#52 "Blinded By The Thousand Points of Light" (Season 3 #17)

#52 "Blinded By The Thousand Points of Light" (Season 3 #17)

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Original Air Date: Apr. 30, 1989

Writer: Glen Morgan & James Wong

Director: Jorge Montesi

Production Code: 16328

Things To Note: According to Julie Ng, webmaster of the Morgan/Wong web site, "If you did want trivia, "Blinded By The Thousand Points of Light" was one of Glen Morgan’s favourite things he’s ever written. He and Jim Wong went and hung out on the streets for a week on Sunset Blvd. for research to make it as realistic as possible."

Opening Theme:

Closing Theme:

Songs: "Hungry Wolf," "Blue Spark" and "Come Back To Me" by X.

LOD:

Regulars:

Friends, Family & Guests: Bridget Fonda [ Unknown ], Neill Barry [ Unknown ], Damon Martin [ Unknown ], Heather Fairfield [ Unknown ], Robert Sampson [ Unknown ], M. Scott Wilkinson [ Unknown ]

Episode Summary from The 21 Jump Street Episode Guide:

NOTE: Stop with this one if you don’t want spoilers.

Undercover looking for a person who has been preying on homeless teens, the Jump Street cops learn what it is really like to live on the street.

Detailed Episode Review (contains spoilers!):

(NOTE: I am doing these from the FX repeats. Email me with missing scenes & I’ll add them).

Commentary:

Cyndi Glass: Yet another top-drawer episode. Ioki and Booker don’t do much in this one besides hang out and pretend to be hustlers. In one scene they do prevent someone from being picked up for sex, but then in the ensuing fight, they neglect to get the license plate number of the car. At the end Aaron has been dead a couple of days - what if they had arrested him then and been able to save him? Hoffs and Penhall have more substantial stuff to do - befriending a group of runaways and ultimately finding Aaron dead in an abandoned building. Hoffs becomes close with the Bridget Fonda character and even goes home with her temporarily. We, along with Hoffs, are perplexed at her refusal to stay home with a mother who obviously cares a lot about her and wants to be close with her. We aren't shown Booker's or Ioki's feelings at all. Penhall completely opens his heart to the kids and you can see another layer of his naivete being shattered. Early in the episode, when the girl is attacked in the shelter bathroom, he chases off the guys and rocks her, and the guilt, frustration and caring seem to fill him with rage. When we see him stepping in to let himself be picked up (though it must have been somewhat satisfying to arrest the guy and have a chance to get some money), we see his compassion. He's trying to find somewhere to live for real - and the one place that he does make an appointment to see ends up being shelter for everyone as he opens it up to the kids, lets them bathe and gives them some dinner. Meanwhile, in scenes by himself, Hanson is a totally believable runaway/hustler, much more believable than Ioki or Booker, and has the best outfit (a lovely little denim vest that has "Chosen" on it) and hard-edged background music. He ends up making the arrest. The depravity of the man kissing the billy club adds so much tension, and when Hanson makes the arrest, it’s one of the most compelling scenes of the series. I liked it that the man’s fear of being caught, plus Hanson’s anger, not only the gun, made Hanson able to intimidate and overpower the guy. Much more effective than using Penhall and Booker’s superior size to intimidate. Hanson, though smaller, is strong and angry enough to throw the guy against the wall and force a confession from him.

John DeCarli: This is the sort of episode that I think Patrick Hasburgh would have approved of. It deals with a serious social issue, doesn't sugar coat it, and doesn't have a nice neat answer at the end of the hour. It's exactly the kind of episode that a parent "wouldn't want kids to watch." ¦It's mostly a Penhall and Hoffs story. Penhall, relating to the fact that he has no home himself, becomes a replacement for Aaron. Hoffs identifies with Molly (a subtle performance from Bridget Fonda) and can't understand why she would want to leave home - and neither can we. The shock value when it first aired must have been great.

The Hanson scenes last less than four minutes. He only gets to interact with Ioki, and only says about 10 lines. Like some of the Hanson/Jackie scenes from earlier episodes, this could easily have been filmed anytime and dropped in. So why do his scenes make such an impact? I guess some of this is due to the "grunge" look that he carries off more effectively than the rest of the cast. But I think it's the rage he delivers when he makes the arrest, rage that the audience feels over the hopelessness of the situation, that I identify with most.

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