Directed by Jorge Montesi
Airdate: November 20, 1989
Guest Star: Donovan Leitch Jr (Mike); Robin Lively (Helen); Vince Vaughn (Bill)
21 Jump Street experimented with the procedural structure of the series. "Mike's POV" is told from the perspective of a student doing contract kills for money. The episode's cold open has Mike killing the wife of a teacher. Mike simply wants to be popular, have a cool car and a girlfriend. Hanson and Penhall are working the case, but we only see them in their undercover guises, no scenes of them discussing the case.
 |
| Penhall saying farewell to the 1980s. |
The episode maintains a chillier and pulpier tone than usual. Penhall tries to offer counsel Mike as a coach at the school (getting too old to be believed as a student), while Hanson's adopted a dark poet persona. It's as if Depp is prepping to work in a Tim Burton film. Like teen movies of the era, Say Anything or Pump Up the Volume, the episode marks a shift from the erstwhile films of John Hughes to the more jaded landscape of the 1990s. There's a well-choregraphed fight at the end when Hanson must arrest Mike, adding to the cinematic atmosphere.
 |
| Been hanging out with Tim Burton? |
Vince Vaughn makes an early appearance and Robin Lively of Teen Witch and Karate Kid III fame plays Mike's crush.
 |
| Vince Vaughn and Robin Lively |
A real gem of an episode from late period Jump Street, totally in synch with the changing attitude of youth-oriented films associated with the multiplex generation.
No comments:
Post a Comment