ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996 TAG: 9603190043
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: HOLLYWOOD
SOURCE: JAMES ENDRST THE HARTFORD COURANT
It seems the worse things get for the Salingers on ``Party of Five,'' the better the ratings.
Long on praise but short on viewers its first season, the Fox Broadcasting drama has made the most of adversity in its second.
So much so, in fact, that it has just been guaranteed a third.
A sensitive show with a daring premise - five kids going it alone after the death of their parents - ``Party of Five'' is growing.
And, we might add, maturing.
``The characters are definitely growing up,'' says co-creator/executive producer Christopher Keyser during a recent visit to the set.
But 25-year-old commitment-phobe Charlie (Matthew Fox); 17-year-old good-boy/lost-boy Bailey (Scott Wolf); deep, dark 16-year-old Julia (Neve Campbell); precocious 12-year-old Claudia (Lacey Chabert); and innocent 18-month-old Owen (Stephen and Andrew Cavarno) aren't having an easy time of it.
Which, ironically, seems to be helping the show.
When Julia, for example, was faced with an unwanted pregnancy in a recent episode and considered an abortion, ``Party of Five'' hit an all-time ratings high.
Thematically, it was a far cry from the who's-in-charge, how-will-we-go-on, who's-going-to-take-care-of-the-baby and balance-the-checkbook angst of the early days.
That's OK, says Wolf, who is 27 and, by most accounts, the show's biggest star.
``As the show has moved off into relationships and into the lives of each individual,'' he says during a break in filming, ``it has gotten a lot more accessible and a lot more watchable.''
But there's more trouble on the way.
When ``Party'' comes to a close for the season with a special two-hour episode March 27, ``Every relationship on the show will be called into question. All of the relationships will be up in the air.''
More specifically: Charlie, who is in danger of losing the family restaurant, will try to win back Kirsten (Paula Devicq) - the woman he should have married; Julia and Justin (Michael Goorjian) will stray, finding comfort in new relationships; Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt) will be attacked, and Bailey will overreact; and Claudia will leave behind her new friend Jody (Maria Sokoloff).
All of which may leave some viewers wondering whether ``Party of Five,'' the winner of this year's Golden Globe for best drama, is turning into ``Beverly Hills, 90210'' (the show with which it is paired Wednesday nights at 9 on WJPR/WFXR-Channel 21/27).
No way, says Keyser.
``It's not a sexy show from a point of view of showing bodies,'' he says. ``We're careful to make sure that we are relatively conservative.''
The Feb. 21 ``Before and After'' episode in which Julia became pregnant (but had a miscarriage before she went through with an abortion) did prompt some on- and off-camera soul-searching (although the network pushed the ``controversial'' nature of the hour in promos).
``There was a lot of discussion about it,'' says Campbell, who is 22, recently married and was sounded out by the show's writers before going ahead with the episode.
``I was comfortable with it,'' she says. ``I think the show was obligated to do it, considering the [irresponsible] way Justin and Julia lost their virginity.'' (They were drunk.)
``Giving speeches about why sex is wrong or abstinence is right won't affect anyone,'' says Keyser. ``Watching a 16-year-old going through something like that is more likely to have a positive effect. I hope it's OK to say that our characters make the mistake so you don't have to.''
Chabert, 13, had a couple of heart-to-hearts on the matter as well: one with the writers and another with her family.
``Claudia goes through a lot of things that I haven't personally had to go through in my own life,'' says Chabert, who was happy that Claudia echoed a Christian point of view similar to her own.
The emotional intensity of such moments sometimes wears her out, and she agrees the show is getting more grown-up all the time.
But, she says, ``I think it's a good family show.''
Like most everyone else involved with ``Party of Five,'' though, she thinks parents should be watching or pre-screening episodes with anyone much younger than the core 18- to 34-year-old audience.
She is a little concerned, too - as Claudia and as an actress - where the show might be headed.
``What happens when everyone goes off to college? When everyone gets on with their lives?'' she says. ``Sometimes that's a little scary.''
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. Scott Wolf stars as Bailey Salinger in Fox's ``Partyby CNBof Five.'' color. 2. Lacey Chabert stars as Claudia in ``Party of
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