21 Jump Street: S3E18: "Next Victim"

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. 

21 Jump Street: S3E16: "High High"

Written by Eric Blakeney and Bill Nuss

Directed by Mario Van Peebles

Airdate: April 23, 1989

Guest Stars: Michael Des Barres (Mr. Karst); Phillip Linton (Jimmy); Mario Van Peebles (Dana)

The Jump Street unit crashes art school in the fan favorite episode, "High High." Drugs at rampant at a local performing arts school so Hanson, Penhall, Ioki, and Booker are sent in to mix with art students (Hoffs as well, but she's not been given much to do recently).

Everyone manages to find their niche at the school. Hanson joins the rock band class allowing Depp to whale on his guitar for the entire episode. Penhall takes acting class but struggles until he finds his way through by reinterpreting Jackie Gleason. Booker has the most fun of all by joining the performance art troupe, he spews punk poetry and smashes televisions, considered one of his iconic moments from the series. 

Mario Van Peebles directed the episode with style and appears in one scene as a film professor. British rocker Michael des Barres is also memorable as the acting teacher who pushed Penhall to greatness on the stage. 

Wake up Penhall!

The only drawback to the script is the exhausted trope of drugs in schools. Apparently, everyone is getting high. Booker befriends Jimmy, a proto–David Foster Wallace type harboring a symbiotic relationship with substances. In a staged assembly, the entire school is arrested by the county judge! That was sort of awesome. Who's up for some community service?

21 Jump Street: S3E14: "Nemesis"

Written by John Truby

Directed by Ken Wiederhorn

Airdate: March 26, 1989

Guest Stars: Krista Errickson (Christine); Linda Darlow (Joyce Booker)

"Nemesis" is more psychological thriller than cop drama as Booker blames himself for the killing of a student who was mistaken for a NARC. He's infiltrated a gang of drug dealing teens at a high school who call themselves "the wastoids."

Booker's guilt leads him to question himself as a cop. He visits his mom and tries to connect with his girlfriend. As he struggles not to blow his cover, the tensions heighten

The best part of the episode is the intro, editing like a late '80s horror film Wes Craven style. Greico was allowed to show off his acting skills here, the episode would become a template for his own series Booker to air the next season.

Reportedly, the episode was originally written for Johnny Depp, who objected to the script having Hanson cover-up a murder. Hanson appears only briefly. More of an outlier episode, slightly out of tune with the season, but still good. 

21 Jump Street: S3E8: "The Blu Flu"

Written by Clifton Campbell

Directed by Bill Corcoran

Airdate: January 29, 1989

Guest Stars: Art Metrano (Larry Stubbs); Robert Romanus (Gary); Kevin Dunn (Reed)

More division hits the Jump Street Unit after the police union rejects the new contract. Hanson observes negotiations, while the others consider their options. Hoffs and Booker join the picket line, Penhall is under pressure from Dorothy to find a new job, while Ioki resents the work stoppage. Captain Fuller, being part of management, must keep working. The 1980s was a shaky era for labor unions, and the script deserves credit for not going corporate.

Penhall attends to household chores.

Booker bonds with veteran Officer Stubbs over baseball and even stepped in to deescalate a tense confrontation during the episode's climax, and even takes the blame for a tire slashing incident to prevent Stubbs from losing his job. Hanson is mostly absent this week, while Penhall deals with Dorothy being the only breadwinner. Ioki views the strike as more of a hinderance to his stock portfolio, he clashes with Booker. Eventually, both sides agree to a contract. 

Booker holds the line during the strike

If there's an all-star for this episode it would be Fuller, he keeps working and stays calm in a stressful situation, including being partnered with an incompetent rookie. As usual, Fuller exudes balanced leadership during a crisis. While Depp was the "star" of the series, Steven Williams was the glue that always held things together. I would point to this episode as a prime example. 

Final Report: Williams and Greico hold morally complicated positions in the episode, lifting the material.

21 Jump Street: S3E1: "Fun with Animals"

Written by Eric Blakeney

Directed by James Whitmore Jr.

Airdate: November 6, 1988

Guest Star: Richard Grieco (Officer Dennis Booker)

21 Jump Street returned for a third season in November of 1988, introducing a new character, Officer Dennis Booker. "Booker" holds a unique niche in the Jump Street universe; he was the only character who would go on to their own series. Booker aired on Fox (1989-90) for one season.

"Fun With Animals" set a gritter tone for Jump Street, with Booker serving as the catalyst. We're never introduced; the episode begins in shop class with Hanson and Booker getting into a staged fight that might not be so fake. They're tracking a group of repugnant students spreading racial hate at the school, at one point they burn a cross in a Black student's yard. Then a Black female student is assaulted, and Hanson suspects the racist students - or possibly his new partner.

Booker and Hanson at loggerheads.

The episode hinges on the tensions between Hanson and Booker. Fuller finds it amusing Hanson is so annoyed with Booker, who breaks rules and chides Hanson, calling him "Mr. Liberal" at one point. Booker is brasher and more willing to break protocol. Hanson suspects Booker is racist but then gets called out by for his own privilege as a good-looking white guy. Sounds like a twitter battle from 2016. 

Meanwhile, Penhall (looking about 40 with his beard) continues to work intelligence and seems to like it (apparently, he's on stakeouts all day). Hoffs is charmed by Booker, much to Hanson's chagrin. The plot thickens when it's revealed Booker actually works for Internal Affairs and was assigned to monitor Hanson and to see if he entraps students who were innocent. Eventually it's revealed the student was physically attacked by a gang of girls, and Hanson's suspicions about Booker were unfounded.

In today's terms, Booker would be considered a disruptor. Up to this point, the Jump Street crew was airtight, but that might change. By the end, Booker comes to respect Hanson and hopes they work together on another case, dragging him to a strip club to "throw him off." At one point, Booker declares Morton Downey Jr. "a good man," there's a dated reference for you. 

A weightier episode than usual, one wonders what was happening behind the scenes. Depp was eyeing a movie career and Grieco appeared to be a possible replacement as series lead. If the first season had fun with the novel concept of undercover High School cops and the second season focused on group cohesion, the third promised more tension and conflict. 

Final Report: B+