Dawson's back! (That's James Van Der Beek from The Creek in Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23).

Yes, yes, I know this is a bit overdue and you all probably know that Dawson is back in some sort of form in that new American comedy show Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 or Apartment 23 (which is easier and quicker to say). Well I don't really care because I'm going to tell you all over again: DAWSON LEERY IS BACK!

The name's Leery. Dawson Leery.

For all the hardcore Dawson's Creek fans out there, this is probably a long time coming and must feel like some sort of cool but crazy dream that they never thought would happen but somehow did after all those tedious years that the Creek has been off air. Not me, I'm lucky. I AM a hardcore Creek fan (probably. don't quote me on that), but only since about a year ago when I stumbled upon some old repeats of The Creek on British TV. I now own all the dvd box sets (yes, even season 5) and have a Team Pacey poster up on my bedroom wall (the last part isn't true, but it would be cool if it was).

You see, I was only about ten when Dawson's Creek was first aired back in the late 90s, and since I didn't have a cool older sibling to introduce me to it, I missed out. Last year all I could remember was that Tom Cruise's wife was it and some guy called Dawson whose creek it was. And then I realised what I'd been missing. Not only is The Creek a lovely bit of 90s nostalgia, it's also actually very, very good. I would urge any Gossip Girl or OC fan who hasn't to watch this next.

Anyway... the point is that I'm really pleased to see James Van Der Beek, the guy who played the title character on Dawson's Creek back on TV...playing urm... himself (James Van Der Beek).

The Beek, the b---- and... June.

You see, for those of you who don't already know, Don't Trust the B----  in Apartment 23 is about a girl who finds herself sharing an apartment (apartment 23) which another girl who is a bit of a b----. This other girl (the b----), seeing as it's New York where dreams are made of happens to be best friends with the actor James Van Der Beek. She describes, 'he's like my gay bff, but he's straight' after being asked, 'Is that a picture of Dawson?' about a framed photo of him in her living room. Priceless.

In the show, the fictional James Van Der Beek is a washed up actor plagued with the dilemma that the film industry and everyone else only really think of him as Dawson. Therefore he is left with no choice but to star in bad straight to TV movies, endorse foreign products and if the mood takes him, sleep with twenty-something former Creek groupies by slinging the signature Dawson red flannel shirt over his shoulder and turning on the Dawson charm. So basically, fictional James Van Der Beek is pretty much the same as real life James Van Der Beek (minus the sleeping with Creek groupies thing of course, James is a married man). So, this means we get to see some top notch clips of fake bad films such as the father/daughter body swap comedy ('I don't like having to kiss Mommy!') and ads such as the 'Beek Jeans' parody.

Surely this all just goes to show how great James Van Der Beek is (although not enough for me to switch sides from Team Pacey). I really don't want to complain about or mock him in any way, but you see, even he admits in a roundabout way that he can't get taken seriously as an actor because everyone still sees him as Dawson. Which is why he's doing the best with what he's got by taking the mick out of himself. Which I think is awesome.

Since Dawson's Creek finished in the early 00s, aside from a standout role playing Patrick Bateman's little brother in Rules of Attraction, James hasn't had much luck hitting the big time and has had to settle for films with titles like 'Mrs Miracle' (yes, seriously). Plus there was that Internet meme showing Dawson crying that appeared EVERYWHERE on the Internet which didn't help matters.

Dawson crying.

Which is why it's great that James is playing up to all this. (Check out: http://www.jamesvandermemes.com/). It ALMOST makes me forget that I prefer Pacey to Dawson.

OK, no it doesn't. Only a fool wouldn't be Team Pacey. I mean, LOOK at him.

So if you want to give it a watch Don't Trust the B---- at Apartment 23 is currently (I think) showing on American channel ABC and in Britain on E4.

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A brief guide to Dawson's Creek for those who never watched it, but should.

1. The series centres around sensitive dreamer Dawson (James Van Der Beek) who lives with his middle class family in a cute town by a creek.

2. On this creek also live his strong willed childhood friend Joey (Katie Holmes), wacky best friend Pacey (Joshua Jackson) and new girl from the city, former wild child Jen (Michelle Williams).

3. Whilst the Creek might seem boring, lots of stuff actually goes on. In just a few short years these teenagers had to deal with fathers going to prison, restaurants being burnt down, teenagers having relationships with teachers, girls falling into the creek and dying and much, much more.

4. One of the main themes (and best things) of the whole series is the love triangle with Joey who must choose between the two best friends Dawson and Pacey. Que Dawson crying.

5. The show was created by (and partly based on the life of) Kevin Williamson who is currently the driving force behind The Vampire Diaries. Fact: Kevin Williamson is amazing.

Here's the theme tune:

Titanic. Nothing on earth could come between us, except the fact that I was too young to go and see you in the cinema.

4th April 2012. This date is a massive deal for me. Why? you ask. Why is a random Wednesday that will probably be raining or cloudy, is still ages away from summer is not my birthday such a massive deal?

Well, this is the day that I'll finally get to do something that I so long ago wanted to. This is the day that I thought would never come, that I thought had passed me by and I would never see again...

Yes, that's right. This is the day that Titanic is released in cinemas. And I'm finally old enough to go and see it.

I remember the first time around. It was the beginning of 1998 and I was ten years old. Too young to really appreciate the truly massive hype surrounding the 12 rated film but old enough to want to go. Badly.

No wonder I was so bothered, it was in your face everywhere you went. On breakfast radio before you went to school, in tv adverts when you got home from school. Everyone was talking about it. It's not like I was even invested in it for any particular reason. I was a bit too young (at that point anyway) to be a Leo fangirl and I wasn't a die hard action fan. But what I did know was that this film was being talked about, that it looked epic, and I wanted to go.

So you can imagine how difficult this must have been for a relative of mine, who for some reason was around our house on the night he was due to go and see it. I can't remember much from 1998, it was a long time ago, I was only ten. But I remember this. All through dinner I had been begging, pleading to go with them only to be told something to the effect of, 'We would take you, but it's a 12. You won't get in, then we won't get in and none of us will be able to see it.' I can see their logic now, but as a ten year old kid watching them walk out the door on that cold February school night to see the biggest. film. ever. it didn't seem all that fair. Why couldn't 12As have been invented then?

So, needless to say I didn't get to see Titanic in the cinema. I did however get to see it when it came out on video the next Christmas, when I still wasn't 12, but luckily no one seemed to care. Words cannot describe how much I loved that movie. It gave me nightmares and I didn't sleep that night but it was worth it. I loved Leo and his boyish good looks. I wanted to be Kate. I liked Celine Dion's cheesy song at the end. I wondered why, when they were on the raft at the end, Kate told Leo she would never let go and then she let go of his hand and left him to plummet to the bottom of the ocean. I know he was dead by then, but couldn't she have moved up a bit on the raft before that? Was there really no room at all for Leo?

Watch out Leo! She says she'll never let go...

...but she will!

Anyway, whilst I was lucky enough to see it, I had a friend at school who was about as desperate to see it as I had been. Unfortunately she had to wait all the way until she was actually twelve years old. Her excitement for the film did not die, and one and half years after it hit the big screen, a group of us watched it around her house on the small screen at her twelfth birthday sleepover. She loved it about as much as I did (which was a lot), and we even ended up performing Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' with her fantastic singing and my clumsy but enthusiastic keyboard playing at a school assembly.

Leo and his curtains.

So this April I'm gonna make like it's 1998 and go and see Titanic in its second release in 3D. I simply have no choice, it would be wrong if I didn't go, like I was betraying Leo and Kate and my ten year old self.