Friday, June 11, 2010

A Fool's Errand

I still remember when Dawson's Creek first made its debut in the heyday of the WB. I was 12 years old, and it was marketed the way shows like Gossip Girl tend to be today-- Shocking! Controversial! Salacious! Of course, all my fellow 12-year-old girls and I were dying to watch it. My parents, quite sensibly, weren't sure about it. "She climbs in his window?? And they sleep in the same BED???" So they did what any other sensible parent might do-- they pre-screened the pilot before letting me watch it. And somehow, despite all the sex references and general ridiculousness, they deemed it suitable. And I was hooked.

But I was 12. And then 13, 14, 15, et cetera. My fantastic taste had yet to fully develop. So now when I go back and watch my DVDs of each season (yes, I own all six season, thank you very much), I recognize that the appeal is mainly just nostalgia. The show is overly dramatic to the point that it borders on absurd. The writing is sometimes passable, the acting is sometimes okay, and there are some plot arcs that I will always have a soft spot for. But on the whole, is the series really worth watching now, seven years after it went off the air? Did it stand the test of time?

No, probably not. But I'm going to watch it again, anyway. It'll save you the trouble.

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