Dawson's Creek

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Dawson's Creek

Dawson's Creek intertitle
Format Teen drama
Created by Kevin Williamson
Starring James Van Der Beek
Katie Holmes
Joshua Jackson
Michelle Williams
Kerr Smith
Meredith Monroe
Mary Beth Peil
Opening theme "I Don't Want to Wait" by Paula Cole (seasons 1-6); "Run Like Mad" by Jann Arden (international airings of season 1 and DVD versions of seasons 3-6)
Country of origin  United States
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 128 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Tom Kapinos
Greg Prange
Paul Stupin
Kevin Williamson
Camera setup Single-camera[citation needed]
Running time approx. 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel The WB
Original run January 20, 1998 – May 14, 2003
External links
Official website
Search Wikiquote Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Dawson's Creek

Dawson's Creek was an American primetime television drama which initially aired from January 20, 1998, to May 14, 2003, on The WB Television Network. The lead production company was Sony Pictures Television. The show was set in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts and in Boston, Massachusetts during the later seasons. Reruns of the show are currently seen in Australia on TV1, in Norway on TV3, in the UK on Fiver, in France on TMC, in Greece on Macedonia TV, in India on Zee Cafe in Italy on Italia 1 and in Lithuania on TV3.

Contents

[edit] Premise

Aimed at a teenaged audience, the semi-autobiographical show is based on the small-town childhood of its creator Kevin Williamson (who also wrote the slasher film Scream). The lead character, Dawson Leery, mirrors Williamson's interests and background. Filmed in Wilmington and Durham, North Carolina, the show was set in a small fictional seaside town called Capeside, Massachusetts. It focused on four friends who were in the early part of their sophomore and first year of high school when the series began. The program, part of a new craze for teen-themed movies and television shows in America in the late 1990s, catapulted its leads to stardom and became a defining show for The WB. Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times declared in 2005 that "The WB is turning out to be the television equivalent of the United Nations" and that "Dawson's Creek was its Dag Hammarskjöld: It was the first series bold enough to pick up the mantle of Beverly Hills, 90210 and an inspiration for many variations on the teenage angst theme, including One Tree Hill on The CW."

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 The O.C. and Gossip Girl

[edit] Origins and reaction

Kevin 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 based on Williamson himself: obsessed with movies and platonically sharing his bed with the girl down the creek.

Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) and Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek) in the "Pilot" episode (c. 1998).

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".

The Parents Television Council proclaimed the show the single worst program of the 1997-1998 season, a title the Council would also award it for the 1998-1999 season. The Council also cited it the fourth worst show in 2000-2001. However, on the opposite end of the ideological spectrum, the National Organization for Women offered an endorsement, deeming it one of the least sexually exploitive shows on the air. For every scathing review there was a glowing one: Variety wrote that it was "an addictive drama with considerable heart...the teenage equivalent of a Woody Allen movie—a kind of 'Deconstructing Puberty.'" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called it "a teen's dream." The Dayton Daily News listed Capeside as a television town they'd most like to live in. The Seattle Times declared it the best show of the 1997-1998 season. The New York Times had perhaps the best headline on its review: "Young, Handsome, and Clueless in Peyton Place." That was precisely the sort of allusion real teenagers weren't likely to get, let alone make, but the show's punchy dialogue was full of them. Dawson calls his mother's co-anchor "Ted Baxter" and refers to his parents as "Rob and Laura Petrie." He responds to his principal's request for a film glorifying the football team as belonging to "the Leni Riefenstahl approach to filmmaking." Jen says her parents followed "the Ho Chi Minh school of parenting." The verbiage was high-flying too: star Michelle Williams confessed in interviews she had to consult her dictionary when she read the scripts.

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.)

The show endured phenomenal success in Australia where it rated number one in its timeslot for every episode covering seasons one to four. Its incredible support extended out into the music industry too when "Songs From Dawson's Creek", released in 1999 on Sony Music, reached #1 on the Australian Album Chart. It remained in the top spot for six weeks and was certified 3x Platinum; inevitably, it was the fifth highest selling album of the year. This was followed in 2001 when "Songs From Dawson's Creek — Volume 2" was released. Debuting at #1, the show's second soundtrack went on to achieve platinum status and was praised by critics and fans alike.

[edit] Season overview

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Dawson's Creek episodes

[edit] Cast and main crew

[edit] Principal cast

Actor Character
James Van Der Beek Dawson Leery
Katie Holmes Josephine 'Joey' Potter
Michelle Williams Jen Lindley
Joshua Jackson Pacey Witter
Kerr Smith Jack McPhee
Meredith Monroe Andie McPhee
Busy Philipps Audrey Liddell
Mary-Margaret Humes Gail Leery
John Wesley Shipp Mitch Leery
Mary Beth Peil Evelyn 'Grams' Ryan
Nina Repeta Bessie Potter

Katie Holmes is the only cast member who appeared in all 128 episodes.

[edit] Additional cast members

Actor Character
Jensen Ackles C.J.
Sasha Alexander Gretchen Witter
Dana Ashbrook Rich Rinaldi
Jason Behr Chris Wolfe
Obba Babatunde Mr. Green
Lourdes Benedicto Karen Torres
Mika Boorem Harley Hetson
Jordan Bridges Oliver Chirckirk
Brittany Daniel Eve Whitman
David Dukes Will/Joseph McPhee
Megan Gray Emma Jones
Carolyn Hennesy Mrs. Valentine
Roger Howarth Professor Greg Hetson
Oliver Hudson Eddie Doling
Leann Hunley Tamara Jacobs
Ian Kahn Danny Brecher
Edmund J. Kearney Mr. Peterson
Monica Keena Abby Morgan
Ken Marino Professor David Wilder
Mark Matkevich Drue Valentine
Chad Michael Murray Charlie Todd
Obi Ndefo Bodie Wells
Dylan Neal Doug Witter
Hal Ozsan Todd Carr
Michael Pitt Henry Parker
Harve Presnell Arthur "A.I." Brooks
Gareth Williams Mike Potter
  • David Dukes, who died in October 2000, last appeared in the fourth season episode "You Had Me At Good Bye", which aired in November 2000 and saw the departure of Andie from the series. The episode concluded with a title card reading: "In Loving Memory. David Dukes, 1945-2000".

[edit] Notable guest stars

 This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this section if you can. (February 2009)
Actor Character
Ali Larter Kristy Livingstone
Rachael Leigh Cook Devon
Mädchen Amick Nicole Kennedy
Mel Harris Helen Lindley
Marla Gibbs Mrs. Fran Boyd
Tony Hale Dr Bronin
Harry Shearer Principal Peskin
Andy Griffith Mr. Brooks' Friend
Jennifer Morrison Melanie Shea Thompson
Sherilyn Fenn Alex Pearl
Jack Osbourne Himself
Jaime Bergman Denise
M2M Themselves
No Doubt Themselves
Paul Gleason Studio Producer
Mimi Rogers Helen Lindley
Hilarie Burton Herself
Virginia Madsen Maddy
  • 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 Cliff Elliot, football player who dated Jen in the first season.
  • Jason Behr was Chris Wolfe, a Capeside jock who frequently interacted with the gang in season two.
  • 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 was Charlie Todd, a guy who played in a band. He also dated Jen & Joey.
  • 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".
  • Hal Ozsan was the movie director Dawson was interning/assisting with in Hollywood.
  • Bianca Kajlich was Dawson's ex girlfriend/actress in a movie Todd was directing.
  • 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.
  • Murderdolls performed in the Hallowe'en episode.
  • No Doubt performed in the eighth episode in the final season.
  • Danny Roberts from Real World New Orleans appeared on an episode acting as a French foreigner.
  • Rhoda Griffis appeared in the episode Be Careful What You Wish For as Dr. Marle Sumner.
  • Loveline co-hosts Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew appeared as themselves.
  • Sarah Shahi was a financial reporter who had a fling with Pacey.

[edit] Main Crew

Kevin Williamson, Deborah Joy Levine, Paul Stupin, Alex Gansa, Jeffrey Stepakoff and Tammy Ader.

[edit] Filming Locations

Filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, at EUE Screen Gems Studios and on location around Wilmington, Southport and Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. 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.

The Wilmington area benefited greatly from the show. While a number of films, commercials and music videos had been shot at the studios, the show was the first to occupy numerous soundstages for many years. One Tree Hill later occupied some of those same soundstages for several years and uses some of the same locations in Wilmington.

In addition to business brought into the community by the project, it attracted attention to the city as a filming location and boosted tourism.[citation needed] The visitors' bureau distributed a special guide to filming locations 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.

[edit] Dawson's Creek and Home

34°11′20″N 77°50′45″W / 34.1888°N 77.8459°W / 34.1888; -77.8459Coordinates: 34°11′20″N 77°50′45″W / 34.1888°N 77.8459°W / 34.1888; -77.8459 Sunset shots of Dawson standing on his dock among the marsh grass were filmed along Hewlett's Creek on Pine Grove Road between Masonboro Loop Road and Holly Tree Drive in Masonboro, North Carolina.[1]

[edit] Capeside

Capeside is a fictional town in Massachusetts where the Dawson's Creek takes place. It is a modest harbor city located along the Atlantic Ocean in a long bay with sparse housing. The separation between homes often requires that residents travel to the city center via car, although Dawson and Joey typically take a boat. Founded in 1815, the town has a population of 35,000 and is located between the cities of Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts. Capeside exteriors were shot in and around Wilmington, North Carolina. Its bays and coastlines are similar to those found along the coast of Massachusetts. The houses used for Dawson Leery's and Jen Lindley's homes are located on Head Road, while the house used for Joey Potter's home is located on Pine Grove Road.

A Dawson Creek actually exists in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is named for the river of the same name that runs through it.

[edit] Capeside High School

Capeside High School is the fictional high school in Capeside, Massachusetts attended by several characters during the first four seasons of the show. Exteriors were filmed at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

[edit] Worthington University

Worthington University is a fictional university from Dawson's Creek. Joey (played by Katie Holmes) and Audrey (played by Busy Philipps), characters from the series, attended this school. It is supposed to be located in Boston, Massachusetts and to have been founded in 1787 by Josiah Worthington. It is sometimes said to be an "Ivy League college".

Producers had not planned for the show to extend beyond the characters' high school years. The architectural uniformity of UNC Wilmington prevented it from being used for Worthington University exteriors. The scenes at Worthington were filmed over 2 hours away at Duke University,[2] and a number of its students served as extras. .[3] Some filming was also done on Franklin Street adjacent to nearby University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

[edit] Restaurants and Bars in the Show

Interiors for The Icehouse were filmed at The Icehouse bar in downtown Wilmington several blocks from less picturesque water so exteriors were filmed at the Dockside Restaurant at 1308 Airlie Road in Wrightsville Beach, NC. Nearby constructions at the real IceHouse forced producers to eliminate the bar from the storyline by burning it down.[1]

The Hells Kitchen bar featured in the show was a natural food store at 118 Princess Street in Wilmington which was purchased by producers, dressed as a seedy college bar and used for production during the show's last season. When production completed, the building was purchased by a local restaurateur, along with much of the set and decorations, and convereted it into a real restaurant and bar. It retains the name as well.[1]

Leery's Fresh Fish, exteriors were filmed at Water Street Restaurant at 5 South Water Street in Wilmington.[1]

[edit] DVD releases

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released all 6 seasons of Dawson's Creek on DVD in Region 1.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date Additional Information
The Complete 1st Season 13 April 1, 2003
  • Audio Commentary from Kevin Williamson and Paul Stupin
  • Retrospective Featurette "Dawson's Creek: From Day one"
  • Season One Time Capsule
  • Link to the Official Dawson's Creek Website
The Complete 2nd Season 22 December 16, 2003
  • Audio Commentaries
The Complete 3rd Season 23 June 29, 2004
  • Audio Commentaries for Select Episodes with Executive Producer Paul Stupin and Kerr Smith
  • Weblink to Create your own Dawson's Creek Soundtrack
  • Interactive Tour of Capeside
  • Bonus Previews
The Complete 4th Season 23 October 5, 2004
  • Ultimate Dawson's Creek Trivia Game
  • Commentary on "Coming Home" by Executive Producer Paul Stupin
  • Commentary on "The Graduate" with Writer Alan Cross and Paul Stupin
The Complete 5th Season 23 May 3, 2005 N/A
The Complete 6th Season 23 April 4, 2006
  • Commentary with Kevin Williamson and Paul Stupin on the finale
  • Scrapbook
The Complete Series 127 November 2009 (TBD)[4] TBA

Note: Seasons 2 - 6 contain music alterations, due to copyright issues. The theme song has also been altered starting with Season 3.

[edit] Music

 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)
The first volume of Songs from Dawson's Creek.

The theme song, "I Don't Want to Wait" was written and performed by Paula Cole. For the first season, international broadcasts used "Run Like Mad", performed by Jann Arden, but switched to Cole's song for the remainder of the run. The producers originally planned to use "Hand in My Pocket" by Alanis Morissette for the theme (it was, in fact, used in the original pilot) but she would not grant them permission and Cole's song was substituted. The show's final episode features a video montage made by Dawson which includes footage seen in the original credits sequence, and is soundtracked by "Hand in My Pocket". There were two soundtrack albums.

Because the producers failed to secure the rights when the shows were produced and did not wish to pay for them later, most 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", however "I Don't Want To Wait" still featured when played using non-English language. "I Don't Want To Wait" was also the theme in the series finale on DVD.

[edit] Style

Dawson'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. It also made fun of itself on other episodes besides that one, especially the finale, when Dawson is the creator of a TV show called "the Creek."

[edit] Awards

Dawson'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.

[edit] Spinoff

The 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. The reason the show is considered a semi-spinoff instead of a true spinoff is because Will was not originally created for Dawson's Creek. He was added to Dawson's solely to set up and promote the series Young Americans.

The publisher Simon and Schuster published a series of fifteen mass-market paperback novelizations of the series.

[edit] Broadcast history

[edit] International

The show also aired in numerous international markets, listed here with the premiere dates:

  • The show originally aired in the UK on Channel 4 but later moved to Five for the last two seasons. In 2007 Five's sister channel FiveLife began airing reruns on weekdays at 7pm. In early 2008 with its evening showings having reached the final season it restarted the show in an early morning slot.
Country Premiere Channel
 Australia January 19, 1999 Network Ten (Original Broadcast - 1999-2004)
TV1 (Syndication - 2001-Current)
 Austria ORF 1, Reruns on Puls 4
 Belgium 1999 VT4, Reruns on 2Be (2008)
 Brazil March 3, 1998 Rede Globo
 Bulgaria 2000 Nova Television
 Catalonia TV3/K3
 Canada January 20, 1998 Global
 Chile 2000 MEGA
 Croatia 2001, September
 Czech Republic September 9, 2000 TV Nova
 Denmark Is currently repeated on DR1
 France January 10, 1999 TF1
 Germany January 3, 1999 Sat.1
 Hungary September 11, 1999 TV2 S1-S3, RTL Klub S4-S5, Cool TV S6
 India April 2008 Zee Cafe
 Indonesia 2007 Global TV
 Ireland May 1998 RTE TWO reruns on Channel6
 Israel September 1, 1998 Channel 3
 Italy January 3, 1999 Italia 1
 Lithuania TV3 later moved to TangoTV (TV6)
 Malta July 2008 Net Television
 Mexico Canal 5
 Netherlands Net5
 New Zealand June 25, 1999 TV2_(New_Zealand)
 Norway September 1, 1998 TV3
 Peru Sony Entertainment Television (Latin America)
 Philippines Studio 23
 Poland September 6, 1998 Polsat
 Portugal April 8, 2001 Televisão Independente
 Romania February 28, 1999 Pro TV
 Saudi Arabia December 2007 MBC 4
 Serbia 2000
 South Korea EBS
 Spain 2000 La 2 de RTVE
 Sri Lanka 2000 ARTv
 Switzerland December 27, 1998
 Thailand May 15, 1999 True Series
 Turkey 1999 CNBC-E
 Ukraine
 United Kingdom May 2, 1998 Channel 4
 Venezuela 1998 Televen

[edit] Ratings

 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

[edit] U.S. ratings

# Season U.S. ratings
(millions of viewers)		 Network Rank
1 1998 6.6 The WB #125
2 1998–1999 5.4 The WB #118
3 1999–2000 4.0 The WB #122
4 2000–2001 4.1 The WB #120
5 2001–2002 3.9 The WB #134
6 2002–2003 4.0 The WB #134

[edit] Use in Popular Culture

  • The final episode of the popular television series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, known for its witty dialogue and pop culture references, features a reference to Dawson's Creek. Buffy remarks to Angel, in relation to his disapproval of her controversial relationship with Spike, "Are you just going to come here and go all Dawson on me every time I have a boyfriend?"
  • In another Buffy episode, "Out of My Mind," Spike is apparently watching Dawson's Creek in his crypt because he is overheard yelling at his TV: "Oh, Pacey! Can't you see she doesn't love you?"
  • In the movie The Perfect Score, a reference of the show is made when the two main characters, best friends Kyle and Matty, are compared to Dawson and Pacey.
  • Jack McFarland from NBC's Will and Grace often refers to Dawson's Creek in references to his attraction to series star James Van Der Beek.
  • In the episode "Working" from S Club 7's series L.A. 7, Hannah is upset when the fuses are blown and the electricity goes out because "Dawson's Creek was just about to start."
  • The rock band From Autumn To Ashes references the show's location in the title of their song "Capeside Rock," as well as using clips from the show in the songs "Take Her To the Music Store" and "Reflections."
  • In the Family Guy episode "Death Is a Bitch", Death orders Peter to kill the kids from Dawson's Creek. In another episode, "Peterotica", Peter was seen doing his own version of the show by standing in a boat and singing the theme song. It then follows a scene where he and Carter Pewterschmidt (dressed as a woman) are in bed as Peter tries to talk his "girlfriend" into having sex with him. Carter gets irritated and annoyed by this concept that he broke character and told Peter he did not want to do this anymore, all this as the camera was rolling (which was being taped by Brian Griffin).
  • The Kids' WB! series Detention spoofed the show in a brief scene as Lawson's Lake. In the same episode, it also showed a parody of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which also aired on The WB Network at the time, as Muffy the Campfire Slayer. Detention portrayed both of these "shows" as airing on The WV, which sported a gecko as a mascot, both deliberate attempts to parody The WB and its famous frog mascot.
  • The series was spoofed on Newgrounds as Alucard's Creek by a flash artist named Zenxin. This is the original show revolving around Castlevania character Alucard.
  • On South Park, Eric Cartman got a Dawson's Creek Trapper Keeper, which grew out of control in the episode "Trapper Keeper." Cartman also sings "I Don't Want To Wait," the Dawson's Creek theme song, to himself on numerous occasions.
  • Supernatural, another TV series that aired on The WB and starring former recurring Dawson's Creek cast member Jensen Ackles, referenced Dawson's Creek in the second episode of the first season titled "Wendigo." The Winchester brothers go to the fictional Lost Creek, Colorado, which was meant as a vague reference to Jensen's time on Dawson's Creek.
  • In the film 10 Things I Hate About You, the father refers to Dawson's Creek while disciplining his daughter by saying, "What's normal?! Those damn Dawson's River kids, sleeping in each other's beds and whatnot?"
  • In the pilot episode of One Tree Hill, yet another series that originated on The WB Network, Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) refers to Dawson's Creek by saying, "...Not that I was, like, looking for something specifically which would imply some hideous Joey-loves-Dawson scenario and completely creep me out..." when giving Lucas (Chad Michael Murray, who was also a recurring guest star on Dawson's Creek) a book that she had found as a gift.
  • Mad Magazine parodied the show as Dudson's Geeks in its April 2000 issue, while Cracked parodied it as Dawson's Geeks in its October 1998 issue [2].
  • Former British pop-punk band Busted released a song on their debut album, called "Dawson's Geek," a reference to the show.
  • Little Britain's Vicky Pollard refers to her genitalia as "my Dawson's Creek" during a May 9, 2005, stage show performed at the Blackpool Opera House in the UK. The skit is also featured on the DVD release of the same show Little Britain Live.
  • Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show parodied the show as Moody's Point in the form of a series of short episodes within the main program.
  • James Van Der Beek appears as himself in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back along with American Pie star Jason Biggs. He discusses his character of Dawson with Jay and they agree that Joey (Katie Holmes) is hot.
  • At the end of Muppets From Space, Joshua Jackson and Katie Holmes both turn up as their characters Pacey and Joey from Dawson's Creek and make the comments "Too Bad Dawson isn't here for this..." followed by, "Yeah, this whole situation is like out of one of his sci-fi movies."
  • In the episode "Tony" on the television show Skins, Tony quotes Dawson's Creek by stating, "I say the world extends way beyond this field of dreams we're dancing in and I want to see that world." When his friend Chris questions if the quote is from Shakespeare, their friend Jal states that it's actually from Dawson's Creek.
  • In the episode "102" on the television show Queer as Folk, Brian Kinney asks Justin Taylor the question, "So Dawson, how are things down at the creek?"
  • In the film Scary Movie, James Van Der Beek climbs into a bedroom as Dawson, looks around and says, "Sorry, wrong movie set..."
  • In the movie Urban Legend right before Joshua Jackson's character is about to be killed, he turns his car on and "I Don't Want To Wait," the theme song from Dawson's Creek, is being played on the car radio.
  • In the television series Greek, Ashleigh tells a lovelorn Casey: "When did you become this girl who sits around pining and making lists and second-guessing your choices? Paging Dr. Grey! No, wait, you are more like Joey Potter. No, you're worse. You're the F-word. Felicity."

[edit] Credits

[edit] Production credits

Created by Kevin Williamson.

[edit] Production companies

Produced by Columbia TriStar Television/Sony Pictures Television and Outerbanks Entertainment. Originally, Granville Productions and Procter & Gamble Productions were producers, but left the show before it aired.

[edit] Executive producers

Executive-produced by Kevin Williamson, Paul Stupin, Charles Rosin, Deborah Joy LeVine, Jon Harmon Feldman, Alex Gansa, Greg Berlanti, Tom Kapinos, Gina Fattore, Jeffrey Stepakoff.

[edit] Producers

Episodes 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

[edit] Writers

Episodes 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

[edit] Directors

Episodes 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.

[edit] Series Regulars

James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson and Mary Beth Peil were the only cast members who remained series regulars from beginning to end of the series. Katie Holmes was the only cast member to appear in every episode of the show.

Mary-Margaret Humes, John Wesley Shipp and Nina Repeta were all regular cast members throughout the show's first four seasons until the fifth season, in which the younger characters moved on to college and only Mary Beth Peil remained the regular "adult" presence in their lives. Instead of simply vanishing from the show completely though, all three of them occasionally reprised their roles in guest starring capacities.

Kerr Smith and Meredith Monroe joined the series in the show's second season but were not billed as regulars until the third season. Though Kerr Smith remained with the show throughout the rest of its run, Meredith Monroe eventually left the show in the middle of the fourth season, but continued to be billed as a regular until the end of that year as her character returned for the season finale. She also returned in the show's final episode. Her scenes in the series finale were cut from the original broadcast version, but remain intact on the show's DVD releases.

Busy Philipps joined the regular cast in the show's fifth season and remained with the show for its final two years on the air.

[edit] Bibliography and references

 This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2009)

Darren 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:

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Hidek, Jeff (January 28, 2008). "'Dawson's Creek' legacy endures 'Dawson's Creek' legacy endures". Star News of Wilmington. http://www.news-record.com/node/13079. 
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ "Duke Magazine". http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/010202/depgar.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-04. 
  4. ^ "We've Learned of Some Late 2009 Plans for a Complete Series Set". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Dawsons-Creek-The-Complete-Series/11367. Retrieved on 2009-02-20. 

[edit] External links

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Dawson's Creek
Episode list
Main cast
Supporting Cast
Main Characters
Secondary Characters
Locations
Capeside  · Capeside High  · Worthington College
Kevin Williamson | Paul Stupin | Young Americans
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