Dawson's Creek

What’s the Story?

DAWSON'S CREEK follows four teens -- Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek), Joey Potter (Katie Holmes), Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson) and Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams) -- from the small, fictional town of Capeside, Mass. Joey is the girl next door who captivates innocent, wide-eyed Dawson, a naive movie-lover who has a happily-ever-after vision of relationships and a hard time dealing with their harsh reality. Through both high school and college, Joey and Dawson have an on-again, off-again romance that's interrupted by other serious relationships along the way -- including a very serious (and ratings-grabbing) tryst between Joey and Pacey, who is the typical bad boy around town. His father and brother are police officers, but he's busy having an affair with his math teacher, struggling with his grades, and falling for his best friend's girl.

Is It Any Good?

The series aims to portray Smalltown, USA, but it brings progressive issues into the mix as well. All in all,Dawson's Creek is far from the average teen drama. The characters are articulate -- more so than the average adult -- and don't use "like" and "you know" to complete their thoughts. They're introspective and create critical dialogue to question their own relationships, their peers, and the world around them.

The show's sometimes serious subjetc matter includes an openly gay character, questioning religion, the death of a classmate, sleeping with a teacher, drug overdoses, sex, first loves, college, an unstable mother, depression, divorce, lust, and infidelity. The characters' ability to explain (at length) how to navigate situations like these made the series a learning tool as well as a guilty pleasure.