Cattle

Many oxen are still in use worldwide, especially in developing nations. Andy Mangels's From Scream to Dawson's Creek: An Unauthorized Take on the Phenomenal Career of Kevin Williamson (Los Angeles: Renaissance Books, 2000) (ISBN 1580631223) covers the show well but omits later seasons. Though not as fast as horses, they are less prone to injury because they are more sure-footed and do not try to jerk the load. A less thorough book from about the same time, aimed at teens, is Meet the Stars of Dawson's Creek by Grace Catalano, which has more about the show than the title would imply. This is one of the reasons that teams were dragging logs from forests long after horses had taken over most other draught uses in Europe and the New World. Scott Andrews' Troubled Waters: An Unauthorised and Unofficial Guide To Dawson's Creek (Virgin Publishing 2001 (ISBN 0753506254)) also covers the series thoroughly but it includes all episodes up to the end of Season Four and, because it is unofficial, is freer with both criticism and praise. Oxen can pull harder and longer than horses, particularly on obstinate or almost un-movable loads. Darren Crosdale's Dawson's Creek: The Official Companion (Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel, 1999) (ISBN 0740707256), thoroughly chronicles the show, but only covers events through to the end of the second season.

Ox teams are steered by commands or noise (whip cracks) and many teamsters were known for their voices and language. Spiro, David Straiton, Jay Tobias, Jesús Salvador Treviño, Michael Toshiyuki Uno, and James Whitmore Jr. Their teamster must make or buy as many as a dozen yokes of different sizes as the animals grow. Norris, Scott Paulin, David Petrarca, Gregory Prange, Krishna Rao, Steven Robman, Bethany Rooney, Arlene Sanford, David Semel, Kerr Smith, Sandy Smolan, Lev L. Oxen must be painstakingly trained from a young age. Kowalski, Perry Lang, Michael Lange, Nick Marck, Melanie Mayron, Robert Duncan McNeill, Steve Miner, Jason Moore, Joe Napolitano, Patrick R. Yoked oxen cannot slow a load like harnessed horses can, the load has to be controlled downhill by other means. Freeman, Dennie Gordon, Bruce Seth Green, Joshua Jackson, Joanna Kerns, Peter B.

Oxen are chosen, from calves, with horns since the horns hold the yoke in place when the oxen lower their heads, back up or slow down (particularly with a wheeled vehicle going downhill). Episodes were directed by Lou Antonio, Allan Arkush, John Behring Sanford Bookstaver, Arvin Brown, Jan Eliasberg, Michael Fields, Rodman Flender, Morgan J. A wooden yoke is fastened about the neck of each pair so that the force of draft is distributed across their shoulders. Palmer, Jed Seidel, Jeffrey Stepakoff, Liz Tigelaar, Mike White, and Kevin Williamson. In past days some teams were about fourteen, and even over twenty for logging. Episodes were written by Dana Baratta, Greg Berlanti, Hadley Davis, Gina Fattore, Anna Fricke, Maggie Friedman, Alex Gansa, Diego García Gutiérrez, Liz Garcia, Laura Glasser, Holly Henderson, Tom Kapinos, Rina Mimoun, Jason M. Oxen are most often used in teams of two, paired, for light work such as carting. Episodes were produced by Dana Baratta, Greg Berlanti, Janice Cooke-Leonard, Alan Cross, Zack Estrin, Gina Fattore, Jon Harmon Feldman, Maggie Friedman, Darin Goldberg, David Blake Hartley, Tom Kapinos,Drew Matich, Chris Levinson, Paul Marks, Drew Matich, Shelley Meals, Rina Mimoun, Steve Miner, Gregory Prange, Jed Seidel, David Semel, Cynthia Stegner, Jeffrey Stepakoff, Dale Williams, Mike White.

Also, the gait of the ox is often important to ox trainers, since the speed the animal walks should roughly match the gait of the ox driver who must work with it. Executive-produced by Kevin Williamson, Paul Stupin, Charles Rosin, Deborah Joy LeVine, Jon Harmon Feldman, Alex Gansa, Greg Berlanti, Tom Kapinos, Gina Fattore, Jeffrey Stepakoff. American ox trainers favored larger breeds for their ability to do more work in addition to their intelligence (the ability to learn); for the same reason, the typical ox is the male of a breed, rather than the smaller female. Originally, Granville Productions and Procter & Gamble Productions were producers, but left the show before it aired. The education consists of the animal's learning to respond appropriately to the teamster's (ox driver's) commands: in North America such as (1) get up, (2) whoa, (3) back up, (4) gee (turn to the right) and (5) haw (turn to the left). Produced by Columbia TriStar Television and Outerbanks Entertainment. An ox is nothing more than a mature bovine with an "education". Created by Kevin Williamson.

Contrary to popular American lore, an "ox" is not a unique breed of bovine, nor have any "blue" oxen lived outside the folk tales surrounding Paul Bunyan, the mythical American logger. When the program was cancelled in 2003, the news was reported on the front-page of Wilmington's daily newspaper, the Morning Star. Oxen were commonly used to skid logs, and sometimes are still in low-impact select-cut logging, in forests. The visitors' bureau distributed a special guide to sites used in the show. Oxen are used for plowing, transport, hauling cargo, grain-grinding by trampling or by powering machines, irrigation by powering pumps, and wagon drawing. In addition to the money brought into the community by the project, it attracted attention to the city as a filming location and boosted tourism. Usually an ox is over four years old due to the need for training and for time to grow to full size. Wilmington benefitted greatly from the show.

Often they are adult, castrated males. The fourth season episode "Eastern Standard Time" also did location shooting in New York City, including at Grand Central Terminal. Oxen (plural of ox) are cattle trained as draft animals. In 1999 some scenes were shot on the University of Richmond campus. The outbreaks of mad cow disease have reduced or prevented some traditional uses of cattle for food, for example the eating of brains or spinal cords. College scenes in the fifth and sixth seasons shot at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, and additional shooting was done in Raleigh, North Carolina. Other sports like Bull riding are seen as part of a Rodeo, especially in North America. Filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, at EUE Screen Gems Studios and on location around Wilmington.

In Portugal, Spain and some Latin American countries, bulls are used in the sport of bullfighting while a similar sport Jallikattu is seen in South India; in many other countries this is illegal. The show also aired in numerous international markets, listed here with the premiere dates: Brazil, March 3, 1998; the United Kingdom, May 2, 1998; Israel, September 1, 1998; Sweden, September 11, 1998; Switzerland, December 27, 1998; Germany, January 3, 1999; Italy, January 3, 1999; France (on the TF1 Network), January 10, 1999; Australia, January 19, 1999; Romania, February 28, 1999; New Zealand, June 25, 1999; Hungary, September 11, 1999; Spain, 2000; and Portugal, April 8, 2001. In Latin America, Australia and the western North America cattle are grazed on large tracts of rangeland called ranchos, ranches or Stations (Australia). Starting Monday, October 4, the show aired once each day at 9 A.M. It is common to see loose cattle walking the streets, because the holiness it holds in India and other countries that practice Hinduism. to noon until October 1, 2005. In fact a divine cow named Kamadhenu is considered to be the mother of all Hindu Gods. to noon until it went through all 128 episodes, then broadcast two episodes on weekdays from 10 A.M.

[2] The importance of the cow is highlighted by the fact that a regional holiday called Mattu Pongal (literally Cow Pongal in Tamil) exists which is akin to a bovine thanksgiving day. Initially TBS aired four episodes a day from 8 A.M. The bull is my sire.". The cable network TBS began weekday reruns on March 31, 2003. In Hinduism, the cow is said to be holy (and thus should not be eaten); "The cow is my mother. The two-hour finale aired on May 14, 2003, was repeated on May 28, and the series then left The WB schedule. Their ability to provide meat, dairy and draft while reproducing themselves and eating nothing but grass has furthered human interests dramatically through the millennia. The first season was repeated during the summer of 1998, but the show went on hiatus during successive summers.

Some consider them the oldest form of wealth. Six seasons, totalling 128 episodes, were produced. Cattle occupy a unique role in human history. for the remainder of the run. The red color is merely traditional, as the movement of the cape is the attractant. Beginning with the second season in the fall of 1998, it moved to Wednesdays at 8 P.M. This rumour derives from bullfighting, where Matadors traditionally use red-coloured capes to provoke bulls into attacking. on January 20, 1998 on The WB Network, Tuesdays at 9 P.M.

This is incorrect, as cattle are mostly colour-blind. Dawson's Creek premiered in the U.S. A popular misconception about cattle (primarily bulls) is that they are enraged by the colour red. The sixth season has yet to be released in the United States and the set date for its release is April 4th 2006. Breeders have attempted to recreate the original gene pool of the aurochs by careful crossing of commercial breeds, creating the Heck cattle breed. A DVD of the series finale, which was sixteen minutes longer than the version aired by The WB, was released on September 30, 2003. In historical times, their range was restricted to Europe, and the last animals were killed by poachers in Masovia, Poland, in 1627. The second season was released December 16, 2003; the third on June 29, 2004; the fourth on October 5, 2004; and the fifth on May 3, 2005.

The aurochs was originally spread throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. The first season was released on DVD on April 1, 2003, while the final season was airing. The omasum is known as the "Many Plies." The abomasum is most like the human stomach; this is why it is known as the "True Stomach.". Young Americans was made by the same company as Dawson's Creek, Columbia TriStar Television, and appeared in Dawson's Creek's timeslot when it went on hiatus during the summer of 2000. The reticulum is known as the "Honeycomb." The omasum's main function is to absorb water and nutrients from the digestible feed. He was never referred to or seen before or since. Cattle sometimes consume metal objects which are deposited in the reticulum, and this is where hardware disease occurs. The protagonist of Young Americans, Will Krudski (Rodney Scott), was introduced in three episodes at the end of the show's third season, as a former classmate of Dawson, Joey, and Pacey, who had moved away some years before and had returned for a visit.

The rumen is the largest compartment and the reticulum is the smallest compartment. The show had, in the words of television experts Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, a "semi-spinoff", Young Americans. They are the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. The series also won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Drama Series. Cattle have one stomach, with four compartments. Joshua Jackson won the Teen Choice Award for Choice Actor twice and the show won the Teen Choice Award for Choice Drama once. These features allow them to thrive on grasses and other vegetation. Dawson's Creek was nominated for fourteen awards, including ALMA Awards, Casting Society of America Awards, Golden Satellite Awards, TV Guide Awards, and YoungStar Awards.

The microbes that live inside of the rumen are also able to synthesize amino acids from non-protein nitrogenous sources such as urea and ammonia. Main titles for the second season were done to resemble the work of an amateur filmmaker with its camera angles and look of spilled chemicals on the print. These microbes are primarily responsible for generating the volatile fatty acids (VGAs) that cattle use as their primary metabolic fuel. The show at times was deliberately self-conscious, as when Eve tells Dawson he is Felicity, beginning a discussion of why Dawson doesn't like television shows which concludes with his observation that they cut away when the best part comes, immediately demonstrated by Eve, about to kiss him, is interrupted by the main titles. Cattle are ruminants, meaning that they have a unique digestive system that allows them to digest otherwise unpalatable foods by repeatedly regurgitating and rechewing them as "cud." The cud is then reswallowed and further digested by specialized bacterial, protozoal and fungal microbes that live in the rumen. The fourth season episode "The Unusual Suspects", was filmed as a film noir detective story, with camerawork and music appropriate to the genre. The word "heifer" is sometimes used in a similar fashion, the implication being that the target of the term is overweight. While most of the episodes were conventional, there were two Rashomon-like episodes exploring a story from differing perspectives, and the somber fifth season episode "Downtown Crossing" featured only one regular, Joey, and her interaction with a mugger.

In some countries, such as the UK, this slur is used exclusively for women whereas in others it may be used for both genders. The show used warm colors, similar to Party of Five, rather than the cold, harsh look of shows such as The Practice. The word "cow" can also be used derogatively, when describing a person, whom one expresses a dislike for. The show was shot like a motion picture using a single camera and often filmed on location, rather than being largely studio bound. Cows of certain breeds that are kept for the milk they give are called dairy cows. A CD was released solely on the show's music site on January 7, 2003, of Adam Fields' compositions. Within the beef cattle industry in parts of the United States, the older term beef (plural beeves) is still used to refer to an animal of either gender. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the third season scores.

Cattle raised for human consumption are called beef cattle. Danny Lux, Stephen Graziano, and Dennis McCarthy (a ASCAP and Emmy Award-winning composer) wrote the score for second season episodes. Obsolete terms for cattle include "neat" (horned oxen, from which "neatsfoot oil" is derived), "beef" (young ox) and "beefing" (young animal fit for slaughtering). Adam Fields was the score composer for the first, fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons. Some Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and Scottish farmers use the term "cattlebeast". Because the producers failed to secure the rights when the shows were produced and did not wish to pay for them later, some of the songs that aired in the original broadcasts (and are used in the syndicated run) were replaced in the DVD edition of the show despite the show having a signature sound. To refer to a specific number of these animals without specifying their gender, it must be stated as (for example) "ten head of cattle.". Very late in the series' run, the official music site posted a feature to create custom albums from songs appearing on the show.

Today "cow" is probably the closest to being gender-neutral, although it is usually understood to mean female (females of other animals, such as whales or elephants, are also called cows). (Though both albums carried stickers stating "all artists on this record have or will be featured on Dawson's Creek", the second contained two songs that never were: Jessica Simpson's "I Think I'm in Love with You" and Lara Fabian's "Givin' Up on You".) Neither did Something For Kate's "Photograph" appear on the show, but it did appear on the Australian version of the first CD. But "ox" is no longer used in this general sense, being restricted to the sense given above. There were two soundtrack albums, the first selling far better than the second. That this was once the standard name for domestic bovines is shown in placenames such as Oxford. The producers originally planned to use Alanis Morissette's "Hand in My Pocket" for the theme (it was used in the original pilot) but she would not grant them permission and Cole's song was substituted. Strictly speaking, the singular noun for the domestic bovine is ox: a bull is a male ox and a cow is a female ox. For the first season, international broadcasts used "Run Like Mad", performed by Jann Arden, but switched to Cole's song for the remainder of the run.

There is no singular equivalent in modern English to cattle other than the various gender and age-specific terms (though "catron" is occasionally seen as a half-serious proposal). The theme song, "I Don't Wanna Wait" was written and performed by Paula Cole. Thus one may refer to some cattle, but not three cattle. Pop band M2M guest starred as themselves on the 100th Episode of the series and No Doubt performed in an episode in the final season. The term cattle itself is not a plural, but a mass noun. Ned Brower was an earnest suitor of Joey's affections. The adjective applying to cattle is bovine. Harry Shearer was the principal of Capeside High, Dave Peskin.

An adult female over two years of age (approximately) is called a cow. Robin Dunne was A.J., who was Joey's boyfriend who she met on a college visit. An intact male is called a bull. Mercedes McNab was the wife of the mugger who robbed Joey in "Downtown Crossing". If castrated as an adult, it is called a stag. Jaime Bergman was a prostitute in New Orleans who Pacey almost slept with. The castrated male is then called a bullock or steer, unless kept for draft purposes, in which case it is called an ox (plural oxen), not to be confused with the related wild musk ox. Marla Gibbs was the admission's office secretary when Andie visited Harvard.

Male cattle bred for meat are castrated unless needed for breeding. K Callan was in charge of the Homecoming Ball, organizing it with Jen. A young male is called a bull-calf; a young female before she has calved is called a heifer (pronounced "heffer"). Mel Harris and Mimi Rogers played Jen's mother. Young cattle are called calves. Mädchen Amick was a teacher at Capeside High who dated Mitch. This article refers to the common modern meaning of "cattle", the European domestic bovine. Eric Balfour was a classmate of Joey's who claimed they had slept together.

Additionally other species of the genus Bos are often called cattle or wild cattle. Ali Larter was a student at Capeside who went out with Pacey because Andie told her he was dying. Older English sources like King James Version of the Bible refer to livestock in general as cattle, or sometimes the archaic kine (which comes from the same English stem as cow). Eion Bailey was Jen's former boyfriend from New York who followed her to Capeside. The word is closely related to "chattel" (a unit of property) and to "capital" in the sense of "property.". Jack Osbourne played himself, a friend of Audrey's. It derives from the Latin caput, head, and thus originally meant "unit of livestock" or "one head". Jason Behr was a Capeside student the gang studied with.

The word "cattle" did not originate as a name for bovine animals. Scott Foley was a football player in the first season. . Jonathan Lipnicki was Buzz, a boy Pacey was assigned in the Big Brothers program. (See aurochs for the history of domestication, and zebu for peculiarities of that group.). Julie Bowen was Dawson's aunt. Cattle cannot successfully be bred with water buffalo or African buffalo. Alan Fudge was the guard at the studio gate on Dawson's first day working for Todd.

For example, genetic testing of the Dwarf Lulu breed, the only humpless "Bos taurus-type" cattle in Nepal, found them to be a mix of European cattle, zebu and yak. Rachael Leigh Cook was a college student who first appeared as a nude model in Joey's art class and later appeared in Dawson's roman à clef film about himself and Joey. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between European cattle and zebu but also with yaks, banteng, gaur, and bison, a cross-genera hybrid. Lawrence Pressman played the superintendent of Capeside schools. Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed with other closely related species. Virginia Madsen played a woman Pacey was having an adulterous affair with in the series finale. More recently these three have increasingly been grouped as one species, sometimes using the names Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus and Bos primigenius primigenius. Bianca Lawson was Principal Green's daughter, who was also a budding filmmaker.

The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and European cattle. Paul Gleason was a trashy Hollywood producer and Nicole Bilderback was his assistant. These were Bos taurus, the European cattle, including similar types from Africa and Asia; Bos indicus, the zebu; and the extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs. Pat Hingle, who lived in Wilmington, North Carolina, played a mechanic when Dawson's car broke down on his roadtrip with Gretchen. Cattle were originally identified by Carolus Linnaeus as three separate species. Brooks' films and stole his girlfriend, appearing to say goodbye to Brooks on his deathbed. It is estimated that there are 1.3 billion head of cattle in the world today [1]. Andy Griffith played an actor who had appeared in Mr.

In some countries, such as India, they are subject to religious ceremonies and respect. Roger Howarth was Professor Greg Hetson, another of Joey's English professors, Mika Boorem was his daughter Harley and Sam Doumit was Sam, the Joey's character in Dawson's TV soap. They are raised as livestock for meat (called beef and veal), dairy products (milk), leather and as draught animals (pulling carts, plows and the like). Megan Gray appeared early in the season as Emma Jones, Pacey and Jack's roommate while Dana Ashbrook was Rich Rinaldi, Pacey's conniving new boss. Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. In the final season, Oliver Hudson played Eddie Dooling, Joey's lover and Jensen Ackles was C.J., Jen's lover. The cow is a photograph that the animators manipulate in such a way as to suggest that the cow is performing all kinds of unusual feats when obviously, it is just a photograph being moved around. Charlie Todd, Jen's boyfriend who later became smitted with Joey was played by Chad Michael Murray.

The Drawn Together episode "A Tale of Two Cows" features a character called Live Action Cow. Pacey's boss Danny Brecher, a chef, was Ian Kahn. Later the cow is mangled and run over several times by a semi truck and some bikers while the man begs for Shiva's forgivness. Todd Carr, a hot-tempered movie director was played by Hal Ozsan and Jordan Bridges was film student Oliver Chirckirk. In the movie Bubble Boy an Indian ice cream man is threatened by the Indian god Shiva because he accidentally ran over a cow. Busy Philipps, who would become a regular, credited in the main titles, was Audrey Liddell, Joey's brash dorm roommate. The popular nursery rhyme 'Hey, diddle-diddle' features a cow jumping over the moon. Ken Marino was Professor David Wilder, Joey's stern, but good-natured English professor.

A Texas Longhorn with burnt orange coloring named Bevo is the mascot of the sports teams at the University of Texas at Austin. When the story relocated to Boston in the fifth season, several new actors appeared. In Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, a famous scene parodying The Matrix bullet time scene involves a 3D animated cow being fought by the hero. Arthur (A.I.) Brooks was played by Harve Presnell. In the Computer Game Starcraft and Starcraft:Broodwar the cheat code "there is no cow level" will immediately take the player to the next level. Valentine, the wealthy and snobish Capeside Yacht Club manager, and her spoiled teenage son, Drue, was played by Mark Matkevich. In the Computer Game Diablo II there is an area called the "Secret Cow Level" in which players can gain experience more quickly than usual by fighting an army of bipedal cows. In the fourth season, the semi-regulars seen frequently were Carolyn Hennesy who played Mrs.

In a Grape-Nuts television commercial and in the movie Kingpin with Woody Harrelson, in which he pretends to be Amish, there are scenes of men "milking" a bull, thinking it is a cow. Michael Pitt was Henry Parker, a freshman football player whose character abruptly disappeared at the end of the third season. These cows will sometimes say "Moo, I say!". Green was Obba Babatunde and Bianca Lawson was his daughter. In the game Fallout and Fallout 2, cows mutate into Brahman. Capeside High's new principal Mr. In the movie Twister, cows are flung about, mooing, by tornadoes. Eve, a mysterious new woman in Capeside in first few episodes of the third season was Brittany Daniel.

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the French shoot cows out of catapults. The role was not recast. The sound a cow makes is often used to create comedic effect. McPhee (whose first name was given as Will, and then Joseph) appeared occasionally during the second, third and fourth seasons and was played by David Dukes until the actor's sudden death from a heart attack in October 2000, midway through the fourth season. Since 1995, advertisements for Chick-fil-A restaurants have featured cows encouraging people to "Eat Mor Chikin.". Their father, Mr. The lilac-colored "Milka Cow" is a well-known symbol of the Milka brand of chocolate. He too was a guest star who became a regular, remaining with the show until its finale.

Gary Larson's famous comic strip The Far Side frequently included cows in humorous situations. Kerr Smith was Jack McPhee, Andie's brother, also new to Capeside in the second season. (Kane, 5). She was initially credited as a guest star became a regular in the third season, credited in the main titles, until she left the show mid-way through the fourth season. It said that all cattle and pigs have to have a registered brand or earmark by May 1, 1644. Andrea "Andie" McPhee, a new student at Capeside, was introduced in the second season, was played by Meredith Monroe. The first known law requiring branding in North America was enacted on February 5, 1644 by Connecticut. Abby Morgan, a Capeside student and later Jen's friend was played by Monica Keena appeared frequently in the first and second seasons.

The joke is apparent to anyone knowing that a cow possesses no such teeth. Kearney. A humourous anecdote among farmers suggests that instant death will come to anyone bitten by a cattle's upper front teeth. Ray Peterson, another Capeside English teacher seen early in the run was Edmund J. On February 18, 1930 Elm Farm Ollie became the first cow to fly in an airplane and also the first cow to be milked in an airplane. Mr. Bulls in particular are seen as a symbolic emblem of duty and religion. Tamara Jacobs, a Capeside High English teacher (Leann Hunley) appeared in the first season and once in the second.

They appear in numerous stories from the Purana's and Veda's, for example the deity Sri Krishna takes birth in a family of cowherders and Lord Shiva is said to ride on the back of a Bull. Gretchen Witter, Pacey's older sister, was introduced in the fourth season and played by Sasha Alexander. Cows are venerated within the Hindu religion of India: According to Vedic scripture they are to be treated with the same respect 'as one's mother' because of the milk they provide. He was absent for the second season as he was a regular on the series Hyperion Bay. In the popular kids show The Fairly Odd Parents A cow tips over a kerosene lamp and the town mascott, a goat named "Chompy", saves the day by pushing the cow on to the fire, hence putting it out. He was regularly seen in the first, third, and fourth seasons. Michael Ahern, the reporter who created the cow story, admitted in 1893 that he had made it up because he thought it would make colorful copy. Doug Witter, Pacey's older brother, was played by Dylan Neal.

An apocryphal story has it that a cow started the Great Chicago Fire by kicking over a kerosene lamp. Bodie Wells, Bessie's lover, was played by George Gaffney in the pilot, Obi Ndefo thereafter. The constellation Taurus represents a bull. Gareth Williams was seen a few times in the first and second seasons as Mike Potter, Joey and Bessie's father. See: Ox (Zodiac). They were Mary-Margaret Humes, as Gale Leery, Dawson's mother; Emmy-winning soap star John Wesley Shipp as Mitch Leery, Dawson's father; and Nina Repeta, who was a friend of Kevin Williamson in college, as Bessie Potter, Joey's older sister. The ox is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The actors playing Dawson and Joey's relatives were regulars credited in the main titles through the fourth season and occasional guest stars thereafter.

For the mythology and lore connected with the bull, see Bull (mythology). Witter, Dawson's best (male) friend; Michelle Williams as Jennifer "Jen" Lindley; and Mary Beth Peil as Evelyn "Grams" Ryan, Jen's grandmother. Five actors were credited in the main titles for every season: James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery; Katie Holmes as Josephine Lynn "Joey" Potter, Dawson's best (female) friend; Joshua Jackson as Pacey J. The triangle is, at long last, harmonious. At the end, Pacey and Joey snuggle on a couch together in NYC, gaily laughing and congratulating their best friend, Dawson, on the phone for finally getting his heart's desire—a meeting with Steven Spielberg.

Dawson returned to California and his TV show, while Pacey and Joey renewed their relationship. In the face of such honesty and unconditional love, Joey confessed she'd "always been running" from him and their love, "never ready for it", finally telling him, "I love you—you know that." Joey and Dawson reconciled to the fact that their love as soulmates was eternally "pure" and "innocent," and that they would always be linked, but as something deeper than simply friends or lovers. Pacey also explained that as much as Joey wanted, all her life, to get away from Capeside and see the world, he is forever destined to be stuck there like his father and grandfather before them. As for the Dawson-Joey-Pacey triangle, Pacey declared that Joey was "off the hook" for any romantic obligations with him and told her that "the simple act of being in love with you is enough for me" as he resolved to move on "in this life" and be happy.

Doug agreed with Jack to have them raise Jen's infant daughter, and Doug also agreed to let more people know about his and Jack's romantic relationship. Jen died shortly thereafter. As they awaited her death, they all reminisced about their friendship and Jen arranged for Jack to adopt her baby. Her friends learned she had an incurable congenital heart defect.

The gang (sans Audrey) reunited in Capeside to attend Gale's wedding, and at the reception, Jen collapsed. Andie McPhee (her scenes were cut from the original version) was living in Boston and working as a resident doctor at a major hospital. Audrey was reputed to be on a tour with a rock band as a backup singer. Pacey was the proprietor of the reopened The Ice House.

Jack had returned to Capeside to teach high school English and was now Doug's lover—though Sheriff Doug was still in the closet. Jen was working at an art gallery and currently a single mother with an infant daughter, still living in New York with a frail Grams. Petey (not shown on camera) was based on Pacey's character: a clownish loser whom Sam also has feelings for. Sam was based on Joey's character: an orphan tomboy with a barely disguisable crush on Colby.

Colby was based on Dawson's character: a movie buff and philosopher on teenage alienation. Dawson was in Los Angeles as the creator and executive producer of a TV night time teen soap, The Creek, based on the Dawson-Joey-Pacey triangle which involved three characters. Joey was a book editor living in New York. The two-part series finale, titled "All Good Things…Must Come to An End," was set five years into the future.

By the end of the episode, Dawson had completed his film, Pacey and Jack moved out of their apartment (after Emma Jones apparently left for her home in England), Jen and Jack transferred to NYU, Audrey had to stay behind at Worthington to attend summer classes for her many absenses, Pacey returned to Capeside and shacking up with Doug to try to rebuild his life, and Joey finally made her life-long dream of traveling to Paris, France come true. Joey eventually came to the rescue by salvaging Dawson's movie by persuading various people to act for free in Dawson's movie project whom included Harley Hetson to play Joey and Harley's boyfriend, Patrick, to play Dawson, as well as Audrey to play the role of Miss Jacobs, and even Dawson's mother helped out with the work and had Todd Carr come to Capeside to assist Dawson. The argument ended with both Dawson and Pacey walking away from each other, leaving Joey alone and silent knowing that both of them were right about everything that was just said. Pacey lashed back, calling Dawson a daydreamer living in a fantasy world of the movies and chasing a dream he knows he can never have.

Joey tried to intervene, but to no avail as both Dawson and Pacey continued lashing out at each other, with Dawson calling Pacey a loser and screw-up who will never succeed at anything in life. Dawson brought up that for the past two years since graduation from high school, Pacey had turned their friendship into a competition to see who can succeed in life. At this point, Dawson, Joey and Pacey came face-to-face with their past demons again, with a huge argument breaking out between Dawson and Pacey about past issues. After losing all the money to the vagaries of the stock market as well as his job after punching the cynical Rich Rinaldi for insulting him, Pacey returned to Capeside to break the news to Dawson about him loosing all of their money.

Dawson persuaded Pacey to invest all of his money in stocks in order to raise capital for his new film. The reconciliation with Eddie, however, was also brief, ending with him leaving again, taking a trip to Europe without Joey. Joey opted to explore her continuing feelings for Eddie, leaving Pacey broken-hearted, yet steadfast in his continuing friendship to her. Pacey and Joey briefly rekindled the flame between them after getting locked in a K-mart store overnight, but after a short-lived attempt to reconcile completely, Eddie returned.

Witter too sick to work anymore, Doug became the acting sheriff of Capeside, and ultimately full-time sheriff. With Mr. Witter suffered a heart attack due to his life-long alcoholism, while Pacey also dealt with his brother, Doug, over Pacey's new lifestyle. In one episode, Pacey came to a sort-of peace agreement with his estranged father after Mr.

Pacey continued living the fast life of wheeling-dealing under the mentorship of the aggressive Rich Rinaldi. Jack would come with them. Jen persuaded her to move to New York City and live with her and Jen's mother (Mimi Rogers), now divorced, to be close to the hospital and to try to reconcile their long-standing familial differences. Ryan informed Jen that she had breast cancer.

Late in the season, Mrs. (Jensen Ackles), after an ill-advised one-night stand with a drunk Audrey early on, later became Jen's boyfriend. David's friend, C.J. Jack embarked on a brief relationship with David, a fellow classmate, before working through an awkward almost-liaison with an apparently married college lecturer.

Eventually, they broke up and Audrey landed in rehab in Los Angeles, her hometown. Meanwhile, Pacey and Audrey's relationship buckled beneath the strain of his obsessive work ethic and her growing addiction to alcohol while she was working as the lead singer for an all-girl rock band called 'Hells Belles' which Emma was also a part of in playing the drums. When Joey tracked him down at his childhood home, she brought with her an opportunity for him to attend college in California to pursue his dreams of becoming a writer. After a series of romantic stops and starts, Eddie eventually left town.

Eddie kept Joey's sanity intact by persuading her, several times, to not let Hetson emotionally get to her. The somewhat misogynist and mean-spirted Professor Hetson became burden on Joey and, through most of the season, never passed up a chance to single her out, or embarrass her in front of his class over her lack of knowledge with any given subject. The class was taught by the liberal, but stern and shark-like, Greg Hetson (Roger Howarth), the father of a headstrong teenage girl, named Harley (Mika Boorem), whom Joey began to tutor with her school work. She took it and soon became involved romantically with Eddie Doling (Oliver Hudson), who was the bartender where Joey worked and was in Joey's literature class.

Pacey and Jack moved in with Emma Jones (Megan Gray), a good-natured English barmaid who worked at a local bar/restaurant named Hell's Kitchen, and offered Joey a chance to return to waitressing. Pacey got a job as a stockbroker under the oleaginous Rich Rinaldi (Dana Ashbrook) and soon was sporting stylish clothes, driving a fancy car, and spending his new-found cash. Dawson's relationship with Natasha surfaced the day after and during a surprise birthday party thrown by her friends in her dorm room, Joey initiated a final confrontation with Dawson that ended with them burying the proverbial romantic hatchet. After a night of reminiscing, Dawson and Joey finally had sex though its consequences were not what they expected.

Dawson, wanting to be true to himself, decided that was not for him. He then pitched a film of his own, an autobiographical coming of age story, but the sleazy producer (Paul Gleason) was only interested in making it into a teen sex comedy in the vein of American Pie. When Todd quit, the producers hired Dawson to finish the film. The final season found Dawson in Boston shooting a horror film with the hack Todd Carr, and carrying on an affair with the leading lady, Natasha Kelly.

Also, Jen decided to stay for the summer with her parents in New York while Jack decided to stay in Boston. Joey stayed in Capeside but let Dawson know she would always have feelings for him. for the summer. A.

Pacey ended up going with Audrey to L. Pacey went to stop Audrey and declare his feelings for her, and Joey went to catch Dawson at the gate to profess her own feelings. In the season finale, Pacey and Joey had a conversation on the dock in Capeside that initiates a mad-dash tandem trip to the airport. He told her when they parted that the greatest scene in literature was in the finale chapters of Flaubert's Sentimental Education, where two old friends reminisce about the things that never were.

They parted on good terms, with David deciding to try writing again. Joey became close to Professor David Wilder (Ken Marino), her English teacher and a published novelist, and they nearly had an affair. But Jen later broke it up after their relationship became unstable and uncertain. They became lovers.

Meanwhile, Dawson pushed Joey away after his father's death and grew closer to Jen. Dawson later directed a romance film with the cooperation of the overeager, oblivious, and obtuse fellow student Oliver Chirkchick (Jordan Bridges) that starred Charlie (Chad Michael Murray), Jen's latest former boyfriend, and Audrey. Dawson discovered a film school in Boston and enrolled. Dawson's father was killed in an automobile wreck after a big fight with his son.

Completely disillusioned, Dawson quit film school and returned to Capeside, where his parents were disappointed in him for giving up so easily. Dawson began the season on his first day as a production assistant on a film directed by the nasty and mean-spirited Todd Carr (Hal Ozsan), who quickly fired him. Pacey and Joey reconnected as friends and he began dating Audrey Liddell (Busy Phillips), Joey's party-girl roommate at Worthington, with Joey's blessing. Later in the season when the restaurant was sold, the new owners appointed a martinet manager, Alex Pearl (Sherilyn Fenn), who so alienated the staff they walked out en masse at Pacey's instigation, leading to both Alex and Pacey's dismissal and the shuttering of the restaurant.

Although Danny's wife apparently never found out of his infidelity, the guilt made Danny leave his wife and his job eventually, leaving Pacey as the full time chief. Despite being told to mind his own business, Pacey consoled Karen when Danny refused to leave his wife, as a consequence of which Karen quit her job. Pacey soon became privy to an extramarital affair that Danny was having with one of the waitresses Karen (Lourdes Benedicto). Pacey returned to Boston from the Caribbean, and got a job working in the kitchen of an upscale eatery, Civilization, under the tutelage of owner and chef Danny Brecher (Ian Kahn).

Jack joined a fraternity and spent all his time drinking and partying, leading to his nearly flunking out of school. They still lived with Grams, however, she having sold her house in Capeside and moved to Boston as well. The fifth season moved the show to Boston where Joey was attending elite Worthington University (something akin to Harvard), while Jack and Jen were attending a more modest community college, Boston Bay. Was this a reconnection? Or goodbye?.

Joey and Dawson shared a kiss in front of his bedroom window that echoed the one at the end of the first season, but this one was more ambiguous, as Joey was nursing a broken heart over Pacey and Dawson was feeling anxiety over being so far away from home soon. The season finale saw Joey, Jen and Jack seeing off Dawson as he left for USC Film School. Drue even persuaded Jen to help him pull off a school prank for old times sake by setting off the school sprinklers during the graduation ceremony. But she was saved from suffering the same fate that befell Abby Morgan (in season 2) by the mostly unlikely and unlikable of people: Drue Valentine - the only episode that showed him as a good guy.

During the prom episode, Jen got drunk over her issues and nearly fell off the yacht which the prom was being held on. Jen eventually uncovered a long-repressed memory about finding her father cheating on her mother with a teenage girl back in New York six years earlier which triggered Jen's downward spiral. After getting drunk on the school ski trip, Jen was forced by the school to see a psychologist, named Tom Frost, for her inner teen issues to look for the reason for her self-destructive attitude. As for Jen, she remained at the mercy of Drue.

As a result, Gretchen left town without saying goodbye, presumably to go back to college and leaving behind only a good-bye letter for Dawson. Gretchen also broke up with Dawson at the prom after realizing that he had his whole life ahead of him and she didn't want to tie him down, as well as seeing the specter of Joey still lingering in his mind. As his friends graduated, Pacey was seen at the airport, flying off to a job on a yacht in the Caribbean, his future uncertain. But they still harbored deep feelings for each other and reconciled briefly for a better, though bittersweet ending of their teenage romance.

(Entertainment Weekly said Joey "finally got her lift-ticket punched".) But teenage self-doubt, an uncertain future, and the continuing looming presence of Dawson strained the bond between Pacey and Joey, culminating in a scene at the prom in which Pacey broke up with Joey in a very public, humiliating manner. On the senior ski trip, nine months into their relationship, Joey and Pacey consummated their relationship in a scene several critics and fans lauded as "beautiful" and "tender". Entertainment Weekly said the kiss was "typical of Dawson's this season, a thundering dud."). (Some critics did not applaud this milestone.

They would kiss at the prom — supposedly the first romantic kiss between two men in a prime-time drama. Jack began dating Tobey (David Monahan), whom he met at a gay activism meeting. Gale found herself pregnant in her 40s and had a daughter, Lillian, named after Joey's mother. She had plans to attend Harvard University in the fall, and returned for the graduation episode near the end of the season.

Andie, having more than enough credits to graduate, did so halfway through her senior year and then went stay with her aunt in Italy after a disastrous — almost deadly — incident with ecstasy at a nightclub (given to her by the loathsome Drue Valentine, who then successfully framed Jen for it). Brooks died of pancreatic cancer, he left money for Dawson to 'do something great,' which Dawson gave to Joey for her to go to Worthington University in Boston, after the early success of the Potter Bed & Breakfast caused her to receive an inadequate financial aid offer. When Mr. Brooks never got over it and became a bitter, misanthropic, recluse who severed all ties to his friends and family, which Dawson was determined not to let that happen to him.

As a result, Mr. Brooks as a younger version of himself; a man from Capeside who moved to Hollywood wanting to be a director, and then lost the love of his life to his best friend. Eventually the old man warmed to Dawson and they collaborated on a documentary about his life in which Dawson saw Mr. Brooks had been a film noir director in Hollywood in the 1950s.

Brooks to work off his debt and discovered that Mr. Dawson did chores for Mr. Brooks (Harve Presnell), a long-term resident of Capeside. To do so, Dawson stole and damaged a boat belonging to crotchety old Mr.

The hesitant reconciliation of Dawson and Pacey began after Dawson and Joey rescued Pacey and Jen from a storm at sea. Drue somewhat got back at Pacey and Joey by having them left behind at the ski lodge by tricking the chaperone into thinking Pacey and Joey were on the school bus. In another episode with Drue and Anna, they both sneaked onto a school ski trip to Vermont by impersonating another couple since Drue had been banned from the trip (he was under school probation for the prank he was framed for), and Anna did not go to school at Capeside. Joey, however, ended up keeping the flirting Anna away from Pacey.

Valentine incredibly blackmailed Joey with termination-of-employment if she and Pacey didn't agree to accompany Drue and his girlfriend, Anna Evans, on a double date just so Joey and Pacey could keep an eye on Drue to make sure he behaved himself. In another episode, Mrs. In one episode, he deliberately locked himself and Joey into a storage closet at the Yacht Club just to avoid going to New York to visit his estranged father. Although Drue remained the villain for the remainder of the season, his wholesome side was less seen.

Although Drue would pop up now and then until the end of the season to be of an annoyance, he never again attempted to take on Dawson and his friends. At one point, Pacey, Dawson, and Jack got even with the perfidious Drue by framing him for their senior prank—they put the principal's sailboat in the school's indoor pool. Drue Valentine, an unwholesome sociopath, was revealed to have known Jen while growing up in New York, and did not hesitate to make her notice him, as well as cause trouble for everyone. Dawson developed a relationship with Gretchen and begin to fashion tentative, though fragile relations with his former best friend.

He did, however, forgive Joey's part in the incident. Dawson refused to speak to Pacey, believing he had betrayed him. Happy in her relationship with Pacey, she still harbored feelings of guilt at the way things went down the preceding spring. Valentine, the manager, who, along with her unpleasant, spoiled-rich-boy, son Drue, became the villains of the season.

Joey took a job as a waitress at the Capeside Yacht Club under the snobbish and bitchy Mrs. Pre-Joey Potter, Dawson had had a crush on Gretchen while growing up. Gretchen was Pacey's only ally in his family, and the only one who has never called him a loser or failure as did both of their parents and other siblings. Pacey moved in with Gretchen at her rented house, unable to stand living anymore with his still-outrageously, neglectful parents, or his brother Doug.

Pacey's hitherto unseen sister Gretchen (Sasha Alexander) returned to town during a break from her college studies, moved into a beachfront house, got a job at Leery's, and started dating Dawson. The fourth season, the gang's senior year at Capeside High, opened with Joey and Pacey returning from a summer-long cruise down the Eastern Seaboard on Pacey's boat, the True Love. In the season finale, Joey made her choice and sailed into the sunset for a summer alone with Pacey on his restored boat, the True Love. A spontaneous roadside kiss led to an explosive culmination between Dawson, Joey and Pacey.

Moller (Robin Dunne)—her growing attraction and feelings for Pacey could not be denied. J. Though Joey would date a college boy briefly—A. Pacey kept his growing romantic feelings for Joey at bay for some time, staying supportive as a caring friend by continuing to assist with the B&B, and rallying the students when Joey went up against the school board for the firing of Principal Green who had expelled the school bully Matt Caulfield (Micheal Hagerty) who had defaced her school mural on a wall that she was permitted to paint on.

As Dawson explored distractions of his own and grappled with his film aspirations, Pacey and Joey slowly began to fall in love. Pacey continued trying to do good such as helping Andie (as the school assistant director) by participating in the school play of Barefoot in the Park, and becoming a mentor for a nine-year-old boy, named Buzz Thompson, whom Pacey saw as a young version of himself--a neglected boy who uses sarcasm to get attention. However, these tentative forays into dating wrought greater understanding and reconciliation between the two McPhee men. Meanwhile, Jack became the star wide receiver of the football team and started dating Ethan (Adam Kaufman), which brought to a head simmering conflicts with his father.

Bessie and Joey— with Pacey's help— turned their home into a bed and breakfast, fulfilling the dream of their late mother. They opened a restaurant, Leery's Fresh Fish, and remarried in the season finale. Gale, fired from her new job in Philadelphia, returned to Capeside and reconciled with Mitch. Meanwhile, Mitch expanded his duties at school to include coaching the hapless football team, the Minutemen.

But it was Henry who broke it off before they could go any further when he decided to leave Capeside to attend football camp in Ohio in the season final. They cautiously began dating. Even worse, she found herself the object of the affections of a shy, moony-eyed, freshman football player, Henry Parker (Michael Pitt). When Jen faced off against the egotistical and tyrannical head cheerleader, to her horror, she found herself not only a cheerleader but as the head cheerleader's replacement.

He brought along his teenage daughter Nikki (Bianca Lawson) who, like Dawson, was a filmmaker. Howard Green (Obba Babatunde), who replaced a succession of rarely seen administrators. Capeside High got a new principal, the no-nonsense Mr. Pacey, who had stood by Andie in the previous season as her mental state deteriorated, was deeply unsettled by this development and quickly ended their relationship.

After returning to Capeside, Andie revealed to Pacey that she had slept with another patient. Andie remained in a mental hospital in Providence all summer, while her and Jack's father moved his struggling furniture business to Capeside to live close to his children. As the season progressed, Joey and Pacey became friends, growing closer and closer. He spurned her advances, but then sent Pacey to comfort her and watch over her.

Joey realized she still had feelings for Dawson and, when it seemed Dawson was being seduced by the temptations Eve had put before him, she awkwardly offered herself to him. Eve exited Capeside mysteriously (never to be seen or heard of again), and she would be later revealed as Jen's half-sister, born when Jen's mother was her age. The temptress—named Eve—would astonish Dawson with her interest in him, as Eve was a pornographic fantasy come to life: she had no past, no friends, no family, nothing but an interest in bedding Dawson, which, however, never came to pass. The third season opened with Dawson returning from spending the summer with his mother in Phildelphia and on the bus was enchanted by the sort of woman the phrase cherchez la femme was created for.

After her father's arrest, Joey told Dawson she could never forgive him for taking her father away again. Although she hates herself for it, Joey is convinced by Sheriff Witter to wear a wire to entrap her father. Dawson had seen one of Mike's deals and told Joey. His competitors in the drug trade threw a Molotov cocktail into the Ice House and the building was a total loss in the resulting blaze.

But he soon fell back on his old ways. He had ambitious plans of expanding the Ice House, making a life for himself, and getting to know his daughters better. Joey's father, Mike, was paroled after three years in prison and returned a changed man it seemed. At the end of the season Gale moved to Philadelphia to take a news job there.

Mitch became a substitute teacher at Capeside High as he and Gale tried to figure out how or whether to try to rebuild their marriage. In the season finale, after Jen had lived with the Leerys and the McPhees, Grams welcomed Jen back into her home--as well as a now homeless Jack. Reconnecting as friends, the two were able to support one another through trying times. However, Jen also renewed a more balanced and supportive friendship with Dawson after her attempts to win him back fell by the wayside.

Ryan throwing up her hands. Jen found herself kicked out, Mrs. When Abby suddenly died--she fell off a pier while drunk--Jen delivered at Abby's church funeral a hateful diatribe against religion designed to irritate her grandmother. Jen, who had tried to make a fresh start in Capeside, returned to her old sullen ways, hanging out with the thoroughly evil Abby Morgan (Monica Keena), who brought out Jen's inner bitch.

Pacey also showed patience and compassion with Andie's mother, loyalty and courage with Jack's coming out, and a deep, abiding love for Andie. Stepping up his scholastic efforts--he started getting A's on his papers and studying more, this season glimpsed a maturing Pacey that faced down several of his demons -- his feelings of unworthiness, a past affair coming back to haunt him when Tamara Jacobs briefly returned (now employed by a real estate office in New York), and his difficult and often abusive relationship with his domineering and alcoholic father. Pacey, who had been Dawson's sidekick, found love and new purpose with Andie. Despite both her brother's and Pacey's attempts to keep her at home in Capeside, Andie was eventually dispatched to a mental hospital to be nurtured through her issues with professional help.

McPhee's mental problems, and Andie's renewed instability spurred their father to swoop in and try to move the family to Providence, but Jack refused. This, Mrs. However, Jack eventually acknowledged that he was gay, causing some furor at school (when Pacey stood up for him against a malevolent teacher and almost got expelled), at home (with Andie and their father), and in his personal life (with the increasingly confused Joey). Joey, feeling suffocated and lost in her relationship with Dawson, fell for Jack and they dated for a time.

After some testy initial bantering (he had initially dismissed her as a spoiled trust-fund baby), they fell in love and eventually became lovers. Andie was an extremely perky, ultra-competitive, straight-A student who clicked with the slacker Pacey. Their father (David Dukes) was usually out of town and distant from his children. Their mentally disturbed mother had never recovered from the death of their brother Tim (shades of Ordinary People) and was delusional, carrying on imagined conversations with him.

There were two new students at Capeside, siblings Jack (Kerr Smith) and Andie McPhee (Meredith Monroe). The second season, which began the morning after the events of the first season finale, brought Dawson and Joey together (she had decided to stay in Capeside), but their dating was short-lived, lasting six episodes. In the season finale, Joey and Dawson had a passionate first kiss in his bedroom, part of the cliffhanger which asked if Joey would take the school's offer to be an exchange student in Paris. Meanwhile, Pacey exhorted him to see what was right in front of him, telling him to make a choice, especially after he, himself, spent an afternoon trawling for snails for a biology-experiment-gone-awry with Joey that turned into a surprisingly fun interlude that found the two connecting differently, beneath their previously prevalent antagonism.

Throughout, Dawson struggled with a choice between blonde Jen and brunette Joey — the new girl in town versus the girl he'd always known. The first season also saw the gang trapped in detention one Saturday afternoon à la The Breakfast Club during which a game of truth or dare, instigated by Abby Morgan (Monica Keena), a resident bad girl, forced lurking attractions and tensions to the surface; a boys-only trip to a bar during which shenanigans ensued between Dawson, Pacey, and Jen's ex-boyfriend from New York, Billy Konrad (Eion Bailey); a night of horror-pranks and maybe-murderers thwarted in "The Scare"; and a "Beauty Contest" that showcased a tomboy Joey being coaxed out of her shell by a well-meaning Jen while a renegade Pacey ran as the first male contestant in a formerly all-female contest. Miss Jacobs left town shortly thereafter. When word leaked out, Pacey, in order to save her reputation and certain legal repercussions, told the authorities it was all fiction, merely adolescent braggadocio that got completely out of hand.

(The boy would be named Alexander.) To Pacey's utter astonishment, his English teacher Tamara Jacobs (LeAnn Hunley) took him up on his lewd suggestions and they began a torrid affair that turned surprisingly tender. Ryan, who disapproved of Bessie's not being married to the child's black father, Bodie (Obi Ndefo). Bessie had her baby in the Leery's living room, delivered by Mrs. She and Mitch would ineffectually try to reconcile, eventually divorcing in the second season.

Then, Dawson discovered his mother was having an affair with her co-anchor. Dawson was shocked to learn of Jen's past, not knowing what to think. Smitten at first sight, Dawson wooed Jen to Joey's consternation. (Ostensibly she was sent to Capeside to help her grandmother care for her bed-ridden grandfather, who was only seen asleep and would die in the season finale.) Jen and Grams lived next door to Dawson.

Jen's parents, either unable or unwilling to do anything with their seemingly out-of-control daughter—she'd begun having sex at twelve and the last straw was her being caught in flagrante delicto in her parents' bed—had exiled her from New York City to live with her rather forbidding and deeply religious maternal grandmother, Evelyn Ryan (Mary Beth Peil), a retired nurse her granddaughter called "Grams". As part of their ongoing brotherly banter, Pacey (believing Doug was a homosexual in denial) incessantly urged Doug to come out of the closet in which Doug vehemently denied being. His older brother, Doug (Dylan Neal), was a cop wanting to follow in his father's footsteps. His father (John Finn) was Capeside's police chief, but was also an alcoholic and never passed up a chance to browbeat and put Pacey down leading to Pacey's low pride and self-esteem.

Pacey, the youngest of five children, was considered his family's great disappointment; they never stopped reminding him of how much a loser he was. The three had grown up together and known each other since they were all five years old. Pacey was best friends with Dawson and engaged in playful love-hate banter with Joey. Her harried and very pregnant sister, Bessie (Nina Repeta), about ten years older than Joey, was raising her while running the Ice House restaurant, where Joey worked as a waitress.

Joey's mother had died from cancer when Joey was thirteen and her father, Mike (Gareth Williams), was in prison for "conspiracy to traffic in marijuana in excess of 10,000 pounds". She lived down the creek from Dawson and often took a rowboat to visit him. For years, she'd been climbing in his bedroom window and platonically sharing his bed. Tomboy Joey, named for Jo in Little Women, had always been in love with Dawson though she often denied it and he was oblivious to her adoration.

His parents were Mitch (John Wesley Shipp), who had no visible profession except puttering around the house with dreams of owning a seafood restaurant, and Gale (Mary-Margaret Humes), an Emmy-winning anchor on the local TV news. Dawson was a dreamy romantic obsessed with movies, especially those of Steven Spielberg, Dawson having posters of all his films in his room, putting the least of them, 1941 and Always, on the inside of his closet doors. All were fifteen. Set in the fictional Massachusetts seaside town of Capeside, the show began during the tenth grade and the first year of high school for Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek), Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson), and Joey Potter (Katie Holmes), three lifelong friends and Capesiders, who were joined in the pilot by Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams).

For a list of episode titles with air dates, see List of Dawson's Creek episodes.. Dawson's Creek's ultimate impact was far broader than the Nielsen Ratings would imply, alluded to in such disparate places as Jim Borgman's comic strip Zits, a Maureen Dowd column about the Republican leadership of Congress, and the film 10 Things I Hate About You. It made stars of its leads and now seems ripe for the kind of academic analysis its former lead-in Buffy the Vampire Slayer has already been subjected to. (The first season's highest ranked episode was the finale, which was fifty-ninth, while the highest rated was the second episode, scoring so well only because there was no programming on the other networks, which were carrying President Clinton's State of the Union address in the midst of the Lewinsky scandal.). The show, while never a huge ratings success among the general population, did very well with younger audiences and became a defining show for the WB Network.

Those can be two very sexy qualities." Dawson, excited over a Godard film asks "How can you not like a movie where the fake name on the guy's passport is László Kovács?". " Jen declares "Don't knock sullen and introspective. In the fourth season finale Dawson tells Joey, "I didn't plan on graduating a virgin." Joey replies "The best-laid plans . The witty scripts were filled with memorable dialogue.

Dawson calls his mother's co-anchor "Ted Baxter" and refers to his parents as "Rob and Laura Petrie." He responds to his principal's request for a film glorifying the football team as belonging to "the Leni Riefenstahl approach to filmmaking." Jen says her parents followed "the Ho Chi Minh school of parenting." The verbiage was high-flying too: star Michelle Williams confessed in interviews she had to consult her dictionary when she read the scripts. The New York Times had perhaps the best headline on its review: "Young, Handsome, and Clueless in Peyton Place." That was precisely the sort of allusion real teenagers weren't likely to get, let alone make, but the show's punchy dialogue was full of them. The Seattle Times declared it the best show of the 1997-1998 season. Variety wrote it was "an addictive drama with considerable heart," "the teenage equivalent of a Woody Allen movie—a kind of 'Deconstructing Puberty.'" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said it was "a teen's dream." The Dayton Daily News listed Capeside as a television town they'd most like to live in.

- - But for every scathing review, there was a glowing one. However, on the opposite end of the ideological spectrum, the National Organization for Women offered an endorsement, saying it was one of the least sexually exploitive shows on the air. The Council would proclaim it the fourth worst show in 2000-2001. Brent Bozell to monitor television for sex, violence, and coarse language, proclaimed the show the single worst program of the 1997-1998 season, a title the Council would also award it for the 1998-1999 season.

The Parents Television Council, the group founded by L. The Washington Post's Tom Shales said creator Kevin Williamson was "the most overrated wunderkind in Hollywood" and "what he's brilliant at is pandering." Williamson denied this was his intention, telling television critics before the show's premiere that "I never set out to make something provocative and racy". Then the title and credits come on and the story begins". How preoccupied was it? Syndicated columnist John Leo, who said the show should be called "When Parents Cringe", wrote "The first episode contains a good deal of chatter about breasts, genitalia, masturbation, and penis size.

The Enquirer's television columnist, John Kieswetter, would write "As much as I want to love the show—the cool kids, charming New England setting, and stunning cinematography—I can't get past the consuming preoccupation with sex, sex, sex". This show was co-produced through Procter & Gamble Productions, the maker of daytime soaps such as As the World Turns and Guiding Light, sold its interest in the show three months before the premiere when the company's hometown newspapers, The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Cincinnati Post, printed stories about the racy dialogue and risque plot lines. The show's lead character, Dawson Leery, was Williamson's doppelgänger: obsessed with movies and platonically sharing his bed with the girl down the creek. Williamson said "I pitched it as Some Kind of Wonderful, meets Pump Up the Volume, meets James at 15, meets My So-Called Life, meets Little House on the Prairie".

Initially offered to Fox, the network turned it down but The WB was eager, looking for programming to fill its new Tuesday night lineup. Stupin, who as a Fox Network executive had brought Beverly Hills, 90210 to the air, sought out Williamson after having read his script for the slasher film Scream, a knowing, witty work about high school students. Kevin Williamson, a native of the small coastal town of Oriental, North Carolina, was approached in 1995 by producer Paul Stupin to write a pilot for a television series. .

Reruns of the show are currently seen in the US in syndication on TBS. The lead production company was Columbia Tri-Star Television. This precociousness has been a staple of a number of teen shows since, notably including Gilmore Girls and The O.C.. The lead character Dawson often demonstrated vocabulary and cultural awareness to outdo the average graduate student, yet that was combined with an emotional immaturity and self-absorption reflecting actual teenagers.

The series was known for the verbosity and complexity of the dialogue between its teen characters. By the end of its run, the show, its crew, and its young cast had been nominated for over a dozen awards, winning four of them. The show generated an unusual amount of publicity before its debut, with several television critics and watchdog groups expressing concerns about its anticipated "racy" plots and dialogue; the controversy even drove one of the original production companies away from the project but numerous critics praised it for its realism and intelligent dialogue that included allusions to American television icons such as The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times declared in 2005 that "The WB is turning out to be the television equivalent of the United Nations" and that "Dawson's Creek was its Dag Hammarskjöld: It was the first series bold enough to pick up the mantle of Beverly Hills, 90210 and an inspiration for many variations on the teenage angst theme, including The O.C. on Fox".

The program, part of a craze for teen-themed movies and television shows in America in the late 1990s, made stars of its leads and was a defining show for its network, The WB. Filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, the show was set in a small Massachusetts seaside town and focused on four friends who began their sophomore year of high school as the show began. The lead character, Dawson Leery, shares Williamson's interests and background. The show is semi-autobiographical, being based on the small-town childhood of its creator Kevin Williamson, who also wrote the slasher film Scream.

Dawson's Creek was a popular American serial television drama aimed at teenagers, which aired in hour-long episodes from 1998 to 2003. "Stuck in the Muck". Tom Shales. 17.

3 January 15, 2000. 28, n. v. Issue 2442.

TV Guide. "15 Signs You're Too Old to Watch Dawson's Creek". Pamela Redmond Satran. 16.

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April 17, 2002. Hollywood Reporter. "Youth ache 100 episodes". Ray Richmond.

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1C. October 23, 1997. "P&G cuts its link with steamy teen series." The Cincinnati Post. Greg Paeth.

February 27, 2001. PBS. Frontline. "The Merchants of Cool".

6. Travel section, p. The Cincinnati Enquirer. July 18, 1999. "'Dawson's Creek' site mecca for teens".

Jay Mathews. 40 . May 10, 2003. 19.

51, n. v. Issue 2615. TV Guide.

"Casting Off". Shawna Malcolm. (Sale of props used on the show). June 14, 2003.

Wilmington Star-News. "Creek's Hot Properties". Gareth McGrath. (Review of premiere).

C1. January 19, 1998. The Seattle Times. "The Kids Are Alright".

Kay McFadden. (Column criticizing sex on television). 4E. January 25, 1998.

Las Vegas Review-Journal. "TV sleaze worse than ever". John Leo. (Review of premiere).

B1. January 20, 1998. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "'Dawson's Creek': Teens get wet".

Phil Kloer. (Profile of creator Kevin Williamson). 30. January 10, 1998.

2. 26, n. v. Issue 2337.

TV Guide. "Kevin Williamson: he's a scream". (Profile of creator Kevin Williamson). 25-29.

March 7, 1998. 10. 46, n. v.

Issue 2345. TV Guide. "His So-Called Life". Ted Johnson.

(Cover story on show's early success). 18-24. March 7, 1998. 10.

46, n. v. Issue 2345. TV Guide.

"Dawson's Peak". Ted Johnson. (Review of the premiere). E5.

January 20, 1998. The New York Times. "Young, Handsome, and Clueless in Peyton Place". Caryn James.

(Cincinnati viewers' reaction to the premiere). February 24, 1998. The Cincinnati Enquirer. "Readers divided on 'Dawson's'".

John Kieswetter. (P&G considering its role in producing the show). A1. August 6, 2000.

The Cincinnati Enquirer. "P&G execs reviewing family TV". John Kieswetter. (Review of premiere) [2].

January 20, 1998. The Cincinnati Enquirer. "'Dawson's Creek' overflows with sex". John Kieswetter.

42 . September 5, 1999. The New York Times Magazine. "Desperate to Seem 16".

Lynn Hirschberg. (Review of finale). D1. May 14, 2003.

Boston Globe. "Dawson, pals talk out into the sunset". Matthew Gilbert. (Review of premiere).

C1. January 20, 1998. Boston Globe. "'Dawson's Creek': A flood of hormones".

Matthew Gilbert. (Profile of Katie Holmes and others). December 25, 1998 and January 1, 1999. Issues 464 and 465.

Entertainment Weekly. "The Women of the WB". Bruce Fretts. (NOW's endorsement of the show).

26-35. June 8, 2001. 5. 225, n.

v. Issue 4515. The New Republic. "Boob Tube: NOW's Strange Taste in TV".

Amanda Fazzone. (Kevin Williamson profiled). 34 . August 31, 1999.

The Advocate. "Unbound". Jeffrey Epstein. (Humorous mention of politicans).

A31. June 9, 1999. The New York Times. "Puppy Love Politics".

Maureen Dowd. (Editorial denouncing Procter and Gamble's role in the show, P&G being a Cincinnati company). 8A. September 22, 1997.

The Cincinnati Post. (Editorial). "Dawson's Creek's low aim". (Interview with the show's creator).

138 . September 1998. 9. 45, n.

v. Playboy. "Twenty Questions: Kevin Williamson". Robert Crane.

(The show's sound). April 17, 2002. Hollywood Reporter. "Music plays an important--and profitable--role in 'Dawson's Creek'".

Tamara Conniff. 14. June 7, 2003. 23.

51, n. v. Issue 2619. TV Guide.

"Cheers and Jeers". (Review of premiere). E1. January 20, 1998.

San Francisco Chronicle. "'Creek' Runs Hot". John Carman. (General information on the show and Young Americans).

New York: Ballantine Books, 2003. 8th ed. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network Television Shows. Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh.

(Criticism before show aired). P4. June 11, 1997. Los Angeles Times.

"UPN President Knocks Rival WB Network". Greg Braxton. (Ratings versus state of the union speech). January 29, 1998.

Variety. "Clinton tide stops long enough at Creek". Tom Bierbaum. 5C.

January 2, 2000. Dayton Daily News. "The best (and worst) 1999 had to offer". Dawson Creek is a small city in British Columbia, Canada.

Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show parodied the show as "Moody's Point" in the form of a series of short episodes within the main program. Mad Magazine parodied the show as "Dudson's Geeks" in issue 392, April 2000, while Cracked parodied it as "Dawson's Geeks" in its October 1998 issue [1]. It has since dropped to 206th in 2004. According to the Social Security Administration, the name was the 744th most popular boys name in 1997 but leapt to 198th in 1998 and 136th in 1999.

There was an incredible spike in the popularity of the name "Dawson" after the show premiered. One title, Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, was the title of a volume of film criticism by Pauline Kael. the finale, All Good Things…Must Come to an End, Two Gentlemen of Capeside. Many were allusions to William Shakespeare, e.g.

The Longest Day, Hotel New Hampshire, Secrets & Lies, Falling Down, Lost Weekend, High Anxiety, and The Kids Are Alright. A large number of episode titles were also those of films, e.g. David Dukes, 1945-2000". The episode concluded with a title card reading: "In Loving Memory.

David Dukes, who died in October 2000, last appeared in the fourth season episode "You Had Me At Good Bye", which aired in November 2000 and saw the departure of Andie from the series. Andie was shown to be as a medical student and living in Boston. Actress Meredith Monroe (Andie McPhee) shot three scenes to be used in the series finale but they were not used because of time constraints. The Ice House restaurant burned at the end of the second season because the owners of the location used for filming did not wish to continue their association with the show—thus the building was written out of the program.

(See the list at Amazon.com here). The publisher Simon and Schuster published a series of fifteen mass-market paperback novelizations of the series. The original pilot used New Hanover High School in Wilmington (which is the home of the Wildcats) while reshoots and subsequent episodes used a set on a soundstage for high school interiors and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for exteriors. Scenes in school switch back and forth between two obviously different buildings.

The initial moments show two signs reading "Capeside High School" but one says "Home of the Minutemen" and the other says "Home of the Wildcats". The pilot aired some recycled footage from the original pilot, resulting in continuity errors. The only character to appear in every one of the 128 episodes was Joey Potter (Katie Holmes).