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DAWSON'S CREEK THE WB, 8-9 PM STARTS OCT. 7

Dawson's Creek is the hottest drama on TV. Hundreds of pages in magazines and newspapers have hammered this into our collective consciousness, at once glorifying the show's exceptionally attractive, swimming-in-movie-deals cast and debating its precocious plotlines and (sometimes ridiculously) sophisticated dialogue. Yet on this sweltering August day in sleepy Wilmington, N.C., where Dawson's is beginning production on season two, Nielsen's list of last season's network shows (ranked by total viewers) is giving the Fad Four a look at how hot they really are.

''We're 121 out of 156?'' asks Katie Holmes (Dawson's Joey).

''But we talked about sex,'' says Michelle Williams (Jen). ''Isn't that supposed to sell?''

''Dude!'' snickers James Van Der Beek (Dawson). ''Tony Danza did better than us.''

Joshua Jackson (Pacey) chokes back a laugh: ''We got beat by...Meego!?!?''

Defeated by a kiddiecom starring Bronson ''Balki'' Pinchot -- a kiddiecom that was canceled, no less -- now there's a scorching reality check. But after the past eight months, these kids could use one. There are the extracurricular accomplishments: Holmes, 19, and Williams, 18, just scored with big-screen summer flicks (Disturbing Behavior and Halloween: H20, respectively), and more are on the way; Van Der Beek, 21, and Jackson, 20, have four upcoming films between them.

Then there's the triumph they share with their TV show's creator Kevin Williamson: After Dawson kicked open the doors to Capeside High School last January, it sucked in enough viewers to make it The WB's top-ranked series virtually overnight. But Dawson's biggest fans may be advertisers, who have developed a huge crush on the show's demo: girls in record numbers (on some Tuesdays, almost 50 percent of all female teens watching TV at 9 p.m. tuned in to Dawson). Better yet, the show boasted the fourth most affluent viewership among all network shows, which helps explain why a series rated lower than outright losers has become a bona fide sensation.

And as such, in its sophomore season, Dawson's Creek now faces its most critical test: The upstart WB is moving the jewel in its prom crown from a comfy Tuesday slot -- buh-bye, Buffy the Vampire Slayer lead-in -- to Wednesdays at 8 p.m., opposite Fox's Beverly Hills 90210. ''Dawson may have a large teen following, but 90210 is the original teen ritual,'' reminds Fox Entertainment president Peter Roth. ''We are dominant...and will continue to be so.'' Nevertheless, the eight-year-old 90210 isn't taking any chances: Old-school favorite Luke Perry will return, while Melrose Place's Laura Leighton will guest-star on six episodes (for $100,000 per episode). None of which scares WB Entertainment president Garth Ancier: ''Maybe I'm a fool, but I'm not worried. I really think 90210 has run its course.''

''I didn't even question the 90210 thing,'' says Williamson (no slouch in the overexposure department, thanks to his own extra-credit activities Scream, Scream 2, and Halloween: H20). ''My first thought was '8 o'clock?!?! Wait, wait, wait!!!' ''


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