when this show first aired, i was just graduating high school, making me a member of the target audience. That said, as a teenager/twenty-something, it didn't appeal to me. At the time, the market was starting to get flooded with teenage shows and movies. However, i was aware of it's presence on the pop culture scene. And most of my friends (mostly girls) watched this show. Fast forward 10 years and i'm at home watching TV late at night and i catch the pilot episode. It was probably one of the better pilot episodes i had ever seen. So i started watching the show. Through the years, i caught little bits and pieces of the story lines through TV commercials, friends conversations, message boards etc..so i was aware of how the show ended. I knew that pacey ends up with Joey and that the dad dies in one of the later seasons. Part of the reason i was intrigued after watching the pilot was that i wondered how they got to that point. The way the series began, it seemed to be a childhood sweetheart story. So i was very curious of how the show turned.
First, you have to know before you watch one episode that it's going to be really sappy. This comes with the territory. So if you don't like sappy, you're not going to like this show. I was aware of that. The IMDb rating is a pedestrian 6.8. Pretty average for a show with the hype it got. I wondered why the rating was so low. I know there are a bunch of haters of this show, so before i formed an opinion on it, i watched every single episode.
My opinion is an informed opinion. After watching all the episodes, i must agree that the rating is appropriate. This show is very average.
To start with, i'll tell you why this show is good. The music in every episode was well done. I'm a big fan of good soundtracks. Some of the songs helped bring a real sense of sentimentality. And being that this is a somewhat biography of kevin williamson, i thought that it was very effective. The show's pilot as i mentioned was very good. It introduced all the main characters and had three awesome plots with Joey and Dawson's relationship, Pacey and his teacher and dawson's parents marital issues. In between, there were some really good shows. One of my favorites was "The Long Goodbye". This episode was heartbreaking and realistic. Watching season 1's last episode, i understood why so many people liked this show. The episode "downtown crossing" was an excellent concept for a television show. The last episode was probably one of the best series ending episodes i've ever seen. It was climatic and had a good concept. I thought it would have been ridiculous to end the show when they are in their early 20s making lifetime decisions, but the idea of going into the future worked brilliantly.
Now, i'll tell you why this show could have been better. It starts and ends with the dialogue. I know from reading the various postings on this message board that this is a common to criticize. This was just not realistic. Walk into any high school in America and you won't hear too many kids talk that way. Even the smart kids don't talk like that. My second criticism of this show is that there aren't many likable characters. So many times i wanted to punch dawson. Joey spunk was overplayed. Jen was in need of slapping. Andie was so annoying. When they finally got it right and got rid of her, they replaced her with a more annoying and less redeemable blonde in Audrey Liddel. Pacey was the only one who i really sympathized with and celebrated with. Pacey's character was realistic. Teenage boys are sex crazed. thats what made dawson so unbelievable. He was constantly getting propositioned and never did he concede. I find that very unbelievable. Another problem i have with some of the characters was how they all seemed to bust on to the show real abrasively and then do a 180 to become lovable. (Was this intentional? showing that people are not always what they seem to be) For example, watch Jack's early episodes then watch him in seasons 3-5. He's a totally different character. Arthur Brooks character was that way to a much lesser extent. The worst case was Grams character. She started the show as a conservative Christian who was very judgmental and was even hinted to be a racist (maybe it was just joey herself being judgmental). By the end of series, she was living with a gay man and cool with the promiscuous lifestyles of her granddaughter and her friends. That was just ridiculous. I thought it was just a way to shoehorn her into the later episodes. Speaking of which....those later episodes were pure garbage. Season 5 started good and went downhill. Season 6 is just unwatchable. Overall, this is a decent show that could have been a lot better. Those are my opinions. i'd like to hear your opinions on the show and on my opinion.
First, you have to know before you watch one episode that it's going to be really sappy. This comes with the territory. So if you don't like sappy, you're not going to like this show. I was aware of that. The IMDb rating is a pedestrian 6.8. Pretty average for a show with the hype it got. I wondered why the rating was so low. I know there are a bunch of haters of this show, so before i formed an opinion on it, i watched every single episode.
My opinion is an informed opinion. After watching all the episodes, i must agree that the rating is appropriate. This show is very average.
To start with, i'll tell you why this show is good. The music in every episode was well done. I'm a big fan of good soundtracks. Some of the songs helped bring a real sense of sentimentality. And being that this is a somewhat biography of kevin williamson, i thought that it was very effective. The show's pilot as i mentioned was very good. It introduced all the main characters and had three awesome plots with Joey and Dawson's relationship, Pacey and his teacher and dawson's parents marital issues. In between, there were some really good shows. One of my favorites was "The Long Goodbye". This episode was heartbreaking and realistic. Watching season 1's last episode, i understood why so many people liked this show. The episode "downtown crossing" was an excellent concept for a television show. The last episode was probably one of the best series ending episodes i've ever seen. It was climatic and had a good concept. I thought it would have been ridiculous to end the show when they are in their early 20s making lifetime decisions, but the idea of going into the future worked brilliantly.
Now, i'll tell you why this show could have been better. It starts and ends with the dialogue. I know from reading the various postings on this message board that this is a common to criticize. This was just not realistic. Walk into any high school in America and you won't hear too many kids talk that way. Even the smart kids don't talk like that. My second criticism of this show is that there aren't many likable characters. So many times i wanted to punch dawson. Joey spunk was overplayed. Jen was in need of slapping. Andie was so annoying. When they finally got it right and got rid of her, they replaced her with a more annoying and less redeemable blonde in Audrey Liddel. Pacey was the only one who i really sympathized with and celebrated with. Pacey's character was realistic. Teenage boys are sex crazed. thats what made dawson so unbelievable. He was constantly getting propositioned and never did he concede. I find that very unbelievable. Another problem i have with some of the characters was how they all seemed to bust on to the show real abrasively and then do a 180 to become lovable. (Was this intentional? showing that people are not always what they seem to be) For example, watch Jack's early episodes then watch him in seasons 3-5. He's a totally different character. Arthur Brooks character was that way to a much lesser extent. The worst case was Grams character. She started the show as a conservative Christian who was very judgmental and was even hinted to be a racist (maybe it was just joey herself being judgmental). By the end of series, she was living with a gay man and cool with the promiscuous lifestyles of her granddaughter and her friends. That was just ridiculous. I thought it was just a way to shoehorn her into the later episodes. Speaking of which....those later episodes were pure garbage. Season 5 started good and went downhill. Season 6 is just unwatchable. Overall, this is a decent show that could have been a lot better. Those are my opinions. i'd like to hear your opinions on the show and on my opinion.