Dawson's Creek

Dawson's Creek is by no means a realistic portrayal of teenage angst. I'll admit this. The power of the series and what, in my view, makes it far and away the best thing to happen to TV in a long, long time, is that is it a realistic portrayal of teenage emotions...

The characters in Dawson's Creek may only be 16, yet as Eve said to Dawson (early Season 3) they are all 'old souls'. The emotions in the series are real, the emotions felt by the characters are real, yet, the fact that Kevin Williamson has allowed the characters a vocal outlet for these emotions is the genius of the show. My So Called Life was a brave attempt to do this, but fell short through its pretensions of grandeur. Dawson's Creek embraces the fact that the vocabulary spoken is fake and because of this, is entirely forgiven. This is why we watch television, to feel and see emotions that we cannot or do not feel in our own lives.

As Dawson once said, "Movies (And TV) by definition are escapism, if you want reality look out of the window." Dawson's Creek knows what it is. A fictional television show about high school kids and the emotions they deal with. By admitting its falseness, yet retaining its warmth, humanity and heart, we are able to witness characters that we know aren't real, that we know in real life wouldn't have the vocabulary that these kids possess, but who we believe in and we root for.

Not only emotionally is Dawson's Creek superb, but technically, the series is faultless. Musically, artists like Sarah Mclachlan and Jewel fit snugly into the feel of the series, while artists like New Radicals and Semisonic serve to enhance emotions. The choice of song in Dawson's Creek is rarely wrong and often perfect. The music does not lead the scene into the direction of the song, but serves to reinforce and enhance the emotion that the scene portrays and requires.

Visually, the gorgeous backdrop of Wilmington, North Carolina is fitting as the small American village that is Capeside. The scenic beauty of the Creek, the coast, the woodland, the foliage. Everything visually about the show is in keeping with the emotional context of the show.

Camera work is also faultless. When presented with a difficult emotional scene, we usually pull away from the action at the end of the scene, not judging the characters for their mistakes and allowing them the right to deal with it on their own, without our interference. Only rarely do we judge the characters and when we do, the characters themselves have already beat us to it. (Dawson and Andie getting drunk)

I'd like to thank Kevin Williamson for allowing me the chance to fall in love with the town, the people and the life. These emotions are real. The vocabulary, is just a way of allowing the emotions to have a voice.

Why on earth did they cast James Van Der Beek as Dawson in this series? It was a total irritant to see his expressionless face and stilted dialogue all the way through six series. So much so that in series 5 and 6 when he wasn't prominent in the episode the quality was vastly improved. After five and half series of acting practice he just about managed to gain the power to make facial expressions, loose the wooden acting and deliver a line audibly. Despite all of the above, the rest of the cast to a greater and lesser extent managed to rescue the situation and elevate the series and portray an interesting and sometimes clever storyline, even if quite a few credits should have had as themselves tagged on the credit. That being recognised, then the casting team did a good job, with that one blunder as the exception. All in all a thoroughly good watch with story lines that keep you watching and one of the best examples in this genre.

From it's very first pilot episode, Dawson's Creek has been able to capture the hearts of every teenager. Ever since it's ending in 2003, I believe this TV series was one the best teen set drama. One thing that this show was able to maintain was it's cast. Dawson Leary played by James Van Der Beck, Pacey Witter played by Joshua Jackson, Jen Lindley played by Michelle Williams, and Joey Potter played by Katie Holmes have all been in every episode since season one- and hence everyone was able to follow the characters from beginning to end. Though some episodes were cliché, and were equipped with some cheesy lines, that did not stop it from one time being one of the most popular shows in th world. This show brought many stars to the lime light especially Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson.

I never watched the show while it was on TV, and the only reason why I bought the first season was because it was on sale for $13.00. And then I found myself buying the second season... third season... and now, fourth season. I am currently waiting for seasons 5 & 6 to go on sale (lol, sadly I can't afford them at the price they're at now) Anyways, back to the show. A lot of reviews on here say the show is unrealistic. That teenage kids don't talk like that or act like that. I say, so what? If you want complete accuracy, watch a documentary, or better yet, go back to highschool and sit there and watch the kids there. Dawson's Creek was meant to entertain, to bring everyday stuff teens do go through and adding a hefty dose of angst to it. Yes, the language in the show is quite sophisticated. That's the reason why I love it so much. It's smart. It's for lack of a better and cheesy word "deep." I don't know about the last two seasons, but I sure as hell enjoyed the first four. I recommend it for those who hate the stuff that's on TV nowadays.

I kind of like the concept of a teen series where the characters talk in an unrealistically sophisticated way. However, the story is too much like soap opera for me, and the characters kind of annoying, difficult to believe in. And speaking of that, the fact that the actors are supposed to play 15-year-olds when they look much older really takes away from the experience, particularly because the age is important for the plot. For example, we have one of them flirting with his teacher, which is quite creepy given the ages of the characters. However the actor looks like a college graduate, so it's difficult to feel like this is a 15 year old we are talking about.