21 Jump Street: S4E23: "How I Saved the Senator"

Written by Gary Rosen

Directed by James Whitmore Jr.

Airdate: May 7, 1990

Guest Star: Ray Parker Jr. (as himself)

"How I Saved the Senator" opens with a news crew barging in on the chapel - sending everyone for cover. Earlier that day, the Jump Street Unit was working security for a senator and foiled a plot. The reporter confesses she's actually a screenwriter and wants to get everyone's account of what happened. It's a fun take on Rashomon and a showcase for the entire cast. Appropriately, it would the final time all the principals appeared together. 

Ioki's fantasy imagines himself in a Bruce Lee film with elements of the 1970s TV show Kung Fu. Hanson pictures himself in a silent film with Depp doing a dead-on Chaplin imitation. Hoffs is a 1930s nightclub singer, evocative of the Billie Holiday biopic Lady Sings the Blues. Even Sal gets into the act, I guess he's in a slasher film? Penhall spins a 007 yarn, and Fuller reveals himself a fan of Westerns. 

It's hard not to get a little sentimental about this episode. One thinks back to the Pilot when Hanson reluctantly joined the unit, Penhall and the rest believed him too square to make it as an undercover cop. Jenko was the still the captain, lecturing Hanson on the genius of Jimi Hendrix. Seeing them all together one last time four years later, laughing and joking after they've been through the ringer together makes this the closest the series ever came to a farewell episode. 

21 Jump Street: S4E22: "Shirts and Skins"

Written by Larry Barber and Paul Barber

Directed by Jorge Montesi

Airdate: April 30, 1990

Guest Star: Steven Eckholdt (Lance)

Previous episodes of 21 Jump Street dealt with racism; "Shirts and Skins" might one of the more introspective takes. Penhall has infiltrated a white nationalist organization, while Hoffs and Ioki monitor anti-fascists. During a protest confrontation, Hoffs takes some minor injuries. Ioki also gets in a scuffle with some skinheads. He also hears one of the so-called anti-racists make derogatory comments. 

Penhall discovers tension between the skinheads and nazis. The nazis want educated white people in their group who will take power through the democratic process. Lance is being groomed by his grandfather for such a role.

The idea of white nationalist politics going from fringe to mainstream politics is a theme reveals the prescience of the script. Nothing is resolved by the end, but Penhall does expose a murder plot. Hoffs, Penhall, and Ioki all face moments when they reckon with their own attitudes on race. The episode for the most part avoids being heavy handed. 

21 Jump Street: S4E21: "Unfinished Business"

Written by Julie Friedgen

Directed by Daniel Attias

Airdate: April 9, 1990

Guest Star: Geri Jewell (Officer Rebecca Scanlon)

Hoffs is assigned to go undercover at a college where people with disabilities are being assaulted. Fuller is reluctant to assign Hoffs after her recent traumatic experience. Officer Rebecca Scanlon is also introduced; Fuller was her Captain at one time but is reluctant to send her out after she was wounded in the line of duty. Ioki is assigned to back up Hoffs, while Penhall works with Scanlon.

"Unfinished Business" has its poignant moments. Scanlon schools Penhall on working with a person with disabilities, while Hoffs panics and blows her cover. 

The execution is a bit clunky. Penhall makes an uncharacteristic mistake late in the investigation, while the culprit is telegraphed early in the episode. A major theme in the episode is the way people with disabilities are treated with society, reactions ranging from patronizing to contempt. Geri Jewell appeared in recurring roles on Facts of Life and Deadwood; she did not make a return appearance on 21 Jump Street. 

21 Jump Street: S4E20: "Last Chance High"

Written by Michelle Ashford

Directed by Kim Manners

Airdate: March 19, 1990

Guest Star: Diedrich Bader (Paul); Sarah Trigger (Frances)

Hanson and Penhall take on their McQuaid Brothers persona for the final time for "Last Chance High." Both realize they are getting too old to be working High Schools but decide to anyway. They're undercover at a school for kids struggling to socialize. Future Drew Carey Show star Diedrich Bader appears as a gifted, but maladjusted student.

The main plotline follows Frances, an art student, and we learn she kidnapped her baby sister because of abusive parents. Hanson takes a personal interest in the case to Fuller's chagrin, but everything works out ok. 

The episode is mostly a middling melodrama but tempered by some comedic moments. Penhall adjusts to being Clavo's adopted father. Hanson seems fine after being held captive by a death squad in the previous episode! One major difference between the network and streaming eras of television - emotional stakes are taken more seriously these days. 

21 Jump Street: S4E19: "La Bizca"

Written by Lary Barber & Paul Barber

Directed by David Nutter

Airdate: February 26, 1990

Guest Star: Richard Roundtree (Ben Halley)

El Salvadore was going through a bitter civil war (1980-1992), with the Reagan-Bush administration supporting the anti-communist forces often through illegal means - look up the Iran-Contra Scandal.

The civil war was a plot point in an earlier episode from season 4 "Come from the Shadows" when Penhall married Marta to prevent her deportment, which failed to work. Penhall decided to travel with Hanson to El Salvadore to find her. 

They arrive and immediately witness atrocities and eventually get captured by government forces who believe they are communists from America. Freed by the rebels, Penhall learns that Marta was recently killed. In grief, Penhall decides to bring her young son Clavo back to the states.

A downer episode for sure, it feels like another TV show at times. A war themed travelogue and action oriented, "La Bizca" is a tough one to place in the series canon.  

21 Jump Street: S4E18: "Awomp-Bomp-Aloobomb, Aloop Bamboom"

Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong

Directed by Jorge Montesi

Airdate: February 19, 1990

Guest Stars: Shawn Levy (Lance); John Waters (Mr. Bean); Jensen Daggett (Ashley)

One could argue the original premise of 21 Jump Street was a joke (undercover High School cops), but the show played everything straight. By season four, 21 Jump Street no longer resisted its own absurdity, it leaned into it. Many consider the fourth season to be the final one proper since it was the last with the principal cast. This episode would be the last carefree pairing of Hanson and Penhall, one last, strange road trip before the show leaves them behind. 

Everyone's uncharacteristically grumpy at the chapel, the squad pesters Fuller for more vacation time. Hanson and Penhall are investigating an explosion near a "radical" college newspaper run by student communists. They follow the editor Lance who hops on a bus to Florida for Spring Break, we learn he's chasing his ex-girlfriend Ashley - a swimsuit model. 

The bus is chartered by an esoteric self-help cult led by none other than cult filmmaker John Waters as "Mr. Bean." Depp had just worked with Waters on Cry Baby, making the cameo feel like an inside joke. They get kicked off the bus and hitch a ride to Florida. The spectacle of college students converging on Florida became a defining image of 1990s pop culture, and 21 Jump Street gets there early.

Spring Break Adventure

Penhall keeps an eye on Lance as they get caught up in a beer pong game. Hanson locates Ashley and they really hit it off, but she eventually reunited with Lance. And Sal shows up at one point - he's also partying at Spring Break? Wasn't he married with two kids, as we saw in earlier episodes. Sal appears almost as a specter, not unlike the way Depp exited the series. 

Morgan and Wong's script joyfully disrupted structure. We get random detours, Hanson and Penhall are drifting more than investigating. Scenes feel incidental, even disposable. The plot is more about movement than narrative. 

Shawn Levy would go on to a big directing career. Jensen Daggett as Ashley also exuded star power here, her claim to fame would be starring in Jason Takes Manhattan. 

Despite all the drift and absurdity, the episode ends on a serious note. Penhall plans on going to El Salvador to track down his estranged wife, a reminder the show still centered seriousness. 

21 Jump Street: S4E17: "Hi Mom"

Written by Bill Nuss

Directed by James Whitmore, Jr.

Airdate: February 12, 1990

Guest Stars: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Wesley Williams); David Raynr (Kip Fuller)

"Hi Mom" deals with drugs and corruption in college basketball. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar guest stars as the beleaguered athletic director at a university reeling from the drug-related death of a star player. 

Hanson poses as a tutor, Penhall joins the wrestling squad, and Fuller assumes the cover of an African American studies professor. They discover widespread drug use among the athletes, including evidence of point shaving for cocaine money. There's a real "ripped from the headlines" style to the episode.

The script recalls earlier seasons of 21 Jump Street when the series was more of a procedural. There's definitely a getting long in the tooth feel as well, everything seems routine. Real "senior year" vibes to this episode.