Dawson’s Creek redefined television for a whole generation of teens and young adults in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Even though the show ended in 2003, many fans are still looking for a reunion (hopefully in the TV movie vein). But, it looks like Katie Holmes is here to put an end to all that talk.
When I look back at the show, it had a certain charm that was available. It was before the Internet really took over, it was before iPhones, it was before this kind of new form of communication, and it had this certain feeling that was of the ’90s. I don’t think that in today’s world, you could achieve that same kind of feeling.
Katie Holmes talked to TODAY on NBC and revealed that she doesn’t think a reunion would work now. And, not for the obvious reason of many of the former Dawson’s Creek stars still having busy careers. Apparently, Holmes thinks the world just isn’t simple enough anymore to capture the feeling of the original show.
She is right that the late ‘90s time of Dawson’s Creek sort of makes it special. The feeling of that time (the show debuted in 1998) seems like it was very much pre-everything looking back. It was a time when most people still didn’t have cell phones, and no one could play music or video on the ones that were around. That means that pretty much no one was glued to any phone for communication or entertainment purposes. A lot of people didn’t even have email addresses yet, and the phone book was still the most reliable way to find a business or person you were looking for. It all feels very innocent now.
Not that Dawson’s Creek was some idealized version of teen life. The soapy teen drama covered a lot of emotional ground in six seasons. The show focused on Dawson (James Van Der Beek), Joey (Katie Holmes), Pacey (Joshua Jackson) and Jen (Michelle Williams), a group of friends living in Capeside, a (fictional) Cape Cod town in Massachusetts. They dealt with the standard teen troubles along with homosexuality and sexual health issues.
There were even concerns about the show from some TV critics and consumer watchdog groups over the sometimes “racy” plots and dialogue featured on the show. But, that same edge, along with mature dialogue which was absent of typical teen-show slang, endeared the program to many critics. Variety even called it “the teenage equivalent of a Woody Allen movie.”
Katie Holmes might be right. Dawson’s Creek may have existed in a time that wouldn’t allow for the show to remake itself today, even with the participation of the old cast. Maybe it’s just as well. Some things need to be preserved in the past.
