THE TKTV NEWSLETTER
Season 3, Episode 18 aired May 8, 2000

CONTENTS
1. Intro
2. Kim's Commercial Comments
3. Don't miss
4. TV Trivia
5. Home is Where You Hang Your Basketball Hoop
     -by guest writer Lhan
6. Favorite quotes of the week
7. A totally unrelated link

1. Intro

I hope everyone had a lovely Cinco de Mayo. I celebrated by going out dancing with friends. Unfortunately, I realized once and for all that I am too old for the New York club scene. I lasted about an hour before I got hot, tired, sweaty, annoyed, and confused by the fact that it seemed like I was constantly surrounded by Backstreet Boys and 'N sync look-alikes. Plus, New York clubs are ridiculously expensive just to walk into, never mind get a drink in, and fending off slimy men on the dance floor is not as ego-inflating as it used to be.

I should have been home watching the season finale of "Now & Again," which was an incredibly well-done and frustrating cliffhanger. In the words of my boyfriend, "I have to wait until fall!?" Ah, but that's the point.

Enjoy the newsletter. I'm keeping the intro short because we have an incredibly empassioned (impassioned?) guest article by Lhan this week on the series finale of "Party of Five."

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2. Kim's Commercial Comments

If my column seems a bit 'off' this week, please forgive me. I'm still a bit disoriented following the series finale of Party of Five. Tuesday nights just won't be the same without the Salingers. I may just stop watching television all together as a sign of protest! Okay, that's not true, but I am pretty upset about it.

Anyway, on to the commercials. Remember that you can email me with suggestions for commercials for me to review at kim@tktv.net!

What spot has me laughing? Smart Beep: Sumo Wrestler

Okay, so however out of character it may seem for me, something about this stupid commercial makes me laugh. Maybe in my post-Party of Five traumatized state, I've somehow reverted to my childhoold, or maybe I've lost my mind... Whatever the case, I'm still chuckling at this spot for Smart Beep.

It opens with a tight shot of a pager's display (with a large man-breast in the background). The announcer says something like "Smart Beep's $1.99 numeric pager service is a big deal." The camera pulls back and we get to see what's attached to man-breast, I mean, the pager. It's a big sumo wrestler.

The shot then changes to another pager and the announcer says "But now, for only $7.99, we're offering something even bigger." The camera pulls backa again and we see a HUGE sumo wrestler holding the second pager.

The two wrestlers look at each other, take their stance, and then go at each other. Knowing he's outmatched, the smaller one decides to try knock the big guy off his feet. He drops to his knees and tries to crawl between the big guy's legs, hoping to knock him down. In what I'm positive was an unexpected move, the big guys sits on the smaller guy's back, knocking him down. When the big guys gets up, the smaller wrestler seems to have disappeared. He looks around and can't find him anywhere. Then, he turns around the little guy is hanging, upside down, from his um... suit.

So however stupid it may be, it really makes me laugh in that fifth grade sort of way. And that's okay every now and then. Right?

If you haven't seen this spot and would like to, you can view it at adcritic.com.

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3. Don't miss

For details and lots more fun TV to look forward to, see
http://www.tktv.net/index.html?/upcoming.html

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4. TV Trivia

Last week's question was: what current CBS sitcom star voices a character on Fox's "King of the Hill?"

First prize goes to Alison C. Congratulations!

Honorable mentions (sorry, without prizes, but keep trying) go to David T. (who actually gave the "King of the Hill" character's full name: William Fontaine de la Tour Dauterive) and Jennifer L.

The correct answer was Stephen Root, Gene on "Ladies Man."

This week's question is: what father of an NBC primetime starlet stars on an NBC daytime show?

Don't forget, this trivia quiz is sponsored by myTVshop, where you can get all your favorite TV merchandise.
http://www.mytvshop.com

Send answers to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of tvtrivia. Winners will be chosen at random from all the correct answers.

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5. Home is Where You Hang Your Basketball Hoop by Lhan

In the weeks leading up to the Party of Five series finale, we were preparing to say goodbye. The time to cut the apron strings and let our grown up darlings out into the world was approaching. But when I stumbled upon an article about how Charlie was going to sell the house.... What!?! Whhhyy???? I just couldn't come to terms with this change. Even though we would no longer be privy to a weekly peek of the Salingers' lives, I had taken comfort in the fact that they would be "around" forever...in that house. The privilege to imagine Christmas mornings, birthdays and the new baby had been stolen from us. This was just sick and wrong. I felt completely betrayed. Ever have those moments when you realize how unhealthy you are for being so emotionally involved with the make-believe people of TV and their lives?

My indignation festered. How dare they? What had the house ever done to any of them, except provide stability to their ever-tumultuous lives? And how could I come away from the finale without feeling cheated? Would the resolution be believable?

So, I sat down to watch and wait for the story to unfold. I gave cheers as Charlie got Bailey to go back east and demonstrate that he really has grown up. I chuckled at his reaction when Julia and Claudia blurted out their plans to move back east as well. And then tears began to well as Charlie confessed to Kirsten how much he needed his family and wanted them to stay....I'm sorry, I'm getting vklempt just thinking about poor Charlie and Owen all by themselves. Give me a minute to gather myself. Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic: how can you go "back" East when you are born and raised on the West Coast? Discuss.

In the second hour, everyone decided they have to stay after all, and the topic of selling the house had yet to come up. What was going on here? Had I misunderstood about the house being sold? There just wasn't enough time to do it right. But just when I thought the house was saved, Charlie breezed in and resolved all of the issues in under five minutes with a tender and beautifully delivered speech to the rest of the family about what Nick and Diana would have wanted, how the siblings had taken care of each other and now it was time for them to take care of themselves, and how they had survived so much more than distance already: "distance is nothing" and...oh sorry, vklempt again.

Finally, Kirsten and Charlie are packing to move back to the house. Okay, is it going to be Kirsten who puts up a stink about moving backwards to their past? No, it's Charlie. Charlie is the only one so far who isn't making a major life change, so it is understandable that he needs to move on as well. But there is no way that in less than 30 minutes he can convincingly sway the others to sell out. That should be an episode or two all on its own.

First, he convinces the one least attached to the house: Kirsten. What does she care? She's been bounced around so much, she's just happy Charlie found a way to keep Luke in the picture and Daphne busy.

Next Bai, who puts up the big "whoa!" But how can any future business major resist the argument, "the market is so hot right now?"

Come on, Jule, as the matriarchial figure of the family, she will want to preserve the last physical link to their parents. But I forgot about that damn restaurant! And Charlie promises to get a house big enough for everyone.

Okay, Claud, its all up to you. Oh, forget it, I've been having this same argument with my parents since I moved out of their house. It doesn't make sense for Charlie to keep the house for everyone else's sake.

And then Charlie trumps with the soundest argument of all: financial security for everyone, and most importantly for Owen.

Griffin in the shed! I totally forgot about Griffin! After all, he is a part of the family too, isn't he? Pfhht, Griffin doesn't care. He's just bitter because now he has to openly admit that there has been no logical reason for his character to even be around the house. At least we get nice closure for him and Julia.

So, the vultures swoop in, and the family is gathered in the kitchen one more time to make a final decision. They decide to sell, and the scene fades to the emptied kitchen. Sniff, where are my Kleenex? I know I seem obsessed about the house, but the decision to sell the house was symbolic to the ending of the show. Charlie said it before he even knew that he wanted to sell the house: they had stayed together so much longer than most families, and they had survived so much. Sometimes being a family is about having the confidence to let go.

Now, from a more selfish viewer perspective, selling the house really was the best way to conclude the show. I still feel robbed of the Salinger future world that I had created for myself, but it was an excellent instrument for giving the viewers one last grand moment of reminiscing with the Salingers together in their home. Sometimes when a series ends, there is a feeling of "Is that it?" But as past clips of the younger Charlie, Bai, Jule, Claud, and even Owen began to play, I felt a closure occurring. It provided the viewers with a great sentimentality that makes you want to go back to the beginning and watch them grow up all over again. That ability to remind you of what made you love the show so much to begin with is the mark of a truly successful series finale. I hope you enjoyed this bittersweet series finale as much as I did. Party of Five will truly be missed.

TKTV is always looking for new guest writers. Do you have an idea for an article? Write to TK with the subject of "guestwriter."

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6. Favorite quotes of the week

From NYPD Blue
Sorenson: "Excuse me while I go burp my partner."

From Angel
Lindsey: "I hate failure when there's no one else to blame it on."

From Judging Amy
Greta: "A life-threatening illness can play havoc with your cynicism."

and

Greta: "Life is an endless series of opportunities to make a fool out of yourself."

From Futurama
Leela: "Well, it's a type M planet, so it should at least have Roddenberries."

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7. A totally unrelated link

Mark's Apology Note Generator

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Don't forget Mother's Day next weekend!