Kevin Williamson created this engaging drama, which chronicles a group of young friends’ passage from adolescence to young adulthood in the small coastal town of Capeside, Massachusetts. based on Williamson’s own experiences growing up, “Dawson’s Creek” focuses on fifteen-year-olds Dawson (James Van Der Beek) and Joey (Katie Holmes), who have been friends since they were five and are trying to cope with the way their relationship is changing now that their hormones are raging. Add to the mix their friend Pacey (Joshua Jackson) and the new girl in town, Jen (Michelle Williams) and you can count on extra twists to their drama in their already turbulent lives.

Episode 01: Pilot
It is a shame this show came much too early in my life. Or I was just born way too late for it. While Dawson’s Creek took a tiny small place in my life, when I went to high school, I never saw the first season until I bought the DVD collection. And it is time for a rewatch and a few flashbacks of earlier moments of my life.
The pilot was good, though James Van Der Beek overacted a bit in his own show (especially when Dawson surprised his parents while making out) and it is a bit unbelievable that the teens (who are not even 16 years old in here) already have such big minds (especially Pacey, who says to Tamara [Leann Hunley] that he was the best sex she never had). This was one of the biggest problems I had with this show during the first four seasons, though I pretty much got into it very fast and wasn’t confused anymore with the start of the second season.
Other than that: It is really authentic. And even with the age the show already has, it is still realistic enough to be the love guide for every upcoming teenager in a small town somewhere on the east side of America. Van Der Beek overacted a bit and Dawson’s Spielberg obsession already sucks balls, Joshua Jackson was good, as well as Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams. The rest of the cast didn’t really have much screentime, and they are the adult ones in here, so they have to develop during the next couple of episodes.
The stories for the pilot were alright. Joey says that puberty hits, and they aren’t kids anymore, love comes into play, together with the talent of flirtation and all the rest. And of course Pacey had to kiss a MILF in the pilot, even the truly authentic teen series needs a bit of sex in the story – even though we didn’t see anything, and nothing happened. 7,5/10

Episode 02: Dance
Another good episode, and this time it is working better than the pilot. The “a little bit too much” from the pilot loosened up a bit in the second episode and made much more fun. Though some moments were really stereotype.
So, Dawson’s lands in film class due to a backdoor, while he is trying to get into the neighbor girl’s pants without screwing with her. The story couldn’t be more stereotype, but at least James Van Der Beek wasn’t overacting here and Michelle Williams was a really sweet girl with the feeling of her character. Also, Katie Holmes managed to get her role into realism, switching perfectly between having a secret involving Dawson’s mother Gail (Mary-Margaret Humes) and not showing her true feelings to Dawson, because she said herself, everything is changing for all of them. Or being honest to each other about their feelings. For that, Dawson’s “trouble” with Jen and her being “stolen” by Cliff (Scott Foley), wasn’t really interesting, it remains still the beginning of a bigger story, but it doesn’t feel like that.
Pacey’s flirts and kisses with Tamara was only a side plot, and I truly don’t know why Tamara – as a teacher – is about to ruin her career. But today there are a lot of teachers screwing around with their students; Dawson’s Creek was pretty much a harbinger, though there were cases, before the series went on the air.
Dawson’s parents are loving, but the secret Gail has isn’t moving and makes their relationship more and more unbelievable. But we are just in the second episode so far… 7,5/10

Episode 03: Kiss
Good episode, and again: better than the episode before. This time all the stories are working, though one is a romantic cliché, and the other was almost a waste of time.
If Dawson was only busy with the film shooting and the writers would have cut his “search for a kiss with Jen”, then this would be a Joey show, and the episode would have been a foreshadow of what Dawson’s Creek was during the last season: more a show about Joey than about the title character. And it was interesting to put another character beside Dawson in front of a story and actually having a lot of screentime (which isn’t happening to Pacey – he has only one storyline right now, and the writers only spend four minutes per episode with it).
The film shoot at the high school was partly interesting, though it brings Dawson a few winning moments; but his moments with Jen were great, and finally they kissed (this was the waste of time, one episode looking for the kiss can be too much sometimes). It just seems a coincidence that Pacey lost his virginity with Tamara at the same place (by the way: nice acting by Leann Hunley in that scene, in which she wasn’t sure about what she did at that moment), and what a coincidence Dawson filmed it.
Joey’s romance with the guy from New York was nice, though stereotype. Who doesn’t lie about the own name, age and background to have a nice time with a guy, who won’t even have interest in little high school girls? And, seriously, Katie Holmes was more than sweet in here – how could she marry Tom Cruise later on? 8/10

Episode 04: Discovery
Another good episode, though slightly weaker than the last one. At least it looks like the stories are up and running, together with Gail’s affair, from which Dawson finally knows about (he didn’t just have the guts to tell his father Mitch [John Wesley Shipp] about – which is totally authentic, btw). And the lovely relationship between Dawson and Jen gets better as well. Basically: I really liked the episode for its story continuing – they are told not too fast, not too slow (except Gail, but I can live with that), and they have always a bit of heart and emotion in it.
I am happy to see that Pacey had a bit more screentime in this episode, which results in Dawson filming his tete-a-tete with Tamara, which again results in Pacey telling Dawson about his “I got the girl this time” – very nice scene, showing that Joshua Jackson can act, and James Van Der Beek not so really. His reaction of Pacey’s confession was just… argh. And it seems like the story with Pacey and Tamara grows bigger, when he is starting to get jealous, as Tamara is hanging around with men her age… Well, it is a bit funny, but it is a storyline for Pacey and I don’t think the writers had something different in mind for him at that time.
Grams (Mary Beth Peil) has increasingly more screentime as well, and I like that. Though she could stop worrying about Jen, because she of all people should know that Capeside isn’t suitable for bringing kids on the deeper and uglier roads of life. But Jen and Grams have interesting talks together, which develops both characters – nice writing.
Dawson being felt betrayed by Joey was the weakest storyline in here, because it was predictable and a cliché. But it was necessary for him to learn more about Jen, so it was not that bad after all. 7,5/10

Episode 05: Hurricane
A strong episode with lots of stuff happening. Gail tells Mitch the truth and nothing but the truth, and leaves Mitch and Dawson back to let them think of their own. Though it was good to see a proper adult storyline for the first time of the series, it would have been nice to see Dawson thinking about his parents’ problems, even though he already was dealing with that topic in the last episode. But it seems to separated that first Dawson deals with his mother’s affair, then he drops it to do other business, and
when Mitch learns about it, he is the one dealing with this. What great moments would have been in the episode, when father and son trying to react together to Gail’s affair. But the scene with gale and Mitch was just awesome – really authentic and believable.
The rest of the episode was good as well, though I find it curious that Pacey’s brother Doug (Dylan Neal) develops interest in Tamara, and why the story about him not getting out of the closet, because he is scared. Sure, this storyline begins here and
develops with the time of the series, but it came too suddenly. We never saw Doug before and with his first appearance he already gets a story? Because I don’t think this will effect Pacey very much. But it means one thing: The writers tell stories not only for the teenager.
And Dawson and Jen having a break? Didn’t they just start dating? This seems like a stereotype storyline, but it was good that this didn’t take the bigger part of the episode. 8,5/10

Episode 06: Baby
Nice episode with interesting topics. The birth brings together all the storyline Grams had with the others, especially her “racist” opinions about Bessie (Nina Repeta) and her relationship with Brody. The scene in which Grams made kind of peace with Bessie, while she is in labor, bleeding and scared about everything was written very good and brought the two characters closer to the audience. And even with Joey worrying about the situation, remembering her mother, this story had even a more interesting meaning. Lifes are changing right now, and it is only a simple birth (exclude the small problems Bessie had) in the living room of the Leerys.
The rest of the episode, which includes Pacey and Tamara, was partly interesting though. Of course, somebody heard the conversation between Dawson and Pacey and of course the rumors are spreading like a virus. And of course everybody of Pacey’s surrounding learns about it (even Doug) and of course it was supposed to be funny, until the school board comes and threatens Tamara’s job in the high school. It just seems unbelievable that the school board is meeting that fast and that they don’t do any investigation, just because Pacey stormed into the session and told everybody that it was just his fantasy… Yeah, of course. Nice try.
The ending was nice, though. Tamara is leaving Capeside, Pacey says goodbye and Joey holds the baby on her arms – very sweet moments, but they don’t make the episode better. 7/10

Episode 07: Detention
Best episode so far – my a mile. Obviously a rip-off of The Breakfast Club, a nice copy of John Hughes’ film and lots of emotional stories in here. and with Abby Morgan (Monica Keena) the series introduces us to a new character. Like in every high school there is one real hard-ass bitch, doing everything for herself, not having friends for this and being the mean bitch everyone from the main character list hates – there are some nice stories coming up with her.
The detention episode was awesome. Finally everybody knows every feeling about anybody. Joey is in love with Dawson, while Jen thinks he is the right one for her compared to her past relationships in New York, and Pacey whacked off, because he has too much pressure going on “down there”. Most of the story could be considered funny, but honestly, this was just the next important step to the character’s relationship. And it was very nice from the writers not to include other stories, especially something with Doug, after we saw him the last two episodes, and maybe something about the failing marriage of Gail and Mitch (which I miss btw, this topic was missing last episode as well – and I miss Dawson reacting to the upcoming break-up of his parents).
The one think I didn’t find very amusing was the kind of overacting in some scenes, especially James Van Der Beek again. But I blame that on their not existing experience in the TV business and hope, this one gets better in the next season. Other than that, this was an almost excellent hour of television. 9/10

Episode 08: Boyfriend
A necessary episode for separating Jen and Dawson, so Dawson can be with Joey at the end of the season. And of course, after the little “break” they had a couple of episodes ago, their relationship is troubled again, after Jen’s ex Billy (Eion Bailey) comes from New York and wants her back. First: Why wants Billy Jen back at all and why was he coming from New York to do exactly that? Any reason at all? While Jen and Billy are flirting, Dawson and Joey are flirting and getting more and more together, so it was predictable that Jen wants to break up with Dawson, because she sees that life in Capeside is the same like in New York. Despite the predictable story, I liked the break-up scene between Jen and Dawson; this was one of the scenes James Van Der Beek actually acted well.
The side plots were a bit uninteresting, though. Joey can’t sleep because of “Rosemary’s baby” (hilarious) and gets drunk because she doesn’t get what she truly wants and what we know since the Breakfast Club episode. Nice that the series is handling alcohol as well in their stories, just the moral of the story was… yeah, where was the moral of the story?
The other plot with Gail and Mitch trying to find something to do was alright; after their story was absent for a couple episodes it was necessary to bring it back. But it just was free of highlights. Of course they are trying to save their marriage, of course they can’t trust each other right now, and of course they have troubles to find back to each other – predictable storylines, but authentic enough to look not stupid or boring.
Okay, it was a necessary episode, but it was a kind of boring one. 6,5/10

Episode 09: Road Trip
The episode was good and had a nice aftermath of Dawson’s and Jen’s break-up. While the boys go with Billy (surprisingly is he still there and wants Jen back, even though she said no to him) on a road trip, into a bar and trying to have fun with women, Joey has different problems with another guy and starts to revenge back – together with Jen, but the plan backfires. Both stories were interesting. Dawson and Pacey had a trip as real friends, which doesn’t happen very often, and both of them trying to find a way out of their teen life for a couple hours, which they managed to do so. Just Dawson’s flirt with Nina (Melissa McBride) was a bit stupid. Not only did Nina look like a 40-year-old, masked as a teen, but her interest in Dawson was way too unbelievable. And I would have wished to see Pacey in a little adventure; after his fail with Tamara and everything what came after he needs a little love story again – or at least a story.
Joey’s and Jen’s plan to humiliate Warren (Eric Balfour) was alright, though I hoped it would be more hilarious. When Joey talked to Abby, this was hilarious, but the rest was pretty boring. When their plan backfired, Jen and Joey didn’t seem to learn from their actions, and instead they are talking about Dawson. But after all they managed to be friends again.
The episode could have been better, when there weren’t some unbelievable stuff in it. 7,5/10

Episode 10: The Scare
A good episode, which actually had some suspense in it, not only because it was Friday, the 13th. Though the fact that the writers built in the story with the Ladykiller was really stupid and predictable. Of course the guy who talked to Joey was the Ladykiller, no wonders there. But their faces were hilarious at the end of the episode.
The rest was alright. Dawson’s séance in his house, together with friends and a stranger (where do all these one-episode characters come from – first Dawson’s flirt last episode now the girl who gets… troubles from her boyfriend) and all of them trying to put some relationship troubles into the night of scary happenings. Dawson’s night was well planned, and there was always the question of what he did to scare his friends and what didn’t he do (e.g. the calls and the letter for Jen). Only a bummer that the girls didn’t took revenge for one time and that Pacey didn’t do anything at all. The story with the “abusive” boyfriend was awkward, though. I don’t know why the writers put that in here (as opposite to all the fake scary moments?).
At least the little date story with Jen and Cliff is over now. Not only is Cliff a boring character, but it is realistic that Jen doesn’t want to be in a relationship now. 7,5/10

Episode 11: Double Date
A good episode and in one storyline a big foreshadow of what’s to come. This episode was evidence for the fact that the writers always wanted to bring Joey and Pacey together, even though they didn’t start that story here. But it will be necessary for later to understand why Pacey even likes Joey that much. Their story was interesting, because it was not only clear that Pacey has problems in high school (another on-going storyline during the next seasons), but their little trip into the nature was
interesting – both characters had a slight development and have to bring Dawson to choose over Jen and Joey, after Pacey told him he has to.
The double date story was good, too, but predictable. With Mary Beth (Meghan Perry) we have another one-episode character (and – again – connected to Dawson, this is not a coincidence anymore), and I thought Jen’s and Cliff’s date story is over – looks like it isn’t. But now it – again – looks like it’s over, after Mary Beth had the hots for Cliff. It was nice to let Jen and Dawson really talk with each
other, so that the season cliffhanger can be prepared – together with Pacey’s words to Dawson that he has to give himself some answers.
If you think about it, this could basically be the episode before the season finale, and I wished it would be, but there are two more episodes coming. 7/10

Episode 12: Beauty Contest
Excellent episode. Though it doesn’t really fit as the episode before the finale (like I said the previous episode suits better as the pre-finale), the beauty contest was a great story for character development and Pacey being a comic relief. And fortunately the writers choose to bring all the characters together in one story, instead telling their lifes apart from each other in different stories and locations. With everybody having the same story the episode is working way better.
I am curious why Joey is thinking that she will be stuck in Capeside and wants to get out of this miserable place – her feelings about her home didn’t come through before, so this comes a bit too fast and too suddenly (though her reasons were partly explained in the last episode). But with Joey being in the competition she had nice moments to think about her life in Capeside, together with her sister, together with what the others thinking about her, and together with her dreams. And her speech on the stage during the contest was really interesting. More breathtaking was her performance of “On My Own”, though I had to think of Rachel singing this song in “Glee”, but this just for the side.
Pacey as competition in the contest was hilarious. First he thinks that he can be funny, then he wants to win (but can’t, the judges won’t let him win, because… they don’t want him to win – nice view on favoritism and sexual racists), and then he gives his William Wallace impersonation – hilarious. 9/10

Episode 13: Decisions
Interesting episode, and kind of “spoof” of all the season finales offering a cliffhanger to let the viewers guess. How funny would it actually be, when Dawson’s Creek had a cliffhanger in its first season? But for that the series does take itself seriously and can’t bring any ironic episodes (The Scare was probably the only almost ironic episode in this season), which is a shame. So I have to rely my hope on Buffy again.
The episode was good. All the stories were concluded, before Dawson’s Creek doesn’t get a second season. Dawson’s parents are into their newfound relationship (already seen in the last episode); Jen’s grandpa dies (a story which I never saw in this season), but gets closer to her Grams; Pacey is still “just” the friend for everybody and risks his relationship to his family for just driving Joey to the prison to visit her father Mike (Gareth Williams); Joey talks to her father, both love each other (and the writers prepare something for the next season), while Joey and Dawson take the next, better first step, into their relationship. All in all, this season has a happy ending, it is the beginning of the friends finally really growing up and the end of the steps they took to start growing up. The first season was partly too brave, but now the characters can live the lives of adults-to-be.
What makes the episode really good is the fact that almost every story told during the first season gets the proper ending. Everybody was waiting for Dawson and Joey to happen, and everybody was predicting that Dawson and Jen won’t be holding much longer, while Pacey didn’t even had a real story in this season (except his “The Graduate” with Tamara, which was a separated story after all) and nothing needs to be concluded with him. And the fact that the writers wrote Joey’s father into the episode (to give her a closer, if this was the series finale, and to bring him into the story, if there is a second season), makes the episode even more important. Not just as a cliffhanger-free season finale. 8,5/10

Season average is 7,77. I rewatched this season in three days, thanks to the public library and much time right now for that. The second season is on my waiting list, as well as the rest of the series, which DVD collection is waiting for me at home. A rewatch of Surface is coming up and I hope to finish Nurse Jackie sometimes soon. The fall and winter breaks of all the current US shows is coming up as well, which gives me time to pick up my archive and get to a few British shows I have on my list.

Like that title? Yeah, I totally Don Drapered that one. I spent a lot of time thinking about it, then let myself think about something else then – BAM! – it just came to me.

Anyway, the Manchester Road Race is tomorrow. To get in some last-minute preparation, Emme and I ventured to Cheshire, The Bedding Plant Capital of Connecticut.  Aside from being the hometown of the soon-to-be-single Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek (I hear he’s good at pullups and has radical hair), Cheshire is also home to part of the Farmington Canal Heritage Greenway.

Do Something

The Farmington Canal Heritage Greenway website tells me me that the entire Greenway covers approximately 84 miles from Northampton, MA to New Haven. The original canal was completed in 1835, but just 12 years later some old timey inventor guys came up with the idea of using railways for conveyance of goods instead of waterways. Well, out with the old, in with the new! Rail tracks were laid over the canal. Flooding in the 1980s damaged the rail line so badly that it could no longer be used and it was later paved over to make a recreational trail line. Running 84 miles is a little bit more than the OneSixeNine girls can handle (although Emme is beginning Ryan Hall’s half marathon training plan, so talk to her in a couple weeks) so we decided to focus on the Cheshire portion of the trail.

Emme is ready to go...

The trail really is a great place to go if you’re a runner, walker, cyclist or rollerblader who wants to enjoy your non-motorized recreational activity absent the threat of people engaging in motorized recreational activities. The trail is well-maintained, relatively quiet and quite pretty.

Non-motorized recreational activity

They're comin' right for us!

See Something

After we were done being superstar runners, we stopped off at the Lock 12 park which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Now, if you’re like me you’re probably thinking “What the hell is a lock?” Well, okay, if you’re really like me you’re probably not reading this and are just looking at the pictures. But, for your information (or “FYI” as the kids say), a lock is “an enclosed chamber in a canal, dam, etc., with gates at each end, for raising or lowering vessels from one level to another by admitting or releasing water.”

The Irish immigrants dug it by hand? The Man couldn't even give the Irish a few shovels?

The Lock 12 Monster

The park includes a museum (which was closed, because we visited on a Sunday), a helicoidal bridge (score!) and a picnic area, complete with awesome climbing tree.

No 'Cheshire Cat' Jokes Allowed

Drink Something

After running and locking, we headed to The Funky Monkey Cafe & Gallery where I got a frozen low-fat caramel latte and made up for the low fat part by also getting a frosted sugar cookie. Emme got chai and bread pudding, as she is apparently on a bread pudding tour of Connecticut. The beverages were good, but the decor was better. The Funky Monkey is, as its name suggests, pretty funky.

Eat Something

After the Funky Monkey we set off for Blackie’s, the locally famous hot dog stand. The service, prices, and relish were great and the interior is cozy in that old-school hot dog stand way. Emme found her dog too greasy. While I did prefer Guida’s footlong delight, I am less discriminating about my hot dogs and found Blackie’s offerings to be just fine. Also note that it’s cash only (I owe Emme the price of a hot dog) and it’s closed on Fridays, except for private parties. (Maybe one day I’ll have my wedding shower at Blackie’s…)

Talk to Someone

Total failure here this time. Maybe we should change this requirement to “stare at someone awkwardly” which is what we did to the guy who lives in the house right next to the Lock 12 park. Sorry so many people come into your yard, dude.

Lessons in Connecticuting

1. Never let Elle use the camera.  No true friend would allow legs that pale to be photographed AND published on the internet.
2. Pretty much every small town in the state has a hot dog stand, which I consider to be a real bonus (169 town hot dog stand tour?)
3. Sometimes antique things are easy to push over.  Like the actual locks at Lock 12.
4. Swans are not dangerously aggressive when not nesting (those of you who have visited the canal trail in the warm seasons may recall the hilarious signs that, alas, were not up when we had the camera on hand)
5. Elle SERIOUSLY needs to learn to talk to people, cause I (Emme) sure as heck don’t intend to become outgoing anytime soon.

See you at Manchester!

It’s good enough for OneSixNine!  We’re not going to Capeside, MA, which should be obvious to anyone who understands how OneSixNine works… we’re Cheshire-bound!  Hopefully we’ll find some cute next-door-neighbor who is secretly pining for us and have several years of back and forth over dating or not dating, only to decide to (SPOILER ALERT!) settle down with Joshua Jackson (pre-Fringe) and say a tragic farewell to our resident bad-girl-gone-good as her life comes to a shocking end (before she marries Heath Ledger, whose life ALSO came to a tragic end… THE CURSE OF DAWSON’S CREEK?!)

The Soon-to-be-Former Mr & Mrs Van Der Beek

Anyways, JVB filed for divorce TWO days ago, making our voyage to his hometown very timely.  Not to mention that he’s 32 and did a guest stint on How I Met Your Mother in 2008, so this will be a perfect set-up for Elle.  I’m putting my wingwoman skills to the test, for all you who doubted me!  (I’m looking at you, Wally East.)

and i’m so happy that I could cry, like Dawson.

Love died for another of Hollywood’s couple. James Van Der Beek made the provisions to divorce his wife, actress Heather McComb Ann, after nearly six years of marriage, at a court in Los Angeles.

Star of “Dawson’s Creek”, aged 32 and Heather engaged in early 2003 and married in Malibu in July of that same year.

The couple has no children together and it seems they have separated earlier this year.

• The CW’s Web site has launched a store with accessories and clothing seen on Gossip Girl and 90210.
• PEOPLE.com has more on the Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) coverstory in Glamour UK.
• Two Tori Spelling (Donna, Beverly Hills 90210) films–Mother May I Sleep With Danger and Co-Ed Call Girl–made AOL’s list of Most Awesome Lifetime Movie Titles Ever.
• Rihanna has refuted reports that she’s dating Tristan Wilds (Dixon, 90210).
• MTV has several articles jointly featuring Kellan Lutz (George, 90210) and Nikki Reed (Sadie, The O.C.), all related to Twilight and New Moon.
• Zap2it and AOL have interviews with Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan, The O.C.).
• Olivia Wilde (Alex, The O.C.) stars in Fix, which starts tomorrow in some areas. Perez Hilton posted a pretty picture of her.
• AOL also has a video interview with Joshua Jackson (Pacey, Dawson’s Creek).
• After separating in June, James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) and his wife are getting a divorce.
• The Dawson’s Creek Web site now has a trailer advertising Dawson’s Creek: The Complete Series. It’s pretty cool.

all six seasons in one handsome, book-bound set. James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe and Busy Philipps.

With the Paley Center’s “Dawson’s Creek: A Look Back” panel and the release of “Dawson’s Creek: The Complete Series,” I’ve been on a DC high the past week and a half.  Imagine my delight in finding someone who was not only just as enthusiastic but also chock full of insider stories only true fans like TDW readers could appreciate. And when you combine that with the fact that this guy is also partly responsible for introducing Beverly Hills 90210 to the world, well, that pretty much makes him a teen drama god.

After reading all the DC and 90210 goodness executive producer Paul Stupin shared with me, you’ll never want TDW’s stroll down memory creek to end!

TeenDramaWhore: How was the Paley Center panel?  How did it come about?

Paul Stupin: It came about for two sets of reasons. The first was that there are a  lot of die-hard Dawson’s supporters and fans out there that could support such a event. And the second key element is Sony is planning to issue this monumental all-seasons of Dawson’s DVD collection.

TDW: Yeah! It came out yesterday and I went to three different stores and finally found it!

Stupin: I just think it’s the coolest thing ever. So it was a good opportunity to call some attention to the DVD collection while at the same time having an event for the fans. It was really fun for me because when I did Dawson’s, I look back on it as a very special and rewarding time in my life and to be able to talk about it and see some cast members and see Kevin [Williamson, creator] again was just a blast.

TDW: I’m sure. I wish I could’ve been there!

Stupin: Yeah, you would’ve liked it!

TDW: Oh, I’m sure. Well let’s go back even further, to 1997-1998, and Kevin Williamson comes to you with this idea to make this semi-autobiographical show. What made you come on board?

Stupin: Well, that’s not exactly how it happened but I can tell you. I had read an early draft of this film that he wrote. At the time, it was called Scary Movie but that was going to turn into Scream and they used the original title for something else. I had read a draft of that and I had really responded to the writing. One of the things I loved about it is not only did it have some smart thrills and chills but it also had this great sort of teenage/20-something dialogue. I just loved his voice and I loved the different perspectives that he had brought to the horror genre so I pushed really hard to his agent for Kevin and I to sit down. Originally, I wanted to run two areas by him. The first area was sort of a younger X-Files-esque kind of show and the second one was just a really smart, young ensemble sort of show that could tap into younger characters’ voices. I had ran programming at Fox, so the idea of doing a family show was kind of not on the board because Fox had Party of Five. So we started to talk about potentially doing a show about a number of younger characters who live on the same street. Then Kevin sort of went away and came back and sort of pitched to me a bunch of characters living on the same creek, which, of course, was semi-autobiographical. What made that so interesting is that it specified the idea and made it something unique and took us to a place I had never seen before. And the other thing that made that original pitch so exciting was the characters. He pitched to me the characters of Dawson [James Van Der Beek] and Joey [Katie Holmes] and Jen [Michelle Williams] and how that triangle would work. And then as we were talking about that, we came up with the idea of incorporating another character into the mix who could be a confidante for Dawson and that’s how the character of Pacey [Joshua Jackson] originated.

TDW: I think you really hit it when you said the show was unique. There are a couple of specific things that people are still talking about today and they really want the inside details of how it happened. I know you guys went over a bit of this at the panel but I’d love to hear it from you yourself.  So if we can just go over a couple of different storylines, I’d love to hear what you guys were thinking and the genesis of those. So the first one is in season 2 when we have Jack [Kerr Smith] announce that he’s gay [Episodes 2.14 & 2.15, To Be Or Not To Be... & ...That Is The Question].

Stupin: I think there were two reasons for that. The first reason is it was a great way to integrate in a gay character on our series and to do it from the perspective of the kids we’d come to know and love on the show from the get-go. So the thought of involving Joey in a relationship with Jack and seeing that relationship take a completely unexpected turn and then understanding the emotional impact it would have on Joey’s character, and what it would do to Dawson and Pacey–all that seemed really interesting. And at the time, the thought of integrating a gay character and following that journey seemed really powerful and a way to tap into a whole set of emotions that would make our show even more memorable. One of the things that I love about Dawson’s is that it sort of wore its heart on its sleeve. Not only did it capture the voices and that sense of teenage yearning and teenage love and first-time love, and the power and the strength of all that, with love comes heartache as well in many stories. I think it enabled us to tell a really emotional and powerful story for a character that we’d really come to enjoy in the form of Jack. So that was one element to it and I think for Kevin it was a very personal story as well, and it was a way to again put a whole different perspective on the teen ensemble drama in a way that it hadn’t been done before. The second element to it was the fact that when Joey started that relationship with Jack, it was not going to go on forever. The key relationship in our series was what was going on between Joey and Dawson and Pacey, so the Jack character, that romance, was ultimately going to come to an end. And I think there was the thought of what a powerful way to see the relationship head south when the character starts to realize an insight into his own sexuality.

TDW: Going back to the Dawson-Joey-Pacey relationship, I read in Jeff Stepakoff’s book “Billion-Dollar Kiss” that Greg Berlanti–whom I adore–was the one to suggest putting Joey and Pacey together. I was wondering how accurate that story was in the book.

Stupin: Well, at the top of every season, we’ll sit and we’ll talk about [our plans]. We take a couple of weeks and we talk about each character and where we were going and what the sort of macro-issues were that we want to cover over the course of that particular group of 22 episodes. And Greg was definitely a part of that and the thought  of telling sort of a whole Joey-Pacey romance did in fact come out of that, absolutely. But I think you can go back, you can look at the pilot and you can look at the chemistry–and I did, in looking at the pilot last week–you can look at the chemistry between Joey and Pacey and you just know they’re sort of two peas in a pod and sooner or later that element of the triangle is going to get explored. So it’s definitely true what Jeff had in the book but I think that Greg was building from the seeds that were established in the original conception of the show, to tell you the truth.

TDW: Right.  Going to a more somber note: this probably came early on for you guys given how you plan the season but a lot of people were really surprised and devastated when in the 5th season Mitch [John Wesley Shipp] died [Episodes 5.03 & 5.04, Capeside Revisited & The Long Goodbye].

Stupin: Yes.

TDW: I’m wondering what the idea for that was. We never knew if it was casting reasons or storyline-dictated.

Stupin: It wasn’t really casting issues. The thing with Mitch was every year we would figure out a way to have 1 or 2 sort of emotional stories between Dawson and his mom and dad. In the first season we had all that great stuff with her affair with a newscaster. That was just sort of natural. The second season we have the story with mom and dad trying the open marriage, and it’s arguable as to how memorable that actually was. It seemed like such a fresh idea. I’m not sure that it translated quite as well as the idea initially seemed. And then after that, when the inter-relationships between the teenagers grew ever-more prominent and people became much more invested, it felt like the parents–though still important–were not quite as much a part of the storylines. So that’s when we would always try to include them, to have them in different things, to have great sort of Dawson-mom, Dawson-dad scenes but I think we were straining a little bit. And I think that when we got to the point of deciding the fate with Mitch, it seemed like we weren’t using him altogether that much in the series, in the seasons. We were using him but we weren’t using him in a huge way. There weren’t any financial or casting considerations. It really did come from the creative angle, in terms of how would it affect Dawson’s character if in fact this happened to his dad, and exploring that, and exploring the unexpected tragedy of it seemed like another way to really heighten the exploration as to who Dawson was, so that’s basically where that came from. And I remember talking to John Wesley and mentioning that the one thing that this would provide is that it was going to take the Dawson-father storyline to a really heartbreaking sense of conclusion and, at that point, we weren’t using him as much as we had in the past.

TDW: How does that contrast, then, to the decision in the series finale [Episodes 6.23 & 624, All Good Things... & ...Must Come To An End] to have another death and this time it be Jen?

Stupin: It was so interesting last week; it came up that in a way it was a great book-end for the series. It frankly never occurred when we were talking about the beginning or the end of the show but one could argue that the series began with a catalyst and that was the arrival of Jen. And the series ended with a catalyst as well, and that was the departure of Jen. And the one thing that I think that it did is it really brought a sense of emotional resonance and power to that final episode, because one of the things with a final episode you want to be able to do, you want to be able to end a series in a satisfying and emotional and interesting way. And if we essentially had the last episode in history for Dawson’s Creek, we could talk about and we could explore issues of mortality involving some of our characters. Then when we talked about it, if we were going to be dealing with the characters’ mortality, she seemed like the most natural character in which to explore that.

TDW: Going back to the catalyst idea, it could be extended that that was really what it took for Joey to finally make up her mind between the two boys.

Stupin: Yeah, I think a little bit. I think the interesting thing was the series sort of ends twice. It ends in the episode before then [Episode 6.22, Joey Potter And The Capeside Redemption] where we get the sense that finally Dawson and Pacey are going to be friends and Joey did actually get to Europe. And I think that had a sense of closure. Then we took it another step and went to a sort of even more sort of larger-than-life ending of exploring who she was going to end up with. I think that was the big question: who was she going to end up with? And I think that that was handled pretty well, too. Like I personally love the thought that what this show was really about was not the romance of Dawson and Joey but about the strength and depth of that friendship and how that friendship was going to exist forever.

TDW: So if you had to answer the question, in your heart of hearts, do you think Dawson belongs with Joey in a platonic, friends soulmates sense and Pacey in the romantic soulmate way?

Stupin: In my heart of hearts, I think we ended it the right away. I think that what she did have in the romance with Pacey was as powerful as the friendship with Dawson. And I think that we were able to come up with a sense of satisfying closure for both of them. ‘Cause I will tell you, weirdly enough, when I was looking at The Sopranos–I’ll weirdly liken it to the conclusion of The Sopranos, at least from my weird perspective, because I was a fan of that. I like to think, in my mind, that Tony Soprano is still out there–maybe it wasn’t going to last forever, but maybe he’s still out there with his family, still dealing with the issues and still dealing with all the balls he was juggling. And in my mind, I like to think that Dawson and Joey are still out there in our alternate TV universe, still communicating with each other and still sharing the inner-most aspects of their hearts and still dealing with their friendship as adults, and that Joey and Pacey still have that romance. Because I feel like what we were able to come up with was, for me, an emotionally-satisfying conclusion for both stories which doesn’t let anyone down. And I know there are people who think Dawson and Joey should’ve been together romantically and I totally understand that point of view but I think we did the right thing.

TDW: Well, as a Joey and Pacey fan, I completely agree with you!

Stupin: Well, I can tell you this: that decision wasn’t made until the last hour was being shot and so if you look at the first hour of that final two-hour, I think at that point we were leaning toward her ending up with Dawson and so there are a few, I think, little cues–for the life of me I don’t remember exactly–that were set up to lead us in that direction and then, frankly, in the last hour, when the last hour was being shot–because it wasn’t shot as a two-hour; it was shot as two separate 1-hours–that when we came up with that conclusion, it caused us to shift things around a little bit. So I’ll tell ya, we were undecided up until the very last minute ourselves.

TDW: Wow. Well, switching gears slightly, you spoke about Dawson and the way he would communicate with Joey. Going off that, both Kevin Williamson and James Van Der Beek are on Twitter these days. I was wondering, had the service existed when the show was on the air, how do you think Dawson would’ve used it, if he would’ve used it? As I said, They’re both on it now, and Dawson was very much a storyteller.

Stupin: Well, I think Dawson might’ve used it to express his emotions. I think he might’ve used it as a shorthand way of communicating with both Joey and Pacey. It’s certainly easier to communicate things to someone by Twitter than it is necessarily in real life. He might’ve, at some point in our storytelling, he might’ve used it to express something that he might not have been so willing to express in person.

TDW: When you look back on the show and the television landscape then and now, what do you think the show’s legacy is?

Stupin: You know, I think for me it’s–well, first of all, I’m so proud of the show. I think the characters were amazing. I think their stories were amazing. I think the quality of the writing, the quality of the direction was–of course I’m biased but I think it was just top-flight. And I really do think it took the young adult teen genre and elevated it from just a niche kind of show to something universal and iconic. I think adults could look at it. When we were doing it we never looked at it as just a teen show.  We looked at it as just a smart, interesting, relationship show that happened to deal with teenagers and though our core audience was teenagers, it was written for everybody, for people in their 20s, their 30s, their 40s. And I really think it managed to transcend all of that and bring an element of quality and exploration to the genre that really took it to the next step.

TDW: Do you have a favorite episode or storyline?

Stupin: You know, I’m so biased. It’s like trying to pick if you have 120 kids which one’s your favorite. But I think for me there are certain sort of moments that I love. There’s certain episodes, like the pilot because it introduced us to that world, and I remember so much of it almost like it was yesterday. The first season-ender when Joey went to visit her dad in prison, I loved that. I loved the detention episode [Episode 1.07, Detention]. A lot of them are some of the original ones. But then I think I love the episode when they graduated high school [Episode 4.22, The Graduate]. I thought that was just sensational. I love the one-hour ender as well as the two-hour series finale ender. I think there’s so many. The episode where they studied and it was an all-nighter [Episode 2.07, The All-Nighter]. The episode where Joey had to enter the beauty pageant [Episode 1.12, Beauty Contest]. I just love all of those.

TDW: Well, conversely, do you have a big regret or something you wish you did differently?

Stupin: Yeah. My biggest regret would probably be, as I think about it–and it was a mistake we made–was the character of Eve. Remember that character?

TDW: Yeah. You guys even have a joke about that in the episode before the series finale.

Stupin: Yeah. I don’t think the first episodes of season 3 really were as memorable as the other episodes. And I think that whole notion of “Is she Jen’s sister? Is she not?”–I don’t think that was that effective. I don’t look back on that run of episodes as my favorites.

TDW: Yeah, I think the fans do agree with that.

Stupin: Yeah, but you know what, we turn it around.  In the middle of that season we turned it around with–

TDW: With Joey and Pacey.

Stupin: Yeah, with Joey and Pacey. And that certainly helped get us back, I think, to our roots.

TDW: Going more to your history, I know you played a bit of a role with the creation of Beverly Hills 90210.

Stupin: Yes, I did.

TDW: What influence, if any, did that show have on Dawson‘s Creek?  If you learned anything from how viewers took to what was really the first teenage show, as Dawson’s Creek is largely considered the next step in the genre.

Stupin: Well, two things. And it’s an interesting question. The first thing: when I hired Darren Star to write 90210, I felt as if his voice was just so unique in terms of his ability to write characters and come up with dialogue and wit that seemed like it would be a particularly good fit if he put into teenager characters’ mouths. So in a way I think that when I read Kevin’s voice, I felt some of it was the same in terms of being clever and sharp and smart and pop culturally-savvy. I felt like I had found another voice who was capable of taking the genre to the next step. So I felt like both Kevin and Darren brought originally a really unique sense of humor and sharpness to their creation of characters and dialogue. So I think there was a similarity there. The one issue that I took away from 90210, that was very effective in 90210, was the mix of issue-oriented episodes and personal inter-relationships. Though, when we jumped into Dawson’s, we veered away from doing the issue-oriented episodes and explored further just all of the great inter-relationships.

TDW: Going further ahead to the rest of the genre and the teen dramas that are on today, do you think Dawson’s Creek influenced them?

Stupin: I’m sure it did, though I can’t say–you know, again, I’m biased. I don’t know. In my mind, I’m undecided as to what the next real step in the genre is after Dawson’s. I’m not sure what it is. I haven’t watched enough of the shows. I hold, of course again I’m so biased, but I hold everything up to the prism of Dawson’s. I don’t know if any of them that have come since have quite represented that cultural milestone that Dawson’s did.

TDW: Do you think Dawson’s Creek would fly on The CW today? Because it’s so different than what The WB was.

Stupin: Yeah. I’m not sure. I’ve often thought would I be able to sell Dawson’s today? Would I be able to pitch that as a series and get it going, and I’m not altogether sure. Because now, when you look at Dawson’s, we sold it off the strength of the characters and off of the strength of Kevin’s voice being so fresh. Now, I think that the networks are looking for slightly higher concepts. So I’m not altogether sure that a Dawson’s would be able to sell today.

TDW: I have to ask, then, why do you think the 90210 spin-off sold?

Stupin: Oh, I see, are you talking about bringing able to bring it back, for instance?

TDW: Well, no, not for it to be a spin-off. But the 90210 concept today is working.

Stupin: Well, I think the 90210 concept–everyone, myself included, has fondness for that original show. The thought of sort of putting two new outsiders into that world and bringing the  show back is a great way to hook people into a whole new group of characters, and I think it was a great idea. The thing with Dawson’s is I don’t know if bringing the world of Dawson’s Creek back with a bunch of new characters would generate quite the excitement. Because I think when you think about the show, you think about Dawson and you think about the very unique 3 characters, the 4 characters we had, and the actors that played them. And I’m not sure if it was brought back again–I certainly wouldn’t want to redo it with a new Dawson or a new Pacey. So the question would be could we go back to Capeside with a whole new group of characters, and I’m not sure we would be able to put together a new group of people as memorably as we did originally.

TDW: Right. You know, they say lightening strikes once.

Stupin: Right. And you know, I’m afraid you always run the risk of–when you make a sequel to a movie that’s not as good, it kind of reflects negatively on the original movie.

TDW: I completely agree.

Stupin: And I like to think of all our episodes as being so special, I’m not sure it’s something you could bring back.

TDW: Well, my biggest disappointment right now is that Dawson’s Creek is no longer on any channel in America.

Stupin: Really? You know, they gotta get on that! Wasn’t it running like forever in the early morning hours?

TDW: It used to be on TBS. When I was in high school, it used to be on at like 10am. And then they pushed it to 4:30am, 5:30am and then it just faded away there and now it’s not on at all.

Stupin: I’m not sure what the design is on that because I always like to know that Dawson’s is out there.

TDW: I know, I know. It saddens me that it’s just not in repeats anywhere anymore in this country.

Stupin: You know what, those things tend to be cyclical. Maybe in the future you’ll be channel surfing one night. Knowing you, you’ll know way before then but maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

TDW: Fingers crossed.

Stupin: Exactly.

TDW: Well, let’s bring it back and finish on today. You’re with Make It Or Break It on ABC Family. Just looking at your career over the years, what is it about Make It or Break It that you’re here now?

Stupin: Well, what I love about Make It Or Break It is I’m a big fan of the genre, having originally developed 90210 and then developed Dawson’s. When I left to become a producer, I never really thought that my first real success would be in the same genre as 90210 because I actually never thought that lightning would strike twice in that genre for me as quickly as it did. But after I ran Dawson’s, you know, for six years, I developed a real love for the genre. And the thing that I love about Make It or Break It is the idea. It’s a fresh idea, it’s a fresh world. And it provides a pretty unique prism in which to explore sort of teenage relationships in a really unusual way. I mean, these girls aren’t normal teenagers. They’re elite gymnasts and there are rules against relationships as they’re pursuing their passion. How do they deal with that? And how do we deal with the same elements of teenage love and relationships and heartbreak but from a whole different perspective? And I love that about it, and I also love the relationships between the main characters and their parents and their parental figures. I think they’re a really organic element to the show and give us an opportunity to deal with really unusual family situations as well. So that’s why I love it. And also the gymnastics is just really cool. It’s a lot of fun just to see the gymnastics.

TDW: Oh, the gymnastics is just phenomenal to watch.

Stupin: So I think that Make It Or Break It is just such a special show. We’ve done 10 episodes and I think it’s just starting to get its sea legs. I think it has a huge successful life in front of it, I hope.

TDW: Well, best of luck to you on that!

Stupin: Thank you!

Come back next Sunday for another exclusive interview!

TDW Interview Index

James Van Der Beek tá velho! Eu tambémmmmmmmmm, buáááá!

• Be sure to check out The CW’s site for all the new video content this week.
• Last night’s One Tree Hill (2.7 million viewers rounded up) and Gossip Girl (2.4  million viewers rounded up) saw a great increase in the ratings compared to last week. One Tree Hill matched its season-high, and The CW sent out a press release touting that and Gossip Girl’s increases in the key demographics.
• Examiner.com has an interview with Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill).  I love what he says about The Notebook.  It’s both kind of sweet in an idealistic way and funny in a realistic way.  By the way, have you read my interview with Nichols?
• MTV picked up The Notebook comments as well. It’s even more interesting when you consider that Bethany Joy Galeotti (Haley, One Tree Hill) is adapting the movie into a musical.  That’s what Lee Norris (Mouth) was referring to in our interview.
• The One Tree Hill Connection has a new podcast with an interview with Mike Grubbs of WakeyWakey who played, um, Grubbs in last night’s episode.
• PEOPLE.com has a poll asking if the Gossip Girl threesome was “too sexy or too safe.”
• The Parents Television Council released a new statement in response to the episode.
• I really enjoyed TVGuideMagazine.com’s take on the threesome and Variety has an interesting comparison to Two and a Half Men.
• Gossip Girl has been nominated for Favorite TV Obsession and Blake Lively (Serena) was nominated for Favorite TV Drama Actress in the People’s Choice Awards, where fans actually vote for the winners.
• In case you missed my coverage, Dawson’s Creek: The Complete Series was released on DVD today.  They also finally updated the Web site!
• Just noticed that James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) tweeted about the Chad Michael Murray (Charlie, Dawson’s Creek; Lucas, One Tree Hill) comments at the Paley panel.
• In advance of its January premiere, EW.com is already telling readers to watch Life UneXpected, which stars Kerr Smith (Jack, Dawson’s Creek).
• Adam Brody (Seth, The O.C.) says he tried doing his own singing for Jennifer’s Body but they didn’t like his voice.

Attending the special presentation “Dawson’s Creek: A Look Back” at the Paley Center on November 4, 2009 was a momentous occasion.  It was not only to mark the release date of the collector’s set of the entire six seasons on DVD, but it was also a chance to celebrate one of the most renowned teenage dramas on the WB Television Network.  If you were a teenager or simply a viewer with good taste, you undoubtedly watched “Dawson’s Creek” when it debuted in January of 1998.  It was much-hyped, critically-acclaimed and made a magnificent splash across the ratings board when it did, averaging 6.6 million viewers in its first season – and remains one of the all time highest rated shows on the WB.

In attendance for this special evening at the Paley Center were: James Van Der Beek (who played Dawson Leery), Meredith Monroe (who played Andie McPhee), Busy Philipps (who played Audrey Liddell), Kevin Williamson (creator and producer), and Paul Stupin (producer).  Also making a surprise visit was Monica Keena (who played Abby Morgan).

To commemorate the DVD release, Marc Rashba, Sony Home Entertainment Vice President of Marketing, welcomed the audience and stated how glad he was that they were finally able to get all six seasons cleared for a box set release, which he credited to the passion of the fans who acted as the driving force behind it.

Then, after a quick introduction by the evening’s moderator, Will Keck of TV Guide, everyone was treated to a special screening of the pilot episode of “Dawson’s Creek.”  It was the episode that started it all and launched the careers of several talented young actors:  James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Michelle Williams, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe and Busy Philipps.

Later during the Q&A, when asked about how difficult it was to find an actor to play the lead character Dawson, Kevin Williamson and Paul Stupin admitted that it had been a grueling process and that Dawson ended up being the very last part cast.  In fact, it was two days before filming was supposed to start when they finally selected James Van Der Beek.  It was a close call, but as the subsequent six seasons proved, it was worth waiting for the right actor to bring the show to life – particularly as “Dawson’s Creek” was credited with putting the WB network on the television map, similar as to what “The Vampire Diaries” is currently doing for the CW.  (Though Kevin downplayed his role in creating both shows and the success they have brought to each network.)

Continue reading article at:

http://nicegirlstv.com/2009/11/10/dawsons-creek-a-look-back/

In honor of today’s release of Dawson’s Creek: The Complete Series, I’ve rounded up some key cast and crew to reflect on the monumental series.  If you followed my coverage of the Paley Center panel, you probably noticed a certain lady was MIA: Mary Beth Peil, better known as the one and only Grams.

I was lucky enough to track her down.  In our interview below, Peil discusses her favorite parts of playing grandmother to Michelle William’s Jen and shares memories of her time at Northwestern University, where we each attended college.

Enjoy the first part of TDW’s stroll down memory creek…

TeenDramaWhore: You started out as an opera singer and then moved on to theater.  What attracted you to a serialized drama about teenagers?

Mary Beth Peil: My life as an opera singer had NOTHING to do with a teen drama other than the fact that, having left opera in my early 40s, I was working very hard to prove myself as a legitimate actress and musical theatre performer. When the audition came along I went with the attitude of  “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

TDW: Do you think you share any qualities with Grams?

Peil: Age-wise I am closer to Grams NOW than when we started. I always thought of Grams as in her late 60s, early 70s. When we started the show, I was 57. I have a wonderful relationship with my daughter as opposed to Grams with Jen’s mom. BUT I DO LEARN something new everyday it seems…from my kids and young granddaughters. Being able to work with young actors all the time is a wonderful way to keep learning … AND give advice when asked for it.

TDW: Why do you think Grams was the one to teach the greatest lessons and have the wisest sayings?  (My favorite is probably “Love is the hardest of woods.”)

Peil: Oh I love that line! When I was shooting FRINGE with Josh [Jackson, Pacey],  he brought out that line as one of his favorites. Grams was really the only GROWNUP. It seemed that everyone’s PARENTS were going through their own adolescence angst/identity crisis etc. and I think [creator Kevin Williamson] wisely tapped into the “PRIMAL Tribal Elder” syndrome which our society seems to fight or ignore.

TDW: Grams had a pretty progressive love life for her age. Which parts of that did you think were realistic and which not so much?

Peil: Again…I think society dictates that she was progressive for her age. But I think being surrounded by all those raging hormones and libidos had a subliminal affect on her. Made her see herself in the mirror a little differently each day and as time went on begin to realize there was something missing in her life. I think the only thing TRULY UNrealistic about it was the availability of single straight age-appropriate MEN!!!!

TDW: They touched on this a little bit at the Paley Center panel and I’m wondering what your take is.  Fans would’ve been devastated had Grams died during the show, just as they were when Mitch did.  Why do you think it was so important that she even outlived her own granddaughter?

Peil: Another life lesson for everyone…the only thing you can expect  is the UNexpected. Parents are supposed to go first  BUT it doesn’t always turn out that way. AND of course it gave Kevin the opportunity to write some of his best stuff for the last episode.

TDW: Your Grams voice isn’t actually your natural one.  What inspired the voice and what was it like having to do it so often?

Peil: It just CAME at the audition. Her name was GRAMS so I knew that she was older than me. The first time I said  “Jennifer!!!”…it all fell into place. They wanted a hint of Cape Cod  but not too much. It was like part of my costume…that voice…part of putting gray in my hair…that voice…GRAMS.

TDW: As you mentioned, earlier this year, you reunited with Joshua Jackson on the set of Fringe.  What was that like?  Are you in touch with any of the other cast or crew?

Peil: When I arrived for a fitting the day before I was to shoot, Josh came through the office where I was waiting and all the
staff was peeking out of cubbies and from behind desks to see what would happen when he saw me. He did not disappoint.
He is such an OPEN Unaffected person…he literally jumped up and down with joy like I was his favorite Christmas present. We hadn’t seen each other in a while. We had done a reading together a couple of years ago. And it was sheer delight to work with him on set and to see what a splendid actor and MAN he has become.  I shot a film in Wilmington (THE LIST) and reunited with many of the wonderful crew. The DAWSON’S crew was just HEAVEN! Salt of the earth types…happy to be living and working in coastal NC.
I saw Katie [Holmes, Joey] in ALL MY SONS on Broadway and was so proud of her. Have occasional emails, conversations with James [Van Der Beek, Dawson]. But Michelle is  my ANGEL! I have unconditional love and respect for her. For her choices in her personal life and her professional life

TDW: Finish this sentence: When I look back on Dawson’s Creek, I think ….

Peil: I’m a big believer in the Gods and Goddesses of TIMING and the CREEK came into my life at the PERFECT time. I am deeply grateful for all that I learned (about being on camera regularly) AND for my beautiful Upper West Side apartment which we call the “HOUSE THAT DAWSON BUILT.”

TDW: Will we see more of you on The Good Wife?

Peil: I think so…am shooting a wonderful episode right now. Hoping Jackie has more to do as we go along through the season.  It is a wonderful show…cast, crew, producers AND WRITERS !

TDW: Lastly: I’m a Northwestern graduate as well, and I’m wondering if you’ve been back to the campus since you went there and what reflections you have of your time there.

Peil: Yes, I have been back. Shortly after graduation I was appearing at the Opera house in Chicago so I came up to Evanston to visit. They were just starting the lakefront development. In the early 80s I was back again with Chicago Opera Theatre and 4 years later I was there with KING AND I and went up and was knocked out by the changes. And then recently I was doing a play at Steppenwolf and came up and literally did not recognize the place. I was a Music Major and it took some doing to even FIND that big old white elephant of a building. I had a wonderful rich time at NU…  a solid liberal arts education, the BEST preparation for a career in Opera AND one year of acting with the legendary Alvina Krauss. She let me take her class because she was an Opera fan..and I think she knew even back then that I was a singing ACTRESS as opposed to an acting SINGER. Even life in the Sorority house has given me life long friends.  How lovely that you too are an Alum….quite an impressive group of folks, eh???

Come back Sunday for another exclusive Dawson’s Creek interview!

TDW Interview Index

J’ai renié la gravité le jour où mon premier black out a battu l’apesanteur par KO.

Si match retour il y a, il se déroulera après l’arrivée aux urgences et avant le lavement.

Entre le sol et le ciel, j’appuie sur retour rapide pour faire avancer le film de ma vie, essayer de trouver un sens à ce qui n’en a pas.

Alors, si tout est une question d’éloge funèbre je me proclame immortel, de mon ennui le plus profond à l’hystérie la plus collective.

Plus on est de fous, plus on fuit.

Puisque qu’il n’y a plus de deadline pourquoi observer la timeline, pourquoi continuer à employer des mots d’anglais au lieu du chinois ?

Hum ? Quoi ? Je répondrai à cette délicate interrogation existentialiste, sûrement sur le trône lorsque je me serai totalement extirpé de mon coma habituel ainsi que de mon vomi personnel, enfin, je n’en suis pas sûr.

Autour de moi, tournoyant sans s’arrêter, une collection de poster encadrés et poussiéreux prouvant que la pop culture est plus une religion qu’un business, contre mon front une paire de sneakers édition limitée gluantes qui ne m’appartiennent pas, comme le reste de la chambre d’ ailleurs.

« Où je suis ? » c’est un meilleur échappatoire que « qui je suis ? ».

Un dernier sourire sur l’inconnue que je ne veux pas connaître, la frontière de la porte péniblement franchie, j’arpente chancelant, au petit matin de midi, ce couloir que je connais décidément par cœur, par cul…

J’aperçois finalement la lumière au bout du tunnel, ébloui par le monde, j’accèderai peut-être à la rédemption ou un café, une fois que mes yeux cachés derrière la fine couche de crasse de mes lunettes de soleil, décorant un automne sous assistance respiratoire en attendant l’hiver, auront trouvé asile entre mes paupières et mes cernes.

Certains ont une double vie, quand je doute encore que la mienne m’appartienne en constatant d’un rictus nerveux comment je peux la détruire avec trois doigts et une seringue, juste comme ça.

Quand il n’y a pas de stigmates, il n’y a pas de plaisir, demandez à Jésus !

Sociabilise-toi, on m’a dit petit, je suis un élève appliqué en faisant dans l’humanitaire entre toxicomanes en manque de problème et dealers qui veulent en avoir à tout prix.

Parfois les négociations tournent à l’explication lorsque le service après vente n’existe pas et que le distributeur veut son retour sur investissement, donc les gémissements font les coupables et les retards construisent les exemples.

Les fractures ou les fractions, je ne sais pas, mais on ne guérit pas de ce que l’on a perdu, alors la plupart se bercent d’hypothèses plutôt que de vivre face à leurs échecs chaque matin en se brossant machinalement les dents pour entretenir la vitrine de la machine à créer du vent.

Je ne crois ni aux signes des astrologues ni au destin des marionnettistes, mais une lettre anonyme au parfum de futur, pourquoi pas ! On s’accorde avec le déni qui nous rassure le plus.

Devenir accro à un bonheur hypothéqué, quoi de mieux pour un vendeur de rêve à la demande ?

Dans le creux des reins de la nuit on change, on se mélange, on voit rouge, on déroge, on s’érige, on s’arrange, on enrage, on se fige, on se mélange, on change, puis on se venge et les deux aspirines qui se désagrègent en pétillant militairement au fond du verre nous interrogent.

Quand on vit de prétextes plus ou moins douteux, on a toujours une excuse valable pour ne pas assumer.

Il faut dire que le sexe a plus d’ avenir que l’amour, à nous regarder, nous, le peuple des relations bucco-génitales qui ne peut pas s’empêcher de l’ouvrir, même pour faire silence.

…

Mon pays c’est mes névroses, je peux partir en guerre pour un câlin, un regard de travers, mais principalement parce que mon cœur n’a jamais eu les couilles de mon ego et je préfère le lit d’autrui à la solitude du mien.

Les moments de vérité j’ai toujours su les rater avec un professionnalisme certain, il ne me reste qu’une voie de garage ou un cul de sac, mais comptez sur moi pour préméditer un carambolage à la sortie de la boîte des enfants avec un permis de mourir.

La prévention construit une clientèle plus qu’elle ne la dissuade !

Avant de m’enterrer dans la concession voisine de celle de mon revendeur agréé de poudre aux yeux, il me faut combler mon prêt étudiant et les espoirs parentaux dans une salle de classe remplie à la hâte d’une mosaïque qui mériterait un bon lifting et fournie avec le prélat érudit, enfin plus que ces fidèles, faisant autant cours qu’un speed dating.

M’instruire ? Pourquoi faire ? Je ne vais pas apprendre l’existence dans un bouquin, j’opte pour un aquaplaning dans un verre d’eau, de redbull, de rhum ou une chirurgie à cœur ouvert par mail interposé.

Pourquoi les pécheurs parlent toujours de morale comme de la liste des courses du samedi après-midi ?

Chacun comble son enfance dans la désintoxication possible et la luxure plausible, certains pleurent secrètement leurs fantômes parce c’est encore plus dur de grandir à plusieurs plutôt que seul et les derniers montent une arnaque à l’assurance avec leurs démons le vendredi, samedi et dimanche, selon leur boutique.

Je ne termine jamais ce que j’ai commencé, comme l’autre soir dans tes bras, dans tes draps, je ne termine jamais ce que j’ai commencé comme la vie en général, je ne termine jamais ce que j’ai commencé comme cette

• The New York Post has an interesting but short piece on creating the perfect CW show.
• The One Tree Hill Twitter account posted an adorable picture of Jackson Brundage (Jamie).
• EW.com has an article analyzing the Gossip Girl-Parents Television Council standoff–specifically, what’s at stake and what’s likely to happen.
• The Knoxville CW affiliate has gone on the record saying they will air the GG episode.
• New York Magazine also noticed that Gossip Girl stole the “if it walks like a duck” line from Beverly Hills 90210.
• According to TVShowsonDVD.com, the ninth season of Beverly Hills 90210 will be released on February 2.  They also have a peek at the cover art.  Don’t forget–season 8 comes November 24!
• The Futon Critic has a great recap of the Dawson’s Creek Paley panel. Digital Spy also has an article and the L.A. Times briefly mentioned it in an article on The Vampire Diaries. (Gossip Girl and 90210 are also name-checked.)
• James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) stars in a Hallmark Channel movie airing December 5.
• Tom Kapinos, a former Dawson’s Creek executive producer, briefly mentioned the show in an article about his current show, Californication.

• Last night’s 90210 (1.9 million viewers) decreased in the ratings compared to the previous new episode two weeks ago to a season-low.
• The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Candy Spelling (wife of Aaron and mother to Tori and Randy of Beverly Hills 90210 fame) will in fact be participating in Ryan Seacrest’s new reality show, Bank of Hollywood.
• Just a reminder I will be interviewing Lee Norris (Mouth, One Tree Hill) later this week.  Since I’ve already interviewed him, I figured this time I would use reader questions.  Please comment here with your question by Friday morning.  I cannot promise it will be asked but I’ll do my best!
• If you’re in the Wilmington area, One Tree Hill has put out a call for “fresh faces” as they need a greater-than-normal amount of extras for some “larger scenes.”  Wonder what they’re filming!
• Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill) and Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill) will participate in a USO tour in Turkey and Germany.
• E! Online says no affiliates have pulled out of airing next week’s Gossip Girl but that could change.
• The Daily News has an article on Gossip Girl, which basically says the show is failing because no one’s talking about it anymore.  I think the show is failing but there’s plenty of people talking about it.  The buzz is what’s keeping it alive, but the article says there isn’t buzz at all.  I disagree and take issue with a couple of other things in there as well.  See if you can spot them!
• Tonight is the Paley Center panel on Dawson’s Creek. You can get live updates by following the Center’s Twitter account. But hold tight!  I’ll have my own DC goodness in the coming weeks.
• This is also a good time to remind you to check which DC stars are on Twitter via my directory.  This tweet from James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) about the panel is pretty funny.
• After the panel, Busy Philipps (Audrey, Dawson’s Creek) tweeted about comments she made regarding Chad Michael Murray (Charlie, Dawson’s Creek; Lucas, One Tree Hill).  According to several different live tweets from reporters, she didn’t say the nicest things.  Later in the event, Van Der Beek paid him a back-handed compliment.
• Kevin Williamson (creator, Dawson’s Creek) also tweeted after the event.
• TVShowsonDVD.com posted a joint reminder and warning regarding the Dawson’s Creek Complete Series set, which comes out next week.  Apparently there’s a chance some of the discs could be scratched.
• Staying In posted a great list of top Dawson’s Creek episodes.

Let’s talk about the Big 12.  Unlike its Big counterparts, this name makes absolute sense.  First of all – there are actually 12 teams, which makes the conference big enough to have two divisions.  Additionally, 4 of the 12 teams are located in Texas, where everything is (you know it) bigger.

The Big 12 is a younger conference, only beginning to compete athletically in 1996.  In its first 12 years in existence, the Big 12 has been host to three national championships (Nebraska in ’95, Oklahoma in ’00 and Vince Young—I mean Texas in ’05).  Speaking of teams, here’s how the two divisions are broken down:

North Division: Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska

South Division: Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech

I don’t know about you, but I always think of movies like Varsity Blues and Friday Night Lights when I think about the Big 12.  I’ve obviously never attended high school in TX / OK, but boy oh boy, do they produce some baaad football players (bad in the sense that they’re awesome).  Do yourself a favor though: do NOT repeat this flippant observation in an attempt to impress anyone.  Ever.

Anyway, as per usual, I’ll just focus on a few of the perennial powers to emerge from the Big 12, as well as a few shout outs to teams performing exceptionally well this season / as of late.

University of Texas.  Ahh Texas – second-most winning program in the history of college football (behind only University of Michigan, who is stumbling so badly right now that you can bet they hang their hats on that stat).  Case in point, the Longhorns have taken up one of the top 6 spots on the AP/Coaches polls five times since the 2001 season.  Coach Mack Brown, who took over the program in 1998, began to catch some flak for recruiting and coaching excellent teams that simply did not perform well in the post season.  In January of 2005 and 2006, however, Brown led his team to two consecutive Rose Bowls and beat University of Michigan and USC, respectively.  It’s worth mentioning how important the win over USC was, as very few pundits gave credit to the Longhorns (myself included, if I could be considered a pundit) over the Trojans, in their bid to become unprecedented threepeat national champions.  You girls may remember hottie USC quarterback Matt Leinart, in his final moments of relevancy on the football field, visibly regretting his decision to come back to college for his senior year… all thanks to Vince Young physically carving up a previously unpenetrable Trojan defense.

University of Oklahoma.  The Sooners had a whole heck of a lot of hype heading into the 2009 season.  With 2008 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford returning, under the guidance of Bob Stoops, Oklahoma was considered by many to be frontrunner for this year’s National Championship.  Against Brigham Young University in week one, however, a funny (read— horrible and devastating) thing happened: Bradford suffered a shoulder injury, which left him on the sidelines for the subsequent four weeks.  Despite a loss that evening, freshman QB Landry Jones has performed more than adequately, amassing 1,363 yards and 13 touchdowns with just three losses (all deficits of three points or less).  While this is not the performance everyone had anticipated from this year’s Sooner squad, Jones has nothing to be ashamed of in his first year.  **Update: this past week, Bradford has announced that he will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery in hopes of being 100% physically rehabilitated in time for this year’s NFL draft.

University of Nebraska.  The Cornhuskers have an illustrious football history of their own, ranking #4 in all-time program wins.  Unfortunately, the last several years haven’t been too kind to the boys from Lincoln.  Granted (and you will find this to be a recurring theme in college athletics across the board), what’s good for the goose may not necessarily be good for the Cornhusker.  What I mean is, Nebraska’s last BCS bowl appearance was in 2002.  95% of college programs would be thrilled with this appearance (despite the shellacking Nebraska experienced at the hands of “The U”), but for a school with such  high expectations year in and year out, Nebraska fans feel let down.  Nebraska is coming off a win at the 2009 Gator Bowl, over Clemson (**If you just made a “oooh – a big win over an ACC team! How impressive!” joke, I’m going to award you ten points.  Use them as you see fit), but this season the Cornhuskers are sitting on a middling 4-3 record.  Fun fact – since 2002, Nebraska has only appeared in odd-yeared bowl games – ’03, ’05, ’07 and ’09.  Verrrrrry interesting.

In addition to the three overachievers we’ve discussed, the Big 12 has had some great seasons out of a few other schools in recent years.  Most notably, in the 2007-2008 season, Missouri and Kansas both had incredible seasons, culminating in a Big 12 North matchup over Thanksgiving break (I distinctly remember watching this game from Harvey’s Downtown in Lexington – holla!).  The winner of this game would go on to face Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship.  One-loss Missouri emerged victorious, only to ultimately lose to Oklahoma.  Because Kansas had just one loss on record for the season, they were awarded a berth in the 2008 Orange Bowl.  Missouri would go on to play in the Cotton Bowl.  Both teams had successful post-season appearances and finished the season with a collective 3 losses.

• TVGuide.com has an article about tonight’s One Tree Hill.
• The One Tree Hill Connection posted pictures of James Lafferty (Nathan, One Tree Hill) directing tonight’s episode.
• Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) spoke with MTV about an old Halloween costume.
• Hilary Duff (Olivia, Gossip Girl) is on the Nov. cover of PEOPLE StyleWatch.
• Michelle Trachtenberg (Georgina, Gossip Girl) talked to MTV about the upcoming threesome.
• PEOPLE.com has a picture of Lady Gaga on the set of Gossip Girl.
• There’s two Gossip Girl references–and one BH90210–in this article on Melrose Place.
• 90210 once again had drastic–and the best–improvements in ratings when DVR numbers are factored in.
• There’s a picture of Jessica Stroup (Silver, 90210) in the Nov. 2 issue of PEOPLE.
• Also in that issue, AnnaLynne McCord (Naomi, 90210) said she avoids the gym by doing “anything outdoors-y.”
• Mandy Musgrave has reportedly been cast on 90210.
• “Tori” (Donna, Beverly Hills 90210) was the answer to the clue “Actress Spelling–The Help costar” of Megan Fox in PEOPLE’s crossword.  Interestingly enough, Tori is also connected by having worked with Brian Austin Green (David, Beverly Hills 90210) who is Fox’s on-again, off-again boyfriend.
• James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) will appear on The Forgotten.
• PEOPLE.com has a cool video showing the style transformation Katie Holmes (Joey, Dawson’s Creek) has had over the years.
• The same issue of PEOPLE as mentioned above has a picture of Holmes at the Annual Elle Women in Hollywood Tribute.
• Also in that issue, Selena Gomez said she admires Rachel Bilson (Summer, The O.C.) for her fashion sense.
• The people responsible for robbing Bilson and some other celebrities have reportedly been caught.  I know I wrote about the break-in when it first happened but I can’t find it.
• The aforementioned crossword puzzle also had the clue “Actor Brody” to which the answer was “Adam” (Seth, The O.C.).

• The CW sent out a press release about November sweeps.  Noteworthy things: Jimmy Fallon will appear on the Nov. 2 episode of Gossip Girl and “Somebody to Love” by Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) will play in the Nov. 9 episode.  The episode of One Tree Hill that airs that night is directed by Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill).  The release also confirms that Lady Gaga will appear in the Nov. 16 episode of Gossip Girl.
• Dan (Penn Badgley, Gossip Girl) made EW.com’s list of TV Characters Who Just Turn You Off.  Dawson (James Van Der Beek, Dawson’s Creek) is also on the list.
• The CW Source has a video interview with James Lafferty (Nathan, One Tree Hill).
• Examiner.com also has an interview with Lafferty.
• Lafferty and Bethany Joy Galeotti (Haley, One Tree Hill) made EW.com’s list of TV Castmates With Perfect Chemistry.
• Kate Voegele (Mia, One Tree Hill) is hosting a contest.
• White Collar, starring Tiffani Amber Thiessen (Valerie, Beverly Hills 90210), will premiere tomorrow night. I believe she’ll be on the TODAY show tomorrow morning.
• Laura Leighton (Sophie, Beverly Hills 90210) is done with Melrose Place–for now.
• If you live San Francisco, you’ll soon be able to watch The O.C. at bus stops!

Rebecca em Heroes:

Jackie Cook em Veronica Mars: namorada do melhor amigo da Veronica

Danko em Heroes:

Jason em House: personagem que invadiu o hospital com uma arma exigindo ser diagnosticado

Dawson em Dawson’s Creek:

Sem Nome em One Tree Hill: não achei o nome dele, se alguém souber me fala que eu atualizo o post, ele foi o diretor que responsável pelo filme do Lucas

My brother explained football to me when we were watching it on a wide screen at my aunt and uncle’s house in Santa Monica. My brother teaches 6th grade, so he did a really good job even though I am an idiot.

Here is what I now know:

They all line up. Red team and Purple team. Red has the ball. The football, which the game is named after.

The whistle blows. The Red guy who only has one job, which is to do this, “hikes” the ball behind himself. He has his butt in the air, and the ball has to pass between his legs. He is wearing spandex capri pants, or, “Clam Diggers.”

The QB gets the ball, and now it’s really Go Time. He has to “set up the play.” Like James Van der Beek in the 1999 MTV film, Varsity Blues. Van der Beek is the QB. It means Quarter Back. It means that women love you and wear whipped cream bikinis for you. It means that later your career will really go down the toilet post-Rules of Attraction but my brother will continue to emulate your middle-parted hairstyle (aka “The Butt Cut”) well into his college years. It means A HERO. Okay. (Me: “What if he drops it?” My Brother: “He sucks.”)

What happens next happens in truly about 2-10 seconds. If you wear glasses usually but are not wearing them now, forget it. If you’re prone to sort of zoning out at pivotal moments when important facts are repeated for the only time during movies that have actual plots (why do I do that? seriously. seriously. why?), forget it.

 Basically, the kind of burst of hormone-crazed adrenaline that certain moms are maybe-apocryphally have said to have reacted with in response to infants trapped beneath cars, etc., is happening in all of the dudes on the field, Team Red AND Team Purple, and it looks like this:

1) Everybody

2) gets on top

3) of the dude holding the ball

and the whistle blows again.