When you think of nighttime soap operas, you think of Aaron Spelling. Mention disaster movies and most of us will come up with the name Irwin Allen. For cop shows, there is a toss-up. Either the name Steven Bochco will come to mind, or more than likely it will be Stephen J. Cannell. As one of the most prolific writer/producer/directors in cop show history, Cannell has been one of the most innovative in his field. I grew up watching most of the shows he was involved with, including “Toma”, “Rockford Files”, and “Baretta.” Occasionally he even strayed off the beaten path and gave us shows like “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, “The A-Team”, and “Greatest American Hero.” In the 80’s, he gave us shows like “21 Jump Street”, “Hardcastle and McCormick” and “Wiseguy.” He just kept chugging into the 90’s with “The Commish” and “Silk Stalkings.” Now, I can’t claim to have watched ever show he had a hand in, but I’d say I’m at least familiar with most.

Fortunately for those of us who enjoy his work, you can already find several seasons of “Wiseguy” out there on DVD. But even better, Anchor Bay has been releasing many of these shows on DVD over the last year or so.

Last year, the 1st season of “21 Jump Street” found its way onto store shelves and I’m willing to bet they didn’t stay there long. Aside from the insane popularity of the series during its five season run (1987 – 1992), its share of breakout stars has kept it in the edges of the spotlight. One in particular certainly guarantees the sets will sell out. (More on that later.)

Being a fan of most of the shows by Cannell, I of course watched “21 Jump Street” back when it first aired. Yes, it was like, totally 80’s. Watching it now, the clothes and the hairdo definitely date it a little bit. But thanks to the talented cast and the fact that Cannell wasn’t willing to shy away from taboo subjects, “21 Jump Street” still makes for a good watch, even today. Since that initial DVD release, Anchor Bay has followed through with the 2nd and 3rd seasons earlier this year and now the 4th.

As for the show’s stars, right off the bat I have to mention Johnny Depp. When Depp hit the entertainment scene in “21 Jump Street”, most people, myself included, dismissed him as just another ‘pretty boy’, who was destined to be a has-been. Little did we know how badly he wanted to shed that image and prove himself as an actor. Once he left the show, he started accepting parts like the title characters in “Edward Scissorhands”, “Benny and Joon” as well as the delusional Don Juan in “Don Juan DeMarco,” Depp started distinguishing himself as a strong character actor. Over his illustrious career, he has continued to use his chameleon-like abilities to literally ‘become’ the characters he portrays. Just look at his approach to playing Hunter Thompson in Terry Gilliam’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” It is as left field as I’ve ever seen him, a veritable a tour-de-force of maniacal tics, leering stares, and drugged-out insanity. I can keep going by mentioning newer films like “Pirates of the Carribean”, but I think you get the picture.

he rest of the cast was made up of Holly Robinson Peete (who also sang the show’s theme song), Peter DeLuise, and Dustin Nguyen. All were young looking actors, or in this case cops, whose job it was to go undercover in high schools and sniff out crime. For the first few episodes, they were under the supervision of Captain Jenko, who was played as a hard nosed cop by the great Frederic Forrest. A shocking turn of events early in that 1st season caused the team to lose their leader, and he was replaced by Captain Fuller, played by Steven Williams.

Of those cast members, I’d have to say the most recognizable (at least to genre fans) would have to be Williams. He has had a long a varied career, but his biggest role to date came during the middle seasons of “The X-Files”, where he portrayed Mulder’s mysterious informant, X. Oddly enough, if you go back and watch all of the first season episodes, you’ll also catch a glimpse of William B. Davis, better known as “The Smoking Man” from the same series.

I do have to mention Peter DeLuise, if for no other reason than he has become a big part of my current favorite series, “Stargate SG-1.” During the 2nd season of the series, DeLuise (son of Dom DeLuise) came on board to direct a couple of episodes. Over the 3rd and 4th seasons, he moved up to being a creative consultant on the show and has gotten the opportunity to write and direct more and more episodes each season. I don’t want to sell short the work of some of the other writers and directors, but every time we see DeLuise’s name in the credits, we know we are in for an especially good episode. Now that we’re in the 8th season, we’ve noticed he has moved up into the producer’s chair.

Actor Richard Grieco was added in the 3rd season as Officer Dennis Booker. He was intended to be the new heartthrob, and to some extent he filled the bill. His character was so popular that he left the series at the end if this same season to pursue a spin-off series. It was short-lived and didn’t last out the season. Since that time, Grieco has been cast in tons of movies, pretty much all of them either B-movies or late night cable fare.

The 4th season was a huge hit and miss proposition in terms of good and bad episodes. Grieco was there for the 4th season premiere, then showed up for a couple of episodes later in the season, but that was it. This new DVD set actually includes one of the episodes as it is part of a 2-part episode that crosses over onto “21 Jump Street.” This was also the last season for Johnny Depp, and unfortunately it showed. Depp, who was always an integral part of the series, seemed to sleepwalking through this season. I understand that he wanted out of the show really bad, and so didn’t put forth much effort. Aside from this problem, the season was still a pretty good one.

One thing that was really strange though, was that they opted not to include the final episode of the season, which was Depp’s last. For some reason, it is going to be added to the release of the 5th season.

The 1st season DVD release offered up a couple of extra features, but the 2nd, 3rd, and now 4th sets have no extra features at all. (Well, except the inclusion of the ”Booker” episode…) Considering the cast that was involved, I really thought there might be more interviews available, but it seems this is not the case.
“21 Jump Street” continued to be one of the better shows of its time, and I’m glad to see Anchor Bay pushing to release all 5 seasons.

Episodes:
Draw the Line
Say It Isn’t So, Pete
Eternal Flame
Come from the Shadows
God is a Bullet
Old Haunts in the New Age
Out of Control
Stand By Your Man
Mike’s P.O.V.
Wheels & Deals, Parts 1&2
Parental Guidance Suggested
Things We Said Today
Research and Destroy
Change of Heart
Back from the Future
2245
Hi Mom
Awomp-Bomp-Alloobomp, Aloop-BamBoom
La Bizca
Last Chance High
Unfinished Business
Shirts and Skins
How I Saved the Senator
Rounding Third
Everyday is Christmas

Starring: Johnny Depp, Holly Robinson Peete, Peter Deluise, Dustin Nguyen, Steven Williams
Extras: None
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release Date: 11/1/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give 21 Jumpstreet: Season 4 a C+.