"Party of Five" used to be one of the best shows on television. And, wonder of wonders, Wednesday's two-hour series finale (7 p.m., Ch. 13) recaptures that magic.
The finale is a fitting send-off for a non-traditional family that has been through more than its share of heartaches over the years.The saga of "Party of Five" itself would almost be worth a movie. Debuting in September 1994, it wasn't exactly a perfect fit on the Fox schedule. Despite the network's attempts to advertise it as just another teen-sex drama -- an attempt to draw those "Beverly Hills, 90210" viewers -- "Party" was never really about that.
My original review called the show "great," and for five seasons it lived up to that billing. The premise was rather unusual -- the five Salinger children, who ranged in age from 11 months to 24 at the time, had to rebuild their family after their parents were killed by a drunk driver. And, as I wrote at the time, the show took "the most horrible of situations and turned it into an intelligent, entertaining, strongly pro-family series."
"It's a tragedy at the heart, but I think that the uplifting nature of the series is -- how do these kids move past it?" said creator/executive producer Amy Lippman.
With the support of their siblings, as it turned out.
"We get a lot of letters from people saying, "We watch this family talk to each other, and now we started talking to each other. I talk to my mom or dad much more than we did before," said creator/executive producer Christopher Keyser. "The show was not intended to be a family-values show, but by removing the parents and by requiring the kids to create a family again, it's a very powerful statement in support of family."
Not that it was easy for the Salingers. In addition to the tragedy of being orphaned, there were trials and tribulations galore over the next six seasons.
All the troubles led me to wonder how long this could go on back in 1997. While I acknowledged that the show remained, "one of the best hourlong dramas on television," still, "If the show were even a smidge less high-quality than it is, it would have sent me screaming to another channel in recent weeks. I mean, how much tragedy can we take? . . . Over the past few seasons, we've seen the Salingers (or their significant others) go through alcoholism and drug abuse and teen pregnancy and miscarriage and severe depression and suicide and a variety of broken relationships and broken hearts. Just to name a few.
"Then, just when things seemed to be going pretty well there for about half an episode, the oldest brother, Charlie, develops Hodgkins disease -- a form of cancer. I'm beginning to think that if and when Charlie recovers, a plane -- or maybe a meteor -- will drop on the Salinger house."
Of course, without conflict and trials, there is no drama. A show about happy people without problems would last about, oh, half an hour before viewers got bored.
In the end, the show's format wore out. Five seasons were good; six was one too many. The writing wore thin and seemed repetitive.
But tonight's send-off, written by Keyser and Lippman, is a fitting one. It's heartfelt, family-affirming and both wraps things up and gives viewers the feeling that each of the characters has a future.
If you were ever a fan of "Party of Five," you'll want to tune in.