We’re digging this at the Dailey house.
Our cable has a new channel called Retro Television that carries a lot of old TV shows and we discovered a couple of weeks ago that the classic Johnny Depp series comes on at 8 every night. The show began in 1987, the year Gina and I graduated high school and it was pretty cutting edge at the time. It was on the new Fox network, which had a rep of airing gritty or tasteless fare. I didn’t watch many episodes during the first run, but it made quite a splash among the young and hip.
The show involved a group of young-looking cops who infiltrated local high schools to arrest teen drug dealers, rapists and drag racers. It’s quite dated now, but that’s what makes it great: mullets, and stonewashed and pegged jeans, and dudes with big hoop earrings. I’ve been surprised at how sophisticated the plots are: drug use, teen pregnancy and violence. It pretty much launched Johnny Depp’s career and also starred a young Holly Robinson, who went on to star in Hanging With Mr. Cooper and married NFL quarterback Rodney Peete. She also sang the rockin’ theme song: “I said jump! 21 Jump StreeEET!”
In my research of links for this post I discovered that a movie version of the TV show is in the works. Sweet!
Comments
We enjoyed E.T. on this channel the other night. Complete with previously deleted scenes!
we are so bhind the times here! we just now go ondemand.
There’s one episode where Johhny Depp goes to some sort of prison and they play Steve winwoods “can’t find my way home” and Johhny has to fight to get “the hammer” it’s great saw it only once but at the time it left quite the impression on me.
Woah, this threw me for a loop. I work for this tv station – I edit promos that show up on RTN.
Unfortunately, RTN replaced Jump Street with Night Rider a couple of weeks after I posted this. Night Rider sucks.