Baby-faced cop Johnny Depp is a joke on the streets in this powerfully influential late '80s TV series, but he's a hit in the undercover squad headquartered at the titular address. At 21 Jump Street, young cops masquerade as high school students in order to root out car-theft crews, gang crime, teen-porn rings, and more, which is never as titillating as it sounds. There's some fumbling during the first half of this 13-episode 1987 debut season, as if creator Stephen J. Cannell didn't quite know what to do with his concept, but after a hasty replacement of the hippie-dippy Jump Street captain played by Frederic Forrest with Steven Williams' stern father figure, things finally gel. The writing sharpens, the cast gets comfortable--Depp and the equally charismatic Peter DeLuise develop a rapport that will fuel much of the series' humor--and the show takes a quantum leap toward becoming the fondly remembered Generation X touchstone it is today. The sound and image on this four-disc set are a bit fuzzy in places, and the extras are limited to a handful of interviews and audio commentary (by DeLuise) on only one episode. Sure to be popular, this is recommended. (M. Johanson)
21 Jump Street: The Complete First Season
Anchor Bay, 4 discs, 585 min., not rated, DVD: $39.98 Volume 20, Issue 1
21 Jump Street: The Complete First Season
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