21 Jump Street Review

Recently, I had the chance to watch 21 Jump Street. I did not view a copy of the new film that is supposed to be coming out; I watched every single episode of the original, all 103, courtesy of www.hulu.com.

Where to begin . . . As a child of the 80's I remember watching 21 Jump Street on a few occasions. I liked the show but as a pre-teen I did not understand some of what was going on. The second time around gave me a greater appreciation for the show and the time period it premiered in.

For those of you who do not know, 21 Jump Street was an American television show that debuted in 1987 and ran until 1991- five seasons. The pilot episode (two hour) starts with Johnny Depp as Officer Tom Hanson, a beat cop in an unnamed city in the U.S.A. As a young officer who looks younger than his age, Hansen has some trouble on the streets. The chief of police gives Hansen an ultimatum - try the newly formed Jump Street unit or take a desk job until his appearance ages.

Officer Hansen reports to the Jump Street precinct which is located in a renovated chapel. The chapel is located at the corner of Jump street and 6th street hence the name. The number in the name is supposed to designate the approximate age of the officers in the program - 21. The Jump Street program is already underway when Hansen arrives; Captain Richard Jenko (Frederic Forrest) an archaic hippie, is its commanding officer. Hansen is joined by officers Harry Truman "Ioki" (Dustin Nguyen), Douglas Penhall (Peter DeLuise) and Judith Hoffs (Holly Robinson). Holly Robinson sings the song for the intro which is one of the best intro's ever. As you the reader probably know by now the Jump Street unit specializes in undercover work with college and high school age kids.

As far as cop shows go, 21 Jump Street is one of the better ones. The format for most of the episodes was very much like an after school special. The show was a bit cheesy for its time, and given that the show started in "the 80's" it is very cheesy now. There are also some serious believability issues. Honestly, how much undercover work can a cop do in one city?

In many ways, 21 Jump Street was a product of its time and ahead of it as well. Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell were the shows creators. Collectively and individually these two created many memorable TV programs of the 1980's and 1990's. As such, 21 Jump Street has the look, feel, and format of many other programs of that era. Many actors that were popular during and/or after the show's run appeared on the show. Jada Pinkett, Brad Pitt, Bridget Fonda, Vince Vaughn, Rose Perez, Blair Underwood, Thomas Hayden Church, as well as a host of others appeared on the show. Several cast members from Beverly Hills 90210, including Jason Priestly and Shannon Doherty, were also on the program.

The show was one of the first to shoot in Canada (Vancouver), presumably to save costs. It was unparalleled in the range of issues it dealt with. Parent abuse, drugs, rape, extortion, prostitution, murder, gambling, arson, kidnapping, and even abortion were issues that one or more of the characters dealt with during its 5 season run. The show was also ahead of its time by using stories involving ethnic minorities and its frequent casting of them. To this day, Asian actors are underrepresented in Hollywood and 21 Jump Street cast one of them (Dustin Nguyen) in a lead role over twenty years ago.

Further hampering the believability factor, 21 Jump Street often recycled actors. A few examples are - Johnny Depp's former partner from the pilot, actor Barney Martin (Seinfeld's dad), appears in the first episode of season 2. The afore mentioned Jason Priestly was in two episodes as two separate characters. The brother of actor Peter DeLuise, Michael DeLuise, appears in a flashback as a younger version of Douglas Penhall, then in season 5 shows up as his brother.

Given some of its problems with believability and consistency, the show at least made the attempt to maintain continuity. In later episodes, story lines developed from characters in the pilot are pursued. Numerous references to Hansen's deceased father and other references based on information given in past episodes are made. References to real events like the Challenger explosion, the Goetz subway shooting, the Tianeman Square incident, and many more appear in the show.

The TV show Booker, starring Richard Grieco, was a spin-off of 21 Jump Street. The show's main character, Dennis Booker, was a cop who joined the Jump Street program at the beginning of season 3. He left the force at the beginning of season 4 after being busted down for violations in procedure while trying to clear officer Hansen of a homicide. The show tanked and ended after its first season.

Johnny Depp and Dustin Nguyen left the show after the fourth season. Early on during the show, Depp had "contractual issues" with the Fox network (The first four seasons were with the Fox Network; season 5 continued in off network syndication). Hence why Depp had less face time during seasons 3 & 4. Michael Bendetti joined the program as Officer Anthony McCann in the fifth season. Michael Deluise joined the program as Joey Penhall a few episodes later. Captain Adam Fuller, played by Steven Williams, replaced Capt. Jenko in the first season.

The first three episodes of season 5 seem to be holdovers from season 4. Season 5 episode 1 is the last we see of Johnny Depp. Episodes 2 & 3 of that season feature Alexandra Powers as Kati Rocky and David Barry Gray as Dean Garrett. These two new characters seem to be replacements for an aging cast but they were dropped with no mention of them in later episodes.

Aside from being entertaining, 21 Jump Street is a cultural lesson for anyone who wants to know what it is like to be a kid during the late 80's and early 90's. It is a chance to see what many actors looked like before they hit 40. Thanks be to modern technology (like the internet) for being able to see what high school, cop shows, and life were like before it.