Customer Reviews

21 Jump Street - The Complete Second Season

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The second season of this FOX action series continued to blend pop and politics together in an irresistible mix. People who were tuning in to drool over Johnny Depp (among others) may have subsequently had no idea they were getting a dose of `issues'. Building on the success of last season, this series talked about issues much more directly than the standard after school special.

"Two for the road" has the Jump Street squad confront the dilemma of what to do when their superior officer, Adam Fuller, is arrested for drunk driving during the investigation of a counterfeit drivers license ring. Because these cops are also supposed to have a clearly defined sense of right and wrong, they are visibly shaken by such a development inside their own tight knit group. Hinting at his own (then-upcoming) 90's issue-laden series, Jason Priestly guest stars in this episode.

"Honor Bound" is a junior grade foreshadowing of the gays in the military debate of the early 1990's. Penhall and Hansen go undercover at a military academy after the cadets are suspected of killing homosexuals. Their interpretation of the military code of honor subsequently prevents many cadets at this school from being open with the Jump Street program cops about what has happened. The cops are troubled by this development, but many of the cadets honestly had internalized their own silence as the normal and respectable thing.

Another riveting emotional storyline comes from Christmas in Saigon, when Harry Ioki is revealed to be working under an illegal alias which he used to escape from Vietnam. Based on the real life experiences of actor Dustin Ngyuen, this storyline asked viewers to consider that illegal immigrants were actually friends and coworkers. This issue remains amazingly relevant today.

One episode which does not translate well into 21st century America is "A big disease with a little name". Hansen must protect a youth with AIDS from being harassed by ignorant and scared peers. It is difficult to explain to many present-day elementary school and junior high school students that public schools across the country had once attempted to bar people with AIDS, the national cases of Ryan White and Ricky Ray undoubtedly had helped to influence this storyline.

Overall, this is another excellent season which would be a good purchase for the 1980's and/or Depp aficionado on your list.

I never saw 21 Jump Street when it originally aired but having become a fan of Johnny Depps in recent years I was anxious to check it out. Season One started off slow to me, I thought the show much improved when Jenko was replaced by Capt.Fuller. The picture was not sharp on Season One either. Even though I was slighty dissapointed with Season One I decided to give Season Two a try. It is MUCH better! The cast has really started to gel, especially Depp and Deluise. There are some outstanding stories, in particular an episode called Orphius 3.3 which I think really shows what talent a very young Johnny Depp has. The picture quality is also very much improved. As far as the complaints about the music being replaced, well, I never saw the original airings anyway so it hasn't bothered me a bit. I recommend the Season Two DVD's to any Jump Street fans or Johnny Depp fans.

I don't understand why you would give an entire season of a show on DVD a poor rating just because the music has changed! What about the writing and the acting and even the lighting? There must have been other aspects of this show that you enjoyed. I mean, it wasn't an opera!

I'm sure the DVD producers would have kept the music the same if they could have gotten the rights to the songs, but clearly the music industry has some issues. Why not write and complain to the companies and individuals that refused to give the rights to the songs that you liked so very very very very much to the DVD producers, instead of giving the entire DVD a poor rating based on something the DVD producers probably couldn't do anything about (short of not releasing the show at all)?

Personally, I didn't even notice that the music was different. Any song they used on this show originally has probably been played a million times by now. I mean, it's 2005, and they were written in the 1980's for heaven's sake! Sure they probably enhanced the show at the time, and it would have been nice to have everything the same as before, but they hardly make or break the entire production.

I'm really glad that they are putting all these old shows out on DVD. If you liked 21 Jump Street the first time around, for any reason besides the music, then you should be very happy with this set. It looks and sounds great, and it has wonderful commentary on one episode (see below). If you only liked it for the music, go buy some used CD's and QYB.

(Oh, and to the person who was upset about Peter DeLuise not giving an interview...he provides truely excellent commentary for an episode in both the first and the second season. He gives you all sorts of fun behind-the-scenes stuff, and he is neither bored nor boring, which is tons more than can be said for most people who do commentaries. Please, cool TV and movie people with nothing better to do than read lame reviews on Amazon, if you are going to do a commentary on a DVD, do your fans a favor and watch this guy's first!)

How to know if you will like 21 Jump Street (season 2):

1) You adore Johnny Depp
2) You like TV shows like Degrassi or other shows that focus on teenage problems
3) You like undercover cops
4) You love the 80s
5) You like Peter DeLuise (who is very very funny in this show)
6) You like solving mysteries or crimes
7) You enjoy 21 Jump Street (season 1)

The only negatives are:
1) The theme song WILL get stuck in your head
2) Unfortunately, there are a couple of episodes that do not include Johnny at all
3) Ioki is very annoying

I was glad to get my DVD set of the second season (I bought the first season when it came out in October), but I noticed that some of the remastering was done very poorly.

I didn't notice the music changes, although the final episode where "School's Out," featuring the cast playing the instruments and singing the vocals, which is supposed to play in the closing credits isn't there. I think they couldn't secure the music rights for it (stupid music industry -- don't they realize this is a profit stream for them?). Miami Vice and In Living Colors had similar problems with their DVD editions.

I would like to see Johnny Depp do an interview (although I know he hated the show and has spoken out against it) or Peter DeLuise do an interview (Holly Robinson Peete, Steven Williams, Dustin Nguyen, and Stephen J. Cannell did interviews on the season one DVD set). Perhaps Patrick Hasburgh or Steve Beers (the co-creator and executive producer, respectively) or Kim Manners (who directed lots of episodes) could give interviews.

It was great to see Brad Pitt (who is a superstar today and did many notable films, including Thelma & Louise and Fight Club), Pauley Shore (who went on to do comedy films and was an MTV VJ at one point), and Christina Applegate (who went on to her own FOX-TV show, Married With Children, as the infamous Kelly Bundy) before they made it big in their respective projects.

The acting was done well and I am told that the first two seasons are the best. The third and fourth seasons, the plots falter because Patrick Hasburgh (a co-creator) left the show (some say in a political dispute with the Fox Network) and from that point on, Johnny Depp became more disenchanted with the show veering away from social justice issues to become a showcase for pretty faces.

It's great that 21 Jump Street is finally out on DVD, but for some reason, they have changed the episodes. The background songs are different and some of the episodes have stuff cut out of them. I guess I'll just have to keep my copies of the show I taped off the tv when it originally aired.

I bought season 2 soon after season 1. I liked season 2 better. The episodes are more consistant and more refined. It has been so long since I saw these on TV, I have forgotten the original music. The DVD music sucks and is almost the same through all the episodes. Don't but the Jumpstreet DVDs for the music.

If you liked the show when it was on the air, you should enjoy them on DVD. They hold up pretty well. If you want to see them for the first time, keep in mind they used to be better with original music and some episodes are dated.

What I enjoyed most were the memories the show brought back. Cutting my hair like Depp, wearing headbands made from old shirts, flight jackets, and thinking a guy could weigh 120 and still be tough!

After watching and commenting on the first season which has been awhile, I decided to watch the second season for the stuff I actually remember. I remember being "sick" from school and watching a couple of these episodes in repeats on WPIX in NY...what a time. Anyway, another avenue of stars just breaking in to the biz hold there own again Brad Pitt being the more noticeable. You also see Christina Applegate, actor/director Peter Berg, Pauly Shore, Shannon Tweed (almost unrecognizable in some pre-plastique) and a few others that go on to do other series.
This time we delve into the personal lives of almost all the key characters with some great performances by all. This season also looks better as far as budget and scope. Standout performances from Depp and Deluise as the McQuaids are always entertaining and they look like they have fun doing it. Dustins' standout acting in the Christmas episode is great, as well as those Brando impressions. Episodes that dealt with more abuse whether it's physical or otherwise are some of the better episodes of this season. Episode "You oughta be in prison" is one of those tongue in cheek look at the popularity with how the show took off with Depp being underplayed and against the hollywood social relm. Also, the return of tyrell waxer in that episode from the pilot was a nice tie in. I like when shows stop doing the same thing over and over, breaking the formula with "chapel of love" was one of my favorites, it was funny, tragic and different. "Orphesus 3.3" is another one of those wow episodes that get etched into your brain and you talk to fans of the show and start by asking, "Do you remember when..." just good stuff all around.
I was pleasantly surprised by the impact this show had made, even for me being 12 yrs. old at the time these episodes aired I was never exposed to the language and issues that were effecting alot of people during this time. Again not much was said about AIDS, steroids and racism. So for the second season left open not knowing if there would be a third I was glad to see it come back. More on Season 3 later, keep watching and enjoy!

I remember this show when I was a kid. I liked this show. I have liked Johnny Depp since this show. I like all the characters.

Can't beat anything that Johnny Depp is in, but these shows have more "dept" and are exploring new concepts. Thanks!