Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek intertitle
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
Running time	approx. 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	The WB
Original run	January 20, 1998 – May 14, 2003
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Dawson's Creek is an American primetime television drama which 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.

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 and focused on four friends who were in the early part of their 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 The O.C. on Fox."

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 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 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".

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, however, 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.)

Season overview

Episodes

Main article: List of Dawson's Creek episodes

Cast

Principal cast

Actor	Character
James Van Der Beek	Dawson Leery
Katie Holmes	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

Recurring Cast

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

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 Dooling
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

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

• 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.
• 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.

Music

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".

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 she 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."

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.

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 follow Joey Potter as she returned to the Cape as a teacher was scrapped after Katie Holmes turned it down.

Broadcast history

International

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

Country	Premiere	Channel
Brazil	March 3, 1998
United Kingdom	May 2, 1998
Israel	September 1, 1998
Poland	September 6, 1998	Polsat
Norway	September 11, 1998
Switzerland	December 27, 1998
Germany	January 3, 1999
Italy	January 3, 1999	Italia 1
France	January 10, 1999	TF1
Australia	January 19, 1999	Network Ten
Romania	February 28, 1999	Pro TV
New Zealand	June 25, 1999
Hungary	September 11, 1999
Turkey	1999
Spain	2000
Serbia	2000
Chile	2000	MEGA
Portugal	April 8, 2001
Croatia	September, 2001
India	2007	Zee Cafe
Malta	January, 2007	Net Television

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.

Ratings

U.S. ratings

Season US Ratings Network Rank 1 1998 6.6 Million The WB #121 2 1998–1999 5.4 Million The WB #118 3 1999–2000 4.0 Million The WB #122 4 2000–2001 4.1 Million The WB #120 5 2001–2002 3.9 Million The WB #134 6 2002–2003 4.0 Million The WB #134

Trivia

• Katie Holmes is the only cast member who appeared in all 128 episodes.
• 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.
• Alanis Morissette's song "Hand In My Pocket" was to be used as the theme song originally, but WB couldn't obtain the rights to do so.
• 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.
• 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 http://members.fortunecity.com/dcunoff/articles/Cracked/ck1.htm.
• 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 , the male lead characters: Dawson, Pacey and Jack were dubbed by the brothers , and Florian Schmidt-Foß. Dennis, who dubbed Pacey, married , 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.
• The necklace worn by Dawson throughout the first seasons was James Van Der Beek's. The wardrobe department centered his wardrobe around it.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Jack McFarland from Will and Grace often refers to Dawsons Creek, by saying that James Van der Beek is hot. He says things like: "Is Beek out of the Creek?"

Credits

Filming locations

Filmed 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 [1]

Production credits

Created by Kevin Williamson.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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:

• "The best (and worst) 1999 had to offer". Dayton Daily News. January 2, 2000. 5C.
• Tom Bierbaum. "Clinton tide stops long enough at Creek". Variety. January 29, 1998. (Ratings versus state of the union speech)
• Greg Braxton. "UPN President Knocks Rival WB Network". Los Angeles Times. June 11, 1997. P4. (Criticism before show aired)
• Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network Television Shows. 8th ed. New York: Ballantine Books, 2003. (General information on the show and Young Americans)
• John Carman. "'Creek' Runs Hot". San Francisco Chronicle. January 20, 1998. E1. (Review of premiere)
• "Cheers and Jeers". TV Guide. Issue 2619. v. 51, n. 23. June 7, 2003. 14.
• Tamara Conniff. "Music plays an important--and profitable--role in 'Dawson's Creek'". Hollywood Reporter. April 17, 2002. (The show's sound)
• Robert Crane. "Twenty Questions: Kevin Williamson". Playboy. v. 45, n. 9. September 1998. 138 . (Interview with the show's creator)
• "Dawson's Creek's low aim". (Editorial). The Cincinnati Post. September 22, 1997. 8A. (Editorial denouncing Procter and Gamble's role in the show, P&G being a Cincinnati company)
• Maureen Dowd. "Puppy Love Politics". The New York Times. June 9, 1999. A31. (Humorous mention of politicians)
• Jeffrey Epstein. "Unbound". The Advocate. August 31, 1999. 34 . (Kevin Williamson profiled)
• Amanda Fazzone. "Boob Tube: NOW's Strange Taste in TV". The New Republic. Issue 4515. v. 225, n. 5. June 8, 2001. 26-35. (NOW's endorsement of the show)
• Bruce Fretts. "The Women of the WB". Entertainment Weekly. Issues 464 and 465. December 25, 1998 and January 1, 1999. (Profile of Katie Holmes and others)
• Matthew Gilbert. "'Dawson's Creek': A flood of hormones". Boston Globe. January 20, 1998. C1. (Review of premiere)
• Matthew Gilbert. "Dawson, pals talk out into the sunset". Boston Globe. May 14, 2003. D1. (Review of finale)
• Lynn Hirschberg. "Desperate to Seem 16". The New York Times Magazine. September 5, 1999. 42 .
• John Kieswetter. "'Dawson's Creek' overflows with sex". The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 20, 1998. (Review of premiere) http://www.enquirer.com/columns/kiese/1998/01/012098_jki.html
• John Kieswetter. "P&G execs reviewing family TV". The Cincinnati Enquirer. August 6, 2000. A1. (P&G considering its role in producing the show)
• John Kieswetter. "Readers divided on 'Dawson's'". The Cincinnati Enquirer. February 24, 1998. (Cincinnati viewers' reaction to the premiere)
• Caryn James. "Young, Handsome, and Clueless in Peyton Place". The New York Times. January 20, 1998. E5. (Review of the premiere)
• Ted Johnson. "Dawson's Peak". TV Guide. Issue 2345. v. 46, n. 10. March 7, 1998. 18-24. (Cover story on show's early success)
• Ted Johnson. "His So-Called Life". TV Guide. Issue 2345. v. 46, n. 10. March 7, 1998. 25-29. (Profile of creator Kevin Williamson)
• "Kevin Williamson: he's a scream". TV Guide. Issue 2337. v. 26, n. 2. January 10, 1998. 30. (Profile of creator Kevin Williamson)
• Phil Kloer. "'Dawson's Creek': Teens get wet". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. January 20, 1998. B1. (Review of premiere)
• John Leo. "TV sleaze worse than ever". Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 25, 1998. 4E. (Column criticizing sex on television)
• Kay McFadden. "The Kids Are Alright". The Seattle Times. January 19, 1998. C1. (Review of premiere)
• Gareth McGrath. "Creek's Hot Properties". Wilmington Star-News. June 14, 2003. (Sale of props used on the show)
• Shawna Malcolm. "Casting Off". TV Guide. Issue 2615. v. 51, n. 19. May 10, 2003. 40 .
• Jay Mathews. "'Dawson's Creek' site mecca for teens". The Cincinnati Enquirer. July 18, 1999. Travel section, p. 6.
• "The Merchants of Cool". Frontline. PBS. February 27, 2001.
• Greg Paeth. "P&G cuts its link with steamy teen series." The Cincinnati Post. October 23, 1997. 1C.
• Parents Television Council website. Overall review, Worst of 1997-98 season,Worst of 1999-99 season, Worst of 2000-01 season
• Joe Queenan. "Dumb and Dumber". TV Guide. v. 46, n. 15. April 11, 1998. 18.
• Lynette Rice. "Interest in 'Creek' Rising". Broadcasting and Cable. June 16, 1997. 25.
• Ray Richmond. Review of Dawson's Creek. Variety. January 19, 1998. 71.
• Ray Richmond. "Youth ache 100 episodes". Hollywood Reporter. April 17, 2002. (Part of special section commemorating 100th episode.)
• Matt Roush. Review of Dawson's Creek. TV Guide. v. 46, n. 6. February 7, 1998. 16.
• Pamela Redmond Satran. "15 Signs You're Too Old to Watch Dawson's Creek". TV Guide. Issue 2442. v. 28, n. 3 January 15, 2000. 17.
• Tom Shales. "Stuck in the Muck". The Washington Post. January 20, 1998. D1.
• Maxine Shin. "If Dawson and Buffy Are Gone, Can I Still Be Young?" New York Post. May 20, 2003.
• Alessandra Stanley. "A President-to-Be And His Rosebud". The New York Times. September 10, 2004. B1.
• Kevin D. Thompson. "'Dawson's Creek' runs its course tonight". Palm Beach Post. May 14, 2003.
• Ken Tucker. "The Big Kiss-off". Entertainment Weekly. Issue 544. June 9, 2000. 58-59.
• Josh Walk. "Pop Goes the Teen Boom?" Entertainment Weekly. Issue 599. June 8, 2001. 26-35.
• Andrew Wallentsein. "'Creek' to make splash on TBS". Daily Variety. March 19, 2003. 3.
• Ron Weiskind, Barbara Vancheri, and Rob Owens. "If We Were In TV Land". Dayton Daily News. October 28, 1999. 8C.
• Jeffrey Zaslow. "Straight talk". USA Weekend. July 10, 1998. 22.

External links

• DawsonsCreek.com- official TV/DVD site
• I Miss Dawson's Creek at primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk
• Comprehensive official music site

•  • [ e] Dawson's Creek
Episode list | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6 | Official Site
Production	Kevin Williamson | Paul Stupin | Young Americans
Primary Cast	James Van Der Beek | Katie Holmes | Joshua Jackson | Michelle Williams | Kerr Smith
Main characters	Dawson Leery | Joey Potter | Jen Lindley | Pacey Witter | Jack McPhee
Secondary characters	Audrey Liddell | Bessie Potter | Gail Leery | Mitch Leery | Andie McPhee | Doug Witter | Abby Morgan
Locations	Capeside | Capeside High | Worthington University