CONTENTS
Dawson : Come on, don't get female on me Joey. I don't want to have to start calling you Josephine.
Joey: You did it again!
You grabbed my ass!
Pacey: Like you even
have one.
Pacey: You think she's
a virgin? You wanna nail her?
Dawson: We just met.
Pacey: And a wasted
moment it was. I mean, greater men would be nailin' right now.
Dawson: Tact. Look
it up.
Jen: And why movies?
What's the attraction?
Dawson: I reject reality.
Joey: You're just looking for conflict. Everything's a potential script to you. Accept your perfect life Dawson.
Pacey : Hey man. Video woman is my new English teacher. Okay, you, me, the movies tonight. We are stalking a faculty member.
Dawson : What is going
on between us?
Joey : I have no idea.
Dawson: I know I have
this incredibly perfect life and I completely under-appreciate it.
Joey : Yeah, you do.
Dawson : I'm sorry
I was such an insensitive male. I thought I was above it. I don't wanna
lose you Joey. What we have is the *only* thing that makes sense to me.When
I saw you in the movie theater with that lipstick on, I remember thinking
how pretty you looked. I mean, I ignored it. But I thought it.
Joey : Yeah?
Dawson : But that
was it Jo. It didn't go any further than that.
Joey : When I saw
you going for Jen's hand… It's not like I wanted to be the one holding
your hand. I just didn't want her holding it.
Joey : I can't sleep
over anymore. And we can't talk to each other like we used to, there's
just some things we can't say.
Dawson : No that's
just not true, Joey I can you tell you anything.
Joey: Yeah? How often
do you walk your dog, huh?
Dawson : What?!
Joey : You know what
I mean. What time of day, how many times a week?
Dawson: Joey! Usually in the morning with Katie Curic.
Dawson: I don't get
it! I don't get it, what did he do that I didn't do?
Joey: He asked her
out!
Dawson: Do me a favor?
If I get like this again, and I'm sure I will, before this adolescent growth
process is over, well next time just chain me to my bed and wait for my
moment of clarity to come.
Joey: Can I use leather
straps?
Dawson: I'm sorry about
tonight, Jen. I got scared. Scared I was becoming the friend.
Jen: Oh God, the friend.
How awful.
Dawson: It is awful.
I feel like I'm becoming that friend who you come over and tell all your
boy adventures to. I don't want that to become the case. I want to be your
boy adventure.
Jen: Can't you be
both?
Dawson: No. Not at
15 you can't. It's too complicated.
Joey: I'm personally
offended by this movie mentality that would have us believe that Brad Pitt
and Sandra Bullock are gonna magically drop from the sky and sweep us off
our feet.
Dawson: I didn't know
you had a thing for Brad Pitt.
Joey: I don't. It's
an analogy.
Dawson: Sandra Bullock?
Anderson: Do you come
with a name or just an attitude?
Joey: Just an attitude.
Anderson: And people
find this charming?
Joey: I haven't asked.
Dawson: Pacey talks
a lot. Like he's got all this experience. Its a lot of bluster.
Jen: You know, someone
once said that the more someone talks about it, the worse they are at it.
Dawson: Well, I hardly
ever talk about it.
Jen: I know, that's
why I keep sticking around.
Joey: A face like that
leaves nothing to the imagination. The well-maintained good looks of an
upper middle class New Yorker. I mean, there's no mystery there. I can
see her entire future in that face.
Dawson: Really?
Joey: Yeah. In three
years her above average SAT scores will grant her admission into a small
liberal arts college, somewhere in New England, where she'll major in Art
History, before returning to Manhattan to marry a bond trader she meets
some Saturday afternoon at America's cup-watching party. Within a year
they move to suburban Connecticut, refurbish an old farmhouse and raise
three neurotically perfect children.
Dawson: You've put
quite a bit of thought into this.
Dawson : Are you crazy? I don't think there currently exists a word to describe my reaction.
Pacey : Who's it gonna
be Tamara, me or Mr. Gold?
Tamara : You know,
I never knew you were so bothered by this Pacey, because I'd hate to think
I have to choose. I mean, Benji and I have so much in common. We love to
talk about books and authors and we're both big opera fans. Not to mention
our legendary man troubles.
Pacey : Man troubles?
Tamara : Yes, apparently
in your extensive research, you failed to detect that I'm not exactly Benji's
type.
Pacey : No?
Tamara : Not unless
you think I bear some resemblance to Mel Gibson.
Jen: I need some advice.
Joey: And in what
field do you consider me an expert in?
Jen: Dawson Leery.
Jen : You're not trying
to scare me off, are you?
Joey : No. I'm just
trying to say that every guy that grows up to be one of the good ones...he
was probably a dweeb with girls when he was 15, too.
Jen : So what would
you do?
Joey : Same as you.
I'd get hurt, mad, confused, ask people for advice, maybe the wrong people,
and then I'd wait.
Jen : For what?
Joey : For him to
grow up, come around, everything.
Jen : And how long
does that take?
Joey : Don't go by
me. I'd probably be stupid enough to wait forever.
Dawson : This isn't
just about yesterday Joey. It's last week, last month. Everything between
us recently, we're not getting along the way we used to.
Joey : So the friendship?
You don't think we're friends anymore?
Dawson : I don't know.
Are we more? Are we less? All I know is it's just not the way it used to
be. Nothing is anymore.
Dawson : You know in
some ulternate universe we must have been married, like, 50 years.
Joey : Yeah, and I'm
sure it was a wonderful wedding.
Dawson : Oh, the best.
Joey : We each brought
dates I assume?
Dawson : Yeah.. Jen
was by my side throughout.
Joey : And at the
evening the inevitable question... Who to take home? The date or the wife?
Mrs. Ryan: What I object to most, Bodie, is when children raise children
Pacey : I'm already jealous of every guy who's ever been in your field of vision, who's known the smell of your hair, who's held your body against his.
Dawson: All right,
so let me get this straight. Movie night has been reduced to the following:
(to Jen) You can't stay if she leaves because your grandmother wouldn't
permit it. And you can't stay if she stays because it's awkward.
Jen: Yeah.
Dawson: (to Joey)
And you can't stay if she leaves because you feel like you've driven her
away. And you can't stay if she's here because it ruins Movie Night for
you.
Joey: Well put.
Dawson: Well since
this is my house and we assume that I can't go anywhere, according to my
calculations, that only leaves one option...
Jen and Joey: 'Night
Dawson.
Dawson: When movies
get too unrealistic, it depresses me. I get a headache and I can’t watch.
Joey: Unrealistic?
Dawson, your favorite movie is E.T.
Joey: Guys are atracted
to girls for *totally* superficial reasons. Yes they are!!! The like girls
from New York with blonde hair, pouty lips, boney arms, and big boobs.
but it goes both way Dawson, it goes both ways.
Dawson: Jen does not
have... boney arms.
Joey: You cant stand
that if a girl is choosing between two guys, she might not choose the romantic
doofus who woos her with flowers and cheesy poems. She might just choose
the guy who has the fastest car, the biggest biceps, or... the bigger joy-stick.
Dawson: This is so
Breakfast Club.
Jen: Breakfast Club?
Dawson: Yeah that
John Hughes movie where the five kids are stuck in detention all day.
Joey: Yeah at first
they hate each other and then they become really, really good friends.
Jen: Oh yeah that
movie stunk. Whatever happened to those actors?
Dawson: Anthony Michael
Hall developed some weird thyroid condition, Molly Ringwald lost her gauky
enjenu appeal, and the rest are laguishing somewhere in tv obscurity.
Pacey: No way! Emilio
Estevez! He was in those Duck movies, remember? God, those were classics,
so funny....
Pacey: Joey! What'll
it be Truth or Dare?
Joey: No way you said
that-
Pacey: ah ha ha ha,
Truth or Dare?
Joey: uh, truth.
Pacey: Okay, who do
you like?
Joey: Who do I like?
Pacey: Yeah simple
question... Who are you in love with? The truth.
Joey: Did I say truth
I meant dare.
Abby: You guys are
such wimps can't any of you handle the truth?
Joey: Look I'll do
anything, I'll go climb through the venalation ducts, I'll go flash Mrs.
Tringle-
Pacey: Alright, perfect
then, in keeping with our kissing theme, Joey, I dare you to kiss on the
lips for fifteen seconds....Dawson Leery...
Joey: Don't you think
you should go get some pom-pons Jen? Cheer your man on.
Jen: Alright Joey,
I give up, you win. I keep trying to get you to like me but there's nothing
I can do is there?
Joey: What do you
mean? Whatever. I like you.
Jen: Come on, Joey,
I'm not a fool. All your little catty comments are not lost on me. I mean,
what did I ever do to you? All I've ever done is try to be your friend.
Abby: You all can
never be friends as long as you keep fighting over the same guy. Joey,
it's obvious you're in love with Dawson.
Joey: You're wrong.
Abby: I saw a kiss
that could set the Atlantic ocean on fire. Don't tell me I'm wrong about
these things. That kiss was intense.
Joey: Why do you have
to be like this.
Jen: Like what?
Joey: So nice, God,
it'd be a whole lot easier if you were just a total wench.
Jen: I'm sorry I guess
I could try to be more of a wench.
Jen: You're like a God to me Dawson, and I don't even believe in God. I mean, this school hasn't exactly welcomed me with open arms. It seems like everybody here hates me and I don't know why. If it's because I'm from New York, or because I'm different. It seems like my life here is just one big detention that I can't escape, but then, I think about you. And about how I've met a guy who's so romantic, and so caring, and who I like, and who I want so much. Dawson it's because of you that I get through the bad days. And if you think I want you to be some big, varsity sex stud then you're crazy.
Joey: You know when
did everyone because so obsessed with sex? Now, you too, Dawson. If you're
worried that everyone's more experienced than you, you can rest easy because
you still have one friend who will probably go to her grave a virgin.
Dawson: Joey it's
just a matter of time.
Joey: Until what?
My brain short circuits and I start bedding down with every guy with a
fast car and big biceps?
Dawson: Before you
find the right person.
Joey: I have.
Joey: I'm sorry Dawson.
I don't know what's going on. I have all these feelings. These weird feelings.
And I don't know how to say it and I can't say it. I mean, you know everything
about me, everything. And I still can't say this. I can't. And I just feel
really lonely.
Dawson: You're not
alone.
Joey: Yes I am.
Dawson: Jo, I'm here
for you now, okay? Nothing you can say is going to change that. Maybe if
you just say these things then they'll be out in the open and your feelings
won't be as strong anymore. Like you could be free.
Joey: I can't. I can't.
If I say these things, I can't ever take them back. It'll change everything
and I can't do that. I can't.
Dawson: See, in the 40's, you could be a well-intentional geek and still end up with the girl. I mean, whatever happened to the standard Gary Cooper types, you know. Likeable but not too self involved, smart without being arrogant. I mean, come on, what happened to that guy?
Pacey: You know, this town is the absolute embodiment of dull. Apart from the occasional sex scandal provided by yours truely, nothing happens here.
Dawson: Let's face it, dad. We're a couple of nice guys, which stopped being a desirable character trait about half a century ago.
Joey: Look... I need
to rent The English Patient.
Pacey: May I sugest
to you a movie that does not completely blow?"
Joey: No, because
it was on cable last night and put the baby to sleep. In fact, its the
only thing thats puts the baby to sleep, because the baby never sleeps.
And if the baby doesn't sleep, then I don't sleep, and if I don't sleep,
I get angry. I get irritable. And I no longer maintain my sunny disposition.
So Pacey, if you have even the slightest bit of human decency you will
rent this movie to me immediately and bring 181 minutes of peace into my
otherwise wretched life.
Pacey: Alright but
in my professional opinion, you dont need a video store, you need a pharmacy.
Pacey: Look, Joey,
I've never really taken a particular interest in your life (he stands up)
cuz frankly your life has never been particularily interesting but there
is one thing I need to know. You're really, really enjoying the fact that
Jen's ex is in town, aren't you?
Joey: Well, it's intriguing,
Pacey, I mean, even you have to admit that.
Pacey: But you know
what? This is the wedge you've been waiting for that's going to drive Jen
and Dawson apart, right?
Pacey (trying to get the baby to sleep) : So then, the guy who ends up being the English Patient and the girl, they're stranded in the cave. And she looks up at him.(with a British accent) She's like oh, please don't leave me. Promise me, you'll come back someday. And he turns around. Hey, hey , listen, listen to this, he turns around and he's like don't worry, darling, I'll come back for you, unless of course, my plane is shot down by Nazis and my face is burned beyond recognization after cutting off William Dafoe's fingers.
Dawson : You know for someone who views themselves as a tragically nice guy, I spend an awful lot of time apologizing. Jen, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. Insecurity brings out the worst.
Jen: I know I criticize you for living in a fantasy world, Dawson, but the truth is, I envy you. Everything's so new, so untouched for you. I would gladly trade in all my experiences for just an ounce of your idealism. And I wish I knew some better way to say this but.
Jen: I told Billy today
that it was over with us.
Dawson: I know. He
told me.
Jen: And now I have
to say the same thing to you.
Jen: I'll be sleeping
80 feet away from you and it will feel like a thousand miles. I'll regret
my decision constantly. I'll kick myself to no end and when I come crawling
back to you, you'll have every right to say 'Take a hike, Jen, I'm with
somebody else now.'
Dawson: Somebody who
appreciates me. Somebody who doesn't blow into town with her dysfunctional
past and play mindgames with the boy next door. Somebody who is capable
of a healthy, committed relationship and unfortunately, somebody nothing
like you.
Billy: You used to
be fun, you know that.
Jen: No, I used to
be weak and vulnerable.
Billy: Yeah, well
next time you alter your personality, let me know in advance. It'll save
me in gas money.
Dawson: We're cutting
out of here. We're going up to a club in Providence.
Pacey: Finally! Dawson's
evil twin. This is going to be a much anticipated pleasure.
Joey: Ya know not to
sound harsh, you can't live in the past...you have to start preparing for
life after Jen.
Dawson: Something
tells me Joey has a theory.
Joey: Okay. Three
main areas to focus on...first: Public perception.
Dawson: Which is?
Joey: Well, from now
until the end of the semester you'll be known as the guy who got dropped.
Most girls will view you as tainted goods and of course there will be the
few who will feel incredibly sorry for you and offer the certain kind of
sympathy. My advice: Avoid them.
Dawson: That's easy
enough...what's next?
Joey: Well other guys.
Dawson: Other guys?
Joey: Look Dawson
you have to be prepared for the possibility that Jen will begin dating
again. Seeing her around with her new boyfriend...from this very window
as she pauses coily at her garden gate and accepts a goodnight kiss from
a guy who you feel physically and intellectually superior to in every way
and you can't possibly...
Dawson: Okay Jo! I
get the point. What's the third thing?
Joey: Well you and
Jen.
Dawson: Me and Jen?
Joey: Yeah. The inevitable
conversation which frankly I'm surprised you haven't had yet. Ya know she'll
ask if the two of you can be friends 'cause she'd really like that if you
could and you say....c'mon Dawson you have to have an answer.
Pacey: Dr. Rand, I'd
like to log a formal protest. You never told me I was going to be working
with a repressed control freak.
Joey: Yeah, and you
never said my grade was dependent on helping some remedial underachiever.
Dr. Rand: Well. Wonderful.
I see no introductions are necessary.
Joey: So, let me get
this straight. You tried to create some kind of snail menage a trois?
Pacey: Well, it sounds
kind of stupid when you say it out loud.
Joey: Wait a second. You're taking romantic advice from a guy who spent his evening trying to get three snails to sleep with each other?
Joey (to Pacey) : I'm very well certain that your grade will not only place you squarely among the morons, but you may very well be their leader.
Dawson: You have the hots for Joey? Pacey what have you been inhaling too many lab chemicals? You and Joey are mortal enemies.
Pacey: You know, it's time you start asking yourself some serious questions, Dawson. Because you exhaust way too much time and energy on a girl you call your friend. So, you know what? Let's just set the record straight here. Who's it going to be? Is it Jen or is it Joey? Do you like the blond or do you like the brunette? These questions are not going to go away, Dawson. It's time you provide some answers.
Jen: Drew Barrymore.
Look, you want to play this game, lets cut right to the chase. What's your
favorite scary movie?
Guy on Phone: Hum,
'Friday the 13th.' What's yours?
Jen: 'Ten Commandments.'
Dawson: I swear it. I'm done trying to turn my life into some exciting movies. You know what, I just end up getting disappointed. Like when I started seeing Jen, I thought, 'Okay, you know what, from now on, everything is going to be some big epic romance. Tortured and passionate and romantic, have some big happy ending. It wasn't that at all. The characters were flawed and uninspired, the love were... amateurish at the least. And the ending was definitely not happy. It wasn't even tragic, it just ended.
Jen : Look Joey. Now that the proverbial wedge, recently referred to as Dawson Leery, is no longer between us, we could actually be friends. I know, I know, it's a bizarre concept, but we may find we have something more in common than just the boy next door.
Jen: You know, it's funny Joey. When I was dating Dawson, I was petrified that any day he would take the blinders off and realize how gorgeous you are.
Dawson: Very funny.
Is this some kind of expose for the paper? Get out! Joey Potter entering
a beauty pageant? This is classic.
Joey: Oh, I see. You
think I'm such a barking car chaser that a D student with a Julius Caesar
haircut has a better shot than me? Thanks a lot.
Jen : In New York I didn't exactly hang out with a lot of other girls. Okay? I mean I've never even had close girlfriends. And as far as I can tell, neither have you. I don't know, don't you ever feel like you're missing out on something.
Dawson: And I don't
know what to do. I miss her when she's not around.
Pacey: Oh at last
the moment of truth. Well thank God maybe we can all go home now.
Dawson: Pacey I know
you're obsessed about with this little theory of yours, but the truth is
I've never though of Joey in a romantic context. I've always thought of
her as like a sister. I just don't think I could ever get past that. If
Joey and I got together it would be, a little incestuous.
Pacey: So what you're
saying is you don't want her but you don't want anybody else to have her
either?
Pacey: Could it be Cinderella's fairy godmother did her job a little too well?
Pacey: Tell me is it
the possibility of losing him to someone else that suddenly makes him seem
so attractive?
Jen: You really think
that I am that shallow, huh?
Pacey: No. I think
you're that human.
* Joey's Song at the
Beauty Pageant *
On my own, Pretending
he's beside me,
All alone, I walk
with him til morning.
Without him, I feel
his arms around me.
And when I lose my
way, I close my eyes, and he has found me.
In the rain, The pavement
shines like silver,
All the lights, Are
misty in the river,
In the darkness the
trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him
and me forever and forever.
And I know It's only
in my mind,
That I'm talking to
myself, And not to him.
I love him, I love
him, I love him but only on my own.
* **
Dawson: I looked at you tonight, and I, and I, it was like you came completely out of your shell. There was like this total new found confidence that just seemed to burst from you. And I know what it must have taken for you to get up and do that tonight. God, look at you. It's like you transformed into this beautiful...Joey. God, I mean, I'm sitting here with my best friend in the world, and my palms are sweating. I've known you forever, but I feel like I'm seeing you for the first time tonight.
Joey : I thought this
was what I wanted. You to see me aa beautiful. For you to look at me the
way that you look at Jen. But the truth is, I don't want that at all Dawson.
I want you to look at me and see the person you've always known and realize
that what we have is so much more incredible than some passing physical
attraction because you know what Dawson? This is just lipstick (she wipes
it off) and its just hairspray (takes her hair down). Tomorrow I' m going
to wake up, and I'm going to be Joey. Just Joey. The too-tall girl from
the wrong side of the creek.
Dawson : Joey this
is all new. We should talk about it. No matter what happens. We can't go
back to the way things were.
Joey : Dawson, you've
had a lifetime to process your feelings for me. And I can't spend the rest
of my life hoping that you might throw a general glance in my direction
between all your torture-teen romances whenever Jen Lindley rolls around.
Dawson: This is a great
show, Its a huge two-parter, the big cliffhanger.
Joey: Cliffhanger?
C'mon Dawson you of all people should know that a cliff hanger is merely
a manipulative TV standard used to improve ratings.
Dawson: No, a cliff-hanger's
purpose is to keep people interested, keep them guessing whats going to
happen in future episodes.
Joey: Yeah but just
like in our own lives they are so predictable. I mean the producers put
the charachters in some contrived situation hoping that the audience will
think something's going to change but you know what, it never does, back
to the same way it was before your so-called cliff-hanger. It's boring
Dawson.
Dawson: Well what
if this time's different? What if this time in the cliff-hanger something
changes? You wouldn't want to miss that now would you?
Joey: Still sounds
like one big tease to me Dawson.
Dawson : She’s great. I mean she’s...she’s smart. She’ s beautiful. She’s funny. She’s a big ol’ scaredy cat. If you creep up behind her she’ll jump out of her skin. It’s pretty amusing. Um, she’s honest. She always calls them just like she sees them. You can always count on getting the truth from Joey even if the truth hurts. She’s stubborn. We fight a lot. She can be so frustrating sometimes. But she’s a really, really good friend. And loyal to a fault, she’s...she believes in me. And I’m a dreamer so I mean, it’s so good to have somebody like that in my life. God, if she goes away I don’t know what I’m going to do. I mean she’s...she’s my best friend, you know? She’s...she’s more than that...she’s everything.
Dawson : Running away
is not the answer, Joey.
Joey : What is the
answer Dawson? Why don't you give me one good reason why I should stay?
Give me one non-analitical off-the-top-of-your-head reason why I should
stay.
Joey: Yeah. Dawson,
I'm so tired of dancing around these big words. I just want to be honest
with you.
Dawson: Me too. Jo,
more than anything, I just want to be honest.
Joey: Do you think
we're ready for that honesty?
Dawson: Yeah I do.
Joey : Are you sure?
Because honesty is a big word and it changes things and it complicates
things. Are you sure you're ready for all the things that comes along with
telling the truth?
It's my childhood come
to life, but now I get to go back to these places and create these situations
where I can change the ending and have it turn out like I wish it would
have.
- Kevin Williamson, creator of the show
It sounds simple, but
TV turns out so much formulaic trash that when something truly wonderful,
smart and heartfelt comes along, it's astonishing. And in a word, that's
what "Dawson's Creek" is. Kevin Williamson has fashioned a very autobiographical
coming-of-age story that treats teenagers with respect, has a pulse on
youthful dialog and issues, stays hip but ultimately is about as endearing
and real as any treatment of America's youth ever put on television.
What's essential about
"Dawson's Creek" is that it feels natural, like Williamson tapped into
all the awkward moments, all the times you experienced something and it
changed you forever, all the small nuances of being young and confused.
He rarely makes a false move in depicting these characters and that restraint
and respect is extremely rare... what they encounter is life.
- Tim Goodman's review
of the opening episode
"Television used to
be a serious stigma for film actors. You couldn't be on a television show
on a weekly basis and still be a movie star. That's completely changed
now. But for directors, it's still very difficult to go back and forth.
Why? I don't know. You either do one or the other... If you get a good
script for a pilot, you get to set the tone of the show, you set the look,
you cast it. You have an impact on that show. A pilot takes a month and
a half, it's over. A movie takes more than a year and a big chunk out of
your life."
- Steve Miner, director of DC pilot, in "The New York Times"
# LINKS
Site
with Season 1 Dawson Creek Quotes split by epiosde
Or a site with Transcripts
of each episode so far