Things That Bring Back Memories – “Party of Five” TV Show #MondayMemories 27

For this week’s “Things That Bring Back Memories” post, I am going to pick something in the topic of “TELEVISION” and go with “Party of Five“.  This television show started in 1994, and was over in 2000.  I used to love watching it every week, since it really focused on things that went on in normal life.  Teenage years, growing up, taking care of others, etc.  There were lessons in almost every show.

The starts in the show were pretty new to television back then, and then looking at them now, it’s amazing to see how far they have come.  I remember when we started watching LOST and seeing Matthew Fox again, we always wanted to call him Charlie!! 🙂  This was such a great show and it was fun to have seen it for it’s whole time on television.  Many memories made from this hour of TV!

For those of you, who are either too young, or just don’t remember it, here’s a video of the intro to one of the “Party of Five” shows:

“Party of Five” is one that could actually bring some conversation to families, as well.  The parents of the kids were killed by a drunk driver, and the children had to grow up quickly, as well as the older ones helping to raise the rest.  Not sure if I could have been that brave, when I was that age.

So, did you ever watch this show when you were younger? or have you seen it on TV later in life?  Let me know what you thought of it, and if you have any memories of it in your life!

More Info on the Show:

Party of Five is an American teen drama television series that aired on Fox for six seasons, from September 12, 1994, until May 3, 2000.

Critically acclaimed, the show suffered from low ratings and after its first season was slated for cancellation. In 1996, it was the surprise winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Drama, making it one of the lowest rated shows ever to win the award.  After the win, the show’s ratings significantly improved until its fifth season, when ratings yet again fell into a slump. The ratings continued in a nose dive during its sixth and final season. The series finale, however, delivered strong ratings.

The show launched the careers of cast members Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt, who both starred in their own box-office hit slasher films, Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, respectively, while also appearing on the series. The show was also the launching pad for the careers of Lacey Chabert, who later starred in the hit movie Mean Girls; Matthew Fox, who would later go on to star in the ABC hit Lost; Scott Wolf, who would star in the movie Go and the 2009 remake of V; and Jacob Smith, who later starred in the Cheaper by the Dozen films.

In 1999 the show generated a spin-off entitled Time of Your Life, which followed the character of Sarah (Hewitt) as she moved to New York. It ran for just one season.   In 1995, TV Guide named the series “The Best Show You’re Not Watching.”

The show, set in San Francisco, centered on the five Salinger siblings (the “party of five” referenced in the show’s title), who become orphans after their parents are killed by a drunk driver. 24-year-old Charlie (Matthew Fox) is the eldest, a womanizing, immature manual laborer who struggles with the responsibility of being the new head of the family. 16-year-old Bailey (Scott Wolf) is the once-rebellious teen turned responsible caretaker—and later-turned-substance abuser. 15-year-old Julia (Neve Campbell) is a sensitive teen; 11-year-old Claudia (Lacey Chabert) is a precocious child prodigy; and baby Owen is barely one year old.

The siblings take over the running of their family’s restaurant, Salingers. Charlie initially serves as bartender and manager, and later Bailey takes over. The struggles the Salinger’s face over the years include Charlie’s battle with cancer in Season 4, Bailey’s battle with alcoholism in Season 3, Julia’s dealing with domestic violence in a relationship in Season 5, and the long-term effects of parental loss.

As the series progressed, romantic relationships became plot points and new cast members joined the show, including Jennifer Love Hewitt as Bailey’s girlfriend Sarah, Jeremy London as Julia’s bad-boy boyfriend and later husband Griffin, and Paula Devicq as Owen’s nanny Kirsten, who developed an on-again-off-again relationship with Charlie throughout the series.

About The Stars:

Matthew Fox (Charlie Salinger) was born July 14, 1966 in Abington, Pennsylvania. His mother, Loretta, was a schoolteacher, and his father, Francis G. Fox, was a consultant for an oil company, who raised longhorn cattle and horses and grew barley for Coors beer. He has Italian, English, and Irish ancestry. Matthew entered the Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts for a post-grad year after high school, and then matriculated at Columbia University where he played football and majored in Economics with the intent to end up on Wall Street. However, his girlfriend’s mother was a modeling agent who convinced him to try some modeling which led to a couple of TV commercials. Soon after he was sold on acting.  He made his debut on an episode of  “Wings” in 1992. From 1994 to 2000 he played the role of Charlie Salinger in Party of Five (1994) alongside Neve Campbell and Scott Wolf. From 2004 to 2010 he starred on the popular TV-Show Lost (2004). During this time he appeared in movies such as We Are Marshall (2006), Vantage Point (2008) and Speed Racer (2008).  He has been married to his wife Margherita since 1992 and they 2 children together, a daughter and a son.

Scott Wolf (Bailey Salinger) was born June 4, 1968, in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother, Susan, is retired, and his father, Steven Wolf, is a health care executive.  Wolf was raised in a Reform Jewish family.  He grew up in West Orange, New Jersey, and graduated in 1986 from West Orange High School.  He attended The George Washington University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance. He also became a Brother of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity. His cousin is Josh Wolf.  Wolf was engaged to Alyssa Milano in 1993, but were separated after a year and a half.  In 2002, he began dating Kelley Marie Limp, an alumna of MTV’s The Real World: New Orleans, after meeting through mutual friend Joel Goldman in New York City. They married on May 29, 2004 before temporarily living in Santa Monica, California.  They have three children, Jackson, Miller and Lucy.  The family resides in Park City, Utah.

Neve Campbell (Julia Salinger) was born October 3, 1973, and was raised in Guelph, Ontario, to Marnie, a Dutch-born psychologist and yoga instructor (from Amsterdam), and Gerry Campbell, a Scottish-born teacher (from Glasgow). Campbell first came to our TV screens in the hit Drama series Party of Five (1994). Described as TV’s most believable teenager, her first major film role came in the form of innocent victim “Sidney Prescott” in Scream (1996), the film which re-defined the slasher genre.  Many film offers came her way but, as she was filming Party of Five (1994) for nine months of the year, the filming schedules often clashed. So in 2000, she announced that she was to leave the award winning show to concentrate on a film career.  Spreading through many genres, her film credits to date include the romantic comedy Three to Tango (1999) alongside Matthew Perry and the erotic thriller Wild Things (1998) with Denise Richards and Matt Dillon, though she has turned to a more art house approach with the critically acclaimed Panic (2000) and, more recently, Fitzgerald (2002), both directed by Henry Bromell.  She is an animal lover and describes herself as having a dry, often offensive sense of humor.

Lacey Chabert (Claudia Salinger) was born September 30, 1982 in Purvis, Mississippi, to Julie and Tony Chabert, a representative for an oil company. She is of Cajun (French), Italian, English, and Scottish ancestry. Chabert started in drama and music performances in and around her hometown in Mississippi from an early age, and was a finalist on Star Search in 1991. She gained her break in a cough syrup commercial, before successfully auditioning for the Broadway production of Les Miserables, where she played young Cosette for two years. Since then, she has been on a few television series, notably Party of Five (1994), a number of tele-movies like Gypsy (1993), and her big-screen debut, Lost in Space (1998). Known for her natural acting skills and charming personality, her cotton candy voice has seen her record many advertising jingles, plus play parts in animated films and TV shows like Nickelodeon’s The Wild Thornberry’s (1998). A more than capable violinist, she enjoys various activities, especially shoe shopping, and she is particularly fond of Cajun cooking. As a result of her promising career, her family, including two sisters and a brother, have moved from Mississippi to California.

Jennifer Love Hewitt (Sarah Reeves) was born February 21, 1979 in Waco, Texas, to Patricia Mae, a speech-language pathologist, and Herbert Daniel Hewitt, a medical technician. She has English, Scottish, and German ancestry. She got her first name from her older brother Todd Daniel Hewitt, who picked the name after a little blonde girl he then had a crush on. Her mother selected her middle name, Love, which she goes by offstage from her best friend at college. Her parents separated when she was six months old. She was raised by her mother in Harker Heights, Texas. She made her official performing debut at age 3 where she sang at a livestock show. At age 5, she was taking tap, jazz, and ballet lessons which led her to joining the Texas Show Team, which toured the Soviet Union and Europe. At age 10, the family moved to L.A. with the encouragement of talent scouts, while Todd stayed behind to finish high school in Texas. Jennifer quickly found commercial work and a role on Disney’s Kids Incorporated in 1984. She went through a series of television flops before finally hitting it big on Party of Five in 1995.

Did You Know?

Jennifer Love Hewitt was the only actor to actually be a teen playing a teen in the early seasons.

Jerry O’Connell was originally cast as Bailey Salinger. He quit the role, just before the pilot was filmed, to star as Quinn in Sliders.

The producers originally wanted a younger actress to play Julia but thought Neve Campbell’s attitude suited the role.

Jeremy London and his twin brother Jason London played together with Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jeremy on This show and Jason London in Jennifers future hit-show Ghost Whisperer.

During a scene in the graveyard of X-Files:Milagro, the camera pans past a headstone, which bears the names Diana and Nicholas Salinger with the year of death 1994, paying tribute to the parents.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Please be sure to leave a comment, if this show meant something to you, too.  Or to just let me know what you think of the story in this post!   TigerStrypes claims no credit for any images used on this post, unless otherwise noted.  Images in this post are copyright to their respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and do not wish for it appear on this site, please email us with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.  Thanks and have a great day!!