Drama
Doctor Who
The good Doctor’s been flitting around time, space and the BBC since 1963. Now he’s also a fixture in the US, toting his curiously British brand of sci-fi in his highly mobile TARDIS. Just how safe is this contraption?
When the original Party of Five aired in 1994, the five Salinger siblings were orphaned after their parents were killed by a drunk driver.
This modern reboot offers a more timely, political twist, and it shows that children don’t necessarily have to become orphans to be ripped away from their parents. The five Acosta children are left alone after ICE agents seize their parents for deportation. That leaves the brothers and sisters in this small, parentless family to try to raise each other—and maybe, if possible, reunite with their mom and dad.
Heading up the household of kiddos is Emilio. He was just a baby when his parents came to the United States with nothing more than two bags, a $50 bill and a Spanish-to-English Dictionary. And under the protection of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), he’ll be allowed to remain in the country.
However, this comes at great personal cost to him. Emilio is barely an adult himself; he wants to be a musician, not a pseudo-parent to his four siblings. Unfortunately, with no other relatives to care for the younger Acostas, if he abandons them, the government will split them up and place them in the foster system.
So Emilio decides to step up and take responsibility for his brothers and sisters, as well as running the family restaurant. But in order for this to work, he’ll have to get his siblings on board as well.
Lucia, formerly a straight-A student, will have to let her anger at losing her parents go and stop rebelling. Beto, her twin brother, needs to pick up his grades. Nobody’s really worried about Valentina—she’s always been a good kid and wants to make her parents proud even in their absence. But she’s still only in 7th grade and certainly can’t be expected to parent herself.
It won’t be easy for the Acostas. But if keeping their family together means a few sleepless nights taking care of 1-year-old Rafa, then that’s exactly what they’ll do.
This new adaptation of Party of Five features many of the wholesome family moments that the original brought to life 25 years ago. Unfortunately, that’s where the similarities stop—at least in terms of family-friendliness.
Among the most notable changes in this 2020 version is the language. Neither Emilio nor Lucia nor Beto refrain from cursing, and without another adult figure to correct them, it’s likely that behavior will rub off on Valentina and Rafa as well. Underage drinking, smoking and drug use is sometimes featured, as well.
Sexuality is also an issue. Emilio is a bit of a playboy and, much to the ire of his siblings, has a different girl over every night. Lucia and Beto are just beginning to explore their own romantic fancies, but this could become much more problematic, especially since Beto already has a crush on an older college girl and, in the very first episode, Lucia’s rebellion lands her in detention with a lesbian caught hooking up with another girl in a school bathroom.
It’s clear that the Acosta siblings have been thrown into a dire situation, but if parents want a show demonstrating how a family of kids can come together in the toughest of times, they’d be better off looking somewhere with a little less adult content.
The Acosta children find themselves in charge of a baby, a restaurant and each other after their parents are taken away by ICE agents.
A couple makes out, and the show suggests that they spend the night together. A woman is seen wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt and her boyfriend later enters the room wearing his boxers and a tank top. Women and teenage girls wear tops bearing cleavage. A man kisses his girlfriend on the cheek. It is mentioned that Emilio signed a fan’s breasts. A horrified young girl tells her older brother that, during a party, she found people having sex in their parents’ bedroom. A teenage girl says that she is in detention for “hooking up” with another girl in the school’s bathroom. A young woman is hired for a job based on her physical appearance.
People dance and drink alcohol in a club. A man orders a pitcher of sangria for every table in his restaurant. Many teenagers dance and drink alcohol from red, plastic cups at a house party with no adult supervision. A teenage girl smokes a joint of marijuana. Another girl is berated by her brother after coming home after curfew smelling like cigarettes.
Beto talks to his friends about getting kicked off a sports team due to poor grades. A teacher tells his students that if they are going to cheat, they should at least make sure the person they cheat off of can spell correctly. Lucia lands in detention after cursing at her teacher. She also says that most rules are hypocritical and made by liars. A young girl mentions that her parents are divorced. As a young woman unknowingly eats expired yogurt, she mentions that she hasn’t had a sense of smell since she hit her head on a seesaw as a child. Emilio confesses to his siblings that he paid $7,000 for their parents’ deportation lawyer without consulting them first. The s-word and “h—” are each heard a handful of times. God’s and Jesus’ names are also taken in vain (once paired with the expletive “d–n”).
It becomes apparent that the Acostas hired several illegal immigrants to work in their restaurant when they instruct certain employees to hide during an ICE raid. The Acostas themselves are also illegal immigrants and are arrested in front of their weeping young daughter and infant son. They are taken to a detention center where they are separated from each other and their children. When they are eventually allowed to speak to their children, a guard prevents them from physically comforting their kids. After they lose a court appeal to have their deportation overturned, the family says tearful goodbyes as the Acosta parents are literally dragged out of the detention center to the buses that will return them to their home country.
Mrs. Acosta tells her children to continue attending church every Sunday and having family dinners without them. She also begs God to take care of her children as she says goodbye to them.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
The good Doctor’s been flitting around time, space and the BBC since 1963. Now he’s also a fixture in the US, toting his curiously British brand of sci-fi in his highly mobile TARDIS. Just how safe is this contraption?
The Big Cigar’s protagonist, Huey P. Newton, founder of the Black Panthers, is suspicious of Hollywood. In that, Plugged In would agree.
Milo offers great messages about friendship and trying new things, and it’s free of most anything parents would find concerning.
People from all walks of life learn lessons from God Himself that will change their lives.
