Sunday, August 26, 2012
Dawson's Creek Continuing Saga
As I continue my Dawson's Creek Marathon into Season 2 after the
predictable cliffhanger ending of Season 1 the memories come flooding
back. James Van Der Beek's Head still looks too big for the rest of him,
it may just be the camera angles but.... His father gets to show off a
rather hunky physique but the first of the more youthful characters to
appear in the raw is Jack Mac Phee played by the 26-year-old Kerr Smith
who poses in the nude for Joey to show off a well developed set of pecs.
Despite the actor's age it is never made clear whether he's Andy's
younger or older brother or explained why they are in the same grade.
Something else that dates this show in the late 90ies is the clothing
styles. Fashion lifts and drops hemlines and necklines on a regular
basis. Men's jeans shrink to second skin status and billow, as in this
show, to widths that make Pacey discussing the look of his butt
laughable. Dawson could fit in his jeans twice over. I suppose I should
just be thankful that ripped and open-kneed jeans weren't in fashion.
Dawson, in fact doesn't seem to wear blue-jeans, Jack does, painter
pants were all the rage.
Pacey Witter's Father never appears on the show though Pacey shows up
frequently driving his police chief Father's cruiser. We do get to meet
his brother, deputy Doug who is pejoratively referred to as gay. The
dialogue in this show continues to be as filled with multi-syllable
words as my own writing. I find it amusing that although the perspective
actors reading for Dawson's casting call comment on the fact that the
romantic leads in his movie script never get to do the big nasty; they
do not comment on the rather erudite language he puts in their mouths.
On the other hand the night Dawson learns of his parent's impending
divorce he heads next door to jump into Jen's loving arms for
consolation and more. While Jen comes close to deflowering the virgin
Dawson Gran is remarkably absent from the scene--at Bible Study? On the
same night Jack and Joey get it on as well but surprisingly Pacey plays
the gentleman and demurs at scoring a home run with Andy. Of course next
episode we learn that we were fooled and the scoreboard was reversed.
Another blast from the past appears in the person of Jason Behr as
Chris, the letterman who teams up with Abby, the Mata Hari of Capeside
High. You may remember him as Max, the Jeep-Driving Outlander from the
series Roswell.
I really don't remember this show. Pacey's father shows up for a
Father-Son Fishing derby the sole purpose of which seems to be to prove
that pops is truly as demeaning and unsupportive of his son as the lad
claims. In a later episode we get to meet the dead Tim MacPhee who
haunts his troubled sister. Small towns can be a drag, especially when
they have one fancy restaurant. Dawson finds his Father ensconced with
one of his teachers when he shows up with Joey, things get really
complicated when his Mother shows up with Jen. Bad enough that pops is
the new English teacher.
As the budget for this show increases so does the number of secondary
characters. Joey's sister's black boyfriend seems to disappear from view
but her Father reappears, then recidifies back to prison. Pacey's father
shows up and, at the beginning of Season 3 Jenn's Mother makes a
showing. To add variety more extras are inserted into the storylines.
Whereas this series follows an ongoing arc there are glaring lacks of
continuity. For a dreamy lad one would think to be more a lover than a
fighter Dawson seems to be quick with his fists. He's also made to
appear to throw a rather potent punch. The number of times he and Pacey
trade punches it would seem that using one another as punching bags
lacks much meaning. Especially when they get black eyes one night but
appear unscathed the next morning.
Forget that Dawson's bedroom is a setting his on again/off again
girlfriend enters via a ladder at all hours these sixteen-year-olds
treat Capeside like an extended family. They sleep over and drop in for
meals at a whim with nary a by your leave from their parents. Never once
is anyone seen to phone home for permission.
During its 6 year run a who's who of young actors cycled through the
program. Robin Dunne shows up as Joey's guide to Boston Campus. Lee
Norris, Mouth on One Tree Hill, shows up as an actor in a school play.
Technology tends to date TV Series. Since we'd expect Dawson to be using
the latest in hi tech this series takes place before the development of
DVDs. He even works with Betamax. Something else that dates a show is
the appearance of bulky cathode ray tubes for computer displays rather
than the compact LCD Screens. It's scary how fast technology is changing.
Love triangles are older than Greek Tragedy. In the fires of spring we
tend to think in terms of right and wrong, black and white, while too
often the reality is grey. Take two boys, Pacey and Dawson, best friends
who have known each other all their lives and add a girl, Joey. What
once was tomboy behaviour and innocent friendship takes on a different
cast at the onset of puberty. Throw in developing male egos and
testosterone and a potent mix develops. Asking your best friend to look
after your girl is another plot device in tragedies. As is the girl who
wants to have her cake and eat it too with the result that she hurts
both lovers turning friends into rivals for her affection.
Using a ride along with Deputy Doug, a soccer team including parents,
and servitude to Brooks; Pacey, Jack, and Dawson pull off the perfect
crime and pin it all on Drew. Payback, as they say, is a bitch. Well
there was a dog involved. The actor who played Jack and Andy's Father
dropped dead on the tennis court of a heart attack at 55 in real life.
Aside from a memorial screen the character disappears from the show.
As season 4 winds down the crew are about to graduate highschool. With
the gang spreading to different universities at opposite ends of the
country Season 5 will be different in many ways. While the rest of the
gang suffer the predictable angst over leaving home and becoming little
fish in big ponds Pacey is coming face to face with the fruits of his
wayward ways. Not only does he have no chance of getting into any
university, he may not even graduate highschool with his peers.
predictable cliffhanger ending of Season 1 the memories come flooding
back. James Van Der Beek's Head still looks too big for the rest of him,
it may just be the camera angles but.... His father gets to show off a
rather hunky physique but the first of the more youthful characters to
appear in the raw is Jack Mac Phee played by the 26-year-old Kerr Smith
who poses in the nude for Joey to show off a well developed set of pecs.
Despite the actor's age it is never made clear whether he's Andy's
younger or older brother or explained why they are in the same grade.
Something else that dates this show in the late 90ies is the clothing
styles. Fashion lifts and drops hemlines and necklines on a regular
basis. Men's jeans shrink to second skin status and billow, as in this
show, to widths that make Pacey discussing the look of his butt
laughable. Dawson could fit in his jeans twice over. I suppose I should
just be thankful that ripped and open-kneed jeans weren't in fashion.
Dawson, in fact doesn't seem to wear blue-jeans, Jack does, painter
pants were all the rage.
Pacey Witter's Father never appears on the show though Pacey shows up
frequently driving his police chief Father's cruiser. We do get to meet
his brother, deputy Doug who is pejoratively referred to as gay. The
dialogue in this show continues to be as filled with multi-syllable
words as my own writing. I find it amusing that although the perspective
actors reading for Dawson's casting call comment on the fact that the
romantic leads in his movie script never get to do the big nasty; they
do not comment on the rather erudite language he puts in their mouths.
On the other hand the night Dawson learns of his parent's impending
divorce he heads next door to jump into Jen's loving arms for
consolation and more. While Jen comes close to deflowering the virgin
Dawson Gran is remarkably absent from the scene--at Bible Study? On the
same night Jack and Joey get it on as well but surprisingly Pacey plays
the gentleman and demurs at scoring a home run with Andy. Of course next
episode we learn that we were fooled and the scoreboard was reversed.
Another blast from the past appears in the person of Jason Behr as
Chris, the letterman who teams up with Abby, the Mata Hari of Capeside
High. You may remember him as Max, the Jeep-Driving Outlander from the
series Roswell.
I really don't remember this show. Pacey's father shows up for a
Father-Son Fishing derby the sole purpose of which seems to be to prove
that pops is truly as demeaning and unsupportive of his son as the lad
claims. In a later episode we get to meet the dead Tim MacPhee who
haunts his troubled sister. Small towns can be a drag, especially when
they have one fancy restaurant. Dawson finds his Father ensconced with
one of his teachers when he shows up with Joey, things get really
complicated when his Mother shows up with Jen. Bad enough that pops is
the new English teacher.
As the budget for this show increases so does the number of secondary
characters. Joey's sister's black boyfriend seems to disappear from view
but her Father reappears, then recidifies back to prison. Pacey's father
shows up and, at the beginning of Season 3 Jenn's Mother makes a
showing. To add variety more extras are inserted into the storylines.
Whereas this series follows an ongoing arc there are glaring lacks of
continuity. For a dreamy lad one would think to be more a lover than a
fighter Dawson seems to be quick with his fists. He's also made to
appear to throw a rather potent punch. The number of times he and Pacey
trade punches it would seem that using one another as punching bags
lacks much meaning. Especially when they get black eyes one night but
appear unscathed the next morning.
Forget that Dawson's bedroom is a setting his on again/off again
girlfriend enters via a ladder at all hours these sixteen-year-olds
treat Capeside like an extended family. They sleep over and drop in for
meals at a whim with nary a by your leave from their parents. Never once
is anyone seen to phone home for permission.
During its 6 year run a who's who of young actors cycled through the
program. Robin Dunne shows up as Joey's guide to Boston Campus. Lee
Norris, Mouth on One Tree Hill, shows up as an actor in a school play.
Technology tends to date TV Series. Since we'd expect Dawson to be using
the latest in hi tech this series takes place before the development of
DVDs. He even works with Betamax. Something else that dates a show is
the appearance of bulky cathode ray tubes for computer displays rather
than the compact LCD Screens. It's scary how fast technology is changing.
Love triangles are older than Greek Tragedy. In the fires of spring we
tend to think in terms of right and wrong, black and white, while too
often the reality is grey. Take two boys, Pacey and Dawson, best friends
who have known each other all their lives and add a girl, Joey. What
once was tomboy behaviour and innocent friendship takes on a different
cast at the onset of puberty. Throw in developing male egos and
testosterone and a potent mix develops. Asking your best friend to look
after your girl is another plot device in tragedies. As is the girl who
wants to have her cake and eat it too with the result that she hurts
both lovers turning friends into rivals for her affection.
Using a ride along with Deputy Doug, a soccer team including parents,
and servitude to Brooks; Pacey, Jack, and Dawson pull off the perfect
crime and pin it all on Drew. Payback, as they say, is a bitch. Well
there was a dog involved. The actor who played Jack and Andy's Father
dropped dead on the tennis court of a heart attack at 55 in real life.
Aside from a memorial screen the character disappears from the show.
As season 4 winds down the crew are about to graduate highschool. With
the gang spreading to different universities at opposite ends of the
country Season 5 will be different in many ways. While the rest of the
gang suffer the predictable angst over leaving home and becoming little
fish in big ponds Pacey is coming face to face with the fruits of his
wayward ways. Not only does he have no chance of getting into any
university, he may not even graduate highschool with his peers.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Dawson's Creek
There are best times to make most purchases and summer is the best time
to buy movies which is how I came to possess a complete set of this
series. Kevin Williamson developed this supposedly autobiographical show
based on a quartet of best friends growing up in an upper-class
neighbourhood of East Coast America. These teens are preternaturally
self-aware and precociously articulate. This does nothing apparently to
ease the tensions of teenage angst or the effects of raging hormones.
Dawson's bedroom figures prominently in the first season and his pal
Joey uses a ladder exclusively to gain access from the veranda roof. At
15 she is getting nervous about sharing his bed, she has after all grown
breasts and he 'genitalia'. Dawson is an aspiring movie producer and a
Spielberg junkie. At the start of Season 2 his idol sent him a new set
of posters for his bedroom walls for real. He and friend Pacey have part
time jobs where else, a video store. Dawson's News Anchor Mom is having
an affair with her co-anchor which Dawson picks up on from the way she
says his name on air. He and his father have a unique open relationship
epitomized by the scene in which he asks and receives pointers on
kissing from Dad.
Joey, from up the creek, has a Father in prison for peddling 10,000
pounds of weed and lives with her older sister and the sister's black
boyfriend, they run a restaurant. Never shy about confronting issues
head-on the show has Pacey engaging in a sexual relationship with his
English Teacher starting with the first aired episode. Jen is the girl
next door with an unspecified past in New York who has come to live with
her Gran and dying Grandpa.
The show featured the hippest music it could afford as a fledgling new
series, that selection broadening as its budget increased. What was hip
in 1998 tends to date the show today.
Question? If you know your best friend's Mother is having an adulterous
affair should you tell him? For Joey this is a lose, lose situation. If
you're the son and you make this discovery should you tell your Father?
Do you really want to be the one who broke this news?
The first season of this show I'm watching aired in 1998 when the
principals involved were in their early twenties portraying
15-year-olds. Most of these actors have gone on to have successful
careers in movies and television. I am happy to be able to report that
none of them have succumbed to the young actor's curse of
self-destructive behaviour and early death. The case of the young actor
Neil Hope who played 'Wheels' on Degrassi whose death became news 5
years after the event when he was finally identified has weighed heavily
in that regard.
Last evening it was a couple of the guest players who had me scratching
my head and playing the who is that guessing game. Seeing actors now in
their mid-thirties in earlier roles can lead to some challenges. That
actor playing Jen's New York boyfriend was Eion Bailey, David Kenyon
Webster on Band of Brothers; I had to look that one up. Seeing Eric
Balfour who plays Duke on Haven playing a jock who attempts to hit on
Joey needed only confirmation.
to buy movies which is how I came to possess a complete set of this
series. Kevin Williamson developed this supposedly autobiographical show
based on a quartet of best friends growing up in an upper-class
neighbourhood of East Coast America. These teens are preternaturally
self-aware and precociously articulate. This does nothing apparently to
ease the tensions of teenage angst or the effects of raging hormones.
Dawson's bedroom figures prominently in the first season and his pal
Joey uses a ladder exclusively to gain access from the veranda roof. At
15 she is getting nervous about sharing his bed, she has after all grown
breasts and he 'genitalia'. Dawson is an aspiring movie producer and a
Spielberg junkie. At the start of Season 2 his idol sent him a new set
of posters for his bedroom walls for real. He and friend Pacey have part
time jobs where else, a video store. Dawson's News Anchor Mom is having
an affair with her co-anchor which Dawson picks up on from the way she
says his name on air. He and his father have a unique open relationship
epitomized by the scene in which he asks and receives pointers on
kissing from Dad.
Joey, from up the creek, has a Father in prison for peddling 10,000
pounds of weed and lives with her older sister and the sister's black
boyfriend, they run a restaurant. Never shy about confronting issues
head-on the show has Pacey engaging in a sexual relationship with his
English Teacher starting with the first aired episode. Jen is the girl
next door with an unspecified past in New York who has come to live with
her Gran and dying Grandpa.
The show featured the hippest music it could afford as a fledgling new
series, that selection broadening as its budget increased. What was hip
in 1998 tends to date the show today.
Question? If you know your best friend's Mother is having an adulterous
affair should you tell him? For Joey this is a lose, lose situation. If
you're the son and you make this discovery should you tell your Father?
Do you really want to be the one who broke this news?
The first season of this show I'm watching aired in 1998 when the
principals involved were in their early twenties portraying
15-year-olds. Most of these actors have gone on to have successful
careers in movies and television. I am happy to be able to report that
none of them have succumbed to the young actor's curse of
self-destructive behaviour and early death. The case of the young actor
Neil Hope who played 'Wheels' on Degrassi whose death became news 5
years after the event when he was finally identified has weighed heavily
in that regard.
Last evening it was a couple of the guest players who had me scratching
my head and playing the who is that guessing game. Seeing actors now in
their mid-thirties in earlier roles can lead to some challenges. That
actor playing Jen's New York boyfriend was Eion Bailey, David Kenyon
Webster on Band of Brothers; I had to look that one up. Seeing Eric
Balfour who plays Duke on Haven playing a jock who attempts to hit on
Joey needed only confirmation.
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
We're not aiming for an intellectual high here, the series was cheap and
it must have seemed like a good idea at the time. By the present Season
5 I'd not seen it on TV previously. Gone is Seth Greene's Oz, Willow's
former guitar-playing love interest. She has a Wickan Female Soulmate
these days. Buffy continues her on again, off again relationship with
Riley who along with Nicholas Brendan's Zander add hunk status to the
show. Today both would require gym time to tighten those abs and pump
those pecs. In the clone episode we learn that Brendan the actor is not
the dimwit spaz he portraits as Zander. Boreanz' Angel departed for the
spin-off show but Spike continues to hover around the edges having had a
controller planted in his head that renders him harmless. Out of the
blue Buffy has a younger sister who is planted in the show this season
the storyline purporting that she's always been present. Giles, the
Slayer's Handler has opened a magic shop, needing a job now that the
gang have graduated from High School and the librarian gig is no longer
useful. The plot lines such as they are feature newly minted evil
creatures and Buffy begins brooding over her own mortality especially
with the illness of her mother.
Indeed this season in which Buffy reaches her twentieth birthday finds
her dealing with Adult Issues as well as the usual round of evil
critters. Finding a relationship that might lead to marriage and the
commitment issues that entails. Dealing with the death of her Mother.
Taking responsibility for her younger sister. Going to University.
In a storyline that turns this TV Series into more of a mini-series
Buffy faces off with an evil female goddess against whom her slaying
prowess is powerless. That this goddess has an alter ego the drop dead
gorgeous Ben, the intern, adds yet another dimension to the story.
Handsome hunks in drag anyone?
As Twilight has shown vampire lore and fantasy series in general make up
the rules as they go along. As end of season cliff-hangers go killing
off the principal character in the last show of the season is a new
high. Having a stunt double is one thing but having her play an
animatronic double is another. TV Series have brought irreplaceable
characters back from the dead with no explanation before but using a
wiccan ceremony to do so on screen seems extreme. At least when one owns
the entire series on DVD one is spared the suspense of waiting an entire
summer to find out.
it must have seemed like a good idea at the time. By the present Season
5 I'd not seen it on TV previously. Gone is Seth Greene's Oz, Willow's
former guitar-playing love interest. She has a Wickan Female Soulmate
these days. Buffy continues her on again, off again relationship with
Riley who along with Nicholas Brendan's Zander add hunk status to the
show. Today both would require gym time to tighten those abs and pump
those pecs. In the clone episode we learn that Brendan the actor is not
the dimwit spaz he portraits as Zander. Boreanz' Angel departed for the
spin-off show but Spike continues to hover around the edges having had a
controller planted in his head that renders him harmless. Out of the
blue Buffy has a younger sister who is planted in the show this season
the storyline purporting that she's always been present. Giles, the
Slayer's Handler has opened a magic shop, needing a job now that the
gang have graduated from High School and the librarian gig is no longer
useful. The plot lines such as they are feature newly minted evil
creatures and Buffy begins brooding over her own mortality especially
with the illness of her mother.
Indeed this season in which Buffy reaches her twentieth birthday finds
her dealing with Adult Issues as well as the usual round of evil
critters. Finding a relationship that might lead to marriage and the
commitment issues that entails. Dealing with the death of her Mother.
Taking responsibility for her younger sister. Going to University.
In a storyline that turns this TV Series into more of a mini-series
Buffy faces off with an evil female goddess against whom her slaying
prowess is powerless. That this goddess has an alter ego the drop dead
gorgeous Ben, the intern, adds yet another dimension to the story.
Handsome hunks in drag anyone?
As Twilight has shown vampire lore and fantasy series in general make up
the rules as they go along. As end of season cliff-hangers go killing
off the principal character in the last show of the season is a new
high. Having a stunt double is one thing but having her play an
animatronic double is another. TV Series have brought irreplaceable
characters back from the dead with no explanation before but using a
wiccan ceremony to do so on screen seems extreme. At least when one owns
the entire series on DVD one is spared the suspense of waiting an entire
summer to find out.
