My ongoing review of the "21 Jump Street" Mill Creek S01-05 DVD sets

[Latka Gravas]

The original 21 Jump Street TV series has become one of my favorite shows. Ironically, even though I was a high-school aged teen when the show made it's debut in 1987, I never saw this when it was originally on (I wasn't watching much TV at the time). However, much later I ended up catching some of the episodes (with the exception of most of S04-S05) on the original Anchor Bay DVD sets - in the 200X's.

Excellent series, and really tackled a lot of social problems that were/are very topical, including teen drug abuse (a huge problem in the '80's especially), alcoholism, assault, hate crimes, gangs, burglary/theft, guns in schools, abuse, prostitution, etc. At times, the show was difficult to watch because of the extreme realism.

This Fall, I am starting my first re-watch of the show, on the Mill Creek DVD set(s).

[Latka Gravas]

Re: 21 Jump Street S01:

Review of the DVD sets: The 13 episodes were only spread out over two Disks, and the PQ was below average for the most part, but still not that horrible. It was slightly better than a VHS rip; and, any stream of the show that I've seen typically look a lot worse.

Based on what I've read about the 21 Jump Street DVD releases, there were quite a few music replacements. Though this usually bothers me, since I never saw the show when it was originally on - I honestly don't know what I'm missing here. Yes, it would have been strongly preferable to have all of the original music included. However, it seems like that would have been prohibitively expensive (and probably resulted in the show not being released on physical media at all).

The show itself:

Excellent & strong season. It only had 13 episodes, due to starting late in the network season (April 1987) and running through June of that year. Later seasons had the more traditional 20-23 episodes each - though S04 had 26 episodes.

Several observations about this first season:

-Frederic Forrest was the boss/supervisor of the youthful LE officers in the first half of the season. He was decent in the role, but did strongly come across as an aging ex-hippie. The character was written off the show mid-way through this 1st season (killed by a drunk driver, IIRC) and replaced by the more authoritative/business-like Stephen Williams. I felt Williams was a better fit for the role, and was more believable as an LE officer than Forrest. Also, I remembered Williams as an early LE contact of Robert McCall's in the first season of "The Equalizer" (1985-1985), so it was almost as if he was pseudo-reprising that role in 21 Jump Street.

-The show was set in the fictitious "Evergreen" State, but was actually filmed in Canada. I suspect the series is supposed to be set in the Pacific Northwestern part of the U.S (Washington State or Oregon).

-Quoted from Wikipedia, "It was originally going to be titled Jump Street Chapel, after the church building in which the unit has its headquarters, but was changed at Fox's request so as not to mislead viewers into thinking it was a religious program." - LOL

-It's interesting to note that while the show is definitely a drama in many ways, there are comedic elements that I had forgotten about - notably revolving around Doug Penhall's character, who is somewhat of an adult "class clown" - LOL. And, the more I see the show - I understand why the films focused on the comedy (though they should still have had dramatic elements as well).

All of the episodes were great, but some of my favorites included:

-"My Future's so Bright, I've gotta wear shades": The 21 Jump street team go undercover at an expensive private school to investigate the assault & death of a working-class teen girl. Very disturbing episode that truly illustrates how wealthy & powerful people (and their children) typically are "insulated" from the consequences of their heinous actions. However, the final shocking scene is one of my favorite endings in the series....and proves that these rich scum-bags don't always get away with their crimes.

-"Mean Streets & Pastel Houses": The season finale. Hansen (Depp) and Doug Penhall (DeLuise) go undercover as potential teen gang members to investigate a series of crimes involving vandalism & murder. Excellent episode, and I especially liked the punk rock elements.

[Latka Gravas]

I started watching S02 of 21JS (on the Mill Creek Region 1 DVD set). The PQ is slightly improved from S01; however, there are audio drops in some episodes (especially the early ones). Not sure how easily this type of thing can be corrected, especially with older shows - due to the limitations of the source material.

Re: the show itself, this is a solid season, with some well-done, disturbing/dark, and realistic episodes. Some reviews; note there are SPOILERS below (not sure how to include SPOILER tags on this forum):

Besieged (Part I-II): Some of the Jump street gang infiltrate a rough school in order to investigate the death of a local drug dealer. Interesting two-parter which has several elements - including corruption/cover-ups by the authorities.

Two for the Road: The Jump street gang go undercover @ a school & become friends with a group of kids who are getting fake I.D.'s & using them to get served liquor at a local bar. This bar knowingly serves teens had previously resulted in the drunk driving accident, paralysis, & death of one of them. To add to this, Captain Fuller gets a DWI - which is an interesting parallel to the investigation being run being by his team.

I felt that the episode brought up very relevant points about the dangers of drunk driving & how it affects everyone (not just teens) - without being preachy about the topic. In any case, IMHO this is definitely one of the best & most relevant episodes of the series.

After School Special: Captain Fuller & Hoffs go undercover at a school where many of the students & staff are armed. Very relevant early look at the serious problem with guns in schools - which didn't get as much national/international press in the '80's as it did in later years.

Higher Education: Ioki (Dustin Nguyen) is named in a paternity suit involving a girl at one of the high schools where he did undercover work several months before. As it turned out, Ioki is not the father (he didn't even know the girl), and Jump Street investigates to find out who the father actually is.

[Latka Gravas]

Here are some more S02 episode reviews. SPOILERS BELOW. I don't know how to insert spoiler tags in this forum.

This may be the strongest season in the series:

-You ought to be in prison: A violent criminal (that the group busted in S01) breaks out of prison, and tracks down Hansen. This is due to a news report he sees in which Hansen & Penhall are "security guards" for a well-known Hollywood action star.

Nice continuity with a great S01 episode; I also appreciated the realism re: the 21 Jump Street crew always being at risk of being recognized by a criminal/criminals that they busted/encountered in the past.

-The Convenience Killer: Hansen and his gf stop off at a convenience store late at night. Unknown to them, the store is in the process of being robbed - and the gf is killed. Hansen tracks down the killer (even after being told not to), and also wrestles with the guilty feelings he has over freezing up when the crime occurred.

-Christmas in Saigon: It is revealed that Ioki is not Japanese (as he claimed he was), but that he actually escaped from Vietnam during the war. Because of this, Ioki's continuing with Jump Street is in question. Added to this, Captain Fuller (a Vietnam veteran) struggles with his feelings about the situation.

Eventually, Captain Fuller overcomes his reluctance - and speaks up on Ioki's behalf; this results in Ioki's being able to stay in the Jump Street program.

This episode features very well-done & tragic flash-back scenes showing Ioki's family & best friend in Vietnam, leading up to Ioki's escape & emigration to the U.S. This is unquestionably one of the 5 best episodes in the series - excellent.

[Latka Gravas]

Finally finished watching 21 Jump Street S03. Excellent season! Note there are SPOILERS below; don't know how to insert SPOILER tags in this forum:

As I further delve into this show, I've noticed that the S03 opening theme & certain episodes have a neo-noir vibe due to the urban night scenes, neon lights, etc. Very interesting, and this element is something that I missed when watching the show the first time around.

Some of the many stand-out episodes:

The Currency we Trade in: Penhall is reassigned (temporarily) to the Major Crimes division. He & his new partner investigate a successful public figure who is accused of a horrific crime. However, even when the truth comes out which proves his innocence, it's too late... and his whole life is ruined because of this. Extremely good episode that addresses how false accusations can & do ruin people's lives.

The Dragon and the Angel: A Vietnamese gang is extorting/scamming a local community, and Ioki goes undercover to investigate.

Blinded by the Thousand Points of Light: Extremely disturbing & realistic episode. The team goes undercover to try to solve the recent disappearances of homeless teens living on the streets. Sad episode, but with a slightly uplifting ending. Guest-starring a young Bridget Fonda.

Next Victim: After a college radio "shock jock" is wounded in an attack, Booker temporarily replaces the radio personality in order to track down the perpetrator(s). He finds himself inadvertently losing himself in the role he's playing.

Loc'd out Parts 1-2: Very intense season finale(s). The group investigates two warring street games, and the investigation is complicated by corruption among their own ranks. Ioki is seriously wounded, and Hansen is charged with a serious crime. Definitely two of the best episodes in the series.

Looking forward to the final two seasons. I haven't seen many (if any) of the S04-S05 episodes yet. Though I've heard these weren't as good as Seasons 1-3, I still think they're worth checking out.