How to Get Up to Speed on "Dawson's Creek"

Welcome to Capeside, a quaint New England hamlet and home to a group of high schoolers whose interactions with each other are as complex - and seemingly as fragile - as a spider's web.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• VCR Tapes
• VCRs
• Internet Access
• TV Guide
• Televisions

1. Meet Dawson (James Van Der Beek), the show's namesake. He's an aspiring filmmaker whose parents have just divorced. Dawson is the show's philosophical and moral anchor, who gets lost in love. He was with his lifelong friend and neighbor Joey until he overstepped his bounds and got too involved in her family life. They're friends now but don't always seem to be over each other.
2. Walk down the creek and meet Joey (Katie Holmes), an aspiring painter, whose mother died and whose father is in jail for drug dealing. She is trying to run a bed-and-breakfast with her older sister Bessie so that they can keep their family and home together.
3. Look around the corner for Pacey (Josh Jackson), Dawson's best friend, who has turned himself from a hapless slacker into a reliable go-getter. He also seems to be getting soft on Joey. Which would be a welcome transition for him after his failure with Andie, who was the one to inspire him to be all that he could be.
4. Sympathize with Andie (Meredith Monroe), who has returned to Capeside after being treated for mental illness. Her oldest brother was killed in a car crash a few years ago, and no one in the family is dealing with it well. Nor are they dealing well with the disclosure made by her brother Jack.
5. Meet sweet Jack (Kerr Smith), who has been ostracized by his father after coming out as gay, and is trying desperately to date in the fishbowl that is Capeside. Jack is the star wide receiver on the high school football team. He is also the solid support for Andie when she needs help.
6. Introduce yourself to Jen (Michele Williams), the girl with the wild and mysterious past, who was sent to Capeside by her mother to be raised by her very religious grandmother. She is still the most wild of the group but is settling into a more calm routine. She invited Jack to move in with her and her grandmother after he became unwelcome at home.
7. Get into the swing of "Dawson's Creek." It isn't hard to catch up with these Gap-wearing kids as they get through high school and hormones.
8. Watch "Dawson's Creek" on the WB network, Wednesdays at 8 p.m.