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Dawson's Creek: The Complete Second Season

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Dawson's Creek: The Complete First Season

James Van Der Beek on The Rules of Attraction & Dawson's Creek

The shark is circling. It's ready. It's waiting.

Since it first aired, Dawson's Creek has always been perilously close to "jumping the shark." With each SAT-preparatory, multi-syllabic word, the show came closer and closer to scaling the dreaded fin. The first season had numerous shark spottings "” in fact, one could make a convincing argument that the point of descent occurred during that horrid Breakfast Club episode. It's during the second season that the fin really begins to poke out of the water, although I would argue that Season Two still has a lot of the touching moments that made the show's first season worth watching.

One of the main problems I had with the first season of Dawson's Creek was the concentration on the Dawson/Joey/Jen plotline to the point of neglecting the show's most charming character, Pacey. This all changes in Season Two, when overachieving-but-troubled Andie McPhee (Meredith Monroe) and her brother Jack (Kerr Smith) move to Capeside. Pacey finds his perfect foil (well, next to Joey) in Andie and they develop into one of the season's (and entire series') most endearing and interesting couples. Unfortunately, Season Two also begins some of the far-fetched, melodramatic plotlines that eventually plague the series; more often than before, characters' personalities are manipulated and changed to further advance whatever direction the writers wished the plot to move.

DISC ONE: "The Kiss", "Crossroads", "Alternative Lifestyles", "Tamara's Return", "Full Moon Rising"

Season Two begins right where Season One left off, with Joey and Dawson in the middle of their long-awaited kiss. When they finally pull away, a part of me hoped that they would recoil, wipe their lips, and go back to just being friends. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and "The Kiss" deals with the anticipation of their second kiss, which is important, according to Joey's (now conspicuously single) sister Bessie, because it's "the rational one." Pacey, meanwhile, has a new look (frosted blonde hair that is thankfully gone by the end of the episode) and a new nemesis, the seemingly rich and privileged Andie McPhee, who has just moved to Capeside from Providence. Finally, the beginning of Season Two finds Jen on the fringe of the group, mourning the loss of her grandfather and taking Joey's place as the girl desperately yearning for Dawson.

In "Crossroads," Pacey gets "a bad case of the Molly Ringwalds" (his words, not mine) when Joey and Dawson are too busy making out to remember his birthday. Dawson's mom's affair continues to create problems in the Leery household, as Mitch and Gail find themselves contemplating an open marriage. This episode also introduces

Andie's brother, Jack (Kerr Smith) who begins working at Joey's restaurant, The Icehouse, and brings back the dreaded Abby Morgan (Monica Keena) who forms a tenuous friendship with Jen.

Jen and Abby's destructive friendship continues in "Alternative Lifestyles," when the duo plots ways Jen can win back Dawson after an economics assignment pairs them together. Pacey learns some secrets about his own partner, Andie, and their relationship begins to develop despite the return of his old flame, Tamara Jacobs, in "Tamara's Return." Finally, like "The Hurricane" in Season One, "Full Moon Rising" has an environmental occurrence causing Capesiders to act crazy, as Mitch decides to move out, Jen gets (extremely) close to a sailor, Pacey finds out the truth about Andie's family, and Jack kisses Joey.

From the first disc, some ridiculous elements have already begun to emerge "” Dawson has somehow acquired a speedboat that he uses to zip along the creek until it mysteriously disappears (maybe Bessie's MIA boyfriend, Bodie, stole it and skipped town). And, as in the first season, the group is still the most pop-culturally-savvy sixteen year-olds imaginable (by the end of the second episode, they have already referenced 90210, Cheers, The Wonder Years, and Sixteen Candles). However, Jen's erratic behavior is what really stands out in these early episodes, and is a problem that continues throughout the season. Somehow, her character has completely shifted gears, turning into a promiscuous, troubled outsider without any real development in that direction. As Dawson himself asks in one episode, "Who are you? What happened to Jen?"

DISC TWO: "The Dance", "The All-Nighter", "The Reluctant Hero", "The Election", "High Risk Behavior", "Sex, She Wrote"

Despite being the type of kids who'd rather watch a movie about a high-school dance than actually go to one, the group heads to the decorated cafeteria in "The Dance." Joey's relationship with Dawson ends as her newfound interest in art spurs a self-discovery journey that does not include him (in case you forgot, she's supposed to be sixteen). In "The All-Nighter," everyone is cramming for the sadistic Mr. Peterson's midterm English exam at party boy Chris Wolfe's house (Jason Behr of Roswell, who, with his pointy, alien-like ears, looks slightly out of place among the cast). Jen continues her downward spiral, while Pacey, with Andie's help, continues his upward one in "The Reluctant Hero." The last three episodes of the disc, "The Election," "High Risk Behavior," and "Sex, She Wrote," turn increasingly gimmicky as Abby once again takes center stage. Whether she's mudslinging Andie in the election for school president or staging an R-rated game of Clue when she finds a note saying that one of the Creek's couples (one of which is Dawson and a now-reformed Jen) had sex, Abby is portrayed as such a one-dimensional villain that by the time she does

something remotely human, it seems forced and unrealistic. Conversely, Andie and Pacey's relationship grows in such an organic, natural way that it outshines all of the other plotlines, and one wishes they were on-screen more often.

DISC THREE: "Uncharted Waters," "His Leading Lady," "To Be or Not to Be", "That is The Question", "Be Careful What You Wish For", "Psychic Friends"

On the third disc, the over-the-top drama that pushes Dawson's into soap-opera (and shark) territory really begins. In (the appropriately named) "Uncharted Waters," Dawson and Pacey deal with their respective father/son issues on a fishing trip. While it's good that Officer Witter finally appears, it suddenly becomes troublesome that while Pacey's dysfunctional family plays a large part in his character, his father hasn't been introduced any earlier than this.

Pacey's troubles continue as Andie grows increasingly unstable in "His Leading Lady;" Dawson, meanwhile, casts Devon (Rachel Leigh Cook) as the Joey character in his new autobiographical film, "Creek Times," and tries to deal with the breakup with his real-life "leading lady."

The focus shifts away from Dawson in the two-part "To Be or Not To Be"¦That is the Question." Mr. Peterson is back (and more evil than ever) when he forces Jack to read a poem in front of the class that calls his sexuality into question. While I thought that, for the most part, these episodes were entertaining and well done, I had mixed feelings about Jack's newfound sexuality. While I'm certainly glad that a gay character is introduced, I felt that Jack's transformation from Joey's love interest seemed a bit underdeveloped and had me wondering when this story decision was made. The catalyst for this plotline, Mr. Peterson, troubled me as well; like Abby, he is so one-dimensionally malevolent that it is hard to see him as anything but a device to move the plot forward.

"Be Careful What You Wish For" proves the formula that anytime characters in a teen drama get drunk, disaster inevitably ensues in some incredibly stupid way (even the normally brilliant Buffy is guilty of this). Andie and Dawson get drunk before his surprise sixteenth birthday party, and, well, I'll let you guess the rest. Rounding out the disc is "Psychic Friends," in which, true to a fortune-teller's prediction, a tall, dark stranger shows up on Joey's doorstep. Meanwhile, Dawson's new film teacher, Nicole Kennedy, criticizes his film for being self-referential and unrealistic (coincidentally, the same criticisms that have been thrown at Dawson's Creek!).

DISC FOUR: "A Perfect Wedding", "Abby Morgan, Rest In Peace", "Reunited", "Ch"¦Ch"¦Ch"¦Changes", "Parental Discretion Advised"

Joey comes to terms with the return of her father, Mike Potter (Gareth Williams), while catering a posh Capeside wedding in "A Perfect Wedding." Jen's character flips back to being the bad girl (again) and gets drunk with Abby after Andie kicks them out of the wedding.

Their wild behavior has grave consequences, and "Abby Morgan, Rest In Peace," has everyone dealing with Abby's untimely demise. (While I can't say I'm sad to see Abby go, the image of her bruised corpse being zipped into a body bag seemed a bit much for the Creek). A lot of this episode is actually very touching, as each character has their own reaction to her death "” whether they are nervously making jokes or feeling guilty and angry. Jen goes into a tirade at Abby's funeral that is a bit much (there's that pesky shark again), although her subsequent fight with Grams is emotional and upsetting.

Dawson and Joey are back together in "Reunited" and go out to dinner to celebrate; unfortunately, their dinner is ruined when Gail shows up to try to win back Mitch from his date, Nicole. Pacey and Andie's relationship suffers as her mental problems grow worse, and in "Ch"¦Ch"¦Ch"¦Changes," Jack and Andie's father shows up to bring them back to Providence while Dawson discovers that Joey's dad is back to his old ways.

In the last episode of the season, "Parental Discretion Advised," Dawson struggles with Mr. Potter's secret while Pacey and his father work out unresolved issues. By the end of the episode, The Icehouse has burned down, Joey has worn a police wire, and Dawson and Joey have broken up for what already feels like the millionth time, ending a season that may have moved a bit too far from the show's initial premise of the lives of four precocious teenagers in a tiny Capeside, Massachusetts.

The DVD is presented in full-screen format, and while the quality is better than the first season, it still looks grainy at times. Once again, the extras include trailers from movies starring the Creek cast, but lack any featurettes or shorts, which seems weird for a show that relies heavily on the devotion of its large, rabid fan base. Producer Paul Stupin gives commentary on the first and last episodes, but oddly, unlike the first season, creator Kevin Williamson does not join him.

While Stupin's commentary is certainly interesting, he often veers away from talking about the episode and tells stories about his experiences working on the show (one such aside about his embarrassment over a girl he was dating asking the show's stars for their autographs seemed particularly superfluous). However, he is extremely honest about what storylines he thinks worked in the season and which didn't (he wasn't a fan of The Icehouse burning down either) and reveals quite how obsessed the WB is with its young stars' hairstyles (Stupin recalls a note he received saying Pacey's hair needed "more leverage").

Show Grade: B-

DVD Grade: C+

Overall Grade: B-

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