Five siblings
are left to fend their own way in the world when their parents are
killed by a drunk driver. The series revolves around the struggles
of raising each other and the struggles of life in general. Thanks
to IMDB.
CRITIQUE
Before The WB
came along with 7th Heaven, Dawson’s Creek, etc. –
Fox was the new hip network, coming up with shows nobody has ever
seen before. Since the early 90s Beverly Hills 90210 was a
success, and teen-soaps became a good market. Yet they also made
for great television and storytelling. That show brought some
realism that most regular soaps lacked since teenagers themselves
were usually over-the-top. However, their lives were peppered with
generally good drama. It wasn’t before long that the concept of
Party of Five came into the mix.
I remember vividly how big Party of Five was at the time
period. I was in sixth grade and heard about it in school among
the girls, the guys, and even the teachers. And since I’m always
curious about current pop culture and what’s on the tube at the
moment, I had to check it out. I do remember watching it, but I
never really got into it like the shows that are currently on The
WB. (Off the record, I did have a crush on Jennifer Love Hewitt –
but she doesn’t come into the picture until the second/third
season!) The reason for not getting into the show may have been
because the issues and story lines presented didn't hold my
interest that much. Years after it was on Fox, I remember it went
to the Lifetime for Women network and even then, I sat down and
watched some of it. In fact, I think they had some marathon for a
weekend, but I just never really fully got into it. I was familiar
with it but never kept track of it.
After sitting down for nearly two days and watching the first
season chronologically from the first to the last episode, I have
to say I'm impressed. Party of Five is not too sappy but
not too comical either, it’s misty but not too teary, it’s
over-the-top but has nice transitions from story line to story
line so it’s not all dry, it’s sometimes dull but when those
moments happen but the show automatically goes back to being
entertaining.
Party of Five
is what a teen soap is supposed to be and has always been - a
mixed bag of everything for everyone that presents itself
with honesty and commitment. It doesn’t try to be anything more
and nothing less, and it doesn’t sell itself short. A very strong
pilot and season finale with a foothill of good and bad moments in
the middle makes the show worth just to sit down and watch it ten
years after its first peak into the world. Interestingly, I
noticed many scenarios and concepts that were stolen from this
show appearing on other shows that I like.
I will admit, there were a couple of emotional scenes where I did
get teary, and I did laugh or even smiled when something comical
happened. Party of Five allows the viewer to make a
connection with the characters, but more importantly the viewer
can actually care about them in all the various scenarios. This is
a show about a broken-up family trying to handle an incredible
rough spot in their lives, and really it’s more depressing than
uplifting, but still there’s enough substance and depth to the
proceedings. It doesn't just present the context of a depressing
tale about a struggling family keeping together, but also presents
that certain life lesson that a family's important quality is to
survive but also to adapt. If that’s not great story telling, I
don’t know what is.
What impresses
me the most about this particular season is that the "message" is
clearer as ever before. It strikes me how in each episode the
concept of family values is presented by different scenarios,
circumstances, and moments. The season has its good and bad
points. Some moments were real dry while others were real strong;
the girlfriend/boyfriend relationships do get annoying after a
while but with this show there’s so much depth. Some subplots are
the focus of certain episodes, but they don't reach too far into
the whole season or show for that matter. That, and several other
things, makes Party of Five enjoyable to watch.
THE VIDEO
Columbia
Tristar presents Party of Five in 1.33 fullscreen format.
It's now big surprise to find a few flaws in the picture of a
show that premiered ten years ago. For the most part, the
picture is preserved to near perfection, yet there are quite a
few spots where the images seem faded or even out of focus. Some
other scenes seem awfully dark, which is a bit disappointing.
THE AUDIO
Columbia
Tristar presents Party of Five in English 2.0 Dolby
Surround. Dialogue is clear, and the music sounds ever-so-good.
During some instances, natural background noise will play from
the surrounds. This doesn't happen all the time, but often
enough. Essentially, it’s what I would expect from a teen soap.
If you are familiar with the Dawson’s Creek DVDs then the
sound quality isn’t much different. Sure, the audio could be
better, but at the same time it could be worse.
THE EXTRAS
There are
commentary tracks on the Pilot, Thanksgiving,
and The Ideas of March with actors Scott Wolf,
Lacey Chabert, and Matthew Fox, which are
entertaining and
insightful, and with creators
Chris Keyser and
Amy Lippman,
whose discussions range from dull to insightful.
There’s a
roughly 20-mintue documentary called A Family Album that
discusses how the show was created. It's insightful but not
particularly worth your time. On the other hand, there's the
real nice 60-mintue documentary A Look Back that's
structured into nine vignettes, each one about something else;
specifically How It All
Began, The Cast, A Happy Place, Dogs &
Babies, Fan Mail, The Show Hits Its Stride,
The Golden Globes, Remembering Party of Five, and
Party of Five Abroad.
It's pieced together nicely, and even though it's neither great
nor awful, it's worth a look for fans.
Rounding out the
extras on the fifth disc are trailers, an easy way for
the studio to market their other titles.
For the most
part, this is about what to expect from a TV show-to-DVD. The
studio didn’t have to add any of these extras, but what's here
adds a nice touch and brings depth to the episodes and the show
as a whole.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I wasn’t really into
Party of Five at the time it was big on TV, but since I enjoy
other teen soaps nowadays, this was an enjoyable trip back in time; a
treat really, and now I’m sort of hooked. It has a lot of heart and
truth to explore time and time again. And it brought back some
memories of the time period during which this season premiered (1994).
Also, it's interesting to watch the show now and see all the stars
when they first prospered into their careers, especially one of the
recent Mean Girls herself, Lacey Chabert, who plays Claudia on
the show.
Fans of show should pick this set up if they haven’t already, and
those who aren’t familiar with the show should give it a look. I’m
already looking forward to season 2 on DVD, and my guess is that will
come out around Christmas time.
