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Dawson's Creek Season 1 Episode 2

Dance

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8.5

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AIRED: 1/27/98

Dawson casts Jen as the new leading lady in his film, but creates a messy off-camera scene during her date at the school dance. Meanwhile, Joey confronts Mrs. Leery about her liaisons; and Pacey gets under Tamara's skin with his public flirting.

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Fan Episode Reviews (4)

Dawson feelings for Jen gets Joey jealous as he makes her his leading lady. Tamara tries to end her relationship with Pacey.

8.5

By Jon_MW_14, Aug 30, 2010

Awesome episode! I love episodes where Dawson is filming. It gives a home-made video vibe that I rally like. One of my favourite scenes is Mitch teaching Dawson about kissing. I love how Joey over hears the conversation. I love how Joey confronts Gail about the affair. I also love how Joey is all innocent but her jelousy of Jen makes her so mean. I love how Pacey tries to flirt with Tamara throughout the episode and Tamara just to put a stop to it. It's so interesting how they end up kissing at the end of the episode as she tries to break things off with Pacey. I love the ending with Dawson and Jen dancing together.moreless
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Major improvement but still being rushed.

8.0

By Kadodian, Feb 22, 2009

This episode was bitter sweet. Dawson replaces Jen with Joey because of unkissable Pacey. Afterwards they are all attending the dance which ends in disaster when Dawson steps up and tries to take Jen from her date. Other higlights in this episode are Tamara kissing Pacey again and Joey telling Dawson's mother that she knows about her cheating. Why bitter sweet ? Well for one thing it had alot of romantic moments which are beautiful and what I watch these shows for. Moments like when Joey watched Dawson kissing the mannequin head or when she watched Jen and Dawson dancing. Bitter because they are speeding things up and overdoing them in too much drama. This show was turned into a soap in this episode. I'm okay with some appropriate dramatic and sappy events like Dawson facing off with Jen's date or Joey and Jen having a moment while getting blood of Jen's body but the writters have dragged out some things making them cheesy and annoying like all the speeches. So many speeches in one episode. You know what annoys me the most ? Dawson's sappy interpretations of everything of how everything comes from the movies. It's just an overdose of drama but the humor takes off the edge. The writers are clever at doing one thing, making you switch sides between wanting Dawson with Joey or with Jen. They make both pairings so romantic and filled with chemistry and it's always easy to pick the " must be " couple ( Joey and Dawson ) as long as the other girl is a mean b!tch but the writers made Jen as sweet as can be, and just like she made it hard for Joey to hate her, she made it hard for us to hate her too. All in all it was a major improvement from the first episode and I enjoyed it :)moreless
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Great episode!

9.0

By VGFreak8, Dec 21, 2007

Dawson wants to have his first kiss with Jen. Joey seems a little jealous of Dawson and Jen. Joey confronts Dawson's mom about her affair. Pacey continues his pursuit for Ms. Jacobs. Dawson is filming his movie. When Cliff asks Jen to the dance and she accepts, Dawson gets jealous and tries to break them apart. He and Jen end up dancing later that night while Pacey and Ms. Jacobs kiss. Dawson is put into the film class, but only as a mere study hall.

This episode was very good! I think that Joey was totally right about how cheating and affairs can damage and affect others around them and leaving very nasty scars. This episode gets a 9.0 out of 10!moreless
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Aw, Dawson is becoming a man!

7.0

By CountAightX, Apr 28, 2006

It’s a moment we all look forward to in our lives, our first kiss! And that’s what a majority of this episode is about, Dawson pining for his first kiss.

Dance deals with Dawson searching for the best opportunity to kiss Jen, Pacey dealing with Ms. Jacobs and Joey confronting Gail about her cheating on Mitch. The episode works in a large part because

Scott Foley from Felicity fame makes his first appearance on the show as Cliff, the guy who looks far too old to be in high school. He doesn’t do much in the episode but he has possibly the best moment in the entire episode when he delivers his movie pitch to the Film teacher about a quarterback who has his arm broken in three places, but he doesn’t tell his coach and he’s going to attempt to play through the pain to get his team the championship, leaving the audience to wonder… will he do it? It’s autobiographical apparently. Priceless.

My only complaint with the episode is the freak out Dawson has at the dance when he confronts Cliff and Jen. Dawson overreacts like usual, overstating things, using big words to describe his feelings in a way that most high school kids would never, ever say… but he’s a film geek, maybe he’s smarter than the average kid.

Joshua Jackson could have been used more, he’s always a bright spot on the show, one of the better actors and he wasn’t really that involved in the storyline other than a nice scene with Leann Hunley towards the end of the episode.

With those small complaints aside, this was another solid episode to the show… much better than the title of the episode makes it seem like it'd be.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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James Van Der Beek	Dawson Leery
Katie Holmes	Josephine "Joey" Potter
Michelle Williams	Jennifer "Jen" Lindley
Joshua Jackson	Pacey J. Witter
Mary-Margaret Humes	Gale Leery
John Wesley Shipp	Mitch Leery

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Mitchell Laurance	Mr. Benjamin Gold	Recurring Role
Leann Hunley	Ms. Tamara Jacobs	Recurring Role
Scott Foley	Cliff Elliot	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (3)
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- The name of the film the students are working on is Helmets of Glory.
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- Goof: Mr. Gold tells Dawson that he can't get into the film class because he is a Sophomore so this infers that Nellie is at least a Sophomore as well. However, she is also in Pacey's Freshman English class. All the four main characters: Dawson, Joey, Pacey, and Jen are Sophmores, attending their 10th grade.
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- Goof: When Dawson and Joey are walking down the street and see Jen by herself near the stand, they stop. Dawson is reasoning with Joey, and Joey's hair is in front of her ear. The camera doesn't go off her on the close-up, but when they pull away, her hair is behind her ear.
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QUOTES (15)
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- Dawson: I can't explain it any better Joey. The girl's a mystery to me, but I feel like I've known her my whole life. I mean, it's like the way I feel about you. She challenges me the way you do. She could be you, except she's Jen.
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- Dawson: I'm an artist. Tortured is a prerequisite.
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- Dawson: Helmets of Glory chronicles last year's football season and get this, Mr. Cliff quarterback himself is writing, directing and starring in it.
  Joey: Oh. A Streisand.
  Dawson: This is serious Jo. They're entering it in the film festival. My film festival. This is like immediate competition.
  Joey: And it's a sports film?
  Dawson: A thin and pedestrian sports film.
  Joey: Ah. The epitome of everything you're against. Could life be more cruel?
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- Dawson: Jen happens to be a bright and talented woman who is clearly in charge of her own body.
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- Joey: But he's so unkissworthy.
  Dawson: It's a movie, you're playing a character. It's not Pacey you're kissing.
  Joey: So he's a sea serpent from the deep. What's the difference?
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- Mitch: It's all about romance. And chapstick.
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- Dawson: (Regarding Cliff's date with Jen) I don't get it. What did he do that I didn't do?
  Joey: He asked her out!
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- (Gale and Joey are discussing Gale's affair)
  Gale: Does Dawson know?
  Dawson: (Enters) Know what?
  Joey: How to dance.
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- Dawson: Do me a favor? If I get like this again, and I'm sure I will before this adolescent growth process is over... Next time just chain me to my bed and wait till my moment of clarity to come.
  Joey: Can I use leather straps.
  Dawson: Not until you explain the Crisco!
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- Jen: So I'm interested.
  Dawson: In what?
  Jen: An adventure.
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- (Discussing Joey's role in Dawson's movie)
  Dawson: Joey, you're gonna have to kiss him (Pacey).
  Joey: I cannot and will not kiss that cretin.
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- Joey: (To Dawson, about Jen) I'm not suggesting leather straps and Crisco, just a kiss.
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- Dawson: Hey, Dad, have you seen my camcorder.
  Mitch: Filming today?
  Dawson: Yeah. Joey gets decapitated.
  Mitch: It's in my bedroom on the night table, your mother's side. You might want to take the tape out.
  Dawson: You know, you can get arrested for that in some states.
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- Jen: (To Joey) You have nice breasts. I mean, don't get the wrong idea, I'm completely hetero. I'm just commenting girl to girl. You have a really nice body.
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- Cliff: Fortunately, this is a victory dance.
  Jen: Ah, and did you make the winning play?
  Cliff: Well, you're here, aren't you?
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NOTES (6)
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- Leann Hunley ("Miss Jacobs") received the "And" credit.
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- This episode was the highest rated one of season 1.
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- Gram's kitchen cabinets are avocado green with orange centers, and will remain the same for the next 3 seasons. However, in the Pilot episode the cabinets were all green.
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- This episode marks Scott Foley's first episode as Cliff Elliot. He is also the first of the Jennifer Lindley boyfriends to move on to his own show. Followed by Jason Behr, Chad Michael Murray, and Jensen Ackles, on Felicity, Roswell, One Tree Hill, and Supernatural respectively.
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- Music featured in the episode included:
  Happiness by Abra Moore
  Ooh Ahh...Just A Little Bit by Gina G.
  You Don't Know Me by Jann Arden
  Am I Cool by Nowhere Blossoms
  But You by Paul Chiten
  Pretty Strange by Paul Chiten
  Flames Of Truth by Sarah Masen
  I Want You by Savage Garden
  Apple by The Autumns
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- Mary Beth Peil (Grams) and Nina Repeta (Bessie) do not appear in this episode, although they are featured in the opening credits. This marks the first episode of the series not to feature Bessie or Grams.
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ALLUSIONS (6)
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- Movie References:
  Psycho (1960)
  Scream (1996)
  Saturday Night Fever (1977)
  Staying Alive (1983)
  Grease (1978)
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- Dawson: So, in honor of the school dance, I've rented Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive and Grease.
  
  All three of these movies have a theme of dancing and star John Travolta, which explains why Dawson later makes the comment about having "a date with Travolta".
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- Tamara: For some reason this story is regarded as some great love story. But the reality is that Heathcliff and Catherine never really belonged together. They never should have been together. Catherine was essentially a mess. It was basically a decent guy who had a lot to learn about life and was apparently better off without some whimpering, mentally unstable wet-rag following him around. The whole thing was wrong. It should never have happened. Bronte should have saved her anger.
  
  Tamara Jacobs is referring to Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights in the above quote, but at the same time she is alluding to her unsteadiness about the kiss she shared with Pacey.
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- Joey: Oh, a Streisand.
  
  Joey is referring to actress/singer Barbra Streisand, who often writes, directs, and/or produces her own movies.
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- Dawson: I'm the one who should be kissing her, Joey, not some J. Crew ad.
  
  J. Crew, a clothing company, had an official contract to provide wardrobe for Dawson's Creek. The cast even appeared in their catalog before the show aired for the first time.
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- Dawson: What have we learned from tonight's 90210 evening?
  
  Refers to Bevery Hills, 90210, a very popular "teen" show that came before Dawson's Creek. Dawson's Creek was often thought of, or at least strived to be, a more "intelligent" take on teenagers than 90210.
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