For those wanting to see a family drama that doesn't have much of those cheeky crying scenes and over the top confrontations, here is one show that you will definitely love. Party of Five is one series that will surely touch your hearts while making you laugh and cry.

The tv series follows the lives of five siblings who were orphaned when both their parents died in an accident. The Salinger family is composed of Charlie (Matthew Fox), Bailey (Scott Wolf), Julia (Neve Campbell), Claudia (Lacey Chabert) and Owen. They try to face the world on their own as they also deal with their own personal issues and problems.

Each of the five siblings have their own problems that they need to fix in the series. Charlie is struggling to make both ends meet, while trying to keep the family together. Scott is a rebellious teenager who also has a drug addiction problem. On the other hand, Julia is in her early teens and need to adjust to her new surroundings. Meanwhile, Claudia is a child prodigy who must learn to deal with others.

The show also tackles their relation with each other and the conflicts that arise between them. Later as they meet new people, they must also try to come to terms with the new relationships that they have and the effects of these to their family.

What makes this show very unique is that, instead of going with intricate plot twists, revelations and all out crying scenes, common to many soaps during those days, the show chose to be more subtle. Thus the series focused more in the daily lives and problems that they faces, such as managing money and other stuff. The conflict that arises on these are very much real and relevant to the audience. This makes the message that the series wants to convey hit more.

This sense of realism is one of the main points that many critics liked about the series. Some have gone as far as compare the show to another popular series, ER in terms of its realism. Critics also praised the very well constructed characters, which according to them, mirror very much real life people that one can encounter. The show was also praised for its controlled drama and actors.

It is interesting to note that, while review was very much positive of Party of Five, the show was initial met with low public attention and was up to be axed. However, the efforts of devoted fans proved definitely helpful, as it was renewed for a new season and paved the way for it becoming the classic it is now.

Thus if you want something that is different from your usual TV soap, the Party of Five DVD is definitely the thing to watch during your leisure time. You will truly laugh and cry while watching this one.