I have a confession to make. I am often late to work because I need to watch the first few moments each morning of Dawson’s Creek on TBS.
I have also never watched Criminal Minds. But when I heard that James Van Der Beek would be guest starring as a serial killer, I had to watch. I sat down on my couch with my sister (an avid Criminal Minds viewer) and I smugly said to her, “I don’t care if he’s a serial killer. He’ll always be Dawson Leery.”
Boy was I wrong.
Ten minutes into the episode I realized I was screaming because Van Der Beek was literally scaring the sh*t out of me. I should have had more faith.
Here’s the thing. James Van Der Beek became known for his role as Dawson Leery, the overly sophisticated, hopeless romantic on Dawson’s Creek. In 1999 he played a football player in the movie Varsity Blues. Sure he wasn’t his sweet self in the movie, but the role wasn’t too much of a departure from his Dawson’s character. In 2002 he played Sean Bateman in Rules of Attraction. Granted he was creepy there, but he was still a student, and as good of an acting job as he did, he was still Dawson Leery to me.
Then came Sunday night’s Criminal Minds. That’s when Dawson Leery transformed before my eyes into the actor James Van Der Beek. He was incredible playing Raphael and Tobias, a serial killer who uses religion to justify his killings. (Or at least that’s what I think. I’ll find out more during part two on Wednesday.) And yes, he plays Raphael and Tobias, because Van Der Beek is such a freaking good actor that he’s able to play two roles in one show. That’s what’s even cooler. From the beginning of the episode you’re pretty sure that Raphael and Tobias are one person. Yet the voices are so dissimilar that you can’t convince yourself they’re both coming from the same actor’s mouth, until we actually see Van Der Beek voicing both parts. He! ‘s that good.
Nothing against Dawson’s Creek, as I’ll al ways be slightly obsessed with the show that got me through my teens, but in less than one hour of Criminal Minds, Van Der Beek was able to exhibit his incredibly acting chops in ways that Dawson’s never allowed.
That’s because I learned something else while watching the show. Criminal Minds is really, really good. I have a slight issue where I’m addicted to Law and Order: SVU, and because of that, without even giving other criminal shows a chance, I’ve decided they can’t compare to my beloved SVU. Well thank you, James Van Der Beek, for making me sit down to watch Criminal Minds, because it was worth it.
First of all, Mandy Patinkin is in it. Talk about me and typecasting–I couldn’t stop saying, “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Either way, he’s awesome. (Really though, who from The Princess Bride isn’t awesome?) Then you have Meredith Monroe, another Dawson’s Creek alum, ! who I absolutely love. The rest of the cast is really great as well, and from what my sister tells me, Sunday night’s episode wasn’t the only one that would have me screaming out of fright. Apparently all of the episodes are that good. I didn’t even know who any of the characters were before this episode, and yet I still felt a closeness to them that I only have for characters I’ve watched for at least a season. The main characters draw you in, the cases draw you in. Heck, sometimes the criminals even draw you in.
So here’s my advice for everyone: This Wednesday, it is one hundred percent worth it to skip American Idol. Even skip Lost Survivor’s Guide. Watch Criminal Minds. And if you really want to get on my good side, you should watch part one of the Criminal Minds/James Van Der Beek episode at 8 p.m.
After watching my obligatory few moments of Dawson’s Creek, I literally ran to work so I could write this column. That’s how m! uch of a Criminal Minds proponent I have become after just one episode. I’m even going to change around my entire DVR viewing plans for the remainder of the season. Watch Criminal Minds this week. You won’t regret it. Plus, you might even start referring to Dawson as James. You never know.
SoundOff to MediaVillage about Criminal Minds.
