The saying goes, "misery loves company".
Considering how terrible I felt last week, it only made sense that I would turn to one of the most melodramatic television series in history for solace. The series was Party of Five.
Starring pre-Lost Matthew Fox, Neve Campbell, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Scott Wolf, Party of Five was a teen drama that went big on the drama. The show surrounded five siblings who were dealing with the aftermath of their parents' death in a tragic car accident. Charlie, Julia, Bailey, Claudia, and baby Owen were thrown into a massive whirlwind of responsibility, which made for some over-the-top storylines that would make a soap opera writer turn their head.
However, there were moments on the show where the story, the acting, and the overall mood was extremely affecting and powerful. Take, for instance, 18-year old Bailey's (Wolf) alcoholism in season three. In previous seasons, he was the person who held the family together, going as far as bailing 24-year old Charlie out of jail. The responsibility took its toll, causing the college student to search for support at the bottom of a Bud.
The true grit of the storyline came during the high-octane intervention episode. The episode (which can be seen, along with the rest of Season 3 at Hulu.com) was a tour de force in terms of teen acting, with Scott Wolf and Lacey Chabert in particular delivering excellent performances. The writing was higher than top-notch; not one cliche existed in the dialogue and some serious plot points that actually drove the story were revealed. It was an excellent 45 minutes of television.
But the best was yet to come.
The last 10 minutes of the next episode were absolutely brilliant. Bailey, full-throttle in his drinking, nearly killed his girlfriend Sarah (Hewitt) after she hopped in the car to stop him from driving while intoxicated. The final moment, with Sarah in the hospital, Bailey standing in the dark, and Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work" playing in the background, was one of the single best scenes I have seen on television.
So, Party of Five can be added to the list of television programs that are actually better than their genre would imply. I mean, it did win a Golden Globe in its first season.
Here is the scene with Bailey and Sarah in the hospital:
For the "Intervention" episode, watch below:
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