if not *the* best, one of the best....

renaldo and clara

.....drama TV shows today...maybe of all time. It's THAT good! I'm sure anyone who's reading agrees.

I *NEVER, EVER**EVER!** watch TV "teen" dramas(except "Five" =), at least not anymore. I feel they have too much c**p out there today, like Dawson's Creek and 7th Heaven (sorry), although I've never seen a full episode of either. Call me 'judgmental'; that's what I'd rather be than watch today's slew of pseudo teen drama on primetime.

But *this* show...I don't like to cry in general, but I swear my eyes get misty after every episode of "Party of Five". Yes, I do find certain characters annoying, though never the situations or the episodes themselves. Because everything is *ALWAYS* kept realistic. Sure, the premise is stretched (a HUGE extended family as the result of two parents dying), but definitely believable, and leads viewers to believe that though this has never happened to them, they can imagine and feel for the characters as if they were experiencing the matters first-hand.

Now, sometimes I find Claudia annoying(only sometimes), and I often find Bailey to be extremely annoying. Only because I come from a large family and can relate to the realistic approach the screen writers took when creating the siblings' characters; the dialogue, the superb acting, etc. In trying to create a self-centered/absorbed do-gooder like Bailey, a confused answer-seeking "teen angst"ish-teen, among them Charlie(my fave), Julia, Kirsten, Owen, Sarah, Griffin (is he still on the show?),and more...... everyone involved with "Party of Five" succeeded masterfully!

score /10

renaldo and clara 21 September 2000

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0333400/