21 Jump Street - The Complete Fourth Season
Director: Larry Shaw, Tucker Gates, Kim Manners, Mario Van Peebles, James A. ContnerStudio: Anchor Bay
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Running Time: 1201 minutes
DVD Release: November 1st 2005
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DVD Review
The fourth season of Fox's hip undercover cop phenomenon opens with Ioki (Dustin Nguyen) in the hospital and Hanson (Johnny Depp) in prison (falsely convicted of murder). The end of the premiere ("Draw the Line") brings good news for one of them when Penhall (Peter DeLuise) and Booker (Richard Greico) join forces, while the fate of the other looks promising. This is confirmed in the following episode ("Say It Ain't So, Pete"), but by then, Booker will have split the scene (to return for the Booker-Jump Street crossover, "Wheels & Deals").
Other notable episodes include "Eternal Flame," directed by Mario Van Peebles (Baadasssss!) and guest starring a longhaired Thomas Haden Church (Sideways). There's also "Come From the Shadows," in which Penhall marries a Salvadoran refugee to prevent her deportation (and adopts her nephew when he becomes orphaned), "Stand By Your Man," in which Hoffs (Holly Robinson Peete) is the victim of date rape, and "Mike's P.O.V." with a scruffy Donovan Leitch (Gas, Food Lodging) and preppy Vince Vaughn (Swingers).
The rap on the fourth year is that Depp started turning in lackluster performances when he couldn't get out of his contract. Fortunately, he doesn't sink the show, but it's clear his heart isn't in it anymore. On the bright side, 21 Jump Street remained as much a time capsule of the late-1980s as ever with music from the B-52s and Devo and references to Ghostbusters and Back to the Future. (Hoffs' surname was even taken from a notable 1980s figure: Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles.) Once Depp was set free, Fox pulled the plug on the program, which ran for a final season in syndication. In exchange for the Booker episode, this set deletes the season finale, "Blackout," which featured Depp's final appearance as Officer Tom Hanson. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
User Reviews
Depp of the show - Rating: 4/5
When at the end of third season,Harry Ioki was shot and Hansen was in jail. Season four starts off when season three left off. Dennis Booker and Doug Penhall try to get the guy who framed hansen and get him released-it seem almost like a 48 hours clone.
Depp tried to get out of his contract on jumpstreet to do movies, it did not happen. However his preformances on this season shows were less than stellar... and it shows.
There is a Booker spin-off with this season's episode (the 2 part Wheels & Deals) which set up a Booker spin off which lasted one season.
This was Jump street's last season, the fifth season was with out Nguyen and Depp). This was the shows winding down, there was good story lines with Holly Robinson and Peter DeLuise.
One of the best episodes in the futuristic clip show called Back from the Future. The highlight of this show is watching the cast in old age make up...trying to act 50 years older. Most of the makeup work look tacky. It is a cute clip show, directed bvy DeLuise, BUT Penhall as a priest..oh C'mon, someone make it more believeable!
This Jump Street season is the Jump the shark that TV shows are made of. BUT It is worth it? YES, as bad as it is at times, it better than most stuff out there today
Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD
johnny.......... - Rating: 5/5
This is a great series and is a must to have the fourth, plus you can't never get enough of johnny depp....
Good but not Great - Rating: 4/5
This season turned in some good episodes, but nothing like the gems of Season Three, the best of the series in my opinion. Dissapointing that Grieco is on the box cover and not in many episode and also dissapointing that one of the best episodes of this season "Blackout" is being held hostage. I suppose, like one reviewer said, that it will come out on S5 which is bogus just so we'd buy that crappy last season. I think I'll pass.
Regardless, this was the beginning of the end for Depp but I think he still gave wonderful performances. (hard for him not to) I still can't believe the box covers and how Depp is clearly favored. Interesting. If you only want to spend money on one season, go for Season Three. With Depp in his prime; writing and stories top notch and the intro of Booker, plus steller episodes like 'Blinded by the Thousand Points of Light', 'Swallowed Alive' and 'Fun with Animals' you can't go wrong. This season is strictly for the fans, but even the fans got the shaft. Comes in for Silver, but not the Gold.
Complete but NOT UNCUT! - Rating: 5/5
As much as I enjoyed season 4, I was extremely disappointed to find some scenes cut from the dvd. Actually scenes were also cut from the other 3. One episode in particular that really stood out was "Old Haunts in the New Age." There's a scene in this episode where Ioki, Penhall, and Hoffs hire a medium to channel the spirit of a man who's body was found in the basement of the chapel. While the medium invokes the spirit (pretends to), Hanson comes in and sits down. He listens to the farce and jumps up and pretends the spirit is coming thru him. Penhall remarks with amazement that Hanson's channeling Jim Morrison from The Doors. Afterward, Hanson sits down and tells the medium to give his coworkers back their money. In the dvd, You see Hanson come in, sit down, and tell the medium to return the money. The original scene that Johnny Depp performed was so excellent, it was memorable. It really aggravated me that it was cut from the dvd, as were other scenes in the whole dvd series. Yes! There were other scenes cut. This one stood out. I'm glad I taped the original series. Even though the scenes were cut, the show was still done very well. And the music. They made a mess out of that! They should have left the original music in. Some of what was replaced was awful. They should have left it alone.
I've read in some of the reviews that Johnny Depp put in a lackluster performance in the 4th season because he wanted to leave the show. In spite of his desire to move on I found his performances to be no less stellar than the other seasons. I doubt very much if any actor of his caliber would jeopardize the potential to be offered other roles. If he hadn't moved on, we wouldn't be watching the films he's made since then. Regardless of the cut scenes and music changes, I'd recommend this dvd. The show was very well done.
One thing missing... - Rating: 4/5
As long as we continue to rave about Johnny Depp's performances here, I will add his exposition from the episode, "How I Saved the Senator". If anyone can carry the works of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, you know Depp has it covered. He did it in Benny and Joon, so why not in one of these episodes? In How I Saved the Senator, Depp tells his version of his heroism in hopes it would be made into a film. "Words...can't describe." he says as the story turns into an old silent film with Depp dressed in Chaplin costume. He's got the art of comedy and drama expressed in his eyes; without saying a word. It's awesome.
Ok, now the one thing that bothered me about the DVD is how a tiny part of one scene was cut out in "Old Haunts in the New Age". If anyone remembers this at all, the JumpStreet crew performs a seance in the chapel when they believed it was being haunted. When a spritual medium pretends to be possessed, Hansen also acts like his body was taken over by the soul of Jim Morrison. In this DVD, Morrison's monologue was completely cut. How disappointing. I bought this Season 4 thinking that I would be able to see that scene again. What a let down.
That's all, just wanted you to know.
