21 Jump Street (1987–1991)

The cases of an undercover police unit composed of young looking officers specializing in youth crime.

Creators:

Stephen J. Cannell, Patrick Hasburgh

Stars:

Holly Robinson Peete, Peter DeLuise, Johnny Depp

2 wins.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Holly Robinson Peete	...	Officer Judy Hoffs (102 episodes, 1987-1991)
Steven Williams	...	Captain Adam Fuller (97 episodes, 1987-1991)
Peter DeLuise	...	Officer Doug Penhall (90 episodes, 1987-1990)
Johnny Depp	...	Officer Tom Hanson (82 episodes, 1987-1990)
Dustin Nguyen	...	Officer Harry Truman Ioki (82 episodes, 1987-1990)
Sal Jenco	...	Sal 'Blowfish' Banducci (41 episodes, 1987-1990)

Storyline

21 Jump Street is the headquarters for a squad of police officers who specialize in investigations relating to young people. Each of the Jump St. personnel was selected for their ability to pass for high school or college students, allowing them to operate undercover in areas where it is difficult for regular police officers to blend in unnoticed.

---

Plot Keywords:

police | undercover | address as title | detective | teen | 

---

Taglines:

Too cool for school.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Comando especial

Filming Locations:

New Westminster Secondary School, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, LBS Communications, Patrick Hasburgh Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (103 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Johnny Depp and Peter Deluise sang the JUMP!! backup vocals to the opening theme song while Holly Robinson sang the lead.

---

Goofs

Throughout the first season Hansen repeatedly says "tail" when his mouth obviously says "ass." This was a post-production change in response to network censorship, who thought the word "ass" was inappropriate.

---

Quotes

Off. Doug Penhall: [after being awaken in the middle of the night by Hanson] Why didn't you call?
Off. Tom Hanson #2: You wouldn't have let me in.
Off. Doug Penhall: I know. Why didn't you call?

---

Connections

Featured in The Nostalgia Chick: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (2012)

---

Soundtracks

(theme music)
By Liam Sternberg
Arranged and produced by Jay Gruska
Sung by Holly Robinson Peete (as Holly Robinson)

User Reviews

Launching pad for teen stars; one of the better early Fox shows.

This was one of the first Fox hour-long dramas, and Fox definitely wore its heart on its sleeve. Like WB now, Fox wanted to lure in a teenage audience with its good-looking young stars. Luckily for those stars, 21 Jump Street was a rather good vehicle, and stood on its own merits.

Kind of like a Mod Squad for the 80s, the "teens" in 21 Jump Street were cops. Hip cops. They would infiltrate schools, drug rings, gangs, wherever teenagers were in trouble... unlike the Mod Squad, though, the storylines were always passable, and quite often excellent. Almost every episode touched upon subjects that were taboo for the big 3 networks (and still are)- AIDS, statutory rape, drug use, abortion, child abuse- and presented it in a moralistic way, but without being maudlin.

The show kind of faltered in its last few seasons; Johnny Depp was becoming a star, and execs started pushing other "stars" into the spotlight, hoping for cash rewards and spin-offs. Richard Greico was most heavily promoted, to an audience that didn't really care. He became a teen-age heartthrob for a while, but never achieved the momentum to carry his career skyward. With this pushing of the stars, the storylines took a back seat to character preening. The end result was faltering ratings, and cancellation.

Until it became an actors' showcase, though, 21 Jump Street was probably the best drama on TV.