Product Details

• Actors: Matthew Fox, Scott Wolf, Neve Campbell, Lacey Chabert, Jennifer Love Hewitt
• Directors: Arvin Brown, Brian Mertes, Daniel Attias, David Dworetzky, Dennie Gordon
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: March 25, 2008
• Run Time: 1102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00127RAGM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,519 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Party of Five: The Complete Third Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

The five-disc DVD set includes all 25 episodes from the third season which features guest stars Carroll O’Connor (TV’s All in the Family, Return to Me), Jeremy London (Mallrats, Gods and Generals), and Marla Sokoloff (Dude, Where’s My Car?).

This season presents a whole new set of life-changing and soul-searching moments. Some of the emotional roller-coaster issues include the unpleasant consequences of Kristin losing her Ph.D. after plagiarizing; Charlie’s realization that the good old days of high school might have been more old than good; and Julia dealing with her guilt after a friend’s suicide. In addition, Claudia authorizes a $3,000 plumbing repair, and the family bands together to help Bailey confront his drinking problem.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Salingers kick up the heat in a highly dramatic and long-awaited third season, January 6, 2008

By 

MollyRK (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Party of Five: The Complete Third Season (DVD)

After two and a half years of waiting and wondering if Sony would ever gather enough sense to release Season 3 of "Party of Five," it is finally, FINALLY slated to arrive in March 2008! From the Amazon reviews alone for Seasons 1 and 2, it is obvious that the series has a considerable fan base, with hundreds of people willing to purchase all six season sets, if only they would be made available. Well, that was all left in question when they stopped after Season 2, things appear to be picking up again with this third-year collection, and with that in mind, it's reasonable to believe that they will go ahead with Seasons 4, 5, and 6 in the future. There's no doubt that this is amazing news for all the fans who have patiently waited for this.

As for me, I became an avid fan when I picked up the Season 1 DVD on a whim, and although I enjoyed the first year better than the second, I still look forward to purchasing this set when March rolls around. With the show's extremely heavy dose of melodrama and constant pain in the lives of the Salinger kids, it reminds me a lot of fellow 1990's phenomenon "Beverly Hills 90210," which provided another harrowing case study of a group of kids who slip in and out of trouble, make life-changing decisions, and find themselves presented with a mixed bag of happiness and pain at every turn. Bottom line, this is not exactly the best show to watch if you're looking for something uplifting and light, "Full House" or "7th Heaven" style. Nope, "Party of Five" is in a class all its own, and the drama gets kicked up a little higher with every single episode. Naturally, that kind of thing isn't for everyone, but then again, if you're visiting this page, you probably know what it's all about, anyway.

Season 3 finds the five Salinger siblings--ranging from ages 3 to (approximately) 24--struggling to sort through their personal lives and somehow remain a family. Oldest brother Charlie might have lost it for good with former soulmate Kirsten, and as he continues with his fickle and often irresponsible ways by having a fling with yet another woman, one has to wonder if he'll ever get it together and find what makes him happy. High school senior Julia suffers with everything from boyfriend woes to suicide, while impressionable young Claudia--who is now officially a teenager--is growing up quickly and could use some love and care from her siblings, but that's tough when they are all so preoccupied with their own affairs, appendicitis-stricken Claudia's only chance at getting to the emergency room at all is by calling 911 on herself. Little Owen is approaching the preschool age and continues to amaze audiences with the fact that despite everything, he somehow manages to get taken care of. I have to tell you, I don't know how it was done sometimes. Then, of course, there is 18-year-old Bailey, who seems to own this season as his once-mature ways are challenged by the independence of college and the realization that being miles away from the drama at home is a pretty sweet deal. This then leaves him with an intense alcohol problem that his own family might not be able to help him with. That's right, this is the season that contains the top-rate "Intervention" episode, and it is truly something to see. Be prepared for solid acting performances all around, particularly from Lacey Chabert, who--at the tender age of 13--blows her fellow, seasoned co-stars right out of the water with what is probably the most heartbreaking portrayal in the whole series. As a seventh grader who is watching with horror as her cherished brother, her favorite sibling (her words, not mine), risks ruining his entire life, Chabert's masterful acting and heart-rending facial reactions bring a great deal of credit to the role of Claudia. Few kids her age could have pulled it off, and she deserves big-time props for her emotional range. The whole string of episodes that deal with Bailey's alcoholism are truly incredible pieces of work, mainly because they bring the Salinger siblings together in ways that you didn't see as much in previous years.

Again, the show probably doesn't require much more explanation if you are considering buying it in the first place, so all I can say now is THANK YOU to the DVD manufacturers for doing the right thing and bringing Season 3 to DVD at last. It is arguably one of the show's very best years, with intense plot threads and knockout acting performances from beginning to end. With a little luck, they might release another season or two before the end of 2008, and that would really be a reason for longtime fans to "party."

Note: If you are one who enjoys special features on DVD's, be forewarned that this set contains nothing more than two random "mini-sodes" from popualar 1980's shows "Silver Spoons" and "The Facts of Life." It seems that if we want the episodes on DVD, though, that's the price that must be paid. Quite frankly, it doesn't bother me that much, but I know that some will be disappointed to know that there are no interviews, commentaries, outtakes, etc.....

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I always loved this show :-0, March 9, 2008

By 

Little Miss Cutey (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Party of Five: The Complete Third Season (DVD)

I used to love getting ready to watch this each week. I don't know why, but it was so addictive and fun. I guess it didn't hurt that Matthew Fox and Scott Wolf were so hot. I remember this to be one of my favourite seasons. It was when Kirsten and Charlie got back together, Bailey goes to college, we meet Grace and you could see Claudia growing up more and more.
For a refresher, here are the ways the episodes pan out.

SUMMER FUN, SUMMER NOT - Charlie, now back together with Kirsten, is trying to get on with his life until Kirsten's mother unexpectedly shows up and tells them that she has left her husband. Meanwhile, Claudia returns from summer camp with stories about meeting a boy named Byron, whom everyone thinks she made up. Julia's ex-flame, Griffin Holbrook, having graduated from high school, arrives in town during a leave he has with the merchant marines to try to reconcile with her. Also, Bailey and Will decide to take an end-of-the-summer road trip to Mexico. But Sarah and Will's girlfriend, Gina, spoil the fun by insisting they come along. Things get even worse for the guys when Bailey's jeep breaks down, the girls desert them, and their jeep gets stolen.

GOING, GOING, GONE - Kirsten gets a teaching job at California State Monterey. But the commute and long hours begin to take its toll on her and Charlie's relationship. Griffin, temporarily living at the house until he finds an apartment, doesn't measure up to Julia's expectation of responsibility, forcing him to leave. Meanwhile, Claudia becomes angry and jealous when Byron apparently develops a crush on Julia. Bailey fears his friendship with Will is ending as Will prepares to leave town to go to college back east with his new outgoing roommate, Tucker.

SHORT CUTS - Bailey starts college at Berkeley and meets a new friend, named Cooper, who already has him taking short cuts his first few days on campus. Meanwhile, Julia, Justin, and Sarah are grouped together when they enter an essay contest hoping that by winning the prize they will boost their chances of getting into a good college next year. Also, Kirsten's professor discovers that she has unintentionally plagiarized part of her dissertation, and risks losing her teaching position and everything else.

DEAL WITH IT - Bailey's friend, Cooper, and Julia are attracted to each other, but Bailey forbids them to date. Bailey then moves out of the Salinger household and into an apartment with a new attractive roommate named Callie Martel, an older woman whom Sarah doesn't approve of. Meanwhile, Claudia takes over the household repairs herself and must deal with leaky pipes. Also, Charlie realizes that Kirsten's depression over losing her job is much serious than he thought.

MIXED SIGNALS - Bailey finds himself playing rescuer for Callie who has gotten herself in a mess with a boyfriend wanting her, and who turns out to be one of his college professors. Meanwhile, Cooper wants his relationship with Julia to become more intimate, but Julia apparently isn't ready to sleep with anyone yet for she is still affected by her recent miscarriage, which leads to their breakup. As Claudia moves into Bailey's old bedroom, Jody confides in her about her troubled home life that her mother's new boyfriend has made sexual advances towards her. When Kirsten tries a new anti-depressant medication, she becomes compulsive about neatness and Charlie tries to convince her to stick with it.

GOING HOME - Kirsten's parents arrive in town after Claudia had told them about Kirsten's worsened mental condition and they immediately quarrel with Charlie after they decide to take her back to Chicago to have her committed to a mental hospital, with a court order if possible. Meanwhile, Bailey and Callie start to confide in each other about their past history; Callie about her relationship with her distant father who is having a 60th birthday party this weekend, and Bailey about his strained relationship with Charlie. Also, Julia and Sarah fly east to interview at Dartmouth in hopes of going to college there, but Sarah becomes worried and homesick almost immediately.

PERSONAL DEMONS - As Halloween approaches, Claudia is convinced that a curse is the cause of all the bad things that have happened to the family over the past few years. So, she hires an exorcist to "cleanse" the family dwelling. Meanwhile, Bailey is beginning to feel the constants of his celibate relationship with Sarah and goes to seek some intimacy with Callie. Julia has to deal with the fact when she learns that Justin is now dating another girl. Also, Charlie puts his trust in a shady handyman, named Earl, who claims to be an old friend of his father's. Charlie also comes across a black woman named Grace Wilcox, who runs a local charity that feeds the homeless.

NOT SO FAST - In the aftermath of having sex with Callie, Bailey feels guilty and decides to break up with Sarah. But Bailey falls ill with chicken pox in which Sarah becomes his personal servant. After approaching a resident novelist at Stanford to read her admission essay, Julia receives an unexpected scathing critique which shakes her confidence in going to college. Meanwhile, Claudia meets once again with Avery, her mother's old musician colleague, who wants to enroll her in a school for gifted children, in which Charlie objects to Claudia making a rash decision that's way over his head.

GIMME SHELTER - The local press publishes Charlie as a bad guy when he mishandles an incident with a belligerent homeless man at Salingers during a feed-the-homeless fund, and Grace too disavows Charlie leading to her organizing a boycott of the restaurant. After being rejected to get on the college hockey team, Bailey tries out for the wrestling team and deals with his coach's lenient methods and his own inexperience. Meanwhile, Julia is disturbed by the loud noise of a construction crew fixing the roof of the house while she trying to finish her college application paper, and befriends the two construction workers, foreman Sam and his spaced out brother Alec.

CLOSE TO YOU - Bailey rescues Callie from an attempted date-rape and she becomes more dependent on him, in which he breaks a date with Sarah to be with her. Meanwhile, Julia's attraction for Sam grows and she tries keeping him at the house to finish fixing the roof. Claudia is asked to be a writer of the "Love Lorn" column for her school's paper to write about problems with people's love lives and beings to analyze everyone's problems around her, while she herself becomes oblivious to advances from a student named Stuart. Also, Charlie finds himself in an awkward position when Grace wants to be more than friends.

I DO - Bailey is on a downward spiral when his relationship with Callie intensifies while Sarah becomes increasingly resentful of him. So, Sarah tries to set Callie up with her cousin Paul to keep her away from Bailey. Meanwhile, Charlie is beginning to feel an attraction to Grace when his former restaurant partner, Joe, arrives in town and announces that he is getting married to a younger woman and wants the wedding held in the restaurant. Also, Julia's crush on Sam grows which prompts him to quit working on the roof of the house to stay away from her.

DESPERATE MEASURES - Charlie flies to Chicago to visit Kirsten and is surprised to see her doing good with her life. When Charlie asks Kirsten to come back with him to San Francesco, without telling her mother, he soon realizes that her manic depression is something not easily fixable. Back in San Francisco, Julia takes over the household responsibilities by herself and takes them so lightly that she and everyone else doesn't notice when Claudia is admitted to the hospital with appendicitis. Also, a guilty Bailey, going downward on his relationship with Sarah while trying to stay away from Callie as well as balancing time with his wrestling practice, finally confesses to Sarah that he slept with Callie who surprisingly reacts hurt, but understanding.

CHRISTMAS - The Salinger's grandfather, Jacob Gordon, returns and tells the Salingers that he just wants to spend the holidays with his family and nothing more. But Julia, as usual, suspects there's something more going on with him and that he's hiding some health problems. Meanwhile, Charlie is attempting to overcome his depression about losing Kirsten for good by working more on Grace's feed the homeless project where meets a homeless man he tries to help out, but whom Charlie later finds out that the man too suffers from a mental illness. Bailey is alone when both Callie and Sarah leave town to be with their families. Not wanting to be around his own family, the alienated Bailey seeks a bond with his wrestling coach, Russ Petrocelli. Also, Claudia is still being perused by Stuart who has a massive crush on her. When Claudia tries to show Stuart that he's nothing more than a friend by giving him a lame gift of trick candles, it backfires when it turns out to be something he wanted.

LIFE'S TOO SHORT - Julia, Justin and the rest of Grant High School is shocked when Julia's long-time friend, Libby, suddenly commits suicide and Julia tries to find out why Libby would want to end her life when it looked so promising. Meanwhile, Charlie attends his 10-year high school reunion where he becomes reacquainted with two old school basketball teammates and his old girlfriend, which leads Charlie to think that the best time of his life, which was in high school, and is behind him for good. Also, Sarah becomes increasingly cold and resentful towards Bailey who tries to hard to please her, which leads Sarah finally deciding to let Bailey go his own way.

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS - In an attempt to overcome his pain after breaking up with Sarah, as well as to get away from Callie who... Read more ›

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best shows to hit the airwaves! FINALLY! THANK YOU!, February 17, 2008

By 

Matthew Hannan (Mahopac, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Party of Five: The Complete Third Season (DVD)

I used to watch this show in High School and I loved it. Last year I bought Season 1 on DVD to get reacquainted with it. It was better than I had remembered and after getting to the end of it, I immediately had to order Season 2. Season 2 was great as well.
This show is great because of how it focuses on Character relationships. Each Character has a distinct personality and you feel like you really get to know them in just a short time. The actors are also amazing and they do a great job of making you really feel and care about the characters they portray.
A lot of us have been waiting a very long time for Season 3, and it's finally coming to us in March. I am ecstatic about this!
If you've never seen this show before, I strongly recommend you give it a shot. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how great it is.
Great characters and excellent story lines are the back bone of the show. Enjoy it!