Woolly Bullies Spoiler Free Review - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Cori aka ChrisSCrush · 04-23-2026, 05:54 PM

The Season 3 episode of 21 Jump Street entitled “Woolly Bullies” originally aired on February 19, 1989. I was a fan of the show and tried never to miss it, so I caught this one in first run. The show follows a number of youthful police detectives who often go undercover as high school students.

Officer Doug Penhall, played by Peter DeLuise, is trying to infiltrate a computer club whose members have been wreaking havoc by changing grades in the school’s system. Because of his nerd disguise, Doug cannot deal with a bully who is keeping him out of the club by intimidating Doug and the club members.

Doug goes to Captain Adam Fuller, played by Steven Williams. As Captain Fuller and other officers listen, Doug describes his bully problem. Captain Fuller relates being bullied by a cousin who forced him to shoplift as a young teenager. Officer Tom Hanson, played by Johnny Depp, has one of the longer stories, about how around age nine he was continually beaten up by a girl who knew he would not hit a girl. Another officer has the shortest story as he simply punched the bully in the face, and a few others have no bully stories but simply listen.

About half the episode is taken up by Doug relating his experience with a bully named Jack Archer, who tormented him from the fifth to the tenth grades. Doug was orphaned and living with his Uncle Nick, played by Dom DeLuise. After describing a series of ever worsening bully incidents culminating in serious property damage, Doug decides to find out where Jack Archer, who had moved away, is now living and confront him.

This is where Ray Bradbury comes in. The main character in Bradbury’s story “The Utterly Perfect Murder” is also coincidentally named Douglas and nicknamed Doug. Although the bully’s name and the specific bullying incidents are different, and it was Doug and not the bully who moved away, the deciding to travel to confront the bully and the outcome of the confrontation are absolutely identical. In the 21 Jump Street episode, the confrontation helps Doug Penhall resolve his current bullying problem and pursue his investigation.

The next day after seeing the episode, I wrote Ray Bradbury and told him 21 Jump Street had ripped off his story. Bradbury always responded when he found any message of interest and I was sure he would find this of interest. To my surprise I received no response. Sometime later I was talking to Ray’s longtime bibliographer Donn Albright who said Ray said this happens all the time and he declined to pursue it, although the first time it happened Ray took it to the Supreme Court.

Overall I found this a good episode of 21 Jump Street and very memorable. I just watched it for the second time after not seeing it since 1989.

04-23-2026, 05:54 PM	#1
Cori aka ChrisSCrush Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 30, 2001 Location: USA and still trying to be proud of it! Posts: 2,068	Woolly Bullies Spoiler Free Review The Season 3 episode of 21 Jump Street entitled “Woolly Bullies” originally aired on February 19, 1989. I was a fan of the show and tried never to miss it, so I caught this one in first run. The show follows a number of youthful police detectives who often go undercover as high school students. Officer Doug Penhall, played by Peter DeLuise, is trying to infiltrate a computer club whose members have been wreaking havoc by changing grades in the school’s system. Because of his nerd disguise, Doug cannot deal with a bully who is keeping him out of the club by intimidating Doug and the club members. Doug goes to Captain Adam Fuller, played by Steven Williams. As Captain Fuller and other officers listen, Doug describes his bully problem. Captain Fuller relates being bullied by a cousin who forced him to shoplift as a young teenager. Officer Tom Hanson, played by Johnny Depp, has one of the longer stories, about how around age nine he was continually beaten up by a girl who knew he would not hit a girl. Another officer has the shortest story as he simply punched the bully in the face, and a few others have no bully stories but simply listen. About half the episode is taken up by Doug relating his experience with a bully named Jack Archer, who tormented him from the fifth to the tenth grades. Doug was orphaned and living with his Uncle Nick, played by Dom DeLuise. After describing a series of ever worsening bully incidents culminating in serious property damage, Doug decides to find out where Jack Archer, who had moved away, is now living and confront him. This is where Ray Bradbury comes in. The main character in Bradbury’s story “The Utterly Perfect Murder” is also coincidentally named Douglas and nicknamed Doug. Although the bully’s name and the specific bullying incidents are different, and it was Doug and not the bully who moved away, the deciding to travel to confront the bully and the outcome of the confrontation are absolutely identical. In the 21 Jump Street episode, the confrontation helps Doug Penhall resolve his current bullying problem and pursue his investigation. The next day after seeing the episode, I wrote Ray Bradbury and told him 21 Jump Street had ripped off his story. Bradbury always responded when he found any message of interest and I was sure he would find this of interest. To my surprise I received no response. Sometime later I was talking to Ray’s longtime bibliographer Donn Albright who said Ray said this happens all the time and he declined to pursue it, although the first time it happened Ray took it to the Supreme Court. Overall I found this a good episode of 21 Jump Street and very memorable. I just watched it for the second time after not seeing it since 1989.