Written by Patrick Harsburgh
Directed by Kim Manners
Airdate: April 12, 1987
Main Cast for Season 1: Officer Thomas Hanson (Johnny Depp); Sgt. Judy Hoffs (Holly Robinson); Officer Doug Penhall (Peter DeLuise); Sgt. Harry Truman (HT) Loki/Vinn Van Tran (Dustin Nguyen) Captain Richard Jenko (Frederic Forrest); Captain Adam Fuller (Steven Williams)
Guest Stars: Barney Martin (Charlie Donegan); Reginald T. Dorsey (Tyrell Thompson); Brandon Douglas (Kenny Weckerle)
21 Jump Street would emulate both the procedural approach of Hill Street Blues with the issue oriented "After School" specials familiar to Gen X. Historically, 21 Jump Street is known for two things: 1) Becoming the first hit series for the fledgling Fox Network and 2) Making Johnny Depp a household name. The premise of the series, youthful undercover cops going into High Schools, Colleges, and gangs to solve crimes, may've seemed ludicrous on the surface, but it was embraced by young TV viewers, the hardest audience to reach for a Prime-Time series (airing from 7-8 on Sundays).
Co-Created by TV legend Stephen J, Cannell, the writer-producer behind several hit shows that defined network TV during the 1970s and 1980s (Rockford Files, A-Team, Hunter), 21 Jump Street would define itself as a show that would tackle many controversial issues related to school crime, specifically the problem of drugs and violence in schools. But the show would expand well beyond merely busting drug dealers and gangs each week, episodes would take on issues of sexual violence, homophobia, AIDS, child abuse, mental health, academic freedom, and many others that still resonate today. As the series evolved, an increased moral ambivalence found its way into storylines, as all the characters would come to have mixed feelings and doubts about their line of work.
While 21 Jump Street may be remembered as a "cheesy" show from the late 1980s, a notion popularized by the two films made based on the series, my goal is that hopefully a deep dive into the series as a pop culture artifact to unlock its strengths and weaknesses and hopefully spark some reevaluation on the show's legacy as a product of its time and how it still speaks to concerns of today.
The Setting
It should be noted that 21 Jump Street at least in the first season was city in the city of Metropolis in the state of Evergreen but eventually would take the Hills Street Blues approach and leave the actual city unnamed. The series was filmed in Vancouver, Canada, which would become a hub of TV production in the years to come. Nevertheless, the fictional city on 21 Jump Street had a vast urban and suburban sprawl.
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| Home Invasion |
As would be the case for most episodes, the Pilot opens with an inciting incident for the plot. A suburban family (the Weckerle's) straight out of John Hughes has their family dinner interrupted by two gangbangers wielding guns and demanding money owed to them by young teenager Kenny. He promises to get them the money he owes them. Tyrell demands the keys to his father's Jaguar, and they take off. Kenny pleads with his parents not to call the police.
Then we meet Officer Tom Hanson on patrol with his veteran partner Chalie Donegan, played by Barney Martin (who would go onto fame playing Jerry Seinfeld's dad). Charlie has six months until retirement and seems weary of his young partner, who many believe looks too young to be a cop. They are called to the Weckerle house to investigate the home invasion.
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| Rookie and Veteran on Patrol |
They learn little, and Hanson's attempt to get information from Kenny goes nowhere. Then Hanson and Donegan pursue a car that just robbed a convivence store, Hanson's reckless driving annoys Donegan. Once in custody, the perpetrators mock Hanson for his "babyface" as Donegan must find a payphone for backup (the car radio broke) and all but one of the suspects escapes. In the fracas, Hanson accidentally breaks Donegan's nose.
Back at the station, the captain summons Hanson and bluntly tells him his looks are making him a liability as a patrol officer. But the Captain still believes Hanson has what it takes to be a good cop and transfers him to a secretive undercover unit known as the Jump Street Chapel Program (the mayor's baby) that investigates High Schools. Hanson balks at the assignment, calling it "Fast Times at Bust-Your-Buddy High." But the Captain quotes statistics about school crime getting worse and informs Hanson it's either Jump Street or a desk job. Hanson accepts, recalling his own days of being bullied in High School.
Hanson arrives at the Chapel and meets Sgt. Penhall who mocks him for his haircut. Ioki is a young Asian American man who's also skeptical of Hanson at first. Then we meet Captain Jenko, an unabashed hippy who constantly drops counterculture references, his office is plastered with posters of 60s rock stars, he often pontificates on the genius of Jimi Hendrix. Jenko tells Hanson he must get in touch with the "Pepsi Generation" and lose his "Jack Kennedy" haircut. Jenko assigns Judy Hoffs, another member of the Jump Street Unit, to get Hanson up to speed on fashion, music, and slang.
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| Hoffs schools Hanson on the latest music. |
Hanson botches his first undercover assignment. Along with Penhall, he's assigned to help build a case against a drug/gang dealer known as "Jays." While Penhall's already gained the confidence of Jays, Hanson poses as his cousin to convince the gang they are legit, but Hanson quickly blows his own cover and then tries to arrest Jays. Jenko is furious with Hanson; he just screwed up a six-month investigation of a serious smuggling operation.
Meanwhile, Kenny is scene doing smash and grabs on jewelry stores.
Back at the chapel Hanson is assigned to Emerest High School, posing as a "problem" transfer student. He immediately gets into an altercation with Tyrell who happens to be a student at the school over a parking space. Hanson is disciplined by the principal and later sees Kenny at the school, making him question whether it was not a coincidence he was assigned to the school. Hanson later runs into Tyrell who threatens him again.
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| Confrontation with Tyrell |
The Pilot - Part II
Back at the Chapel, Hanson is still not accepted by the group as they play a fake football game without him. Jenko gathers everyone for a meeting, annoyed by Hanson's buttoned up "Republican" attitude He connects his current case to the home invasion he investigated the week before, and Jenko agrees it was not a coincidence. Jenko assigns Ioki and Hanson to put Kenny under surveillance. On a stakeout they spot Kenny, supposedly on a paper route, starting to break storefront windows. They fail to apprehend him and even get pulled over by Hanson's former partner Donegan.
Back at school, Hanson finds himself getting unwanted attention from a female student Wendy who passes him notes in class. Hanson runs into Kenny at Drama class, who seems to recognize him as a boy his sister used to date. Later Hanson unceremoniously repels Wendy by claiming he's infected with herpes, she's clearly freaked out and leaves him alone. He later has another confrontation with Tyrell who is demanding more money from Kenny.
Jenko and Hanson discuss the possibility Kenny is part of a burglary ring, but something doesn't add up. Hanson and Ioki trail Tyrell to a lavish bar where he meets with a local drug kingpin. Tyrell manages to escape but he recognizes Hanson. Jenko puts out a warrant for Kenny, but not before Tyrell visits Kenny and offers him a deadly "speedball" to fuel his drug habit and eliminate him as a witness. The next day Kenny overdoses at school and nearly dies. Hanson confronts him at the hospital, demanding to know Tyrell's whereabouts.
Penhall and Hoff pose as potential buyers at Tyrell's hideaway (an abandoned garage), but the situation quickly escalates into a shootout. Hanson manages to apprehend Tyrell after a struggle, impressing the others and redeeming himself after botching the previous investigation. Weeks later, Hanson meets with Kenny after being released from rehab and they reconcile. Back at the chapel, Penhall complains about Hanson's "beginner's luck" much to Hanson's amusement. Now feeling accepted by the unit, Hanson joins Jenson's rock band with his saxophone.
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| Jenko rocks out |
Thoughts on the Pilot
From a plot perspective, the Pilot episode feels a bit convoluted at times. Tyrell is using stolen goods to facilitate drug deals for his boss, but the script takes a circular route to arrive at its revelation. The actor playing Kenny is never totally believable, more winey than threatening. Tyrell is also completely one-dimensional, playing into racial stereotypes of black men being violent drug dealers, made worse in this case by terrorizing an affluent white suburban family.
The script is much better in tracking Hanson's character arc from straight arrow rookie to finding his way in the world of undercover work. Depp brought both the right innocence and maturity to the role. A big part of Jump Street's success would be the chemistry among the cast, which is only hinted at in the episode since the story is mostly focused on Hanson. As Jenko, Forrest makes his scenes pop as the likable ex-hippy mentoring his young officers.
While the plot was meat and potatoes for '80s cop fare, focused on drug dealers and dangerous criminals, we also get some hints at the show's potential to explore youth culture from an interesting angle. The sheer strangeness of going back to High School (the one-joke premise of the 2012 movie) would provide both comical and serious possibilities. Not a brilliant pilot when compared to other great TV shows of the era, but the writers had clearly tapped into something with great potential.
Final Report: B
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