"21 Jump Street" (1987) TV series 1987-1991

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Creators:

Stephen J. Cannell
Patrick Hasburgh

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

12 April 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Too cool for school.

Plot:

The cases of an undercover police unit composed of young looking officers specializing in youth crime.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Undercover | Address As Title | Detective | Teen

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Steven Williams	...	Captain Adam Fuller / ... (92 episodes, 1987-1991)
Holly Robinson Peete	...	Officer Judy Hoffs (88 episodes, 1987-1991)
Peter DeLuise	...	Officer Doug Penhall (84 episodes, 1987-1990)
Dustin Nguyen	...	Officer Harry Truman Ioki (71 episodes, 1987-1990)
Johnny Depp	...	Officer Tom Hanson (69 episodes, 1987-1990)

Runtime:

60 min (103 episodes) | Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:12 | UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:15 (some episodes) | UK:PG (some episodes) | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

New Westminster Secondary School, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Johnny Depp had always been Patrick Hasburgh's first choice to play Tom Hanson but Depp turned the role down. Jeff Yagher was then cast as Hanson and filming for the pilot began. But Fox was unhappy with his performance and halted production after three weeks. Fox wanted Josh Brolin for the role but Hasburgh wanted to offer the role to Depp again. This time Depp accepted the role and Yagher's scenes were re-shot.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Throughout the first season Hansen repeatedly says "tail" when his mouth obviously says "ass." This was a post-production change in response to network censorship, who thought the word "ass" was inappropriate.

Quotes:

Off. Tom Hanson #2: Without Jenko we're gonna be Charlie's Angels.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The O.C.: The O.C. Confidential (#2.20)" (2005)

Still a good show

My friends continue to make fun of me for absolutely loving this show, but I don't really care. Seeing the episodes now -- in 2002 -- only shows how fresh this show still is. Some of these episodes could be aired *today* and still be relevant and have an impact.

I definitely thought the show was going a bit downhill in season 3. Adding Richard Grieco to the cast did not help; I liked neither him nor his character and was happy to see him gone. Overall, I must say that the second season was the best, with tightly-written episodes, strong characterization and outstanding acting ("Orpheus 3.3" springs to mind as an example of truly breath-taking acting on Johnny Depp's part).

Well, what more can I say that hasn't been said? If you ever get the chance, check this show out. Here's hoping for a possible DVD release -- the quality of my tapes isn't what it used to be and I would hate to lose my collection (season 1-4).