Mark B. Perry Movies

The ABC series That Was Then was a less comic variation on the premise of the like-vintage WB sitcom Do Over. James Bulliard starred as Travis Glass, a 29-year-old salesman who was still living with his parents. A perennial loser, Travis would give anything to return to his youth and correct past mistakes; more specifically, he would like to correct the glaring social error which drove his high-school sweetheart Claudia (Kiele Sanchez) into the arms of Travis' obnoxious brother Gregg (Brad Raider). Then on the eve of his 30th birthday, while listening to the Kinks' "Do It Again," Travis was miraculously thrust back to the year 1988 -- thereby getting his chance to use the knowledge and the experience gleaned in adulthood to straighten out the life of his "teenaged" self. Described by co-creators Daniel Cohn and Jeremy Miller as Back to the Future meets The Wonder Years, That Was Then premiered September 27, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At long, long last, 30-year-old Charlie Salinger (Matthew Fox), legal guardian of his four younger siblings, has tied the matrimonial knot with his erstwhile sweetheart Kirsten Bennett (Paula Devicq), who had come into the lives of the Salingers when she was hired as nanny for the younger children during Season One of Party of Five. By the time that the series' sixth and final season has run its course, Charlie and Kirsten will have become parents. Alas, the relationship between Charlie's 21-year-old brother Bailey (Scott Wolf) and his live-in girlfriend Sarah Reeves is a thing of the past--principally because actress Jennifer Love Hewitt) has transferred her characterization of Sarah to the spinoff series Time of Your Life. Nor is this the end of Bailey's woes; having hired his late dad's former partner Joe Magnus (Tom Mason) to manage the family's San Francisco restaurant, Bailey has his trust betrayed when Joe embezzles the profits and plunges the establishment into financial ruin. With all these setbacks, Bailey returns to his drinking habit--big time! In another development, 20-year-old Julia Salinger (Neve Campbell) is studying for a literary career at CalArts, while her marriage to Griffin (Jeremy London) further disintegrates. Suddenly, Julia's high school sweetheart Justin Thompson (Michael Goorjian), who hasn't been seen since Season Three, returns to San Francisco, reeling from an unhappy marriage of his own. Inevitably, Julia and Justin rediscover one another, and the old romantic spark roars back into flame. Elsewhere, Bailey's lifelong buddy Will (Scott McCorkle), who'd once gone steady with the departed Sarah, lands a good job in sports management; and the redoubtable Daphne Jablonski (Jennifer Aspen), the mother of Charlie's daughter Natalie, finds work at a strip club--and also finds time to begin an affair with Julia's hubby Griffin; and 16-year-old Claudia Salinger (Lacey Chabert) is able to graduate from high school a year early and fulfill her life's dream of enrolling at Julliard. As the series winds down, Bailey sells the family restaurant to finance Charlie's purchase of his own furniture business, and at the same time goes "cold turkey" and re-enrolls in college. And perhaps inevitably, Charlie decides that it is time to move his family out of their familiar lodgings and into more economical digs, thereby setting up the opportunity for extended flashbacks to the Salinger's fondest memories of the past six years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The most daunting development in Party of Five's fourth season centers around 28-year-old Charlie Salinger (Matthew Fox), the legal guardian of his four orphaned siblings. After being the family's primary breadwinner since the deaths of his parents, Charlie is suddenly stopped in his tracks when he is diagnosed with Hodkin's disease. It now falls to Charlie's 19-year-old brother Bailey (Scott Wolf), the family's treasurer and chief problem-solver, to care for Charlie in the same selfless manner that Charlie has so long cared for him. This requires Bailey to drop out of college and assume ownership of the family's San Francisco restaurant; unfortunately, the pressures of his new responsibilities drives Bailey to drink. . .and drink. . .and drink. Ending up in Alcoholics Anonymous, Charlie meets and falls in love with the much-older Annie Mott (Paige Turco), who has a daughter named Natalie (Allison Bertolini). Eventually Annie will return to her boozing and run out on both Bailey and her daughter, whereupon Bailey's onetime girlfriend Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt) to take charge of Natalie. And by the time the season has ended and Bailey has become fulltime manager of Salinger's, he and Sarah are sweethearts again. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Julia Salinger (Neve Campbell) likewise gives up college in order to support her new husband Griffin (Jeremy London) when his business goes belly-up; before long Julia and Griffin have moved back in with her siblings, and ultimately Julia is able to resume her education at Stanford. And elsewhere on the matrimonial front, the family's former nanny--and Charlie's former fiancée--Kirsten Bennett (Paul Devicq) returns to San Francisco with her new husband, Dr. Paul Thomas (Tim Dekay), in tow. The good news at season's end is that Charlie has been cured of his disease. The bad news is that his current girlfriend, the troublesome Daphne Jablonski (Jennifer Aspen), is pregnant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Three of Party of Five opens with the five orphaned Salinger siblings regaining control of their late parents' San Francisco restaurant, thanks to the last-minute intervention of their grandfather Jake (Carroll O'Connor). 26-year-old Charlie Salinger (Matthew Fox), legal guardian of his younger siblings, is still holding down two jobs to make ends meet, but is no longer engage to the kids' nanny Kirsten (Paula Devicq), who after being booted from her new teaching job for accidentally plagiarizing her doctoral dissertation, has left for Chicago. Charlie's current amour is Grace Wilcox (Tamara Taylor), an African American girl who moves in with the Salingers when her own house is destroyed. Alas, Charlie and Grace are destined to break up on the eve of her election as a member of the San Frisco City Counsel. And as for 17-year-old Julia Salinger (Neve Campbell), after several months of juggling two boyfriends, she impulsively runs off to marry the troubled Griffin Holbrook (Jeremy London). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Leaving Julia (Neve Campbell) in charge of the younger kids, Charlie (Matthew Fox) heads to Chicago for a surprise reunion with Kirsten (Paula Devicq), which does not meet with the approval of her troubled mother Ellie (Kathleen Noone). Before long, Kirsten is begging Charlie to take her away from all this. . .as far as San Francisco. Back at home, Julia is convinced that her pesky sister Claudia (Lacey Chabert) is feigning illness--until Claudia ends up in the hospital with appendictis. And in her efforts to find out why Bailey (Scott Wolf) is avoiding her, Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt) finally learns the awful truth. Several awful truths, in fact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With Bailey (Scott Wolf) back on the road to sobriety, fun-loving Callie (Alexondra Lee) resents the fact that Bailey seems to prefer Sarah's company to hers, even though Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is no longer in love with him. Unable to cope with the situation, Callie takes drastic--and self-destructive--action. Meanwhile, Julia's (Neve Campbell) relationship with Griffin (Jeremy London) is having a negative effect on her schoolwork, forcing Griffin to be the "grownup". And Claudia (Lacey Chabert) resorts to telling a spectacular lie to prove to Charlie (Matthew Fox) that Grace (Tamara Taylor) cares more for her political campaign than she does for the Salingers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this 100th episode of Law & Order, an abortion clinic doctor is murdered. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Logan (Chris Noth) suspect that the man was the victim of a radical pro-life activist group. This places the D.A.'s office in the unenviable position of charging the group's leader, former priest Drew Seeley (Edward Herrmann), with murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The sudden death of their parents forges a strong and impenetrable bond between the five Salinger children as the hour-long drama series Party of Five begins its first season. Appointed his siblings' legal guardian, 24-year-old Charlie Salinger (Matthew Fox) works days as a carpenter and nights tending bar at the San Francisco restaurant once owned by his father, but now run by Joe Mangus (Tom Mason). Bailey Salinger (Scott Wolf), at 16 the second oldest member of the clan, appoints himself treasurer and troubleshooter of the Salinger household; 15-year-old Julia (Neve Campbell) is still traumatized by the loss of her parents; 11-year-old Claudia (Lacey Chabert) continues honing her skills as a violinist; and 1-year-old baby brother Owen (played by twins Brandon Porter and Taylor Porter) gurgles and goos, undoubtedly secure in the knowledge that his older brothers and sisters will always look after him. Hired as a nanny for the younger children, Berkeley graduate student Kirsten Bennett (Paula Devicq) begins dating Charlie, incurring Bailey's jealousy. Before the season is out, Kirsten's duties are taken over by a guy named Bill (David Burke) when she and Charlie become engaged. Meanwhile, Bailey dates such high school contemporaries as Kate Bishop (Jennifer Blanc) and Jill Holbrook (Megan Ward), whose addiction to cocaine yields tragic results in the season finale; and Julia starts going out with Justin Thompson (Michael Goorjian), a budding journalist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide