Party of Five

Viewers are not accustomed to finding programs of this caliber on Fox, and they certainly will not expect it right after the tawdry "Melrose Place." But make the effort. You'll be glad you did. [11 Sept 1994, p.TV-17]

In less capable hands, the show might have turned into a far-fetched teen fantasy about life without parental restrictions...Here, it is a touching and finely crafted exploration of what it means to grow up without either the rules or the loving guidance of parents. [10 Sept 1994]

The best, warmest, most immediately satisfying contemporary family drama since ABC's Life Goes On. May this one have as long a run. It will certainly have as steep an uphill battle. [12 Sept 1994, p.8D]

The orphans-hang-together story is hokey in places, but it also addresses important issues that rarely come up in usual network fare, like handling money and responsibility for and to each other. [12 Sept 1994]

I gather that many devoted fans are tiring of the show, feeling burned out by the slow pace of annoying plot developments. ... But me, I'm converted.

This melancholy premise results in a rather uncomfortable mix for a coming-of-age show. There's the comedic, with "humor" arising from the family's slobbery dog and the baby's poopy diapers. Then there's the maudlin, with scenes that are summed up by 11-year-old Claudia (Lacey Chabert) early on. [12 Sept 1994, p.27]

This new Fox drama is all about the cloyingly sensitive, a treatment of innocence and loss that is over-the-top contrite. Indeed, a pinch of corrosive cynicism might have rescued the total undertaking from the terminally coy. Instead, we get ever more labored business. [12 Sept 1994]