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So what was it about 21 Jump Street: Season One that
had me uber-keen to view? Well, I can’t quite put my pinkie on
that – it could be the fact that it was one of the 80’s
most popular shows, but most likely, it was the fact that I needed to
reacquaint myself with the show if I was to review– had really
only seen a couple of episodes of it, as a youngster, and even then I
was probably only watching it to see a commercial of that racy film of
the time, Two Moon Junction – if I was going to have to offshoot a appraisal.
So
onto Disc 2, we go…but wait…maybe the other player will
be kinder to Disc-1. It’s important I watch that one anyway;
it’s where it all started, and according to the advertising
materials features the ‘rarely-seen pilot’. Sure to be some
good hair-styles in that, yeah?
So there you go. The Postie
didn’t combine the washing powder package with the DVD
review-discs after-all – it worked on Player 2. Not so sensitive
this lil’ bugger. On with the show…. but first,
let’s keep that jazzy little theme ditty that plays over the
credits another loop or three… “21
Jump………STREET!”
As expected, 21 Jump Street
was definitely a product of it’s time – from the opening
credits that one could easily make on Windows Movie Maker these days,
to the stilted dialogue, littering of continual pop-culture references
to demonstrate just how ‘rad’ it was, to the
‘Cameo’ looking MF’s that attack a poor family within
the film’s first scene, it’s all so very 80’s –
but at the same time, I just can’t stop watching. It’s like
a bag of potato chips, you just can’t stop at one.
Even if
it is just to play spot the cameo (a few notable names in the episodes,
including Sherilyn Fenn, Brad Pitt, Jason Priestley and Pauly Shore) or
laugh at some of the pushy young Republican-esque messages that are
hidden beneath the action stencil of the series – this is fun
stuff. I do wonder whether it would work today? Possibly, sans some of
that music and a nice dialogue polish.
The Stephen
J.Cannell-created show tells of a group of fresh-faced coppers (Johnny
Depp’s Tommy Hansen being the main centrepiece it seems,
especially in the pilot) who are asked to sign up for an
“undercover unit” that’s “the mayor’s
baby”. What happens in this outfit is they teach young coppers to
“be teenagers again”, so they can easily slide in and out
of high schoolers, pretending to be students, to snag drug dealers and
other associated scum. Hmmm. Bring on the hair gel, fluorescent laces
and bright vests.
So that’s essentially what we got for
several years – undercover cops in schools catching kids, and
networks sneaking in important preachy messages under youngsters noses,
much to the audience’s unbeknownst – and for what
it’s worth, it kinda works. The chemistry between the fresh-faced
cast is there, the episodes are gripping-enough, and yeah, for
it’s time, it was pretty funky. And yeah, even at this early
stage, it’s rather evident that Johnny Depp had something. His
delivery and credibility is at times, surprisingly solid. In addition,
I also enjoyed Peter DeLuise’s oafish cop – it’s a
pity the talented actor has been reduced to little more than late-night
TV set dressing. (But, as he explains on the audio commentary, he
accepts most of the blame for his so-so career, because he was just so
hard to work with apparently. Modest).
Season 2 was equally as
entertaining – it had a full season’s worth of eps, in
contrast to the 13 episodes in Season One, so the idea did get
stretched to the extreme - but according to
those-that-watched-the-show, it took a drastic dip at the end of the
season – and with the main writer leaving, it’s not really
surprising – with Season 3 in dire need of a good pair of jumper
cables. Still, I look forward to revisiting those too.
The
episodes look pretty good, considering their age, but there is a bit of
noticeable grain whenever the scene shifts to night. Audio-wise,
it’s also quite satisfactory, but you can tell there’s been
some wonky dubbing for the TV days in a couple of instances. EXTRASExtras
on the DVDs include new interviews with cast and crew (except Edward
Scissorhands himself), which are quite informative and exhaustive, as
well as some surprisingly frank commentary by Peter DeLuise, and
selected scenes dubbed in French (It was either that or special
guest-star Pauly Shore singing the theme, was it?). Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 60% 
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