Back in the 1990s, cop dramas seemed like a dime a dozen. Shows like NYPD Blue, New York Undercover and Law and Order really set the tone and the standard for the gritty life of a police officer in a big city. It was a formula that worked for prime time and enabled audiences to get a glimpse into the fictional world of a detective. But, and this is just my opinion, none of the aforementioned shows were on the same level as 21 Jump Street and here’s why.
Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s a little network called FOX was just starting to find an audience. At the time, bigger networks like CBS, NBC and ABC dominated evening television, and FOX needed an angle. That angle was the younger, hipper form of entertainment that combined the adult-oriented subjects of alcoholism, rape and child abuse with a fresh face.
21 Jump Street followed a fictional group of young undercover police officers in the made-up city of Metropolis. The group of officers was so young looking in fact, that they often posed as high school and university students in order to solve cases. Consisting of four main officers to begin with, none are more recognized than movie star Johnny Depp.
Johnny Depp graced the small screen as officer Tom Hanson from 1987-1990. Hanson was accompanied by Judy Hoff (Holly Robinson Peete), Doug Penhall (Peter DeLouise) and Harry Ioki (Dustin Ngyuen). Together the foursome often went undercover as gang members, high school students, young employees and street kids all in the name of the law.
21 Jump Street was in desperate need of a new star when Depp went to the big screen and desperate needs call for desperate measures. Enter Richard Grieco. Grieco guest starred as officer Dennis Booker from 1988-1989 and when Depp decided to leave the show, the focus shifted to Booker. The Booker experiment wasn’t a total loss as Grieco landed his own spinoff series, but 21 Jump Street was going downhill.
By 1990 the show was stretching for story lines and the cast was beginning to age to the point where going undercover at a high school was becoming extremely unbelievable. Even having guest stars like Bridget Fonda, a pre 90210 Jason Priestley, and a young Brad Pitt couldn’t save the series which eventually folded.
21 Jump Street has taken a while to achieve “cult”, status, but DVD sales have helped. There is also a rumor floating around in Hollywood that Jonah Hill (the fat kid from Superbad) is currently writing a feature film script for the series. Johnny Depp has also expressed slight interest in agreeing to do a cameo if the script ever comes to fruition.
If you’re too young to remember 21 Jump Street from the late 80’s picking up a DVD copy of the series is a great way to spend a weekend. The show is heavy enough to keep you interested for a while, but also light enough that it speaks directly to a younger generation.
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