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21 Jump Street - Season 1

13 Episodes (1-13), Spring 1987
Stephen J. Cannell Productions, Fox Network
Regulars: (#1-6) Jenko, Hanson, Penhall, Hoffs, Ioki (#7-13) Fuller, Hanson, Penhall, Hoffs, Ioki

(Right) 21 Jump Street Original Cast, clockwise from bottom left: Holly Robinson, Peter DeLuise, Johnny Depp, Dustin Nguyen and Frederic Forrest

21 Jump Street Photo Gallery (contains spoilers) - 21JS Photo Gallery 1
21 Jump Street Cast Photos & Miscellaneous Stuff - 21JS Photo Gallery 2

Brief summaries © 1994-97, Alan Morton and John Lavalie with Gustavo Gontijo and their 21 Jump Street Episode Guide. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Longer summaries, commentary & reviews © 1997+ by Cyndi Glass and John DeCarli. Character names and storylines © Cannell/Fox.
(Left) -Top- Peter DeLuise, Johnny Depp, Steven Williams; Bottom- Holly Robinson & Dustin Nguyen

Season 1 Episodes:

1. "21 Jump Street (1)" AKA "Jump Street Chapel" (Apr. 12, 1987)
2. "21 Jump Street (2)" AKA "Jump Street Chapel" (Apr. 12, 1987)
3. "America, What a Town" (Apr. 19, 1987)
4. "Don't Pet the Teacher" (Apr. 26, 1987)
5. "My Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" (May 3, 1987)
6. "The Worst Night of Your Life" (May 10, 1987)
7. "Gotta Finish the Riff" (May 17, 1987)
8. "Bad Influence" (May 24, 1987)
9. "Blindsided" (May 31, 1987)
10. "Next Generation" (June 7, 1987)
11. "Low and Away" (a.k.a. "Running on Ice") (June 14, 1987)
12. "16 Blown to 35" (June 21, 1987)
13. "Mean Streets and Pastel Houses" (June 28, 1987)

Pilot Stuff We Didn't See, contributed by Claire (be sure to read this! It's very interesting! She has a script of the pilot...before it was edited and shot).

Season 1 Commentary

Cyndi Glass: This short spring season marked the beginning of what was to become the next big thing. Harry Ioki, Judy Hoffs, Tom Hanson and Doug Penhall were introduced to us, and each episode showed us their different styles of solving cases, as well as their backgrounds and home lives. What could have been dismissed as a Miami Vice for kids quickly became significant, as these four very different officers, all in their early 20's, get to know each other and start working on their cases.

We find out the basics of undercover work and the importance of the officers not being identified or photographed. We see the McQuaid brothers (undercover roles of Hanson and Penhall, who early on became a team). At this point, the officers are young enough that all of the assignments are in high schools. Halfway through the season, Captain Jenko is killed by a drunk driver, and Captain Fuller takes over the Jump Street Unit.

These episodes crackle with energy, so much that I can forgive the lack of character development for everyone but Hanson. Hanson joins the department as the 21-year-old rookie - and everyone else had only been there four weeks. They don't bond instantly and become best friends - and they shouldn't; it would be too fake. It's easy, though, to see them starting to care, as Penhall and Hanson do nice things for Hoffs and Jenko advises and consoles them. Hanson is uptight - so much that it seems as if he could explode any second. Ioki is written so stereotypically it would be insulting if we didn't know that he's pretending to be Japanese instead of Vietnamese. Penhall is loud, obnoxious and macho, and Hoffs is flirty with everyone. I can see now, too, how Frederic Forrest made such an impact as Capt. Jenko. The whole experience has been very enlightening.

John DeCarli: When 21 Jump Street premiered in the spring of 1987, nobody gave it much of a chance to succeed. It was only seen on a limited number of stations (the newly formed FOX network), and was shown opposite network powerhouses such as ABC's Disney Sunday Movie and CBS's 60 Minutes. It featured a bunch of unknown actors. It was critically panned by the Washington Post's Tom Shales, among others. Nevertheless, it became something of a spring sensation among viewers in the 18-34 age group and established itself as the prototype for a string of niche oriented dramas which run on the network today.

The first thirteen hour season introduced several distinctive characters. Tom Hanson is a twenty-something, second generation cop assigned to a unique undercover unit when his boyish looks get him into trouble while doing conventional patrol work. He is meticulous, by the book, totally dedicated. Judy Hoffs is an attractive officer who comes across as flirty, yet naive. Doug Penhall is cocky, self-assured, and maybe a little crude. H.T. Ioki is impulsive, and a bit flirtatious himself. Their leader, Captain Richard Jenko, is still living in the sixties (complete with mood ring) but is still a very professional and experienced undercover cop. The Jump Street program is his idea, and he becomes a little defensive when challenged by the "suits downtown."

The first season is distinguished for its energy and enthusiasm. Many of these episodes play off the tension of a straitlaced Hanson adapting to undercover police work. Everybody is involved in the cases. The characters maintain a rough edge that was smoothed out in later seasons as the actors became more comfortable with their roles. The plots, with a few exceptions, do not delve as deeply into controversial social issues as in later seasons. They tend to be a little slow in spots. On the plus side, there's more concern here about having their "covers blown"than in the other seasons. It's a lot of fun to watch-and it looks like the actors are having fun, too.

Capt. Jenko was replaced mid-season by Capt. Adam Fuller. We never really get to know Jenko much, although he seemed to have a real father-daughter sort of relationship with Hoffs. The arrival of the more conventional Fuller does, however, precipitate some subtle character shifts. Hanson becomes much less "gung-ho" in attitude once Fuller arrives, although he still retains the pastel shirts and sport jackets until the middle of the second season. Hoffs becomes a little more distant. And Ioki seems to be relegated to office duties for the most part. Only Penhall remains reletively unchanged until the second season.

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