Doug Witter
Encyclopedia
Douglas "Doug" Witter is a fictional character from the American
television
program, Dawson's Creek
, played by Dylan Neal
. He appears in all six seasons, but less frequently in seasons five and six.
. He is a local police officer, and was introduced in the first season of the show. Doug is judgmental of Pacey's laid-back attitude, sometimes belittling his younger brother. Pacey, believing Doug to be a homosexual in denial, spends most of the series persuading Doug to "come out of the closet", which Doug strongly denies being in. During the run of the show, he progresses professionally, and eventually becomes the Chief of Police in Capeside. He lives on his own in a small apartment, but occasionally allows family members to stay with him. He is obsessively neat, and expects that the people in his life follow his lead.
calls him to the scene of a burglary at Evelyn Ryan's
house, but fails to tell Doug that the perpetrator is Eve. During the same episode, Dawson solicits Doug's advice about tracking Eve down after she has disappears. Later, Dawson and Pacey trail Eve onto a yacht that she has been illegally living on, and Doug catches them on board, threatening to arrest them for trespassing. Doug and Pacey banter for a while, with Pacey implying that Doug is sexually interested in Dawson, Doug shouts back to Pacey that he is not gay. In an episode entitled "The Longest Day", Doug attends the christening of Pacey's boat, and is displeased to find himself suddenly babysitting Pacey's young friend Buzz (who the younger Witter is mentoring). In one episode ("The Valentine's Day Massacre"), Doug ends up arresting Pacey and five of his friends (Joey Potter
, Dawson, Jack
and Andie McPhee
, and their visiting friend, Kate Douglas) and placing them in the 'drunk tank' at the police station after a party. Towards the end of the season, Pacey moves in with Doug after their older sister moves into their parents home, and thus Pacey finds himself more or less thrown out onto the street. During their brief living together status, Doug inadvertently ends up advising Pacey on his relationship with Joey. Pacey remarks that the advice is "thought out and un-Dougy like", before attempting to put it into practice.
) who is taking time out from her university. Gretchen soon becomes irritated by Doug's obsessive cleaning, remarking that living with him is "like living with Felix Unger
on crack". She moves out of Doug's apartment shortly thereafter to live with Pacey in a summer beach house that Gretchen rents.
In a later episode, Doug's job is ridiculed by Pacey, who makes fun of the trivial aspects of small town police work. The brothers later make up, showing a rarely seen closeness.
Midway through the season, Doug attends Pacey's 18th birthday party, telling the assembled friends and his cynical family members about a time that Pacey wet himself, laughing at the memory which further humiliates Pacey.
Later in the season, Doug attempts to help Pacey with his schoolwork, after their stern father, John (John Finn
), receives a telephone call saying that Pacey is in trouble academically. Pacey rejects the offer of help, but later graduates, with Doug telling him that he is proud of him, agreeing to him storing his belongings at his flat while Pacey goes sailing for the summer.
, Dawson's father, has died, but Pacey ignores his calls, only discovering the reason for Doug's persistence when Joey visits him in person.
with expensive gifts for the family, including a watch for Doug, and Doug, apparently disbelieving that his brother could make large sums of money through legitimate means, questions how Pacey was able to afford such presents. Doug later attends Christmas dinner at the Leery house, hosted by Dawson's mother Gail
, during which has a very drunk Audrey Liddell
crashes Pacey's car into the side of the house. Doug ends up covering up for her legally, on the condition that Pacey covers the cost of the damages.
When Doug's father has a heart attack, new rivalries between the Witter brothers rise to the surface. Pacey, who now earns far more than Doug, arranges for their father to have a private room at the hospital, and is heavily praised by their father, who brags about his youngest son to the doctors and nurses. For the first time in his life, Doug is upset at the lack of attention he receives from their father, and gets upset with Pacey because of this. When John begins to thank Pacey for paying for his room, Pacey lies, telling him that Doug arranged it. Doug does not tell his father the truth, instead accepting the kudos that were due to Pacey. Though John Witter survives his heart attack, be apparently became too sick to work anymore because of multiple health problems caused by his life-long alcoholism. As a result, Doug became the acting police chief of Capeside, and later full-time police chief.
Towards the end of the season, Pacey has financial difficulties which result in him losing his job and losing all his money, after which he is forced to move in with Doug, back in Capeside. Later, while Dawson is making another film, Doug (as the acting police chief) helps by blocking traffic from the street and volunteering with security on the movie set.
over for speeding on his way to work. He give him stern words of warning about his driving, but then moves in to kiss him, confirming that the two are in a relationship. Since Doug and Pacey's father either died or became too sick to work, Doug is now the police chief of Capeside. Doug later turns up at the reopened Ice House restaurant, now owned by Pacey (with help from the bank and several Witter family members). He eats breakfast with Pacey.
Midway through the episode, Doug goes jogging with Jack, and a conversation between the two exposes flaws in their relationship, namely Doug's unwillingness to publicly reveal his sexuality, and Jack's unwillingness to live his life behind closed doors. The couple split shortly afterwards, but it is clear both still care about the other.
When Jen Lindley
, Jack's best friend, becomes gravely ill, Doug goes to the hospital to show support for his former partner. After Jen's funeral, Doug attends the wake
and tries to comfort Jack. Jack initially pushes him away, but Doug makes it clear that he wants to be with him and his daughter, as Jack has taken custody of Jen's daughter Amy. Doug kisses Jack on the beach while they are caring for Amy, and calls out to an elderly couple walking nearby, telling them he is in a relationship with Jack.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
program, Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
, played by Dylan Neal
Dylan Neal
Dylan J. Neal is a Canadian actor who has appeared in a large number of television shows and in feature films. He is best known for role as Dylan Shaw on The Bold and The Beautiful from 1994 to 1997 and his supporting role as Pacey Witter's older brother, Doug on the American television drama...
. He appears in all six seasons, but less frequently in seasons five and six.
Biography
Doug Witter is the older brother of main character Pacey WitterPacey Witter
Pacey J. Witter is a fictional character on the American television series Dawson's Creek, portrayed by actor Joshua Jackson.-Biography:...
. He is a local police officer, and was introduced in the first season of the show. Doug is judgmental of Pacey's laid-back attitude, sometimes belittling his younger brother. Pacey, believing Doug to be a homosexual in denial, spends most of the series persuading Doug to "come out of the closet", which Doug strongly denies being in. During the run of the show, he progresses professionally, and eventually becomes the Chief of Police in Capeside. He lives on his own in a small apartment, but occasionally allows family members to stay with him. He is obsessively neat, and expects that the people in his life follow his lead.
Season one
During season one, Doug's main interactions are with Pacey. Doug is seen to form a crush on a Capeside High School English teacher, Tamara Jacobs, who, unbeknownst to Doug, is already involved in a sexual relationship with Pacey. As Pacey is only 15 and one of Miss Jacobs students, the relationship is kept quiet. Later in the season, when the affair is exposed, Doug immediately assumes Pacey has made up a rumour and is lying about any association that he has with his teacher, who Doug describes as "poor, sweet Tamara". When Pacey tells the board of governors that he was lying, Doug apologises to Tamara for his brother's behaviour. Tamara in turn chastises Doug for his words, and defends Pacey, leaving Doug perplexed. During the season, Pacey makes jokes about Doug's sexuality, even briefly duping Miss Jacobs into believing he is openly gay, an act for which Doug threatens Pacey with his gun.Season two
Doug is mentioned but he does not appear at all in season two, since the actor was committed to another series at the time.Season three
During season three, Doug becomes marginally involved in the storyline involving Eve Whitman. Firstly, Dawson LeeryDawson Leery
Dawson Wade Leery is the central fictional character and the main protagonist of the American television drama Dawson's Creek. The character is portrayed by American actor James Van Der Beek.-Biography:...
calls him to the scene of a burglary at Evelyn Ryan's
Evelyn Ryan (Dawson's Creek character)
Evelyn 'Grams' Ryan is a fictional character from the American television program, Dawson's Creek, played by Mary Beth Peil. She appears in all six seasons.-Biography:Evelyn 'Grams' Ryan is the maternal grandmother of central character Jen Lindley...
house, but fails to tell Doug that the perpetrator is Eve. During the same episode, Dawson solicits Doug's advice about tracking Eve down after she has disappears. Later, Dawson and Pacey trail Eve onto a yacht that she has been illegally living on, and Doug catches them on board, threatening to arrest them for trespassing. Doug and Pacey banter for a while, with Pacey implying that Doug is sexually interested in Dawson, Doug shouts back to Pacey that he is not gay. In an episode entitled "The Longest Day", Doug attends the christening of Pacey's boat, and is displeased to find himself suddenly babysitting Pacey's young friend Buzz (who the younger Witter is mentoring). In one episode ("The Valentine's Day Massacre"), Doug ends up arresting Pacey and five of his friends (Joey Potter
Joey Potter
Josephine "Joey" Lynn Potter is a fictional character portrayed by Katie Holmes in the American television drama Dawson's Creek.-Character biography:...
, Dawson, Jack
Jack McPhee
Jack McPhee is a fictional character portrayed by Kerr Smith in the American television drama Dawson's Creek.-Fictional Biography:The son of Joseph McPhee, Jack is the shy new kid on the block when he and Andie begin their Sophomore year at Capeside High School. It is later revealed he and Andie...
and Andie McPhee
Andie McPhee
Andrea "Andie" McPhee is a fictional character on the American television drama Dawson's Creek, from 1998 to 2000, with guest appearances in 2002 and 2003. She is portrayed by American actress Meredith Monroe.- Background :...
, and their visiting friend, Kate Douglas) and placing them in the 'drunk tank' at the police station after a party. Towards the end of the season, Pacey moves in with Doug after their older sister moves into their parents home, and thus Pacey finds himself more or less thrown out onto the street. During their brief living together status, Doug inadvertently ends up advising Pacey on his relationship with Joey. Pacey remarks that the advice is "thought out and un-Dougy like", before attempting to put it into practice.
Season four
At the beginning of season four, Doug rejects Pacey's pleadings to return to live with him, as he is now playing host to their sister Gretchen (Sasha AlexanderSasha Alexander
Sasha Alexander is an American actress. She is best known for several roles, including Gretchen Witter, the sister of Pacey Witter on Dawson's Creek; NCIS Special Agent Kate Todd in the first two seasons of NCIS; as Lucy in Yes Man ; and as Catherine in He's Just Not That Into You .She currently...
) who is taking time out from her university. Gretchen soon becomes irritated by Doug's obsessive cleaning, remarking that living with him is "like living with Felix Unger
Felix Unger
Felix Unger was one of the principal characters in Neil Simon's play The Odd Couple. Felix was portrayed in the original Broadway production of the play by Art Carney, in the film by Jack Lemmon, and in the television series by Tony Randall.-Character overview:Felix is a divorced, middle-aged man...
on crack". She moves out of Doug's apartment shortly thereafter to live with Pacey in a summer beach house that Gretchen rents.
In a later episode, Doug's job is ridiculed by Pacey, who makes fun of the trivial aspects of small town police work. The brothers later make up, showing a rarely seen closeness.
Midway through the season, Doug attends Pacey's 18th birthday party, telling the assembled friends and his cynical family members about a time that Pacey wet himself, laughing at the memory which further humiliates Pacey.
Later in the season, Doug attempts to help Pacey with his schoolwork, after their stern father, John (John Finn
John Finn
John Finn is an American actor known as one of the leads of the television programs Cold Case and EZ Streets. Finn has also had supporting roles in the films The Hunted , Catch Me If You Can , True Crime , Turbulence , Blown Away , The Pelican Brief , and Glory .TV series that Finn has...
), receives a telephone call saying that Pacey is in trouble academically. Pacey rejects the offer of help, but later graduates, with Doug telling him that he is proud of him, agreeing to him storing his belongings at his flat while Pacey goes sailing for the summer.
Season Five
Doug appears only briefly during season five, as almost all main characters (including Pacey) are now living in Boston, and the action is focused there. At the beginning of the season, Doug recommends Pacey for a restaurant job with his friend, Danny Brecher. A few episodes later, Doug repeatedly attempts to contact Pacey to tell him that Mitch LeeryMitch Leery
Mitchell "Mitch" Leery is a fictional character from the American television series, Dawson's Creek, portrayed by John Wesley Shipp.-Biography:Mitch Leery is the husband of Gail Leery. The couple have two children - Dawson Leery and Lily Leery...
, Dawson's father, has died, but Pacey ignores his calls, only discovering the reason for Doug's persistence when Joey visits him in person.
Season Six
In season six, Doug and Pacey's dynamic changes, as Pacey gets a good job with excellent pay at a small stockbroker firm in Boston. He returns home for ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
with expensive gifts for the family, including a watch for Doug, and Doug, apparently disbelieving that his brother could make large sums of money through legitimate means, questions how Pacey was able to afford such presents. Doug later attends Christmas dinner at the Leery house, hosted by Dawson's mother Gail
Gail Leery
Gail Leery is a fictional character from the American television program, Dawson's Creek, played by Mary-Margaret Humes.-Biography:Gail Leery is the wife of Mitch Leery. The two were college sweethearts and married in 1979 after four years of dating. They tried for three years to get pregnant, and...
, during which has a very drunk Audrey Liddell
Audrey Liddell
Audrey Liddell is a fictional character played by Busy Philipps in the American television drama Dawson's Creek.-Biography:The only child of a former actress, Kay Liddell, Audrey is an 18-year-old girl from L.A. with an interesting, romantic past. She lived next door to the famed Osbornes...
crashes Pacey's car into the side of the house. Doug ends up covering up for her legally, on the condition that Pacey covers the cost of the damages.
When Doug's father has a heart attack, new rivalries between the Witter brothers rise to the surface. Pacey, who now earns far more than Doug, arranges for their father to have a private room at the hospital, and is heavily praised by their father, who brags about his youngest son to the doctors and nurses. For the first time in his life, Doug is upset at the lack of attention he receives from their father, and gets upset with Pacey because of this. When John begins to thank Pacey for paying for his room, Pacey lies, telling him that Doug arranged it. Doug does not tell his father the truth, instead accepting the kudos that were due to Pacey. Though John Witter survives his heart attack, be apparently became too sick to work anymore because of multiple health problems caused by his life-long alcoholism. As a result, Doug became the acting police chief of Capeside, and later full-time police chief.
Towards the end of the season, Pacey has financial difficulties which result in him losing his job and losing all his money, after which he is forced to move in with Doug, back in Capeside. Later, while Dawson is making another film, Doug (as the acting police chief) helps by blocking traffic from the street and volunteering with security on the movie set.
Season Six finale
Doug features in the finale, set five years in the future, quite heavily. His first appearance is when he pulls Jack McPheeJack McPhee
Jack McPhee is a fictional character portrayed by Kerr Smith in the American television drama Dawson's Creek.-Fictional Biography:The son of Joseph McPhee, Jack is the shy new kid on the block when he and Andie begin their Sophomore year at Capeside High School. It is later revealed he and Andie...
over for speeding on his way to work. He give him stern words of warning about his driving, but then moves in to kiss him, confirming that the two are in a relationship. Since Doug and Pacey's father either died or became too sick to work, Doug is now the police chief of Capeside. Doug later turns up at the reopened Ice House restaurant, now owned by Pacey (with help from the bank and several Witter family members). He eats breakfast with Pacey.
Midway through the episode, Doug goes jogging with Jack, and a conversation between the two exposes flaws in their relationship, namely Doug's unwillingness to publicly reveal his sexuality, and Jack's unwillingness to live his life behind closed doors. The couple split shortly afterwards, but it is clear both still care about the other.
When Jen Lindley
Jen Lindley
Jennifer "Jen" Lindley is a fictional character on the American television drama Dawson's Creek. The character is portrayed by American actress Michelle Williams.-Season One:...
, Jack's best friend, becomes gravely ill, Doug goes to the hospital to show support for his former partner. After Jen's funeral, Doug attends the wake
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
and tries to comfort Jack. Jack initially pushes him away, but Doug makes it clear that he wants to be with him and his daughter, as Jack has taken custody of Jen's daughter Amy. Doug kisses Jack on the beach while they are caring for Amy, and calls out to an elderly couple walking nearby, telling them he is in a relationship with Jack.