Tuesday, February 10, 1998
TV program can’t live up to preseason mega-hype
COLUMN Bad soundtrack, Big Head unable to save ‘Dawson’s
Creek’s’ story
We saw the TV commercials for months. We were barraged with
billboards, magazine and newspaper ads for weeks. And we heard that
damn Paula Cole theme song "I Don’t Wanna Wait" way too many times.
So when the new teen drama "Dawson’s Creek" finally debuted last
month, my roommates and I were all glued to our seats, eager to buy
into the hype.
And with all the positive buzz surrounding its creator Kevin
Williamson, the guy who wrote the "Scream" movies and its rip-off
"I Know What You Did Last Summer," it seemed like the perfect drama
to pick up where "My So-Called Life" left off. To remind us of our
miserable years of high school and how horribly awkward and
embarrassed we were in all our bespectacled, pimply, gangly,
braces-wearing glory.
But after watching the first couple of episodes of "Dawson’s
Creek," I was disappointed and a little disgusted. This wasn’t the
sensitive, emotional character study of four young teenagers
struggling in the transition from child to adult like the ads had
promised. It was some teenage male fantasy brought to life.
First, look at the main characters – the 15-year-olds that we,
the viewers, are supposed to identify with.
Naturally, they all are white. This shouldn’t surprise me. My
real problem is that, while in Williamson’s movies we tolerated the
bratty, smart-ass attitudes of the teenagers because we knew they
were going to die in some god-awful, horrific murder, in "Dawson’s
Creek" we are not allowed that privilege. No, these bratty,
smart-ass teenagers live. And we must suffer because of it.
Since this show is aimed at a younger audience who place a very
high value on good looks, it’s curious that they choose a lead
character (Dawson) whose head is just way too big. It’s freakin’
huge. How are we, the females in the audience, expected to swoon
over this "hero" when the whole time we are worried about whether
his neck is going to collapse from holding all that weight?
Anyway, Dawson lives a blissful existence. He has a nice home,
aspirations to be the next Steven Spielberg, very horny parents who
like to videotape their sexcapades and two girls in love with
him.
His women are childhood tomboy pal Joey and the seductive new
girl Jen. Falling into a typical male fantasy, Dawson is able to
have the best of both worlds. He’s got the pretty little sidekick
in Joey to have all his deep and meaningful conversations with and
then he also has his little blonde sexpot in Jen to lust over.
Clueless to the fact that he’s stringing along both girls, Dawson
naively believes he can have both of them. Bastard.
Why these two fairly intelligent and attractive girls allow Big
Head to lead them on is beyond me.
Joey is indeed the most interesting and sympathetic character
out of the bunch – which, unfortunately, isn’t saying very much.
Her father is in jail and her mother died of cancer, giving her
much to be depressed about. She is our female protagonist — gutsy,
cynical and completely rude. She also insults and snaps at anyone
who isn’t Dawson. The perfect teenager.
Too bad she’s too busy doing impressions of Alicia Silverstone.
My roommate pointed out last episode that Joey pouts, smiles and
pouts even more than Alicia did in "Clueless." Every time her face
screws up in an imitation of Alicia, you expect her to say
"Whatever" and traipse off to the mall.
Jen, the new girl from New York City, is our sophisticated
ingenue whom all the boys love because she has highlights in her
hair. She also has the puffiest fish lips I’ve ever seen – so huge,
in fact, that she doesn’t even have to put on a pout like Joey
does.
Anyway, Jen’s got a secret past in New York that she’s trying to
hide, but this will inevitably come out later this season, probably
during sweeps. Now come on, what kind of past can a 15-year-old
girl have? Maybe she was a hooker or an intern at the White House.
I doubt the secret’s that delicious, though. It’ll probably be
something stupid like she had a cigarette or held a beer can or
something.
But while these three characters might seem reasonably
obnoxious, the fourth one, Pacey, leaves them all in the dust.
Pacey is a conceited little punk who is trying to seduce his
40-year-old teacher English teacher. And last Tuesday, he
succeeded, losing his virginity to her in a park up against a tree.
But we can’t blame the teacher for succumbing to Pacey, can we? Not
after he woos her with such poetic statements like, "I’m the best
sex you’ll never have!" What a boy. I mean, man.
At 15 years old, the kids of "Dawson’s Creek" are facing such
drama in their lives! Lucky for them, they’ve got a whiny ‘Worst of
Lilith Fair’ soundtrack to go along with it. In fact, the show is
so dependent on its music to cue in the dramatic moments that the
end credits include endorsements for the different CDs used in each
episode.
Perhaps my expectations for the show were a tad too high. After
all, the commercials said this would be the best new show of the
year.
But for all my grumbling and sarcasm about this show, I know I’m
going to be glued to my couch on Tuesday nights at 9:00 p.m. I will
continue to watch it not for the overacting, laughable plot lines
and emotional manipulation, but for its comfort value. At least I
know I wasn’t this idiotic when I was 15.