Starring: Johnny Depp, Peter DeLuise, Dustin Nguyen, Holly Robinson, Barney Martin, Bruce A. Young, Renee Jones, Pauly Shore, Gordon Currie, Shannon Tweed

- Reviewed by Jennifer

Ah yes, 21 Jump Street Season 2 - the plot thickens, but not too much! The show sheds some of its awkwardness and wide-eyed innocence as the characters grow into themselves and FOX attempts to give Tom Hanson a little of Johnny Depp's natural coolness. The relationships between the characters become more complex, and the show begins to hit its stride - not that episode one is any indication.

The title, "In the Custody of a Clown" tells you all you need to know. An obnoxious boy is "kidnapped" by a "clown" i.e. taken camping by his grandfather to avoid his parent's bitter divorce. Get this though - the grandfather is played by Barney Martin, better known as Hanson's partner from the pilot episode! All through the show you're waiting for one of them to say, "Oh hey, didn't we used to work together?" but you're supposed to pretend you've never seen the guy before.

Luckily this is the only obvious example of guest star recycling. The other episodes are populated by the likes of Brad Pitt (yawn), Pauly Shore, Christina Applegate, Shannon Tweed, Cheryl Pollack, Mindy Cohn, and Rob Stone (Kevin from Mr. Belvedere). In an odd precursor to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, we find Johnny Depp getting into trouble in "Fear and Loathing with Russell Buckins" (I always hated that guy). Penhall's past also comes to light with the sudden appearance of an old girlfriend. Played by Gina Nemo (who would also become Peter DeLuise's first wife), Dorothy is grating and likable in equal measure.

Throughout the season, the characters explore deeper emotions and darker aspects of their personalities as they confront issues like AIDS, teen pregnancy, and suicide. We even learn that as a child Penhall tried to end it all by drinking an entire bottle of vanilla extract. Sniff! Don't you dare laugh at that.

My favorite Season 2 episode is "Orpheus 3.3" in which Hanson's girlfriend is killed during a convenience store robbery. Riddled with guilt and grief, Hanson becomes obsessed with the idea that he could have done something to save her in a 3.3 second window of opportunity. He holes up in his apartment with the surveillance tape and a stop watch, "I don't watch the whole tape," he explains, "I watch 3.3 seconds. 3.3 seconds that slipped through my fingers. 3.3 seconds where I could've done a thousand different things. But I didn't move. Do you know how many things you can do in 3.3 seconds? You can take off your shoes, pop a beer, and shoot someone in 3.3 seconds." Johnny Depp's performance is so tortured, so vulnerable, that you can't help feeling for the guy. Plus you get to watch him doing all sorts of ordinary tasks - he's just like us!

Not to be beaten is Peter DeLuise's hilarious commentary on the episode "You Oughta Be in Prison". He immediately recognizes Season 2 as the year he got in shape, and having just seen Lethal Weapon, had to have Mel Gibson's hair. No wonder he looked so good - I loved that haircut! (Check out my Revolution review if you don't believe me.) Throughout the episode, Peter cites all the moments where he was trying to act like Mel Gibson. That explains so much! Mel's performance in Lethal Weapon began my obsession with movies! I must have seen something of him in Peter DeLuise's portrayal of Officer Penhall, because I always thought it was brilliant.

Seventeen years later, I still don't mind Peter DeLuise's acting, but he's a director now, and can easily spot himself hamming it up for the camera. His commentary often drifts into tangents about things like Winnebagos, make-up, and bran muffins, but just when you can't figure out where things are going, he makes you laugh. I can't wait to hear what he has to say about Season 3!

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