DATE: Tuesday, March 4, 1997                TAG: 9703040064

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Larry Bonko 

                                            LENGTH:  105 lines

FANS SHOULD VOICE SUPPORT FOR FOX'S EXCELLENT "PARTY OF FIVE"

HERE'S A MESSAGE for 16-year-old Chris Bates of Virginia Beach and other fans of ``Party of Five'' who have called to ask if it's time to send an S.O.S. - Save Our Show - to Fox executives:

Send the S.O.S.

It wouldn't hurt to write, call, fax or e-mail Fox Entertainment president Peter Roth with your support for the high-quality, low-rated ``Party of Five,'' which is the classiest show on the lowbrow network of Al Bundy and Pauly Shore.

But the impression I got when speaking to ``Party of Five'' co-executive producer Christopher Keyser a few days ago was that the series about the ups and downs of five orphans - three of whom have flawed personalities - living in San Francisco will be renewed.

``We're not worried,'' said Keyser, speaking for the cast and crew. ``We are confident that `Party of Five' will be picked up. But it would be nice if Fox gave us the word today.''

Might the fate of this excellent drama, winner of a Golden Globe award, be decided by the results of last month's ratings sweeps? Could be.

While ``Party of Five'' is big with 12- to 17-year-olds who identify with young Bailey, Julia and Claudia, its overall numbers are less than great. It's been hovering around No. 53 in the Nielsens. Once, it was No. 99 out of 103 network programs.

The producers will put on three new episodes between now and April 2. Then they'll see their show replaced by a nighttime soap from Aaron Spelling (``Pacific Palisades'') in April, and then they'll sweat it out until May, when the networks announce their fall schedules.

Entertainment Weekly sent Chris Bates in Virginia Beach and other ``PO5'' devotees into mild shock when the magazine suggested that its audience of 10 million rabid viewers isn't large enough to satisfy the Fox brass.

``I'm a little worried,'' said Bates. ``Is `Party of Five' going to make it? I'll take this show over `Beavis and Butt-head' any day.''

The boy is enlightened.

And concerned.

You'll remember that another great show which touched the hearts of kids in America - ``My So-Called Life'' - was dropped after one season on ABC.

Keyser, while feeling the pressure to elevate the ratings during the February sweeps, never considered changing the show to make it Nielsen sweeter. Throughout March, viewers were swept into a spiral with college freshman Bailey as alcoholism pulled him down and down.

Bailey hit bottom, as many heavy drinkers do, when he was involved in a traffic accident. In last weekend's episode, he began reaching out for help. But that doesn't mean Bailey's turned his back on drinking and will spend the rest of his days in life's sunshine.

``We've just laid the groundwork,'' said Keyser from Los Angeles. ``In time, Bailey's life will take him to other difficult places.''

Are you sorry to hear that? Do you wish that Bailey, played wonderfully by Scott Wolf, would lighten up?

Could we ever forgive him for letting his team down in the wrestling divisionals because he was on a bender? Should Charlie (Matthew Fox) handle pressure better as the head of the family? Will Julia (Neve Campbell) realize that 18 is a good time to start growing up? And isn't she a bit too liberated sexually with Justin and Griffin?

When I interviewed Campbell in Los Angeles last year, she admitted that scripts in which Julia lost her virginity, and later when she committed to having an abortion, troubled her.

``It's a scary thing to think of yourself as a role model, but I do believe that people watching our show point their lives in a certain direction, following Julia.

``It's a huge responsibility to realize there are a lot of girls out there looking at me and saying, `Is this what I should do? Or shouldn't do?' I hope they make the right choices.''

Co-producer Amy Lippman defends Julia's lifestyle.

``We try on this show to deal with the issues realistically. While Aaron Spelling in one of his shows intends his daughter's character to be a virgin until she's 50, our audience knows that just doesn't happen.

``We think we're both realistic and responsible about sexuality.''

As for Bailey's excessive drinking, Wolf said there was nothing in his early years to compare with that, but he's shares some of Bailey's trauma.

``Certain situations he was involved in, such as the way he lost his virginity, are similar to my own experiences,'' he said. ``I did step back in time to do that.''

Matthew Fox sees nothing of himself in the character of Charlie, however.

``They way he deals with women, and how handles responsibility, are foreign to me,'' he said.

Keyser said he expects the characters to be the same less-than-perfect young people you see today throughout the run of the show.

``This is a unique series in that it's about children living together with no parents. There are times when they do not know what to do in a crisis, and there is nobody older around to advise them. As producers, we take risks.''

Carroll O'Connor showed up briefly as the long-lost grandfather. Now he's gone. Also vanished is Kirsten, who was the children's nanny before she fell in love with Charlie and planned to marry him.

But Charlie left her at the altar. That, and the fact she lost a teaching job because her master's thesis was discovered to be someone else's work, sent Kirsten home to mom and dad in a deep funk.

She still hasn't shaken it.

They reunited briefly early in the season, then separated again. Keyser said he and Lippman are planing what he calls ``a big event'' for the April finale.

Dare I guess? Just as Charlie and Grace, his new love, settle into their relationship, Kirsten (Paula Devicq) arrives to say she wants to marry Charlie. Still. Again.

``Hi, Charlie. I'm back.''

That won't happen, said Keyser.

``But you've not seen the last of Kirsten.''

Let's hope we can say the same for everyone on ``PO5'' come May.

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