Party of Five - The Complete First Season
Director: Peter O'Fallon, Matt Fox (IV), Susannah Grant, Ken Topolsky, Patrick R. Norris, Oz Scott, Stephen Cragg, David Dworetzky, Eric Jewett, Rodman Flender, Ellen S. Pressman, Jan EliasbergStudio: Sony Pictures
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Running Time: 984 minutes
DVD Release: May 4th 2004
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DVD Review
In its seven-year run on television, Party of Five managed to portray extreme emotions in a contained, tasteful, and level-headed way without sacrificing poignancy or richness. Aimed at a teen audience but with crossover appeal to most viewers, the series dealt with recurring themes of loss and disappointment, made all the more interesting because Party of Five's major characters, especially in season 1, are youthful siblings coping with the recent deaths of their parents in an automobile accident.
Shocked into a beyond-their-years awareness of the fragility of ordinary life and the importance of loyalty and loving bonds, the Salinger offspring--24-year-old Charlie (Matthew Fox), high schoolers Bailey (Scott Wolf) and Julia (Neve Campbell), 11-year-old Claudia (Lacey Chabert), and baby Owen (various infant actors)--bring a deeply felt, sometimes desperate gravitas to lesser but still significant misfortunes in relationships, peer pressures, and ambitions. On top of that, each has to take on responsibilities beyond their experience--hiring nannies, raising money for mortgage payments, etc.--and make sacrifices robbing them of formative experiences. Charlie, accustomed to adult freedom, has to rejigger his plans and move back home as a surrogate, and often resented, parent. (If he doesn't do this, his brothers and sisters could be separated and sent to foster homes.) Ultra-responsible Bailey, with little time for homework, buddies, or girls, loses perspective and gets hung up on an older, appealing nanny (Paula Devicq). Top student Julia's academic career fades as she seeks a second family among undeserving thrill-seekers. Claudia, a gifted musician, pawns her violin.
Despite all that drama, the essence of Party of Five is the Salingers' homing instinct, the way they survive internal and external conflict to find their way back to reassuring family rituals--among them weekly (free) dinners at the restaurant their late father owned. The 22 episodes on six discs in this boxed set typically test the Salingers' hopes, dreams, and mettle, and while stories can certainly be unsettling, a viewer is never left with serious worries that things won't turn out all right. Among the highlights are "Homework," in which Julia, having made plans to attend a party rather than salvage her failing grade in English lit, stays home instead to save Bailey's bacon by writing his difficult term paper. The powerful "Thanksgiving" concerns a face-to-face meeting between the Salingers and the drunk driver (John Rubinstein) who killed their parents. Most memorable is a suite of episodes featuring Megan Ward as Bailey's girlfriend, Jill, a possible drug addict whose fate rocks the startling season finale, "The Ides of March." --Tom Keogh
User Reviews
The best show! - Rating: 5/5
What a wonderful show.. Love the characters, love the story..
It's so well done and written that you really don't feel it's a sitcom.. It's just a real life of 5 brothers that needs to go on without their parents.. they could be your loved neighbors, etc...
It's so emotional.. so nice!!
Some episodes are true learning of life....
Just checked on amazon they will release the second season on DVD.. Can't wait to get my hands over it!!
DVD ALERT!!! - Rating: 5/5
Season 2 is coming out December 20 for $34.97. It will be a 5 disc set with all 22 episodes.
23. Ready or Not
The arrival of Charlie's old girlfriend, Pamela Rush, interrupts Kirsten and Charlie's wedding plans. She claims that Charlie fathered her four-year-old son, Spencer. After realizing that he wants to take responsibility for Spencer, Pamela takes Charlie's money and runs. Will plays matchmaker for Bailey, who is still grieving over the death of Jill. Justin returns from Europe and Julia learns that he wasn't alone. But she has yet to tell him that she spent her summer getting to know Jill's brother, Griffin.
24. Falsies
Claudia feels out of place in junior high school. Will, along with Bailey, checks out an Eastern college. Julia and Justin take action to a new rule that prohibits kissing in school and they organize a protest to convince Principal Stickley to change the rules. Charlie tracks down Pamela. It turns out that Spencer isn't Charlie's son at all and she was desperate for money. Kirsten wonders if he'll be happy with her, knowing that she can never have children. To reassure her, they decide to adopt Owen.
25. Dearly Beloved
After being irritated by the family's interference in her wedding plans, Kirsten and Charlie decide to run off to Reno and elope. Charlie's friend, Dudley, continues to plan their engagement party, despite the happy couple's disappearance. Bailey decides to run for class vice president. Sarah volunteers to be his campaign manager. But when Sarah ends up doing all the work and Bailey pays less attention, she tells Bailey how she really feels about him. Julia lies to Justin in order to spend time with Griffin.
26. Have No Fear
Joe suffers a heart attack and Charlie takes over management of Salingers. Julia assumes Griffin will want to have sex with her, but when he asks to sleep with her, it turns out he literally wanted to sleep. Bailey injures a teammate during football practice.
27. Change Partners ... and Dance
Claudia breaks her arm while ice-skating with everybody, and Ross worries about her future as a violinist. Julia gets Griffin a job at Salinger's. He skips the first day and Charlie fires him in the second. Bailey and Sarah's relationship starts to get serious, and she tells him that she's not Jill, and things are different with her. A fortuneteller tells Kristen that she won't marry Charlie. She convinces him to take dancing classes for their wedding, and they fight. Julia tells him how important dancing is for a woman at her wedding. Charlie tells Kristen that everything will be fine. Julia sees Justin with another girl and he is mean to her. She is mad with Griffin for not being romantic, so he buys her a helmet for his bike.
28. Analogies
Kristen's parents arrive suddenly to spend some time with them. They're staying in the house, and they drive Kristen crazy. Charlie tells her that she is like her mother, and she says she's not. Ellie tells Charlie that he's just like Gene, a dreamer, but he says he knows exactly where he is. Claudia doesn't like Griffin, so he tries to win her heart. Julia gets jealous and Griffin tells her that he misses a little sister, while Claudia develops a crush on him. Bailey gets 900 points at his SATs and his teacher offers him private lessons, flirting. He takes it again and make the same points. Charlie tells him how it was when their parents were still alive, so Bailey decides to apply for college, writing about his mom in his essay.
29. Where There's Smoke
A fire destroys the restaurant. The insurance company refuses to give Charlie the money because they think he did it. Kristen helps him and they get the money. Will asks Bailey if he can go out with Sarah, and he says yes, but later regrets and realizes he still likes her. Griffin steals money from one of the restaurant's employees, and he goes to jail. Julia asks his father to help him. Griffin is released and has to go away for 6 months. Claudia meets a new friend who is a troublemaker, and the girl convinces her to smoke.
30. Best Laid Plans
musical guest: Sophie B. Hawkins Kristen prohibits Dudley to give Charlie a bachelor's party, so he asks Bailey if he would do it. Charlie runs into a desperate woman in the hallway of the hotel. Her husband is cheating on her. They go to the bar and have some drinks, and she asks him to sleep with her. They go up to her room and Bailey sees them. Charlie tells her that he's in love with Kristen and he won't sleep with her. Bailey is mad at him, but when he finds out what happened, he says their parents would be proud of him. Justin is mean to Julia, and they run into each other at a concert. They see Justin's father with another woman. He asks her what to do, and she asks him to forget about Griffin. Claudia's plans to make a special night for Kristen fail. Charlie is not sure about the wedding and flips a coin for it.
31. The Wedding
It's the wedding day. Charlie is not sure and asks Kristen to wait 6 more months, but she doesn't understand. He feels pressured and can't handle it. Everybody is worried about what's happening. Ellie tells Kristen to pressure Charlie, and so she tells him that is now or never. He leaves the house. Just as she is announcing to everybody that the wedding is off, he shows up. He decided to get married in order not to lose her forever. He is waiting for her in the altar, but she never shows up. He goes talk to her and she tells him that they shouldn't get married like this, afraid of what might happen in the future. She gives him the wedding ring back and leaves. Bailey tells Will that he might love Sarah and she feels the same way, so Will decides to step out of the picture letting them stay together. Julia and Justin get drunk and have sex.
32. Grand Delusions
Charlie decides to take Claudia with him to Mexico. Charlie meets a woman at the hotel lobby and Claudia gets mad at him, saying that he never loved Kristen in the first place. She meets a boy and they kiss. Julia and Justin can't stop having sex, and she gets confused when he is cold to her. Justin tells Julia that he doesn't want to go through the same thing again. Bailey joins Sarah at her grandma's party. While reading grandma's old letters to her, she finds out that she's adopted. She is very confused about herself and goes to Bailey for comfort. Charlie tells Claudia that he misses Kristen and they run into her in the house when they get back.
33. Unfair Advantage
A teacher is hitting on Julia and she feels uncomfortable. He asks her if he can give her a ride home and tries to kiss her. She is upset and talks to Justin. He threats him, and Mr. Peck tells the Principal that Julia is the one harassing him. She gets scared and tries to change classes, but Charlie convinces her to confront him. Sarah gets a credit card and starts to spend a lot of money just to get back at her parents for lying to her. It's her birthday and Bailey takes her to have dinner and they fight. He tells her that her parents love her, no matter what. Claudia is hanging out with Jody and they steal a bottle of rum from the bar. They get drunk and Charlie gets mad at her. Charlie is flirting with a waitress at the bar, but when she tells him that she doesn't want anything with him he gets mad. He calls Kristen just to hear her voice again.
34. Hold on Tight
Claudia tells Charlie that Kristen called. He goes after her, but she just wanted some help with the taxes. They have dinner and end up sleeping together. Kristen tells him that they're not back together. Julia wants to move to the attic and Bailey says he should be the one moving there. They start a fight. Bailey sabotages Julia's audition for the lead singer of a band sending Sarah, who gets the job. And Julia sabotages Bailey's audition for a job, sending Justin, who also gets the job. The couples have a fight and when Bailey receives a letter that says he was accepted in a university in Massachusetts Julia decides to let him have the attic. Claudia takes off her cast and decides to quit violin. The family discusses her decision and she says she just wants to be normal. She says goodbye to her violin, putting it on the shelf.
35. Poor Substitutes
After a woman mistakes Sarah for someone else's daughter, she decides to try to find her birth mother. They find her on the list and Bailey calls her behind Sarah's back. He meets her. She's an actress and she tells him that she doesn't want to meet her. Bailey tells Sarah that the woman in the list is not her mother, killing her hopes. Charlie tries to teach Owen how to poop in the potter so he can go to pre-school. Claudia is shocked when she finds out that Kristen is dating a guy. She tries to make Kristen come back to the family, but Kristen tells her that she has to move on. Justin's friend Allison comes from England to visit him. At first, Julia is jealous, but then they really get along. Allison comes on to Julia, who later reveals her secret. Julia advises Allison not to run away from her problems.
36. Strange Bedfellows
Claudia is caught smoking, and her teacher advises Charlie to make a deal with her. The deal is that Claudia won't smoke is Charlie doesn't get involved with her teacher, which he does. Claudia walks on them making out and she starts to smoke. Charlie dumps her, but when she gets back by giving hard tests to Claudia's class, Jody asks her to get them back together. Will has a new girlfriend who is really annoying, and he breaks up with her because Bailey doesn't like her. He regrets and Bailey apologizes in chemistry class. They get back together and Bailey tries to like her for Will. Justin's parents are trying to make them stop having sex, worrying that Julia might get pregnant. Justin's mother is pregnant and Justin worries about his father's affair, so he goes talk to him, and he says that's over.
37. Benefactors
One of Charlie's clients tries to seduce him. Emily says she thinks it's too soon to sleep with Charlie, so he sleeps with his client. Julia is having problems in her computer class, and asks Miller to be her tutor. After he kisses her by surprise, she backs off. She doesn't want any help from Justin, so they make a deal: an A for a date. Bailey gets a scholarship from a stranger. During dinner, his benefactor asks too much about Bailey's parents. The next day he goes to the cemetery and finds yellow roses by his mother's grave. He figures that the man who is helping him is in fact his grandfather. Bailey asks him to meet the others, but he refuses. Bailey tells him that he doesn't want anything from him. Jake surprises everybody when he introduces himself during family dinner at Salinger's.
38. Comings and Goings
Emily finds out about Charlie's affair and they break up. Kathleen tells him that she doesn't want to be just another girl, and wants to take their relationship ahead. Sarah is mad at Bailey because he didn't tell her about his college plans. Robin meets Sarah and tells her that she's leaving in two days. Sarah asks her to stay, and Robin gives Sarah her cat, promising that she'll be back. Claudia is trying to get closer to her grandpa, and she asks him to move into the house. Julia tells her how much their mother hated him for leaving her. Jake tells Julia that he wants to be a part of the family, and so she accepts him, thinking that their mother would have done the same. Jake moves in.
39. Valentine's Day
It's Valentine's Day. Bailey has unromantic plans and Sarah doesn't like it. An old friend of hers comes back from Paraguay and Bailey gets jealous. They go to a bar and he reads a poem that Bailey thinks was written for Sarah. Bailey punches him and realizes he was wrong. He tries to be romantic to Sarah to make up for his mistake. Kathleen loans money to Charlie so he can hire a new chef to grow the business. Charlie takes her for a romantic weekend after she is demoted from her job. Griffin comes back and decides not to go back to school. Julia asks Justin to help him, although he doesn't like Griffin. Griffin tells Julia that he's in love with her and takes off. Justin asks Julia to be his fiancée and she tells him that she's late and might be pregnant.
40. Before and After
Julia is pregnant. She's not sure if she wants to have an abortion. Charlie finds her pregnancy test in the trash and talks to her. She wonders what will be like to have that baby, and Charlie opens her eyes on everything she would be giving up. He confesses to her that when he was in college one of his girlfriends got pregnant and had an abortion. Julia feels awful and so does Justin. They have a fight because he will get over it soon, but she has to carry this fact for the rest of her life. Claudia finds out and gets shocked. Bailey and Sarah plan on sleeping together, but she makes it too special. Bailey asks her to make it simple, but Julia's news scares them. Julia tries to talk with Sarah about her pregnancy, but Sarah says that if her mom decided to have an abortion, she wouldn't be there. Julia has a miscarriage. Claudia apologizes to Julia and Julia tells Charlie that he's a good brother.
41. Altered States
Julia doesn't want to go to school, and when she does she feels awful and guilty. She lies to Justin and Charlie and runs away to New Orleans to meet Griffin. She feels safe around him. They spend time together, talking about what happened to her, and he tells her to go back home. Bailey is jealous about Sarah for wearing tight clothes in her shows and for hanging out too much with her band. They fight because she thinks he's controlling her too much. Kathleen wants to be more in Charlie's life. She invites the whole family to go to Hawaii and Charlie gets mad at her because he wants to keep it casual. He tells her that he doesn't love her and she attempts suicide.
42. Happily Ever After
Jake is missing and Bailey worries about him never coming back. He comes back and apologizes, but Bailey can't get over it. A woman calls Jake at the house, saying she's his daughter and is getting married. Bailey finds out and stalks Jake. Bailey talks to Lauren and she tells him that her father is always disappearing. Bailey, trying to protect his family, kicks Jake out of the house, which divides the family. Claudia is mad at him for taking away her grandfather. Later Bailey talks to him and asks him not to disappear entirely. Justin and Julia's relationship is getting very complicated. Since her pregnancy, she hasn't been the same and Justin misses her. Kathleen declares on television that she loves Charlie, who makes up a story about getting back with Kristen just to dump her. Kathleen finds out the lie and decides to get back at Charlie, saying that she'll buy the restaurant, which she invested so much.
43. Spring Breaks (1)
Bailey is feeling distant from Sarah because she is spending all her free time with the band. She and Matt get robbed at an alley and they end up in the hospital. Bailey freaks and decides to protect her. Matt kisses Sarah and she tells Bailey. They have a fight and she says she has to be more on her own. Julia joins a photography class after Justin turns it down and she meets a boy. They are taking pictures on the street when she spots Justin strolling with another girl. Cori flirts with Justin and Ian kisses Julia. Claudia is getting tired of Jody after she drags Claudia to a party where she is pressured to make out with a boy. Claudia tells Jody she wants things to be the way they were, and not hanging out with boys all the time. Joe is worried because they might lose the restaurant. Charlie gets drunk and arrested and everybody blames him for what's happening. Claudia says she won't forgive him because the restaurant was a piece of their parents. He goes to Kristen asking her to get back together, but it's too late, she's getting married to Michael the next week.
44. Spring Breaks (2)
Kathleen is taking the restaurant and Charlie asks Jake to help him. Charlie wants Kristen back. He follows her and send her 7 dozen roses in her wedding day. She tells him that she won't get back to him just because everything else is not working out, but that's not his reason. He tells her to marry Michael if she thinks he's the one. She can't make up her mind. Charlie shows up at her wedding and she runs away with him. Bailey breaks up with Sarah because he doesn't want her to feel sorry for him and because they're having too much problems. Julia and Will try to open his eyes. Jake tells Bailey that he has to decide what to do with his college money: save the restaurant or go to college, so he decides to save the restaurant and stay for Sarah. Julia and Justin have a fight because both of them have somebody else in their lives. They decide to break up, but Julia can't live without Justin, and so he tells her to be strong. Claudia is tired of Jody and her boyfriend, so they split. She asks Ross to start violin again.
Where is the rest of the series??? - Rating: 5/5
Party of Five, season one seems to be the only one we'll ever get. Sony doesn't provide an email address for customers and word has it that they don't think anyone is interested in seasons two and later. Amazon has a place where you can tell them what you'd like to see ordered but it takes a lot of emails to get them to tell you how to do it. It isn't even listed in their "1990's and newer" TV series listings.
If anything is going to happen, it will probably take a ton of email complaints to Amazon to get the job done.
where is season two? - Rating: 5/5
a great show that launched the careers of such stars as neve campbell,jennifer love hewitt. hard to believe it's been over for over ten years. a show that touched a broad spectrum of topics ranging form baileys alchoholism and the familys intervention,to teen sex,drug abuse, and a whole lot more if they would just release the rest of the seasons. it had a great run, considering not many gave the show great reviews in the early days. but i was hooked right up until the very end. sadly it seems the cast has fallen off the map, you just dont hear too much about the cast anymore. where is neve? what happened to bailey,charlie is still lost, and what happened to claudia. it would be nice to have a reunion for the cast. this was a show that i looked forward to every week. how time just flies. the price is kinda high. but if you look hard enough you can find it at a reasonable price. i found mine at a cd,dvd record store for about 25 bucks not bad, considering everyone else wants 50 buck. buy it, it will bring back great memories from that time.
Why doesn't it go on??? - Rating: 5/5
When I saw that the first Season of PO5 had been released, I was so happy, but I didn't order it, because I wanted to wait for it to be released in Germany, so my Mum and sister could watch it as well. Now more than a year later I gave up and ordered it from the US. It is the best series ever, and I'm glad that my favorite episode, when the characters all go to see the man who has killed their parents, is on it, because by now I get the feeling, that they won't release the other 5 seasons. Although that is kind of frustrating, knowing that it doesn't go on, you should still buy Season 1, because otherwise you would be missing a lot. For me PO5 is the high qualitiy version of those numerous teenager series, even my mother loved it.
