Dawson's Creek

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Dawson's Creek

Dawson's Creek intertitle
Format Teen drama/Soap opera
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 Flag of the United States 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
Running time approx. 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel The WB
Original run January 20, 1998May 14, 2003
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary
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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. Reruns of the show are currently seen in the US in syndication on TBS and on The N.

Contents

[edit] The show

Aimed at a teenaged audience, the show is semi-autobiographical, being based on the small-town childhood of its creator Kevin Williamson (who also wrote the slasher film Scream). The lead character, Dawson Leery, shares 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 and focused on four friends who were in the early part of their Sophomore year of high school when the series began. The program, part of a craze for teen-themed movies and television shows in America in the late 1990s, made stars of its leads and was 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., Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill 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).
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.)

[edit] Season overview

[edit] 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 Beth Peil Evelyn Ryan

[edit] Recurring cast

Actor Character
Mary-Margaret Humes Gail Leery
John Wesley Shipp Mitch Leery
Nina Repeta Bessie Potter
Dylan Neal Doug Witter

[edit] Additional cast members

Actor Character
Jensen Ackles C.J.
Sasha Alexander Gretchen Witter
Dana Ashbrook Rich Rinaldi
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 Wilder
Mark Matkevich Drue Valentine
Chad Michael Murray Charlie Todd
Obi Ndefo Bodie Wells
Hal Ozsan Todd Carr
Michael Pitt Henry Parker
Harve Presnell Arthur "A.I." Brooks
Gareth Williams Mike Potter

[edit] Notable guest stars

Actor Character
Ali Larter Kristy Livingstone
Rachael Leigh Cook Devon
Mädchen Amick Nicole Kennedy
Mel Harris Helen Lindley
Marla Gibbs Mrs. Fran Boyd
Harry Shearer Principal Peskin
Andy Griffith Mr. Brooks' Friend
Jennifer Morrison Melanie 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
Josh Torok High School Bully
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Rhoda Griffis appeared in the episode Be Careful What You Wish For as Dr. Marle Sumner.

[edit] Main Crew

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

[edit] Locations

[edit] Capeside

Capeside is a fictional town in Massachusetts where the television show 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 and Boston.

The actual place of filming was a harbor in 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.

[edit] Capeside High School

Capeside High School is the fictional high school in Capeside, Massachusetts attended by a number of the characters in the television drama Dawson's Creek. The principle characters attend Capeside High School from the first season until the end of the fourth season, when they all graduate.

In what is apparently an error in the series the school mascot is originally said to be the Wildcats, but later is said to be the Minutemen. This may be attributed to the fact that the pilot was filmed at New Hanover High School where the mascot is a Wildcat.

The outside of Capeside High is filmed at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

[edit] Worthington University

Worthington University is a fictional university from the television series Dawson's Creek. Joey Potter (played by Katie Holmes) and Audrey Liddell (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."

The scenes at Worthington were filmed at Duke University,[1] and a number of its students served as extras.[1] Scenes shot at Franklin Street near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were also used.

[edit] Music

The first volume of Songs from Dawson's Creek.
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 "Elsewhere", 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. 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.

[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.

A rumored spinoff entitled "Capeside", which would have followed Joey Potter as she returned to the Cape as a teacher, was scrapped after Katie Holmes turned it down.

[edit] Broadcast history

[edit] International

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

Country Premiere Channel
Flag of Australia Australia 1999, January 19 Network Ten
Flag of Austria Austria ORF 1
Flag of Brazil Brazil 1998, March 3 Rede Globo
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria 2000 Nova Television
Flag of Canada Canada 1998, January 20 Global
Flag of Chile Chile 2000 MEGA
Flag of Croatia Croatia 2001, September
Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic 2000, September 9 TV Nova
Flag of Denmark Denmark Is currently repeated on DR1
Flag of France France 1999, January 10 TF1
Flag of Germany Germany 1999, January 3 Sat.1
Flag of Hungary Hungary 1999, September 11
Flag of India India 2008, April Zee Cafe
Flag of Indonesia Indonesia 2007 Global TV
Flag of Ireland Ireland 1998, May RTE TWO reruns on Channel6
Flag of Israel Israel 1998, September 1 Channel 3
Flag of Italy Italy 1999, January 3 Italia 1
Flag of Malta Malta 2008 Net Television
Flag of Mexico Mexico Canal 5
Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands Net5
Flag of New Zealand New Zealand 1999, June 25
Flag of Norway Norway 1998, September 11
Flag of Peru Peru Sony Entertainment Television (Latin America)
Flag of the Philippines Philippines Studio 23
Flag of Poland Poland 1998, September 6 Polsat
Flag of Portugal Portugal 2001, April 8 Televisão Independente
Flag of Romania Romania 1999, February 28 Pro TV
Flag of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 2007, December MBC 4
Flag of Serbia Serbia 2000
Flag of South Korea South Korea EBS
Flag of Spain Spain 2000 La 2 de RTVE
Flag of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 2000 Channel 1 MTV
Flag of Switzerland Switzerland 1998, December 27
Flag of Thailand Thailand True Series
Flag of Turkey Turkey 1999 CNBC-E
Flag of Ukraine Ukraine
Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 1998, May 2 Channel 4
  • 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 at an early morning slot.

[edit] Ratings

[edit] U.S. ratings

# Season U.S. ratings
(millions of viewers)
Network Rank
1 1998 6.6 The WB #121
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

[citation needed]

[edit] Trivia

  • Katie Holmes is the only cast member who appeared in all 128 episodes.
  • Episode 03 season 06 shows the in-box of Joey's email, dawsons email apears to be dawsonleery@worthington.com even though dawson never attended worthington
  • The pilot aired some recycled footage from the original pilot, resulting in continuity errors. The initial moments show two signs reading "Capeside High School" but one says "Home of the Minutemen" and the other says "Home of the Wildcats". Scenes in school switch back and forth between two obviously different buildings. The original pilot used New Hanover High School in Wilmington, while reshoots and subsequent episodes used a set on a soundstage for high school interiors and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for exteriors.
  • The publisher Simon and Schuster published a series of fifteen mass-market paperback novelizations of the series. (See the list at Amazon.com here).
  • The Ice House restaurant burned at the end of the second season because the owners of the location used for filming did not wish to continue their association with the show—thus the building was written out of the program.
  • Actress Meredith Monroe (Andie McPhee) shot three scenes to be used in the series finale but they were not used because of time constraints. In the unbroadcasted footage, Andie was shown to be as a medical student and living in Boston. The uncut version complete with Meredith's scenes can be seen on DVD.
  • 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".
  • A large number of episode titles were also those of films, e.g. The Longest Day, Hotel New Hampshire, Secrets & Lies, Falling Down, Lost Weekend, High Anxiety, and The Kids Are Alright. Many were allusions to William Shakespeare, e.g. the finale, All Good Things…Must Come to an End, Two Gentlemen of Capeside and "To Be or Not to Be...That Is The Question". One title, Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, was the title of a volume of film criticism by Pauline Kael. Due to the possibility of legal action, the names of individual episodes were changed after their initial airing to reflect a more generic theme. Hence, a lot of earlier episodes are known under two alternate titles.
  • There was an incredible spike in the popularity of the name "Dawson" after the show premiered. According to the Social Security Administration, the name was the 744th most popular boys name in 1997 but leapt to 198th in 1998 and 136th in 1999. It has since dropped to 206th in 2004.
  • Mad Magazine parodied the show as "Dudson's Geeks" in issue 392, April 2000, while Cracked parodied it as "Dawson's Geeks" in its October 1998 issue [2].
  • Former British pop band Busted released a song on their debut album, called "Dawson's Geek".
  • Little Britain's 'Vicky Pollard' refers to her genitalia as "my Dawson's Creek" during the 9 May 2005 stage show performed at the Blackpool Opera House (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.
  • In the German version, the male lead characters: Dawson, Pacey and Jack were dubbed by the brothers Dennis, Gerrit and Florian Schmidt-Foß. Dennis, who dubbed Pacey, married Dascha Lehmann, the voice actress dubbing Joey Potter.
  • Supernatural, a TV series starring Jensen Ackles that first aired in September 2005 on The WB referenced Dawson's Creek in the 2nd episode of the first season titled "Wendigo". The brothers go to the fictional "Lost Creek", Colorado — a vague reference to Jensen's stint on Dawson's Creek.
  • In the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, the father refers to Dawson's Creek in saying, "Those damn Dawson's River kids, sleeping in each other's beds and whatnot?"
  • In the pilot episode of One Tree Hill Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) refers to Dawson's Creek 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) a book. Chad ironically starred in Dawson's Creek as Charlie Todd.
  • The necklace worn by Dawson throughout the first seasons was James Van Der Beek's. The wardrobe department centered his wardrobe around it.
  • The Kids' WB! series Detention spoofed the show in a brief scene as Lawson's Lake.
  • 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." He can also be noted for singing the theme song to himself on many occasions.
  • Chad Michael Murray, Hilarie Burton, and Lee Norris of The CW (then The WB) show One Tree Hill originally guest starred in Dawson's Creek. Not surprisingly, One Tree Hill is also filmed in North Carolina. John Criscoll who played Blossom on Dawson's Creek also guest starred in an episode of One Tree Hill. He played a guy at a bar that Brooke had hooked up with on a previous date.
  • Owing much of its early success to Dawson's Creek, The WB fittingly reaired the pilot episode at 9 pm EST on the network's final broadcast day, September 17, 2006, making it the last program to ever air on the network.
  • Supposedly, episode 6-22 "Joey Potter and The Capeside Redemption" was going to be the season six finale, leading to a seventh season—however, the decision to end the series came up and the two-hour finale was made.
  • In the episode "Detention," they refer to the movie The Breakfast Club and talk about where the actors in the movie are now. When they come to Emilio Estevez, they end up saying he didn't go anywhere, prompting Pacey to comment "no, he made those duck movies" — referring to The Mighty Ducks, of which Joshua Jackson (Pacey) was a star.
  • Mimi Rogers, who guest starred as Jen's mother in the final season, was the first wife of Tom Cruise. Katie Holmes, who starred in the series, is currently his third.
  • From Autumn To Ashes references the show's location in the title of the 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).
  • A city called Dawson Creek actually exists in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is named after the river of the same name that runs through it. Ironically, Joshua Jackson, who plays Pacey, was born in the province of British Columbia.
  • Jack McFarland from Will and Grace often refers to Dawson's Creek in references to his attraction to James Van der Beek.
  • The last episode of the popular television series "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", known for its witty dialogue and pop culture references, features a reference in the series last episode “Chosen”. 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 "Out of My Mind" Spike is apparently watching Dawson's Creek in his crypt because he says: "Oh, Pacey! Can't you see she doesn't love you?"
  • In the movie "The Perfect Score" (with Chris Evans and Scarlett Johanssen) a reference of the show is made when the two main characters which are best friends: Kyle and Matty, are compared to Dawson and Pacey.

[edit] Credits

[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.

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 filming locations used in the show. Many of the filming locations, including those not included in the visitor's bureau guide, can be found on the Dawson's Creek, Ghosts of Wilmington website; http://www.geocities.com/dcghosts

When the program was cancelled in 2003, the news was reported on the front-page of Wilmington's daily newspaper, the Morning Star.

[edit] Production credits

Created by Kevin Williamson.

[edit] Production companies

Produced by Columbia TriStar 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] Bibliography and references

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. ^ Duke Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.

[edit] External links