Dawson's Creek: The Complete Second Season

The tumultuously juicy sophomore season of Dawson's Creek finds the core quartet (James Van Der Beek as Dawson, Katie Holmes as Joey, Joshua Jackson as Pacey, and Michelle Williams as Jen) honing their acting chops on a slew of salacious teen topics and storylines, with the addition of two principal cast members--sibling duo Jack and Andie McPhee (Kerr Smith and Meredith Monroe). In this second season, Pacey's former teacher/lover briefly returns, Dawson (whose parents are mired in divorce proceedings due to Mom's infidelity in the first season) struggles to understand his new relationship with complicated Joey (Holmes' most powerful acting comes with the repercussions of her fresh-from-the-pen papa's return to old habits--especially poignant in the season finale “Parental Discretion Advised”) and dodges flirtatious Jen (who, after her grandfather's death, self-medicates her pain through rowdy behavior (and hanging out with a rougher crowd). Catching up with the fantastic foursome is fun, but the season's most shocking episodes revolve around the McPhee siblings, including the two-parter (“To Be or Not to Be…” and “…That is the Question”), in which painful rumors about Jack's sexuality lead to an explosive revelation. Life in Capeside is never simple or boring, as they say (it certainly wasn't for me as a captivated 16-year-old who spent 1998-99 glued to the screen every Wednesday night). DVD extras are pretty much limited to opening and closing episode audio commentaries by executive producer Paul Stupin. Recommended. (J. Williams)