Party of Five

With dramas like One Tree Hill and The OC running rampant across our televisions during primetime, it’s hard to remember a time when good shows existed. But if you knew anything about scintillating television from 1994-2000, you knew about Party of Five. I considered myself somewhat of a television expert during those days, and that was my favorite show—beating out other contenders such as Dawson’s Creek, Once and Again, and the oh-so-popular My So Called Life.

While each of these shows was fabulous and unique in its own way, Party of Five was a complete package. The actors were honest and portrayed believable characters, as young and inexperienced as some of them were, and the plot was dramatic and captured your attention. What other show can you think of where the five main characters couldn’t sleep with one another? Why couldn’t they, you might be wondering? Because they were siblings—which would have been a whole different kind of unique but, luckily, wasn’t.

Party of Five was about a family of five siblings who recently lost their parents in a car accident. "Party of Five" is obviously referring to the five siblings in the family, but the name is even more applicable because the family is struggling to run the family restaurant, Salinger’s, as well as take care of each other. The oldest sibling, Charlie (played by Matthew Fox), has a history of being irresponsible and selfish, as well as being a womanizer. In the first season Charlie is forced to grow up and take responsibility as the head of the household. Bailey (Scott Wolf), is a senior jock in high school and starts the downward spiral into alcoholism, all while taking over many of the responsibilities of his late parents. Julia (Neve Campbell) is the rebellious middle child, recently thrown into the drama that is high school, and now expected to be grown up before she’s really even started the process. Claudia (Lacey Chabert) is the musical prodigy and pre-teen of the family—oftentimes the logical one in her family despite her age. Owen (Jacob Smith) is, literally, the baby of the family—an addition that only adds to the previous four characters’ predicament.

Other regular cast members include Jeremy London as Griffin, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Sarah, and Paula Devicq as Kirsten. These three characters played the love interests of Julia, Bailey, and Charlie, respectively.

The audience is able to watch as this family fails and triumphs over what life throws them. Throughout the six-year run-time we witness Julia’s miscarriage, her failed marriage to Griffin, and her abusive relationship with a character named Neil. Charlie grows from an irresponsible free-loader into a family patriarch. He has a child with a stripper named Daphne, and later becomes happily married to Kirsten. Bailey loses control over his life because of alcohol and we see his tenuous relationship with Sarah come together and fall apart as he struggles to maintain control over his life and the lives of his siblings. Owen grows from a baby into a (considerably whiny) child, battling learning disorders and custody issues. We also witness the transformation of Claudia from an awkward pre-teen into a strong young adult. She battles with her dedication to her violin, her infatuation with one-time brother-in-law Griffin, her near date rape, and her first serious relationship with a character named Cody.

It’s impossible to cover every important and poignant story line that was brought to life in this series. If the incredible dramatic components and story lines won’t convince you to buy the first two seasons of this show on DVD, then maybe the track record of the actors will. Most of the main characters have gone on to successful roles on other shows. Matthew Fox plays on Lost, Scott Wolf was on Everwood for a while, Lacey Chabert has done several voice-overs for Disney, including Lion King 2 and a role in a movie titled Mean Girls, Neve Campbell has made her mark on the horror industry in thrillers such as Scream, and Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jeremy London have both gone on to mildly successful roles on other shows and movies. Who could forget Jennifer Love Hewitt in I Know What You Did Last Summer and the many sequels that followed it?

Any way you look at it, this show is worth watching. What’s disappointing is that at the moment only seasons one and two are available on DVD. But the more people that buy those seasons, the more chances increase that they will release the other seasons. So, if you enjoy well-acted, touching, and dramatic television, be sure to at least borrow a friends copy of seasons one and two. You won’t be sorry.