Written by Bruce Kirschbaum
Directed by James A. Contner
Airdate: May 7, 1989
The end of The Fairness Doctrine in 1987 opened the floodgates for talk radio, most of it reactionary. "Shock Jocks" also began to dominate the airwaves with edgy material.
The episode begins with a college radio provocateur going on a racist diatribe, later he's the apparent victim of a car bombing. Jump Street is called in to investigate, and Booker is chosen to replace the radio host, while Hoffs joins Students Against Racism and befriends the leader who's also a suspect in the bombing.
Greico does a great job in the episode, he's surprisingly good on the radio, almost too good. He gets into the role so much Hoffs starts to wonder if he's really acting. In an earlier episode, Booker mentioned he was a fan of the TV host Morton Downey Jr. and told Hanson he was proud of being white, suggesting Booker might harbor some racism. He's so good in fact, Dennis becomes a cult hero among the young conservatives on campus.
The campus conservatives want to start having their people placed in high positions to further their agenda and they seek Booker's endorsement for an upcoming election. At a party, Booker notices the all-white party attendees freely dropping the n-word, so he gets a taste of real hate (I'm sure most of them found jobs in the Trump administration). In his final appearance on the radio, he makes a call for unity. It's also revealed the car bombing was staged by the former radio host.
The script did a good job of tapping into zeitgeist of American political tensions as the '80s were ending. Reportedly, Depp refused to participate in this episode believing it was racist. While the script does repeat some racist talking points, it clearly comes down on the side of anti-racism. The episode also deals with how polarizing politics was starting equal big money for media companies.
Talk Radio, the Eric Bogosian play and film, clearly inspired the episode. The scenes at the radio station are filmed in a similar way with dim lighting and cigarette smoke creating a cinematic atmosphere for network television.
Final Report: The episode stands as a highlight of season 3 - even prophetic on the future of discourse in media.
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