21 Jump Street

The reviewer explorer0713 has provided some incorrect information. This episode was NOT 'ripped from the headlines' in regarding to the Tawana Brawley case. Tracey Edwards never claimed to be raped, in fact she hardly ever spoke at all. It was Hanson who jumped to the conclusion that she was raped because she was 1) found in the bathroom lying on the floor 2) one of the suspects (who burned the cross) informed him that Booker had a thing for black girls and lastly an elderly man said he saw Booker with a 'colored girl' (who was actually Judy Hoffs). (Tracey had also previously seen Booker hitting on her in the lunch room, and hassling her in the hall way).



Hanson's blatant disgust about his new partner to everyone who's around to listen (and obvious jealousy regarding Judy taking Dennis out to a movie) was refreshing and entertaining. We rarely see Tom worked up. Without being under cover as someone else, we see a Hanson that is frustrated, angry, straight to the point and has a matter of fact attitude with the way he handles and deals the suspects as well as Dennis.

You know how sometimes with a TV show you can just tell when things are about to start going South? That was this episode. The introduction of the thoroughly unlikeable Booker character to try to pick up the slack of Depp's chafing to get out of the series, was just a very bad choice. The man had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. And he wasn't even pretty enough to make us not care.



The story was supposed to be one of their 'ripped from the headlines' stories (yes, they did it long before Law & Order ever thought of it) concerning the Tawana Brawley hoax, but they blew it by focusing on Booker instead the case.



If it weren't for the interplay between Penhall and Hanson, and Hanson's being completely pissed off at everything, the show would have been a complete waste of time and effort.