TWENTY-ONE JUMP STREET {21 JUMP STREET} {PILOT} (TV)
Summary
The pilot of this series of police dramas about the youthful-looking officers of a special unit of the Los Angeles Police Department, who go undercover in local high schools to fight crime. The Weckerle family sits down to dinner together when they are interrupted by a pair of armed thugs bursting into their house. They claim that the son, Kenny, owes them money, and they demand the father’s car keys as payment, driving off with both of them. Mr. Weckerle tries to call the police, but Kenny vehemently protests. Meanwhile, police officer Tom Hanson stops to get a bite to eat with his veteran partner Charlie Donegan; Tom is fresh out of the academy and has a reputation for putting himself in harm’s way during the course of his duties; he wants to live up to his late father, another police officer. They respond to the call from the Weckerle house and interview the family for information. Kenny eventually emerges from his room and Tom speaks with him. He tries to get him to cooperate with their investigation, but Kenny is frightened and retreats back to his room. Tom and Charlie leave, conjecturing that Kenny has gotten into drugs and that the thugs were sent to his house to collect payment. On the way out Charlie successfully spots another group of thugs attempting to make an inconspicuous getaway after robbing a convenience store. Tom and Charlie give chase, and eventually they stop the car and begin apprehending the thugs. However, Charlie is force to leave Tom alone with the thugs while he calls for backup. They make fun of Tom over his youthful appearance, and do not take him seriously. They take advantage of the situation by ganging up on Tom and stealing his squad car. Tom suffers ridicule at the police station for his failure, and he is called in to see Captain Brody, who is concerned about Tom’s recent performance and his seeming inability to get criminals to take him seriously due to his age. Tom is taken off of field work and instead reassigned to a secret undercover program called “Jump Street Chapel,” based out of an abandoned chapel. The program takes young-looking officers and sends them undercover as high school students to investigate crimes. Tom initially refuses, citing his bad experiences in high school, but Captain Brody notes that violent crime is increasing in high schools as of late and asks Tom to reconsider. After reminiscing about his father, Tom decides to take up the offer to join the Jump Street Chapel, and arrives there to be greeted by the other officers in the program: Doug Penhall, Harry Truman Ioki, and their superior officer Captain Richard Jenko. Tom is off-put by Captain Jenko’s “teenage” demeanor and dress. Captain Jenko explains that he is trying to use the program to help guide children and teenagers into becoming better adults, preventing crimes before they happen. Tom is to be “trained” about how to look and act like the “bad kind” of teenager so as to blend in on his assignment. He is first given an appropriate wardrobe by another officer in the program, Judy Hoffs. He is given “field training” by hanging out at common teen venues, such as an arcade and a record store. That night Doug and Captain Jenko stage an incident in order to identify a teen suspect, and Tom is called upon to go undercover with Doug and arrange a drug purchase so that they can apprehend him. However, the dealer finds Tom’s behavior suspicious and holds him at gunpoint in an alley. When the dealer relents, Tom takes the opportunity to disarm him and tackle him to the ground, putting him under arrest. However, an angry Captain Jenko arrives to point out Tom’s mistake: the “drugs” in his possession were actually dirty socks, and Tom’s impatience means that he will be taken in on only minor charges. During the night, Kenny robs a jewelry store. Captain Jenko decides to give Tom an assignment undercover at Amhurst High School, posing as a recent transfer student. In the school parking lot Tom gets into an altercation with the two thugs who assaulted the Weckerle house, witnessed by dozens of other students. The fight is broken up by (?), who admonishes one of the thugs, named Tyrell, and sends both him and Tom to the principal’s office. The principal, Jake Shaffer, gives Tyrell detention and asks Tom to bring his father in for a parent-teacher conference. He also tries to evade notice by Kenny, a student at the school, for fear of being recognized. Tyrell issues a threat to Tom warning him to stay out of his business. Tom reports on his encounters at Amhurst, and on his research on Tyrell, also known as “Waxer.” He now knows that Tyrell was one of the suspects in the assault on the Weckerle house. He is to find out more about Kenny’s situation with Tyrell and the money he owes him. Tom correctly surmises that Captain Jenko put him in the same high school as Kenny on purpose, to prevent him from immediately arresting Tyrell and blowing his cover. Captain Jenko sends Harry along with Tom to stake out Kenny. That night they spot Kenny leaving his house on his moped to start his paper route, and they secretly follow him. They witness him continuing his burglary spree and give chase. During the chase, a cop car chases Tom and Harry for speeding and reckless driving, and pulls them over. Kenny manages to get away as Tom tries to explain the situation to Charlie in the other squad car. The next day, Tom earns more credibility in class by making fun of his English teacher. The teacher punishes him by forcing him to try out for the school play in order to avoid a more “barbaric” punishment. He attends in order to continue keeping an eye on Kenny. Tom is afraid that Kenny will recognize him, but he doesn’t seem to make the connection. Later Tom catches Tyrell roughing up Kenny in the parking lot for more money. He tries to protect Kenny from Tyrell, but Tyrell pulls a switchblade on him. They are interrupted by the arrival of Principal Shaffer, but they act friendly with each other to deter his attentions. Tom continues to investigate Kenny’s string of burglaries and his connection to Tyrell. Kenny visits Tyrell at his chop-shop, where he has already disassembled his father’s car and is selling the parts. Kenny continues to give Tyrell the stolen goods from his burglaries. Tom and Harry follow Tyrell around, eventually ending up at a fancy restaurant. Tom spies on Tyrell as he meets with another man, and they make some sort of exchange. Both of them leave simultaneously, and Harry follows the mysterious man. Tom commandeers a cab to follow Tyrell, but the overzealous cab driver accidentally rear-ends Tyrell. He spots Tom inside the cab and, suspicious, shoots at him and drives off; the cab is too damaged to pursue. Captain Jenko recommends taking Kenny in to draw Tyrell out. Tyrell meets with Kenny and gives him heroin as a reward for his services. The next day he hides in the gym locker room in order to shoot up. Tom finds him shortly thereafter, passed out on the floor. Tom calls in paramedics and gets Kenny into the hospital, where he tries to convince him that Tyrell was trying to kill him by deliberately giving him a lethal overdose. He roughly interrogates Kenny in order to learn where Tyrell is. Judy and Doug arrange a drug buy with Tyrell in order to draw him out. Captain Jenko and the rest of the squad listen in via radio, waiting outside in their cars. When Tyrell blows her cover the rest of them charge in and a gunfight ensues. Tyrell tries to get away but Tom chases him down on foot. Their chase culminates in a fistfight, and Tom manages to incapacitate Tyrell. Captain Jenko congratulates him on a job well done. Kenny’s sister Noreen picks him up from the hospital to take him home, and Tom comes to see him as well to offer him encouragement. Tom’s fellow officers are impressed with his work. Tom visits Captain Jenko during his rehearsal with his garage band, and offers to accompany them on the saxophone. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: FOX
- DATE: April 12, 1987 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:32:56
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:57901
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective
- SERIES RUN: FOX - TV series, 1987-1991
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Patrick Hasburgh … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Jo Swerling Jr. … Supervising Producer
- Steve Beers … Producer
- Joan Carson … Associate Producer
- Jimmy Giritlian … Associate Producer
- Kim Manners … Director
- Stephen J. Cannell … Created by
- Steve Winwood … Music by
- Peter Bernstein … Music by
- Liam Sternberg … Theme Music by
- Jay Gruska … Theme Music by
- Holly Robinson (See also: Holly Robinson Peete) … Theme Music by
- Johnny Depp … Cast, Officer Tom Hanson
- Frederic Forrest … Cast, Captain Richard Jenko
- Holly Robinson (See also: Holly Robinson Peete) … Cast, Officer Judy Hoffs
- Peter DeLuise … Cast, Officer Doug Penhall
- Dustin Nguyen … Cast, Officer Harry Truman Ioki
- Barney Martin … Cast, Charlie Donegan
- Frank McCarthy … Cast, Captain Brody
- Claude Earl Jones … Cast, Principal Jake Shaffer
- Reginald T. Dorsey … Cast, Tyrell "Waxer" Thompson
- Brandon Douglas … Cast, Kenny Weckerle
- Cheryl Anderson … Cast, Mrs. Weckerle
- Scott Kraft … Cast, Jays
- Niles Brewster … Cast, Mr. Lamb
- Noelle Harding … Cast, Wendy
- Margaret Langrick … Cast, Noreen
- Karen Austin … Cast, Ms. Futterman
- David Brener … Cast, Mike Summers
- Blu Mankuma … Cast, Breeze
- Richard Sargent … Cast, Bartender
- Charles Payne … Cast, Ray
- Ken Douglas … Cast, Trigg
- Bernie Coulsen … Cast, Jackson
- Doug Tuck … Cast, Mr. Ritz