21 Jump Street

Premise

The series focuses on a group of rookie police officers headquartered at the eponymous address. These young officers all have especially youthful appearances, allowing them to pass for teenagers. Their assignments frequently consist of undercover work in high schools or, less commonly, colleges, where they generally investigate drug trafficking and other criminal activities. The show's plots cover issues such as alcoholism, hate crimes, gang violence, drug abuse, homophobia, AIDS, child abuse, and sexual promiscuity. Similarly, each problem is often solved by the end of the hour-long episode, giving an implicit moral about a particular activity's impact. When the show originally aired, some episodes were followed immediately by public service announcements (PSAs) featuring cast members.

Episodes

Main article: List of 21 Jump Street episodes

Cast

Jeff Yagher was originally cast as Officer Tom Hanson in the pilot. He was replaced after the original pilot episode was filmed, and his scenes were reshot with Johnny Depp. Midway through the first season, Frederic Forrest was replaced by Steven Williams. On the show, Forrest's character Richard Jenko is killed by a drunk driver.

Johnny Depp left the series at the end of the fourth season, but was credited in the first two episodes of the fifth season, despite not having appeared.

David Barry Gray's character was introduced at the end of the fourth season and starred in two episodes of season five with Alexandra Powers. Both episodes were filmed before the fourth season had ended but were not shown until the start of season five. Neither actor was approached in regards to portraying their character in the show's fifth and final season. Michael DeLuise joined the cast in the middle of the fifth season and stayed on until late in the season.

Guest stars

Main article: List of guest stars on 21 Jump Street

Some notable guest stars on the series include: Dom DeLuise (Peter's father), Josh Brolin, Mindy Cohn, Bridget Fonda, Bobby Rodriguez, Jada Pinkett, Brad Pitt, Vince Vaughn, Barney Martin, Dann Florek, Blair Underwood, Shannen Doherty, John Waters, Rosie Perez, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mario Van Peebles, Christina Applegate, Pauly Shore, David DeLuise (Peter's brother), Bradley Gregg, Jason Priestley, Christine Elise, Christopher Titus, Kurtwood Smith, Peri Gilpin, Shannon Tweed, Sarah Buxton, David Paymer, Diedrich Bader, Russell Wong, Kelly Hu, Tim Russ, Thomas Haden Church, Sherilyn Fenn, Rob Estes, Ray Walston, R.J. Williams, Robyn Lively, Gloria Reuben, Billy Jayne, Jason Lively, Billy Warlock, Peter Berg, Larenz Tate, Tracy Griffith, and Ed O'Neill.

Production

Filming

Set in a fictional city and state (Metropolis, Evergreen State) in the United States, the series was primarily filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was one of the first major television series to use Vancouver as a filming location and helped to establish the city as a center for film production.

Reception

21 Jump Street, along with Married... with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show, debuted in the spring of 1987. All three shows were hits with audiences and helped to establish the then-newly launched Fox network. 21 Jump Street was the first hit series for the Fox network. In August, 21 Jump Street became the first Fox series to win its timeslot against a Big Three network series. In the United Kingdom, it was shown on the similarly nascent, and interrelated, Sky One, which had yet to reach a sizeable audience.

Broadcast history

Season 4 was the last season to air on the Fox network. In the commentary provided with the Season 5 DVD set, Peter DeLuise said that Fox had decided to cancel the show after Season 4 because the ratings had fallen below a set limit. Following this season, Johnny Depp and Dustin Nguyen left the show. The departure of their characters was never fully explained in the narrative of the TV series, but in the movie it is explained that Officer Hanson was transferred to the DEA and was later joined by Officer Penhall. The Booker spin-off crossover episode, "Wheels and Deals – Part One," is included with ''21 Jump Street'''s syndication package, and is also included on the Season 4 DVD set.

Officer Dean Garrett (David Barry Gray) makes his first appearance in "Everyday is Christmas." As it became more difficult for the original Jump Street cast to pass as high-school students, younger actors were brought in, intended to be "youthful" replacements in order to allow the show to maintain its original premise of young-looking cops posing as high-school students.

Home media

Anchor Bay Entertainment released all five seasons of 21 Jump Street on DVD in Region 1 between 2004 and 2006.

On October 14, 2009, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to several Stephen J. Cannell series, including 21 Jump Street, and subsequently re-released the first four seasons. In addition, Mill Creek also released 21 Jump Street: The Complete Series, an 18-disc collection featuring all 103 episodes of the series on DVD on July 27, 2010.

On July 29, 2022, Visual Entertainment released 21 Jump Street: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.

In Region 2, Anchor Bay Entertainment released all 5 seasons on DVD in the UK. They also released a complete series set on March 5, 2012.

In Region 4, Madman Entertainment released all five seasons on DVD in Australia. They also released a complete series collection on May 1, 2013.

In Region 2, Pidax Film released a complete series set box set on September 18, 2020, in Germany with all original music intact. German and English audio tracks.

Film adaptation

Main article: 21 Jump Street (film)

On March 16, 2012, a feature film based on the television series from Sony Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer was released starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum (who are also executive producers) and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller with the screenplay written by Michael Bacall from a story by both Hill and Bacall. Johnny Depp, Peter DeLuise, and Holly Robinson briefly reprise their roles as Tom Hanson, Doug Penhall, and Judy Hoffs.

Described in concept by Hill as an "R-rated, insane, Bad Boys-meets-John Hughes-type movie," the film departs from the dramatic style of the series and instead features a comedic tone. The film and series are also set in the same continuity. A sequel titled 22 Jump Street was released in 2014.

References

References

1. (11 April 1987). "Weekend Tv : 'Jump Street' Bows On Fox Network". [[Los Angeles Times]].
2. Mansour, David. (2005). "From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century". Andrews McMeel Publishing.
3. (2008). "Johnny Depp: A Biography". Greenwood Press.
4. Horowitz, Josh. (14 May 2008). "Jonah Hill To Adapt '21 Jump Street' For The Big Screen: Report". [[MTV.
5. "Movie Guide".
6. Hilmes, Michele. (2010). "Only Connect: A Cultural History of Broadcasting in the United States". Cengage Learning.
7. Lapin, Claudia. (October 1988). "The Message of 21 Jump Street". Emmis Communications.
8. Mansour, David. (2005). "From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century". Andrews McMeel Publishing.
9. Advert in ''[[The Times]]'', 29 August 1989, page 9
10. (14 October 2009). "Cannell and Mill Creek Ink New Distribution Deal". [[TVShowsOnDVD.com]].
11. (21 May 2010). "21 Jump Street - Mill Creek to Roll Out {{'}}''Season 3''{{'}} and {{'}}''The Complete Series''{{'}} on DVD". [[TVShowsOnDVD.com]].
12. "21 Jump Street - The Complete Series [DVD] #7047".
13. (5 March 2012). "21 Jump Street - Seasons 1-5". Amazon.co.uk.
14. (2013-04-22). "''21 Jump Street: The Complete Series Collection''". Ezydvd.com.au.
15. (28 May 2009). "Jonah Hill Talks 21 Jump Street Remake Movie". Fused Film.