21 Jump Street - Season 4

© Text © 1998+ Cyndi Glass

26 Episodes (56-81), 1989-90
Stephen J. Cannell Productions, Fox Network
Regulars: Fuller, Hanson, Penhall, Hoffs, Ioki
Returning guest: Booker (#56 & #64)

Photo: Dustin Nguyen, Holly Robinson, Peter DeLuise, Steven Williams (standing), Johnny Depp (seated)

Episodes with longer summaries completed are marked with a *

Season 4 Episodes:

Season 4 Commentary

©1997 Cyndi Glass & John DeCarli

Cyndi Glass: Season 4 is the final season for Depp and Nguyen, and the producers made the most of it, filming more episodes than were needed. With these episodes, we saw the officers pushed to their limits and sometimes beyond. During this season their high school cases are frequently supplemented by college cases and outside cases, as the officers are moving into their mid-20's and reaching the limit of effective high school undercover work.

The first episode cleans up the cliffhanger from Season 3: Hanson is released from prison and Booker quits, leaving Hoffs, Ioki, Penhall and Hanson. Hoffs, Ioki and Penhall take the test for promotion to detective, and Hoffs passes. Early in the season, we are introduced to Marta, as Penhall falls in love for the first time and makes decisions that will alter his life forever. Hoffs is raped, Booker returns to ask for help bringing down Raymond Crane, and Ioki learns that his overzealousness on an earlier case had bad results. Hanson witnesses an execution, and we see his self-concept take a turn as every case he takes discourages him from continuing his career in police work. Hanson and Penhall travel to El Salvador, bringing Clavo back with them.

This season delves more into the individual characters than any previous episode. Some episodes truly have very little to do with actual police work; instead we see more of their personal lives, including events and ideas that cause them to make decisions. The season is somewhat out of control and erratic, but full of significant moments and some of the best episodes of the series.

John DeCarli: FOX moved the series to 8PM on Monday nights (the "Booker" spinoff took the Sunday night slot) and the ratings began to tumble. The actors are beginning to look older so several shows take place in colleges or the officers go undercover as adults. In spite of (or maybe because of) the large number of story editors and producers, things really do seem "erratic and out of control." The fact that both "21 Jump Street" and "Booker" were being produced by a lot of the same people may have contributed to this, too.

The first third of the season starts out promisingly, getting Hanson out of jail and developing story lines about Ioki's problems with prescription drugs and Hanson's desire to quit. I find this last story line especially interesting since Hanson was the one so dedicated to police work in season one and also because it parallels Depp's desire to quit the show. Hanson has become more jaded here; all the idealism from the first two season has evaporated. I wonder how much of this is intentionally written and how much is due to Depp's disinterest. Hoffs is promoted to detective and subsequently raped (in one of Holly Robinson's finest performances). Penhall falls for Marta, they marry, and then she is deported. Then, without any real explanation, the Hanson and Ioki story lines are dropped, while the Hoffs and Penhall story lines are put on hold until later in the season. In this middle third (and I include #81 "Blackout" here) there's a tendency to have guest stars dominate the plots while the series regulars are reduced to commenting on the action. During the final third of the season, the Penhall/El Salvador plotline reemerges and another episode deals with some of the effects of Hoffs' rape on her police work. Finally, Garrett (and then Rocky) are brought in, presumably to replace Depp, who had finally secured his release from the show (these episodes were held back and shown in Season 5).

Once past the first third of the season, Hanson just seems to drift through his episodes. Depp looks bored here--it looks like he's just showing up with his lines memorized. And in a couple of episodes, it looks like he's having trouble saying those lines. I also get the distinct feeling that some episodes (like #65 "Wheels and Deals") were rewritten or filmed in a way to cover for some sort of indisposition on his part. In contrast to the first couple of seasons, Hanson almost never smiles here.

If Hanson drifts, than Ioki just seems to fade. In some episodes, it looks like he's saying lines originally written for Hanson. It's Hoffs and Penhall who dominate the last episodes. Penhall, especially, has become much more adult and responsible since Clavo's arrival. By the end of the season, it's clear that he has become the moral center of gravity. Through all this, Fuller remains a steady presence.

In a memorable scene from #51 "High High," Mr. Karst lectures an undercover Penhall about how Jackie Gleason "would never blow a scene for a cheap laugh." Yet there's a tendency to do exactly that this season. In #57 "Say It Ain't So, Pete," is it really funny to have Hanson just stand there and make a gambling joke while Penhall is being assaulted by the bouncer? And how about that "you're a girl" remark when Hoffs asks why Hanson was left in charge in #65 "Wheels and Deals"? It's funny, but is it believable that Fuller, who goes by the rules, would turn the chapel into some sort of tropical resort when Ioki and Hoffs are robbed of their vacation in #73 "Awomp-Bomp..."? Don't think so.

Still, many episodes are well done and Depp delivers an interesting performance as Hanson when the scripts engage his interest. But I continue to think that there were opportunities here (especially the initial Hanson and Ioki story lines) that were missed.

This page ©1997 by Cyndi Glass, constructed with Microsoft Office/Word 97.