Search - Dawson's Creek - The Complete Fifth Season on DVD

Better than it gets credit for...

Rhett Miller | Canada | 04/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ignore the haters, Season Five is one of the series' best. While nothing will touch the freshman year of Seasons One and Two, Season Five benefits from a welcome change of scenery. Capeside was getting tired by the end of Season Three, and Four seemed like the same old conflicts reiterated again. The series needed to breathe, and it found new wind in sending Dawson off to California and the rest of the clan off to Boston.

Throwing the characters into the new realm of post-secondary adds freshness to the series, as the gang is able to experience new and more age-oriented conflicts, like fraternity angst, career-path uncertainty and the perils of being away from home. The series would even stretch itself creatively with the new location change, with an interesting two-parter with Joey and a life-changing situation.

Not only is the change of scenery rife with interesting new experiences, but the actual subject matter of Season Five has much more dramatic weight than the comparatively lackluster Season Four. Dawson does some real soul searching, Pacey copes with the hardships of being a failure, and there is a death with an emotional impact that makes Abby Morgan's farewell in Season Two seems like small stuff.

We also get a new regular, Audrey, "Freaks and Geeks" breakout Busy Phillips, and she adds a feistiness to the series that had been lost after Abby's departure in Season Two. While Audrey's character would become a writing snafu in Season Six (constantly reiterating the same old tired drug/alcohol abuse story), her, Joey and Pacey have some really strong moments in this season. Jack's homosexuality is treated much more comfortably here than it was in any other season, and Jen is surprisingly loveable in Season Five, which is nice considering how grating she was becoming with all her angst throughout Seasons Two to Four.

All the characters really do grow in this season, and some of the entire series' best moments can be found within. Joey's sing-song at the bar is a celebration of her newfound individuality apart from Dawson or Pacey, the funeral service for the death victim and a tender moment between Dawson and Jen after nearly breaking up all rank up there in emotional impact with the Season One finale.

Those who badmouth Season Five are mostly, from what I can gather, Joshua Jackson lovers who just can't get past the fact that the series is called "Dawson's Creek" and not "Pacey and Joey's Creek". Pacey and Joey share some wonderful moments in Seasons Three, Four and Six, but it is nice that they get a breather in Five. Those looking for the Pacey-Joey drama of previous seasons will be stubbornly disappointed, but those looking for a fresh return to the essence of the show will no doubt appreciate Season Five. It is easily the most underappreciated season in the series, and hopefully this DVD release will allow fans to revisit and reappraise this great season. Enjoy it while you can, because Season Six is a rough ride...

Fans should know a couple things about this 5th Season DVD release. Firstly, the music is again changed, including the Paula Cole theme song. While this has been common practice for the last couple seasons, this one takes it a step further. In the funeral episode, which in the series' original run was the only episode to have entirely different music and credits, has instead been replaced with the Jann Arden opening. The original opening for this episode had a beautifully somber instrumental version of Paula Cole's theme song (performed by Adam Fields) that was set to images of a cloudy Capeside. It was beautiful, but on this release it is no longer. A real shame.

Secondly, the other big change on this release compared to the previous ones is the total lack of extras. The Paul Stupin commentaries that we have all anticipated and loved each year have now been discontinued. No trivia games, Capeside map, behind-the-scenes interviews, nothing. Considering Season 5 was such a big change for the series, you'd think they would have had Paul come in and dish out on his creation. He even spoke of his excitement to do so on the commentary for Season 4. Alas, we get a couple previews for other shows on disc one, and the rest of the three discs are completely empty. Season 5 is a great enough season to warrent purchase on its own, but the lack of extras is a real slap in the face to fans who have stuck by this series so long on both TV and now DVD. Given that it is Sony I can't say that I am all that surprised, but I hope they rectify their mistakes for the final season. Please, Sony, bring the commentaries back!"

I don't want to wait for our lives to be over

Joshua Spaulding | Ossipee, New Hampshire | 07/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One of the biggest reasons I enjoy television so much is because it allows me to escape the incredible boredom that passes for my life, and for a little while anyway, take in somebody else's problems and live in their lives.

This is certainly the case with Dawson's Creek. I never watched the show when it was on the air until the last few episodes, but I have enjoyed the first four DVD sets and was interested to see how the show changed once the kids left Capeside for college.

As season five begins, we find Dawson at film school in California, Joey at Worthington College in Boston and Jack and Jen close by at Boston Bay College. Pacey, fresh off his summer working on a yacht, is living in a boat in Boston Harbor and as the season begins, only Jen knows he is there.

Things change quickly for everyone as the season gets under way. Dawson realizes that he misses being with Joey and decides he wants to move to Boston to be near her. But the sudden death of his father changes everything, pushing him away from Joey and eventually into a relationship with Jen. Jack quickly joins a fraternity and his brothers soon begin to take priority over school and his high school friends. Pacey realizes that he has a talent for cooking when he gets a job in a restaurant and Joey finds herself attracted to her professor.

James Van Der Beek is again solid as Dawson, though you have a hard time, as in years past, believing that he is the age that he is. The dialogue throughout the series has always been over the top, which is really what makes the show what it is. His emotion at the death of his father, and his need to be there for his mother is heart wrenching at times. He finally confronts his feelings by going to a therapist to sort out his feelings. It is these emotions that lead him to his relationship with Jen, one that ends before the season concludes, but brings back memories for viewers from the original season of the show.

Michelle Williams as Jen really sees a variety of different roles throughout the season. You see her as the girlfriend to Dawson, but as the relationship slowly begins to fade, you see her trying not to hurt his feelings, yet still keep herself somewhat sane. Her friendship with Jack goes from hot to cold to back to hot again and at the end of the season, she is off to spend the summer with her parents.

As Jack, Kerr Smith is again a strong member of the cast. He confronts a lot of emotions when he joins a fraternity and finds out that he is simply being used to fill a quota. Eventually the fact that he is gay leads him to leave the fraternity. While he is there however, he takes to drinking way too much, and falls behind in his schoolwork and also becomes estranged from Jen for a period of time, a relationship that heals by the season's end.

Joshua Jackson's Pacey is the one character of the group that is not in college, but he is living nearby in a friend's boat as the season begins. Eventually he takes a job at a restaurant and finds out that he has a real talent for it and is put in charge of the kitchen when his boss leaves. He also begins a relationship with Audrey (Busy Phillips), Joey's college roomate, a relationship that reminds one of the relationship he had with Joey, something that really makes him happy.

Of course Katie Holmes as Joey Potter was one of the most beautiful women on television at the time and in this season, you get to see her as a college freshman. Her almost affair with a professor and her attraction to a guy who cheated on Jen show a different side to Joey Potter than most people are used to after four years of getting to know her. Perhaps her best episode of the series was the one where she was mugged and helped the mugger after he was hit by a car. This episode featured just this story line and was very powerful.

Busy Phillips, as Audrey, guest starred in almost every episode and was added as a series regular in t he final season. Mary Beth Piel's Grams is still a cast regular, as she moves to Boston and houses Jen, Jack and eventually Dawson. She really is a fantastic character, one that provides that motherly advice that young people always need. Mary Margaret Humes, a cast regular for the first four years, appears sporadically as Dawson's mom Gail. John Wesley Shipp also appears in a few episodes as Mitch Leery, before he dies in a car crash. The third former cast regular Nina Repeta, appears in a few episodes as Joey's sister Bessie.

Of course there is the guest star appearances of a couple of people from other shows. Chad Michael Murray is now the star of One Tree Hill. Sherrilyn Fenn was on a number of shows, including Twin Peaks. Phillips was on Freaks and Geeks.

This set could have easily been rated five stars from this reviewer, but there were no extras at all. Each of the other four sets has at least a commentary track or two for the fans, but this set featured nothing, which was disappointing. Also, the theme song is again replaced, which is what viewers have come to expect over the last few seasons. It would be nice if they brought back Paula Cole for season six, but I kind of doubt it will happen."

Season 5: To everything turn, turn, turn.

Boston Guy | Boston, MA | 02/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I know alot of people look back at the fifth and sixth season of Dawson's Creek and frown. But I am not one of them.

To me everything needs to evolve. In season five, Joey is at Worthington with Jen and Jack who are at Boston Bay. All three of them are in Boston along with Gram's and unknowingly Pacey.

Dawson is in California where he is interning as on the set of a movie called Damage INC. directed by a real jerk, Todd. Who fires Dawson on the first day. This sets Season 5 into motion.

With his movie making dreams suffering a severe blow, Dawson goes back to the east coast to find Joey. What he doesn't know is that Joey has come to the conclusion that it was baest for them to move on, and she tells Dawson this on his answering machine. When Joey sees Dawson she thinks that he has come from LA after hearing the message, when in fact he did not.

This creates a huge problem for Joey as she wants Dawson to stay, and in the end he does. But when he tells his parents that he is not going back to USC tragedy strickes. One of the most beloved characters on the show dies in a car crash, Dawson's father Mitch. The entire gangcomes to console Dawson, but have little impact.

Deep down Dawson blames Joey for the Death of his father, and this comes to a boil in further episodes.

Other quirks of the fifth season are Jen and Charlie(Chad Micheal Murray from Gilmore Girls, and One Tree Hill). Jack and the Sigma Eps. Pacey finding his true calling in the culinary arts. And Joey's near death experience that makes her want to mend up the damaed fence between her and her father.

All in all one of the better seasons of Dawson's Creek. IIn my Opinion."

Another great season of DC

Cassie | Texas | 02/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I know there are many disappointed fans out there when it comes to the decline of momentum in the fifth season, but I really loved this season. We have already seen all of Capeside and its inhabitants at this point. We already know the in depth history of each and every one of the main characters. We have already seen the same people thrown into the same situations again and again (Not saying that I didn't love every minute of it). It is just nice to see how they react to a new environment and new people. Also, the fifth season has some of the most heartbreaking storylines of the entire series, including the episode where Mitch dies and the one where Joey gets mugged. For anyone questioning whether or not to buy the disc set, let me just tell you that the previous four were well worth it for me. I do have to say that I was a bit disappointed by the change in music. I understand why certain songs had to be changed, but it just isn't quite the same when you see the opening credits come on and you don't hear "I don't want to wait" by Paula Cole along with it. I would certainly pay a little more for the set if it had at least that one song included."