First Impression: Dawson's Creek

“Dawson’s Creek” was a mid-season debut in 1998. I remember seeing the promos and feeling… angry.

How dare this show try to copy “Beverly Hills, 90210”!

“Beverly Hills, 90210” is in its eighth season… look at this new series trying to steal its thunder!

Nothing can compare to “Beverly Hills, 90210”! NOTHING!

Perhaps needless to say, I was not onboard with “Dawson’s Creek” from the beginning. What’s weird, though, is that I don’t quite remember when that started to change.

I do know, though, that I was sucked in toward the end of the show’s run and sobbed watching the series finale in 2003. I didn’t even do that when “Beverly Hills, 90210” ended, though, to be fair, the “Dawson’s Creek” finale was much sadder.

Like with “Beverly Hills, 90210,” I caught up on all I had missed through syndication. At the time, TBS was airing “Dawson’s Creek” once or twice a day. That allowed me to tape episodes on VHS and fall in love with Joey and Pacey in the earlier seasons.

And fall in love I did. I became a hardcore Poey fan, even though I did root for Joey and Dawson at times. And also like with “Beverly Hills, 90210” and my preference for Kelly and Dylan over Brenda and Dylan, I do wonder if Joey and Dawson would’ve been my number one ship had I watched from the beginning and in chronological order.

My “Dawson’s Creek” obsession continued when I went to college. As an early riser, I would watch the airings on TBS via my laptop with my headphones in while my freshman year roommate slept. When Greg Berlanti, an alum of my university and the writer credited with putting Joey and Pacey together, came to visit in 2006, I wore a homemade shirt that proclaimed on the back, “I cried a creek when ‘Dawson’s’ ended.” (The front said, “I’ll love you forever(wood)!” Yes, I’m an “Everwood” stan too.)

To say my love for “Dawson’s Creek” has only grown over the years would be an understatement. It became my second-favorite show of all time and I don’t anticipate that changing. And now I actually live in Capeside. I moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where “Dawson’s Creek” was filmed, in 2014.

What would 1998 me think?!

DAWSON’S CREEK (January 20, 1998 - May 14, 2003)
Favorite Seasons: 3-6
Favorite Episodes: “Sex, She Wrote” (2.11), “To Be or Not to Be… That is the Question” (2.14, 2.15), “Four to Tango” (3.09), “Cinderella Story” (3.17), “Stolen Kisses” (3.19), “The Longest Day” (3.20), “The Anti-Prom” (3.22), “True Love” (3.23), “The Two Gentlemen of Capeside” (4.03), “You Had Me at Goodbye” (4.07), “A Winter’s Tale” (4.14), “Promicide” (4.20), “The Long Goodbye” (5.04), “Appetite for Destruction” (5.10), “Downtown Crossing” (5.15), “100 Light Years From Home” (5.19), “Castaways” (6.15), “All Good Things… Must Come to an End” (6.23, 6.24)
Favorite Characters: Joey Potter, Pacey Witter
Favorite Couple: Joey and Pacey