"21 Jump Street" TV series (1987-1991) on DVD

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

The original 21 Jump Street was a well-known late '80's/early '90's TV drama about a group of young LE offices who would go undercover in high schools in order to fight/expose crime & criminal elements.

I never saw much of this show when it was originally on (I wasn't watching much TV at the time), but ended up catching most of the seasons on DVD back in the 200X's. Excellent series, and really tackled a lot of social problems that were/are very topical, including teen drug abuse (a huge problem in the '80's), alcoholism, hate crimes, etc. At times, the show was difficult to watch because of the extreme realism.

This Fall, I'm going to start my first re-watch of the show. Really looking forward to this, especially since I don't think I saw every episode - especially in the latter seasons.

[jtu128]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

The less said about the comedy films (by the same name) the better. The original 21 Jump Street was a well-known late '80's/early '90's TV drama about a group of young LE offices who would go undercover in high schools in order to fight/expose crime & criminal elements.

I never saw much of this show when it was originally on (I wasn't watching much TV at the time), but ended up catching most of the seasons on DVD back in the 200X's. Excellent series, and really tackled a lot of social problems that were/are very topical, including teen drug abuse (a huge problem in the '80's), alcoholism, hate crimes, etc. At times, the show was difficult to watch because of the extreme realism.

This Fall, I'm going to start my first re-watch of the show. Really looking forward to this, especially since I don't think I saw every episode - especially in the latter seasons.

Well, the films are great so...

[rubystone356]

I happen to catch the series back in its time. I liked it alot. I was in high school at the time. while the movies are okay. I think if they had done a 21 next generations series. specially with the gun issues. that might have been to hard on the audience. it was there to help teenagers about the issues. I like how they did that.

Season 1-3 were the best.. it got weak in season 4 and 5.

Jacob

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

The less said about the comedy films (by the same name) the better. The original 21 Jump Street was a well-known late '80's/early '90's TV drama about a group of young LE offices who would go undercover in high schools in order to fight/expose crime & criminal elements.

I never saw much of this show when it was originally on (I wasn't watching much TV at the time), but ended up catching most of the seasons on DVD back in the 200X's. Excellent series, and really tackled a lot of social problems that were/are very topical, including teen drug abuse (a huge problem in the '80's), alcoholism, hate crimes, etc. At times, the show was difficult to watch because of the extreme realism.

This Fall, I'm going to start my first re-watch of the show. Really looking forward to this, especially since I don't think I saw every episode - especially in the latter seasons.

Just like someone defending the comedy films, you're entitled to your opinion as well.

I've not seen a lot of this series (or another series which was from around the same time, Wiseguy). I remember that Steven Williams was on the show (along with Johnny Depp), and I think there was a spin-off as well (can't remember the name).

[rubystone356]

The spinoff was called Booker, with richard greico. lasted one season when jump street was in season 4.

Jacob

[yanksno1]

Originally Posted by jtu128

Well, the films are great so...

I never watched the movies cause they attached the name to this great show. If they didn't, I would have checked them out.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by rubystone356

The spinoff was called Booker, with richard greico. lasted one season when jump street was in season 4.

Jacob

That's it. It rings a bell now, Booker. Thought it was Richard Grieco who starred in it.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Originally Posted by yanksno1

I never watched the movies cause they attached the name to this great show. If they didn't, I would have checked them out.

Exactly. I saw the first 21 Jump Street film & didn't like the fact that they changed the whole tone/vibe of the very well-done TV series. I.e, the TV show was very dramatic & seriously covered a lot of topical issues, including teen drug abuse & how this can ruin teen's lives...and also end their lives. Also, guns in schools; teen alcoholism; abuse; and other serious social problems were focused on.

Conversely, the film was a pure comedy & didn't have any of the social commentary/drama that the series had. In fact, AFAIC - the film crapped on the original series to a great extent. However, if they had not named the film 21 Jump Street (and if it wasn't "based" on the TV show) I wouldn't have had certain expectations when watching the film - and wouldn't have minded the comedy as much.

[OceanBlue]

Haven't been able to find a German DVD release of the short-lived spin-off Booker (haven't checked for an Australian and UK release). Anchor Bay released 21 Jump Street on DVD in the UK, and in Germany I'm unsure (there was a complete series set but that appears to be out-of-print. However, it's had another release).

Did a web search for 21 Jump Street, and it appears that the music hasn't been substituted on the German release.

[OceanBlue]

Does anyone here have the German release containing all five seasons of 21 Jump Street?

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Recently re-watched 21 Jump Street S01. Excellent & strong season. It only had 13 episodes, due to starting late in the network season (April 1987) and running through June of that year. Later seasons had the more traditional 20-23 episodes each - though S04 had 26 episodes.

Several observations about this first season:

-Frederic Forrest was the boss/supervisor of the youthful LE officers in the first half of the season. He was decent in the role, but did strongly come across as an aging ex-hippie.

The character was written off the show mid-way through this 1st season (killed by a drunk driver, IIRC) and replaced by the more authoritative/business-like Stephen Williams. I felt Williams was a better fit for the role, and was more believable as an LE officer than Forrest. Also, I remembered Williams as an early LE contact of Robert McCall's in the first season of "The Equalizer" (1985-1989), so it was almost as if he was pseudo-reprising that role in 21 Jump Street.

-The show was set in the fictitious "Evergreen" State, but was actually filmed in Canada. I suspect the series is supposed to be set in the Pacific Northwestern part of the U.S (Washington State or Oregon).

-Quoted from Wikipedia, "It was originally going to be titled Jump Street Chapel, after the church building in which the unit has its headquarters, but was changed at Fox's request so as not to mislead viewers into thinking it was a religious program." - LOL

-It's interesting to note that while the show is definitely a drama in many ways, there are comedic elements that I had forgotten about - notably revolving around Doug Penhall's character, who is somewhat of an adult "class clown" - LOL. And, the more I see the show - I understand why the films focused on the comedy (though they should still have had dramatic elements as well).

All of the episodes were great, but some of my favorites included:

-"My Future's so Bright, I've gotta wear shades": The 21 Jump street team go undercover at an expensive private school to investigate the assault & death of a working-class teen girl. Very disturbing episode that truly illustrates how wealthy & powerful people (and their children) typically are "insulated" from the consequences of their heinous actions. However, the final shocking scene is one of my favorite endings in the series....and proves that these rich scum-bags don't always get away with their crimes.

-"Mean Streets & Pastel Houses": The season finale. Hansen (Depp) and Doug Penhall (DeLuise) go undercover as potential teen gang members to investigate a series of crimes involving vandalism & murder. Excellent episode, and I especially liked the punk rock elements.

I watched this on the Region 1 Mill Creek 2-DVD set. And, even though the 13 episodes were only spread out over two Disks, the PQ - while below average for the most part, was still not that horrible. It was slightly better than a VHS rip; and, any stream of the show that I've seen typically look a lot worse.

[OceanBlue]

AW, I think the reason why there were twenty-six episodes in 21 Jump Street's fourth season (the 1989-90 season), was because the previous season (the 1988-89 season) was when a lot of shows on the main TV networks in the States started later on in the autumn/fall because of a strike that year (either a directors, actors, producers or writers strike). They did less episodes, then the next season they had longer seasons.

And from what I've read about the show recently (since this thread was started), the show ran on FOX in the States, then was cancelled after the fourth season. It was syndicated for the fifth and final season.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Some additional comments:

-Based on what I've read about the 21 Jump Street DVD releases, there were quite a few music replacements. Though this usually bothers me, since I never saw the show when it was originally on - I honestly don't know what I'm missing here. Yes, it would have been strongly preferable to have all of the original music included. However, it seems like that would have been prohibitively expensive (and probably resulted in the show not being released on physical media at all).

Conversely, if a show like Midnight Caller gets released on DVD/Blu with music replacements (unlikely this will ever get released on physical media, however) I would not get these - given that I've seen the show with the original music, and would definitely realize which changes were made here.

-Never saw the spin-off series Booker. This was released on Region 1 DVD, but it looks like it's OOP.

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

AW, I think the reason why there were twenty-six episodes in 21 Jump Street's fourth season (the 1989-90 season), was because the previous season (the 1988-89 season) was when a lot of shows on the main TV networks in the States started later on in the autumn/fall because of a strike that year (either a directors, actors, producers or writers strike). They did less episodes, then the next season they had longer seasons.

And from what I've read about the show recently (since this thread was started), the show ran on FOX in the States, then was cancelled after the fourth season. It was syndicated for the fifth and final season.

Very good to know - Thanks for the info.

[greenguy]

I watched and recorded the show during its first couple of seasons on FOX, and the 1st season was for sure the strongest. Nothing against Fredric Forrest, but the series did improve when Stephen Williams joined the cast. I would love to see the footage of Jeff Yagher as Hanson. Never seen any of the Jump Street movies, taking a comedy approach to what was originally a drama/crime series holds no interest to me. A few years ago I was with a group of people that were lucky enough to screen the pilot with Stephen J Cannell himself.

[high def ho!]

Is there any release with the original audio and music? I noticed the terrible audio dubs on my recent watch through and would love to see these as they originally aired. The bad dubs are also now streaming on amazon.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by high def ho!

Is there any release with the original audio and music? I noticed the terrible audio dubs on my recent watch through and would love to see these as they originally aired. The bad dubs are also now streaming on amazon.

Apparently the German DVD release has the original music tracks. Been thinking about getting that release.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

I started watching S02 of 21JS (on the Mill Creek Region 1 DVD set). The PQ is slightly improved from S01; however, there are audio drops in some episodes (especially the early ones). Not sure how easily this type of thing can be corrected, especially with older shows - due to the limitations of the source material.

Re: the show itself, this is a solid season, with some well-done, disturbing/dark, and realistic episodes. Some reviews:

Besieged (Part I-II): Some of the Jump street gang infiltrate a rough school in order to investigate the death of a local drug dealer. Interesting two-parter which has several elements - including corruption/cover-ups by the authorities.

Two for the Road: The Jump street gang go undercover @ a school & become friends with a group of kids who are getting fake I.D.'s & using them to get served liquor at a local bar. This bar knowingly serves teens had previously resulted in the drunk driving accident, paralysis, & death of one of them. To add to this, Captain Fuller gets a DWI - which is an interesting parallel to the investigation being run being by his team.

I felt that the episode brought up very relevant points about the dangers of drunk driving & how it affects everyone (not just teens) - without being preachy about the topic. In any case, IMHO this is definitely one of the best & most relevant episodes of the series.

After School Special: Captain Fuller & Hoffs go undercover at a school where many of the students & staff are armed. Very relevant early look at the serious problem with guns in schools - which didn't get as much national/international press in the '80's as it did in later years.

Higher Education: Ioki (Dustin Nguyen) is named

[Show spoiler]in a paternity suit involving a girl at one of the high schools where he did undercover work several months before. As it turned out, Ioki is not the father (he didn't even know the girl), and Jump Street investigates to find out who the father actually is.

[orangerunner]

Unfortunately 21 Jump Street used a lot of expensive songs when they aired the original episodes. I seem to remember they used The Rolling Stones "Monkey Man", "Mannish Boy" from Muddy Waters etc.

Booker used Billy Idol's "Hot in the City" over the opening credits which had to be replaced on DVD.

In fact one complete episode "Someone Stole Lucille" had to be removed from the box set because of the BB King music licensing as well there was a cover band playing The Who songs in a couple of scenes.

I'm from Vancouver and still recognize a few locations.

Here's the google street-view of Booker's loft apartment.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/W+...4d-123.1167774

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

Apparently the German DVD release has the original music tracks. Been thinking about getting that release.

It's not 100%. The German set cuts out the commercial breaks, two episodes are missing footage (which is intact on the US discs), and the fifth season doesn't have the original music on the English audio tracks.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

It's not 100%. The German set cuts out the commercial breaks, two episodes are missing footage (which is intact on the US discs), and the fifth season doesn't have the original music on the English audio tracks.

It seems to me, that in some ways, both releases cancel one another out (the American and German releases). Thanks for helping out with my query, even though it's not totally satisfying.