I didn't watch much of Party of Five in its original run in the 90's as I just graduated College and wasn't into Teen Dramas. Yes I checked in on the show every once in a while because of Neve and Love Hewitt. I recently started watching it on Netflix from the 1st season on and I am surprised to say the show holds up pretty well. Yes, every drama in the Salingers life is on Steroids, but isn't that what a drama is supposed to be on TV? I think the writing in the show is very underrated and honestly it was ahead of its time compared to today's Cable Dramas. Every show in PO5 had a overall theme between the main characters dealing with different situation and tied them together at the end of the show. Nobody was doing that then as shows like Mad Men mastered this art during its heyday.
The biggest thing that sells this show is the characters as they are all have depth and very likable. This was the era before anti-heroes of Tony Soprano and Walter White, so you could relate to them cause it could be you or me? I sort of miss that in today's Cable Dramas is that there is too much gray in today's characters, where PO5 is a much simpler time.
The other thing I noticed is that there the Pre-Cable Dramas like PO5 were fun to watch. Don't get me wrong as I love today's Cable Dramas, but the material is very tough sometimes, very dark, and you can't just sit back and enjoy an episode like PO5. I have breezed through a 22 episode season of PO5 in a week or two, where I have to stagger my viewing habits for a show like Game of Thrones because it's a lot to take in.
I think PO5 will always be either regarded as a great drama to some people and a clichéd joked to others, but that was how most TV dramas were perceived in the 90's. I give a lot of respect to Pre-Cable Dramas because you couldn't rely on nudity and cursing so you had to really hook the viewer with the actors, dialogue and story. PO5 had that good mix.
The biggest thing that sells this show is the characters as they are all have depth and very likable. This was the era before anti-heroes of Tony Soprano and Walter White, so you could relate to them cause it could be you or me? I sort of miss that in today's Cable Dramas is that there is too much gray in today's characters, where PO5 is a much simpler time.
The other thing I noticed is that there the Pre-Cable Dramas like PO5 were fun to watch. Don't get me wrong as I love today's Cable Dramas, but the material is very tough sometimes, very dark, and you can't just sit back and enjoy an episode like PO5. I have breezed through a 22 episode season of PO5 in a week or two, where I have to stagger my viewing habits for a show like Game of Thrones because it's a lot to take in.
I think PO5 will always be either regarded as a great drama to some people and a clichéd joked to others, but that was how most TV dramas were perceived in the 90's. I give a lot of respect to Pre-Cable Dramas because you couldn't rely on nudity and cursing so you had to really hook the viewer with the actors, dialogue and story. PO5 had that good mix.