Chase.This.Light

Kimberly, who else was on that list. I may have seen it already, but I forget. That's at least 3 couples I like. Not sure about Ryan and Marissa as I don't know what show they're on.

Madison

I figured it would make more sense to post this here instead of over at the anti-PJ thread on the DC Board, which is where the topic first got sparked.

Okay, so I found that book that Edoardo was talking about over on the anti-PJ thread under my bed (I've had it for a looong time) - The Kiss That Saved Dawson's Creek and Other Adventures In TV Writing by Jeffrey Stepakoff and have come across a couple of things us behind-the-scenes' lovin' folks find compelling.

Nothing MAJOR, but he talks about some of the drama that went on in Seasons 2-3 verses how peaceful everything was between the cast during Season 1. And the writing staff and producers, for that matter.

Like I said, I thought it would make more sense to post my thoughts here since this thread can be used for venting and such, and I may need to do that a little...going to bed now, but I'll be back tomorrow to share the parts I found interesting. SO basically, I posted to say I'll be posting later. Weird, but I didn't want to forget.

dcluv

looking forward to it Maddie! i've read about the book online and i was always really interested to find what it says

a few years ago Dawson's Creek: A Critical Understanding (Critical Studies in Television) by Lori Bindig was released...i was always interested in what that said too...but i think it's just some random person writing a critique of the show, not someone who was a part of it.

Cris

I've read the inroduction of the book (Edoardo provided a link over the DJ thread) and apparently they were in big trouble to find good stories before the worst storyline ever...

There's more than one chapter about DC, Maddie?

I came here to rant a little bit too. Well, here in Brazil we're having several frauds in ATM machines, with trojans getting the passwords. Well, a guy distracted my dad asking questions about a deposit while another guy changed my dad's card which was in the machine, replacing for another one. Apparently they adjusted the machine to get the passwords of the bank clients. I'm so mad! My dad is so careful and he's feeling guilty now. The bastards cleaned his account and even took a loan in his name
I hope the bank solves this, but I'm not sure...

Chase.This.Light

OMG Cris. I hope it gets sorted.

Maddie, looking forward to the coomets. I love how you already made the decision that the book will cause you to rant. I read a small part about how the triangle basically made them lots of money because it was the story engine they needed. Lots of money at what cost I ask you? The integrity of the show, continuity.

Cris

I hope so too, Karen. He'll know the bank's position next Friday.

Chase.This.Light

That's still a long time to wait. Esp if they've taken a loan out. but then, how could they. I suppose if they took his card they can forge his signature. You hear of all of these anti-fraud insurance policies and wonder is there any point in taking them.

Madison

Omgosh Cris. That's awful, and I hope it all gets cleared up without any issues. That sort of thing happened to my mom once...not to that extent, they were only able to spend $800 before the bank started denying the other charges they were trying to make due to suspicious activity. *throws brick for Cris*

Oh, and yep. More than one chapter about DC. Still haven't gotten past 12, but I'm going to comment on what I've read so far...

So basically this is a book about his experiences as a TV writer. All the trials and tribulations and such. You should see how much money these writers make - he sorta breaks it down in the book...it's crazy. Anyway...

Chapter 12 in the book is called "Kissing Katie Holmes", and the good majority of it is about...duh...DC and the decision to put PJ together (which he usually just describes as The Kiss wth? ). He states in the chapter that the show started going south as soon as Season 2 opened with DJ "yakking after their first kiss". Huh?! Pardon me, but I would argue that, while the show definitely went in a different direction during the course of Season 2, it really and truly started "going south" when Joey blamed Dawson for her dad's stupid mistake. He does mention how ridiculous it was to have Joey wear a wire in order to turn her dad into the Feds. I would have to agree that that was a little crazy.

A few pages later, he mentions DawsonsCreek.com and says that staff members were actually hired to interact with the fans, in order to find out what they wanted to see happen on the show. Well, surprise surprise *shocked*...he says, "The wishes of viewers had a very strong impact on the direction of the series". Well, knock me over with a feather!!! You mean to tell me that the screaming and whining of a good portion of the fanbase actually had a hand in the debacle that was PJ? NO!!! I don't believe it.

Let's see...a few pages later he's talking about how difficult the meetings to discuss what should happen on the show were during Season 3. They were honestly grasping at straws because they couldn't come up with anything interesting to pitch (shouldn't that have given the even higher-ups a clue to fire them and get NEW writers? Jeez.) Well, until some genius came up with the miserable triangle that everyone thought was just brilliant. But he says that this writer named Alex would always be on the receiving end of calls from James complaining about the direction the show was taking - "Alex, not to be outdone...(blah blah blah)...forced to take a call from an increasingly freaking-out James Van Der Beek. Paul was on the verge of a heart attack." Well, cry me a freakin' river! I don't blame James for complaining. Not after what they did to his character...even before the dreaded triangle came into play. And Jeffrey actually admits this himself because he says that while they write the stupid words, it's the actors who have to say the stupid words, so they become forever associated with them (don't we know it). So I guess he couldn't really blame him for it either. He also said that they always had to run the scripts by James before they were given a final approval...he said they referred to this as "the James Pass". Well, I say good for James!! I would've probably done the same thing if I knew who was controlling the show's storylines. Ugh.

Let me see...I think that's it except for the more gossipy stuff that doesn't really make me feel like ranting. It's more like fluff. I can post that stuff on another thread...maybe the J/K thread?

So that's it. Not really a big deal, but I wanted to share my thoughts. Most of the book seems to be junk unless you're interested in becoming a TV writer, but the DC stuff is interesting for the most part.

Chase.This.Light

So, how come my ramblings to Jason didn't have any affect on the outcome? They were colourful enough. But then, I didn't go to the site until season 4 I think, maybe 5.

Madison

^^ Yeah, I'd imagine that's why. Not that it would've made a difference in Season 3 anyway, more than likely...we know which fanbase they wanted to please. Their choice for favorite was made very clear.

Chase.This.Light

Was it? If you ask me the final is still murky. I can't be completely satisfied with the Friendship soulmates and I dont understand how fans of PJ can be happy with knowing DJ go beyond what they have.

Madison

Murky, yes...but I think the writers, especially in late S3, knew which side they wanted to please more.

dcluv

i just want to thank James for trying to save the show from the disaster it was turning into. he's such a committed actor and i love that about him.

Deb D

I've got that book and the Billion-Dollar Kiss one, both with the intent to read and vent here. One day I'll get to it.

Thanks for your review Maddie and yay for the James Passes which probably prevented even more crap from appearing on our screens.

*throws a massive brick for Cris' dad*
Cris

Chase.This.Light

It does make you wonder what drivel we would have been subjected to if not for the rather wonderful James.