Dawson's Creek: The Complete Series

After rewriting the rules of teen horror with the Scream movies, Kevin Williamson created this well-crafted, semi-autobiographical young adult series that helped launch the WB network. James Van Der Beek stars as Dawson, a movie-mad high school kid who wants to be a filmmaker while struggling through a first crush with displaced city girl Jen (Michelle Williams), hanging out with his buddy Pacey (Joshua Jackson), and realizing that his best friend since childhood, Joey (Katie Holmes), is becoming a beautiful young woman. The show launched a few careers, but more important, it gave teen TV a little respect, since the episodes dealt maturely with sexuality and responsibility, while the characters faced disappointed (and disappointing) parents, frustrated ambitions, and, of course, the emotional monsoon of young love. Despite occasionally teetering into soap opera territory after Williamson left in the third season, Dawson's Creek remained smartly written, sympathetic, and remarkably nonjudgmental as it followed the charming cast through high school and on to college (and other career paths), offering much more thoughtful drama than the current Gossip Girl or the new 90210. This collection features all 127 episodes from the six-season run (1998-2003) on 24 discs in a scrapbook album–style case. DVD extras include supplements (such as audio commentaries and featurettes) from previously released season sets, as well as a new interview with Williamson, trivia game, and bonus soundtrack CD. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)