Photo Gallery 1 (scroll to find correct episode once you get there)

Friends, Family & Guests: Philip Linton [ Unknown ], Michael Des Barres [ Mr. Karst (drama teacher) ], David Coburn [ Unknown ], Michael Bowen [ Unknown ], Tom Fridley [ Unknown ], M.K. Harris [ Unknown ], Jackson Davies [ Unknown ]

 Cyndi Glass: Well, I have to say I’m partial to this episode because it has Michael Des Barres in it, and I think he’s incredible. This is also the first episode of 21JS that I saw (except for when it was originally on and I don’t remember anything about it from back then) - back in 1996 when I began collecting MDB material - it is what first got me hooked on 21JS. I’ve also heard this referred to as the "Fame episode," because it’s set in a performing arts high school (one of the officers even asks, when getting the assignment, "Like in Fame?") Depp seems to enjoy the guitar scenes, and I think Hanson’s pseudonym (Hendrix) is pretty funny. Ioki’s integral to the plot, videotaping all the kids as part of his film class, and seeing him do the limbo is pretty amusing. The drama class scenes provide most of the comedy, with Hoffs & Penhall learning from "Mr. Karst" (MDB). Near the end, you can see that Penhall is actually learning something about acting (a necessary part of his undercover police work) and the scene with him and Mr. Karst acting out the "High Note Scene" from "The Honeymooners" is priceless. Love the inside joke about Jackie Gleason (Peter’s real life dad, Dom DeLuise is a close friend of Gleason’s, and the two have worked together many times over the past few decades). Des Barres is completely believable as a theatrically trained drama teacher (he was theatrically trained in real life). The other main plot of this episode is the Booker plot, where he befriends the heroin-snorting poet who likes to get high to play basketball. This episode shows more depth to Booker and is among my favorite of his episodes as well. I love his performance art (consisting of "S&M haiku" and smashing TV sets), his basketball game, and his knowledge of poetry - something that we've never seen him share with his co-workers. His dialogue is clumsy toward the end (what 22 year old would talk about how he’s so young at 22?) And what’s up with Hanson’s shirt and hair during the beginning of the episode? Is he just wrapping up a case where he had to infiltrate a group of Duranies or something? "Don’t ask," he says to them when Fuller looks at him curiously. OK. My only problems with this episode are that someone didn’t match the music to the dance teacher’s counting very well at the beginning of the show, and that Hanson, in my opinion, entrapped the kid into selling him pot. From what I have seen, 21 Jump Street was always very careful to make the officers innocent of entrapment, but I’m not sure the kid would have offered it to him if he hadn’t pestered him about it. They leave it kind of ambiguous.

John DeCarli: Here's a fun episode that works well. Everyone is involved in the case and that's a plus. Des Barres makes Mr. Karst into a three-dinensional character; underneath the flamboyant surface is someone who really cares about teaching. That makes his scenes with Penhall both funny and touching. The Booker scenes work well, too. Hanson seems to really care about Jimmy. There's pain on his face when he makes the drug deal and has to arrest him. I'm not too bothered about the entrapment issue since Hanson offered to bypass Jimmy ("why don't you just turn me on to your source?) and Jimmy refused. Plus, all he got was probation. What's the deal with that Tux outfit Hanson's wearing? Did TPTB need a quick scene and just quickly shoot it with whatever anyone happened to be wearing? Or is this some kind of inside joke that Hanson (or Depp?) is playing. Everyone's wearing the exact same outfit in the birthday picture in "Nemesis"-is there some connection? OK, Hanson says "don't ask". But I just can't help it.

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