21 Jump Street (TV Series) Pilot (1987) User Reviews

A Decent Start

[Crowby1 · 7/10 · 3 June 2023]

For a pilot episode, this does well to establish the characters and set up the premise. Johnny Depp's character is a by the book rookie cop but with a short fuse. After he accidentally busts his partner's nose whilst out on a job, his chief tells him his juvenile ways make him unsuitable for working on the beat, but offers him a lifeline. Either take a boring desk job until he's mature enough for working on the street, or use his youthful appearance to take an undercover job posing as a pupil working in schools to fight crime.

Depp's character quickly changes once he assumes his undercover role. He gets a physical makeover by his other young colleagues to 'blend in' and be more like the cool kid and he quickly and effortlessly assumes a personality to match.

There's good performances from the supporting actors playing the rest of the 'Jump Street' team, special notice to Frederic Forrest as the captain. Many will know him as the psychotic anti Semitic store owner in Falling Down, but he's certainly playing the good guy here, and does it well. Interesting to see that he does not last long in the series, leaving the show after episode 5 of the first season. As I'm only up to episode 4, I'll have to wait and see what happens with his character.

The initial set up is a bit clunky but once we get past that, it's fairly compelling viewing. As with many pilot episodes, it pales when compared with the rest of the series but as pilots go, it's a decent effort and I found it very watchable.

Pilot

[Prismark10 · 1/10 · 17 October 2022]

21 Jump Street was one of the first shows launched on Rupert Murdoch's Fox network in the USA in 1987.

It was a springboard to stardom for star Johnny Depp. He is the youthful looking police officer Tom Hanson.

As no one takes him seriously as a cop. He is transferred to a special unit that operates from a church.

Jump Street uses youthful looking police officers to go undercover in teenage venues such as high schools.

The pilot episode has Hanson being recruited and working under Captain Richard Jenko (Frederic Forrest.) He who sends Hanson to a high school to investigate drug dealing.

This was the first time I watched an episode of the television series. In Britain it was shown on the fledgling Sky channel.

Some years later 21 Jump Street was spun off to a series of films that I found to be rather enjoyable. Depp even appeared in a cameo.

Unfortunately, this was one of the most racist pile of junk I have seen. It tells a lot of the attitude of the Fox network.

This could pass as a recruitment film for the Ku Klux Klan. I am surprised that Johnny Depp did not buy up the rights to the show and locked it up in his vaults.

The opening scenes had black guys terrorising a white family. The black guys continue to harass white people including a student who is an addict.

Contrast this with Murder, She Wrote where star Angela Lansbury tried to get positive roles for black actors who tended to play law enforcement rather than thugs.