Party of Five was my jam! For the record this was not an Aaron Spelling show but it was in the same league as those because of the quality that Christopher Keyers and Amy Lippman brought to the table. I loved the Salinger Family so much that in college I had to write a script for a class and I used a story I wrote that would today have been a fan fiction. Of course I got an A. I had been working on that story for a stupid number of years so I was not surprised by that grade. I knew those characters, I knew how they would interact, I knew how they would play against one another, this show taught me how to build drama into a story. My professor even asked me later if that was a real show. I told him yes and then proceeded to give him several VHS tapes I had made over the years for him to watch. He loved the show as much as I did. I was a member of the group who flooded the network with letters, like honest to goodness letters on notebook paper mailed to the network, when we thought it was going to be cancelled both times. I remember loggin into Prodigy (that's right) to go into message boards to talk about the show immediately after it was over. The show beat out ER and NYPD Blue for the Golden Globe in 1996 and the explosion of excitement that came out of my bedroom scared our dog. My freshman year of college my roommate and I made a pact that I could watch Party of Five and she would be allowed to watch X-files. I wanted a soft-top Jeep like Bailey had. My password in college had PO5 in it. No joke. I loved everything about this show and support everything this cast has done since.
This show suffered the same fate as Red Band Society of a few years ago (which Fox tanked on early as I discussed here) it sounded stupid depressing and thus people didn’t get behind it early. I mean it’s about a show of 5 kids whose parents are killed by a drunk driver and the ups and downs of what follows next. That sounds like a GREAT time doesn’t it. However the show was about so much more than that. It was a show that put a spotlight on drinking, teenage angst, the ups and downs of growing up, struggling with grades and friendships and independence. It was a show that could have been recorded in anyone's house had a camera been set up. It felt real. It felt honest. It felt like this was a family I could have been a part of.
The cast alone was worth coming to the TV for, I mean you had Matthew Fox (Charlie), Scott Wolf (Bailey), Neve Campbell (Julia), Lacey Chabert (Claudia) and a younger son Owen who was just there as an extra thing to deal with as the main cast. Add to that Scott Grimes (Will – Bailey’s BFF), Paula Devicq (nanny/Charlie’s eventual GF), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Sarah – Bailey’s GF), Michael Gorjan (Justin – Julia’s first BF), Jermey London (Griffin – Julia’s Bad boy BF), Tom Mason (Joe – Co-owner of Salinger’s (family Resturant) and BFF of Dad Salinger), Mitchell Anderson (Claudia’s music teacher), Megan Ward (Bailey’s GF #2 (Bailey went through a good number of them) and a host of so many others that got their start on Party of Five. Plus they had a super awesome dog. I’m just saying it’s a great show of whose who of actors that went on to bigger and better things after their time in San Francisco.
However here’s where I am concerned. Freeform has developed a “reboot”of the show featuring 5 kids who must take care of themselves after their parents were deported back to Mexico. They appear to also be in SF but I'm not sure on that. My fear is that this show will take away from the show that I loved and the show that made me want to be a writer from a very early age. This show showed me what the written word could do in the right hands. I have nothing against this show I wish it well but believe that the comparison to the original will either make it or break it (another great show on ABC Family that should have been able to finish their story). It’s going to debut next week and both Keyser and Lippman are back at the helm and I’ve seen the amazing things they can do with the right cast. So I'm in but I'm also concerned.
News about the rebooted show can be found here and here.
I’m going to watch this show. I’m going to give it a chance but here’s what concerns me.
- Original Party of Five had a family that ran a Resturant and upon their death the oldest son had to put his dreams to the side so that he could keep the Resturant going.
- Party of Five reboot also has a family that ran a Resturant and upon their dad’s deportation the oldest son is faced with having to put his dreams aside to keep the Resturant going.
- Original Party of Five the second oldest takes on the role of running the family, while failing school and dealing with the stress of that while the oldest son struggles with being the head of the family
- Party of Five reboot according to the commercial the second oldest son is also failing school and appears to be taking on the role of caring for the family at home while the oldest son struggles with being the head of the family.
- Original Party of Five the youngest kid in the family is scared that the family will be split up at the drop of the hat cause of any problems in the family. At one point in the pilot she turns to Bailey with tears in her eyes and says “Are they going to split us up?” to which Baily says “of course not” but he’s terrified that they will.
- Party of Five reboot again according to the commercial the youngest daughter says “are they going to split us up?”
- Original Party of Five from the very first episode the social worker assigned to the family is a presence that at any moment could destroy everything. At the end of the day she had the best interest of the family at heart but they all knew that she had the power to take everything away. The episode when she comes for a surprise visit and Baily is trying to act like it isn’t all falling apart when it clearly is in my top ten list of amazing episodes from this series.
- Party of Five reboot the social worker, again according to the commercial will also be a key figure.
- Original Party of Five in the first episode (or the first few episodes) Julia bails on the family dinner cause she’s a rebellious teen upset with the world. Bailey pulls her aside and explains to her why it was so important while they are on a swing set in the park that they took Claudia and Owen to. It’s a very powerful scene.
- Party of Five reboot according to the commercial the character that I’m assuming is the new Bailey (second oldest son) is on a swing talking to his sister in what looks like a similar conversation happening.
- Original Party of Five has 5 kids, 3 boys and 2 girls between the ages of say 20 and 6 months.
- Party of Five reboot again according to the commercial there are 5 kids, two boys two girls and I’m not sure if the baby is a boy or girl, I believe a boy.
- Original Party of Five The family would come together every week for a family dinner at the family Resturant. Hence the name of the show, as the guy (usually Joe but sometimes a random waiter or waitress) would yell “Salinger Party of Five” as he led them to their booth. Most shows would incorporate this family tradition which was a nice way to see this family as a normal family even after all the crazy.
- Party of Five reboot according to the commercial the family is at the Resturant having dinner when dad gets a phone call and rushes to the kitchen to “clear it out” saying “you know what to do” as the ICE people raid the kitchen only to have the twist be that they are there for the parents not the staff. So I’m guessing that is yet another aspect that the shows have in common.
It also concerns me that this show seems like a shot by shot remake of the original with the exception of the parents being deported not dead. The entire thing that made the original so compelling was that these kids were literally on their own. They had to figure everything out together as a group. The idea that the new show will be able to call mom and dad for assistance whenever they need it takes away some of the stress. Granted mom and dad can’t help but I know my day goes better sometimes by just hearing my mom’s voice.
As I said I’m going to give this show a chance, I’m going to watch it but my fear initially is that Keyser and Lippman just took their scripts from back in the day did a find and replace for the characters and turned in their scripts. However I know them better or at least I hope so. I believe they are better than that. I have to believe that. I just don't want this show to ruin the awesome that was the original and this show should have had its own identity cause it's going to be compared to the original and had it had the opportunity to stand on its own feet maybe it would have had a better chance.
Anyway the new reboot will air Jan. 8th on Freeform with the first two episodes airing at 9/8 central feel free to check it out along with me cause if it’s only half as good as the original it’s going to be worth your time.
Enjoy,
Marcy
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