Party of Five: The Intervention
From the third season, the Salinger family tries to get Bailey to confront his increasing abuse of alcohol.
Party of Five: Richer, Poorer, Sickness, and Health
From the fourth season, this episode includes the wedding Charlie threw for Griffin and Julia and his break-up with girlfriend, Nina after his cancer diagnosis.
Books about the show:
Party of Five: The Unofficial Companion by Brenda Scott Royce
Every true fan of Party of Five should own this book! It is well written and includes information on all of the history of the show, its creators, cast and crew. Detailed biographies are included for series regulars as well as regular guest stars. A comprehensive episode guide is included for seasons 1-3. In addition to a short synopsis of each episode the author has included little pieces of info about the episode. Also included in the book is a trivia quiz, a comprehensive bibliography and a list of online resources, including this page. I keep it on my bedside table, you should too!
Party of Five: A Family Album by Wendy Corsi Staub
This paperback book is set up like a family scrapbook. It includes a lot of pictures, articles about Nick and Diana Salinger's deaths, Charlie and Kirsten's wedding announcement and other similar items. It covers Season 1-3. Most of the details are correct although some of the dates are a little strange.
Bailey's Journal by Bailey Salinger
This is another official publication from Columbia Tristar Television. It begins with the Intervention episode. Bailey then looks back at the journal he's kept since the first Thanksgiving after his parents died. It has some interesting perspectives from the Bailey character, but again sloppy copy-editing has left errors about the characters' ages. The timeline goes up to Charlie's diagnosis with cancer.
Books based on the show:
The Claudia Books:
These books are centered on the character of Claudia. They are designed for readers aged 9-12. I have picked up a couple of these books to look at and have found them to be quite good. They don't seem to really follow any aspect of the plot other than the basic premise. It is interesting to "hear" what Claudia is thinking and Owen is more involved in the plot of any of these books than he is on the television program. Her friend Jody from season 2 is featured in many of the books.
The Bailey and Julia Books:
These books are based from the characters of Bailey and Julia. The first two were set during season 3 and offer an interesting perspective on the intervention the family did with Bailey. The next two are set in the summer between seasons 3 and 4 and do not follow the plot. They are written for young adults, but this older adult enjoyed reading them anyway.
