Party of Five (TV Series)

Pilot (1994)

Scott Wolf: Bailey Salinger

Photos 

Quotes 

• Charlie Salinger : [Charlie picks up the phone to call for a nanny and realizes the phone is turned off]  Bailey, the phone's been switched off. Why didn't you pay the bill?

  Bailey Salinger : Why didn't "I" pay the bill?

  [beat] 

  Bailey Salinger : Huh. Why didn't I pay the bill?

• Bailey Salinger : [putting baby Owen to bed]  Shh... Shh... Listen, just to keep you up to date... And don't take this the wrong way. But I'm going crazy here. So unless I come up with some kind of nanny soon... I'm gonna have to sell you off to white slave traders. Now, I know that's not how you pictured yourself growing up... but, hey, welcome to the club. Sleep well.

• Julia Salinger : Do you ever think about them, Bailey? Our parents?

  Bailey Salinger : Yeah, of course I do.

  Julia Salinger : Well... why won't we ever talk about them? I mean, why don't we ever talk about it?

  Bailey Salinger : I don't know. Maybe we feel like we have to put on this brave face for Claud and Owen. But maybe that's stupid. You know, maybe we should talk about them. Maybe it would help.

  Julia Salinger : Sometimes I wonder if this feeling's ever gonna go away.

  Bailey Salinger : I don't know. I hope so. I don't know.

• Bailey Salinger : What? Another announcement?

  Julia Salinger : What'd you do this time, lose the house in a poker game?

  Charlie Salinger : Look, I know I screwed up. So, uh... I'm gonna do what I should have been doing all along. I'm gonna spend a lot more time here, I'm gonna take more responsibility... I'm gonna look after you guys.

  [Thurber gets up] 

  Charlie Salinger : At least someone's happy about it. Oh, and, Julia, you gotta clear your stuff out of Mom and Dad's room, and you'd better put my stuff back where you found it.

  Julia Salinger : What?

  Charlie Salinger : If I'm gonna be spending all this time here, I'm not sleeping on the sofa.

  Julia Salinger : What gives you the right?

  Charlie Salinger : I'm 24 years old. I'm the only adult here. End of story. Either you move your stuff out or I throw it out.

• Charlie Salinger : Claudia?

  Bailey Salinger : What's the matter, Claud?

  Claudia Salinger : I'm scared.

  Bailey Salinger : Don't be.

  Charlie Salinger : We'll work it out.

  Claudia Salinger : [crying]  This wouldn't have happened if Mom and Dad were here. Why aren't they here?

• Claudia Salinger : Forget it. You can't tell me what to do.

  Charlie Salinger : Oh, yes, I can. Read the guardianship agreement.

  Bailey Salinger : Oh, would you shut up with that already, Charlie? A piece of paper does not make you a parent.

• [last lines] 

  Julia Salinger : So, what's this Kirsten like?

  Bailey Salinger : She's very professional.

  Julia Salinger : Yeah?

  Bailey Salinger : Highly qualified.

  Claudia Salinger : And a real looker, huh?

• Charlie Salinger : [stammering]  Me and Doug and... a friend of his... we were gonna buy this... this co-op apartment building, fix it up and sell it. The whole thing was gonna take a month... tops. We would have doubled our money fast, no question. Except the guy... took the money and split.

  Bailey Salinger : [stunned]  How much money did you lose, Charlie?

  Charlie Salinger : Twelve...

  [long pause] 

  Charlie Salinger : thousand.

  Julia Salinger : Of your own money, right?

  [another long pause] 

  Bailey Salinger : [livid]  Oh, great! So much for your lectures on responsibility, huh? Is this why you wanted control of the bank account? So you could blow it all yourself?

  Charlie Salinger : Hey! I was trying to do something good here. This investment was for all of us. I was going to cut you all in on...

  Bailey Salinger : [interrupting]  Oh, save it, Charlie!

• [someone knocks the door, Bailey, holding Owen, opens and sees a beautiful woman standing in the doorway] 

  Kirsten Bennett : Is this the Salinger residence? I'm here to interview for the nanny position. Kirsten Bennett.

  Bailey Salinger : [stunned]  I'm Bailey. He's Owen. Uh, won't you come in?

  Kirsten Bennett : [looking at Owen]  He's adorable.

  [she gets into the house] 

  Bailey Salinger : Uh-huh.

  Kirsten Bennett : So, is there anything you'd like to ask me?

  Bailey Salinger : Did you have any trouble getting here?

• [Claudia comes into the kitchen after seeing Kirsten taking care of Owen, and starts questioning Bailey] 

  Claudia Salinger : Who's that?

  Bailey Salinger : That's Kirsten.

  Claudia Salinger : Uh-huh. Kirsten what?

  Claudia Salinger : Okay. What are her qualifications?

  Bailey Salinger : She's a nanny.

  Claudia Salinger : What's her criminal record?

  Bailey Salinger : She doesn't have one... I don't think.

  Claudia Salinger : Bailey, what's your problem? How can you turn Owen over to a total stranger? I mean, I know you're desperate, but

  [she shuts up when Kirsten comes in with Owen] 

  Kirsten Bennett : Hello! You must be Claudia.

  [to Bailey] 

  Kirsten Bennett : Listen, Owen was a dream, and the Jeep runs great. You sure you don't mind me driving it to school every night?

  Bailey Salinger : It's yours. That's the deal.

  Kirsten Bennett : Well, somebody needs his diaper changed.

  [she goes to change Owen's diapers] 

  Bailey Salinger : [to Claudia]  Now I remember. She's in grad school. Child psychology. Two years teaching preschool plus three nanny jobs with recommendations.

  Claudia Salinger : You gave her the Jeep?

  Bailey Salinger : Plus $75 less a week. Two birds with one stone. Plus I get driving privileges. Pretty smart, huh?

• [Charlie, Bailey, Owen, and Claudia enter the restaurant] 

  Bailey Salinger : All I'm saying is, is there's no way we're going to make the next 15,000 bucks last four months if all of us are writing checks.

  Charlie Salinger : And leasing Jeeps.

  Claudia Salinger : I like the Jeep.

  Bailey Salinger : My point is, is that I could have swung the jeep and the phone bill and the plumber and everything if I'd known what everyone else was spending.

  Waitress : Hi, guys.

  Bailey Salinger : Hi.

  Charlie Salinger : That's not the problem, Bailey.

  Bailey Salinger : Yes, it is.

  Charlie Salinger : No, it's not. The problem is we've got 35 bucks left in our account.

  [they see Joe approaching to them] 

  Joe Mangus : Hey, if it isn't the Salinger clan, right on time Where does the week go?

  Bailey Salinger : Hey, Joe. Is Julia here?

  Joe Mangus : Haven't seen her.

  [to Claudia] 

  Joe Mangus : Claudia, leave room for dessert. I got your dad's mud pie.

  Claudia Salinger : Great.

  [he leaves] 

  Charlie Salinger : Face it, Bay. It's a mistake to hand you guys the next four-month chunk all at once. Not when you don't know how to make it last.

  [they sit on the table] 

  Bailey Salinger : Oh, really, Mr. "Can You Spot Me 20 Till I Get A Job"?

  Claudia Salinger : Where is she?

  Charlie Salinger : Look, I'll go to the bank tomorrow and I'll get 2,500, but that's gotta last you till the end of the month. That's the way we're gonna do it from now on, one month at a time.

  Bailey Salinger : Wait a second. Since when is that your decision?

  Charlie Salinger : As the executor of the estate, Mr. Graham worked it so that I'm the legal guardian.

  Bailey Salinger : Yeah, on paper. You're our legal guardian on paper, Charlie.

  Claudia Salinger : And only because someone had to be.

  Charlie Salinger : The fact of the matter is, is you guys have spent practically every cent you've got. It's true, Bailey. I'm not blaming you. I mean, what do a bunch of kids know about managing money, huh?

  Claudia Salinger : Are we in trouble? Bailey?

  Charlie Salinger : Look, Mr. Graham gives me the check three times a year, so it's up to me to say how the money's doled out. I'm, I'm sorry, guys. That's just the way it is.

• Julia Salinger : So... what are we gonna do for the next four months until we get another welfare check? Besides $35, how much do we have left?

  Bailey Salinger : Well, we got the standard Social Security for $2,500 yesterday which I deposited into our checking account. That's it.

  Julia Salinger : That's it? We can't get by on 2,500! We have to hire a new nanny for Owen, fix the kitchen sink which will cost over $600, and pay the phone bill and all the utilities.

  Bailey Salinger : Plus, we've got a mortgage payment due this Friday. There's no way were going to meet that.

  Julia Salinger : Okay. So, tomorrow we go to Mr. Graham and we ask him for an advance.

  Bailey Salinger : No!

  Julia Salinger : Why not? It's an emergency.

  Bailey Salinger : Because we got to seem in charge here! We got to seem that we can handle everything ourselves, like a normal family, or they'll have an excuse to split all of us up.

  Julia Salinger : [to Charlie]  Thanks! Thanks a lot, Charlie. You screwed up big this time!

  [she leaves] 

  Bailey Salinger : [to Charlie]  So, I guess we give up whatever we have to give up. And we'll let everyone think your this great guy... Who's trying to hold his family together. You're just like a father to us. Even if we know it's a lie.