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Question: What was the ...

Question: What was the premise behind James at 15 and when did it air? I heard it was the inspiration behind Dawson's Creek and I am a DC fanatic so I really wanna know. — Vanessa, Orlando, Fla. Televisionary: James at 15, which ran on NBC from October 1977 to July 1978 (and became James at 16 as the character aged) focused on the adolescence of James Hunter (Lance Kerwin), an Oregonian who was transplanted to Boston as the series began. In Walter Mitty-fashion, James periodically dropped into his fantasy life (dramatized for the audience) and was also a burgeoning photographer. The show was Creek-like in that it dealt frankly with teen sexual issues (STDs and the loss of James's virginity) and other complications (teen drinking, etc.) That's standard stuff today, but was groundbreaking for network TV way back when I was a junior-high-aged kid. As far as the

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Question: What was the premise behind James at 15 and when did it air? I heard it was the inspiration behind Dawson's Creek and I am a DC fanatic so I really wanna know. — Vanessa, Orlando, Fla.

Televisionary: James at 15, which ran on NBC from October 1977 to July 1978 (and became James at 16 as the character aged) focused on the adolescence of James Hunter (Lance Kerwin), an Oregonian who was transplanted to Boston as the series began. In Walter Mitty-fashion, James periodically dropped into his fantasy life (dramatized for the audience) and was also a burgeoning photographer.

The show was Creek-like in that it dealt frankly with teen sexual issues (STDs and the loss of James's virginity) and other complications (teen drinking, etc.) That's standard stuff today, but was groundbreaking for network TV way back when I was a junior-high-aged kid.

As far as the inspiration for your beloved show, Creek creator Kevin Williamson told TV Guide in 1998 that he saw his series as a mix of James and Apple's Way, which focused on an architect (Ronny Cox) who relocated his wife and kids from the city to the tiny town of Appleton, Iowa.