanna Kerns, Peter B. Kowalski, Perry Lang, Michael Lange, Nick Marck, Melanie Mayron, Robert Duncan McNeill, Steve Miner, Jason Moore, Joe Napolitano, Patrick R. Norris, Scott Paulin, David Petrarca, Gregory Prange, Krishna Rao, Steven Robman, Bethany Rooney, Arlene Sanford, David Semel, Kerr Smith, Sandy Smolan, Lev L. Spiro, David Straiton, Jay Tobias, Jesús Salvador Treviño, Michael Toshiyuki Uno, and James Whitmore Jr. Bibliography and referencesDarren Crosdale's Dawson's Creek: The Official Companion (Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel, 1999) (ISBN 0-7407-0725-6), thoroughly chronicles the show, but only covers events through to the end of the second season. Scott Andrews' Troubled Waters: An Unauthorised and Unofficial Guide To Dawson's Creek (Virgin Publishing 2001 (ISBN 0-7535-0625-4)) also covers the series thoroughly but it includes all episodes up to the end of Season Four and, because it is unofficial, is freer with both criticism and praise. A less thorough book from about the same time, aimed at teens, is Meet the Stars of Dawson's Creek by Grace Catalano, which has more about the show than the title would imply. Andy Mangels's From Scream to Dawson's Creek: An Unauthorized Take on the Phenomenal Career of Kevin Williamson (Los Angeles: Renaissance Books, 2000) (ISBN 1-58063-122-3) covers the show well but omits later seasons. Other references include:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
