Party of Five is a remarkable show about a family of five orphaned children. When their parents were killed by a drunk driver, the Salinger children came under the guardianship of eldest brother Charlie (Matthew Fox, below, second from left). But the show delves much deeper into the lives of its characters than just their struggle to survive without their parents.

Charlie is a reformed wild-child, who took over his father's restaurant in order to support his siblings, and very nearly married his fiancee, Kirsten (Paula Devicq, not pictured), with whom he planned to adopt baby brother Owen. However, Charlie still has a small problem with commitment, and he called off the wedding at the last minute. Having fought a difficult but successful battle with cancer last year, Charlie has moved forward, and is now the very proud father of a baby girl, Diana. Bailey (Scott Wolf, below, far right) and Julia (Neve Campbell, below, second from right) are fighting their way into adulthood, and are therefore confronted with new, and sometimes confusing, situations, relationships, and emotions. As a college freshman, Bailey was seduced by alcohol, and has since been forced to fight the alcoholism that once plagued his father. He is now managing his father's restaurant, and living with his girlfriend Sarah. After graduating from high school, Julia turned down the opportunity to attend Stanford University, and eloped with her boyfriend Griffin instead. Theirs was a rocky union, and they are now separated. This year, Julia chose to enroll at Stanford, and she is in the midst of adjusting to university life and the ups and downs that go with it. Youngest sister Claudia (Lacey Chabert, below, in front), a violin prodigy, having worked her way through the pre-teen years, is discovering boys, hormones, and the daily crises associated with high school life. She began this year she by attending boarding school on the east coast, but had a difficult time adjusting to being so far away when things went wrong at home. She has since moved home to San Francisco, to attend a local high school and help Charlie with Owen and Diana. Youngest brother Owen (Jacob Smith, not pictured) has been leading the normal life of a pre-schooler, having been too young to really remember his parents. However, it has recently come to light that he has some learning difficulties, and Bailey actually sued Charlie for custody of Owen. Although those legal attempts were not successful, Owen has moved in with Bailey and Sarah, at his own request. Party of Five is a show about survival, but its most appealing characteristic is the fact that it depicts the relationships, traumas, emotions, and struggles faced by teenagers and young adults around the world, and it does so realistically.

Of course, the triumphs and struggles of the Salinger family also involve their friends, relatives, and co-workers. A major factor in their lives has been Sarah Reeves (Jennifer Love Hewitt, above, far left), Julia's best friend and Bailey's sometimes girlfriend. However, Sarah is not simply portrayed as an accesory to the Salinger's lives, but has been developed into a fully three-dimensional character. Most notable was the storyline surrounding her discovery that she was adopted at birth, and her subsequent meeting with her birth mother. This year, Sarah and Bailey are living together, without all the money troubles that haunted them last year. Sarah is living on her own after practically disowning her parents for pressing charges against Bailey for drunk driving (he crashed his Jeep several years ago while driving drunk, and Sarah was injured in the crash).

Another character who has impacted the Salingers' lives is Griffin Holbrook (Jeremy London, below), who was Julia's perpetually on-again, off-again boyfriend, and may soon be her ex-husband. Julia and Griffin first became a couple after his sister Jill (Bailey's girlfriend at the time) died of a drug overdose, and Julia's compassion towards him turned into something more. At one point, Griffin even ended up staying on the Salinger's sofa when he was unable to coexist with his father, who was inflexible, insensitive, and abusive. However, Griffin was a very troubled young man, and he ended up being sent away to military school after he stole a significant amount of money from the Salingers' restaurant. Since then, he has returned to the show occasionally, and despite his and Julia's marital woes, it looks like he's back to stay.

Jeremy London is a talented actor, a trait he shares with his identical twin brother, Jason. They have separate thriving careers, but there have been times when the two have seemed interchangeable. Such was the case when Jason won a role in the film "The Man in the Moon," and Jeremy served as his stunt double. They also seemed as one when Jason won a role in the TV series "I'll Fly Away" but had to turn it down because he was under contract with another show, and Jeremy auditioned for the role and got it. More recently, Jeremy and his brother have steered their careers in different directions, each pursuing roles that suit his dramatic tastes. Among other projects, Jeremy has recently appeared in the feature films "Breaking Free," "Mallrats," and "The Babysitter." In 1996, Jeremy and Jason London were among People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People (see below).

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Disclaimer: This unofficial fan page is a project undertaken by Dianne Smith, and has no affiliation with Party of Five, FOX, or anyone else mentioned herein. This page is not intended to infringe upon properties held by any organizations or individuals associated with this television program. This is a personal web page intended for fans of the FOX-TV show Party of Five, and as such is not intended to make a profit in any way.