In 1996, screenwriter Kevin Williamson became an ‘overnight’ success based on his partnership with Wes Craven on the movie “Scream.” Hollywood starting knocking on his door and opportunities started coming his way. In 1998, one of the first projects Williamson got off the ground was a little mid-season replacement series by the name of “Dawson’s Creek.” The series was popular enough to warrant a 6 season run, which ended in May 0f 2003 with what I understand was an explosive finale. Revolving around a group of young friends growing up in a small coastal town, Williamson based the series on his own life experiences. With its hip youthful cast and whip smart dialogue, “Dawson’s Creek” not only became a smash hit with television audiences, it also launched a whole new genre in the form of teen dramas. There have been many copycat shows over the past few years, but few have gained the enormous popularity of the ‘creek.’

I’ll admit to never having watched the show as I generally shied away from things that are deemed ‘hip.’ The series was popular enough to warrant a 6 season run, which ended in May 0f 2003, with what I understand was an explosive finale. Last year, Columbia Tristar started releasing the series on DVD, so I finally had the opportunity to see what the hype was all about.

As I sat down to watch the 1st season episodes (not all in one sitting, mind you), I was a bit more impressed that I originally thought I’d be. I was worried that I might be a little too old to appreciate the growing pains and hormonal rage that was evidently going to be an integral part of the stories. I was wrong. Yes, on the surface the show seemed to be little more than a nighttime soap opera, but what surprised me was in learning that growing up is a timeless event. Though the world may be a different place today, some of the problems facing our central characters weren’t much different from some of the problems either my friends or I faced as teenagers.

Sure, some of the plots may have appeared to be a little far-fetched, but I began to think that if some of the experiences I had were written up as a TV plotline, they would seem equally unbelievable. We’ve all had those experiences. Even if I couldn’t necessarily identify with the particular lifestyles, I certainly recognized the inner turmoil.

After watching some of the episodes, the thing that stood out the most was the writing. The dialogue between the characters was relaxed and convincing, and the friendships real. Of course, this isn’t only due to the writing, if the cast doesn’t deliver, nothing works. The cast of “Dawson’s Creek” was made up of some pretty good actors, a couple of which are starting to make their niche in the world of feature films.

I’ll admit that “Dawson’s Creek” isn’t every one’s cup of tea. I’m sure there are many who would write the show off and not give it a chance, just like I did. But I for one am glad I did give it a chance because I have really enjoyed it so far. The 3rd season was the first without creator Williamson at the helm, and there was a concern that it would weaken the series, but in fact I think it made it even stronger. It’s still a nighttime soap at heart, but as long as you don’t take it too seriously it can be kind of a guilty pleasure. But where the 3rd season was so strong, the 4th seemed a bit uneven. There was an equal mix of good and not so good episodes, but even with this small lag in quality, it still kept me coming back for more.

I did notice that the 4th season set was a little short on extra features. Other than a trivia game, that’s pretty much it. There are some commentaries on a few episodes by Executive Producer Paul Stupin, and though the ones I listened to were fairly interesting, I was a bit put off that they weren’t listed anywhere. You had to put in each disc and check out the menu to find them.

I would also like to comment on a trend that is starting to rear its ugly head in the world of TV on DVD, and that is the changing of music. More often than not, this is done so as not to pay for the rights to certain songs. For the most part, as long good choices are made it not all that noticeable. But in the recent “Tour Of Duty” DVD release, there were a bunch of changes, some of which were quite noticeable so much so as to actually screw up the flow or intent of a scene.

“Dawson’s Creek” was one of those teen TV series that relied heavily on music to carry scenes or convey the emotions of the characters. A lot of the new song choices seem to work pretty well, and as I hadn’t seen the series in its initial run, I’m not really noticing any of them. But the most glaring change is that of the main theme song. Even before I ever started watching the series, I had identified Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait” with it. On the 3rd season set, it was replaced by Jann Arden’s “Run Like Mad.” The song on its own is pretty cool, but it just doesn’t have the right feel and seems out of place. I guess the easiest way to get past this is to just skip the opening credits.

The 4-disc set includes all 23 episodes of the 4th season and a booklet with brief descriptions of each. If you haven’t seen the show, I recommend giving it a try. If you’re a fan of the series already, you can throw away your videotapes and replace them with this DVD collection.

Episodes:
Coming Home
Falling Down
Two Gentlemen of Capeside
Future Tense
A Family Way
Great Xpectations
You Had Me at Goodbye
The Unusual Suspects
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Self Reliance
The Tao of Dawson
The Te of Pacey
Hopeless
A Winter’s Tale
Four Stories
Mind Games
Admissions
Eastern Standard Time
Late
Promicide
Separation Anxiety
The Graduate
Coda

Starring: James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes
Extras: Audio Commentary by Executive Producer Paul Stupin on Select Episodes, Trivia Game
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Surround
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 10/05/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Dawson's Creek: Season 4 a B-.