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When 21 Jump Street debuted in 1987, it was heralded as Fox-TV's first big hit. Fox was a brand-new network going up against the powerful and established 'big three' - ABC, CBS, and NBC. Fox needed to grab an audience - teens and young adults. Why did Jump Street jump out ahead of the other new shows? The concept was cool - baby faced cops going under cover - the storylines are strong and the characters likable. But above it all, it was Johnny Depp that drew the viewers. Johnny Depp, seriously gorgeous and talented, made a hit out of Jump Street - and Jump Street made a star out of him.

Suddenly, the poor struggling musician from Florida was the hot name on everybody's lips: he hit the covers of magazines and soon, the covers of national adult press.

Johnny had two reactions to his new status. The "fan-demonium" made him uncomfortable, but he really loved being an actor. He threw himself into his portrayal of Tommy Hanson, acting up a storm and lending a creative hand behind the scenes, offering story ideas and script improvements. "Johnny worked so hard in those days" says an insider. "He'd often fall asleep, sitting at the kitchen table. still working on his script into the early hours."

He was proud of the show. It had something important to say to America's teens - and said it without preaching. The post - show public service announcements (with toll free phone lines) reached out to people in trouble. That, and everything about 21 Jump Street, meshed perfectly with Johnny's own personal ideals. He felt good about it.

The changes came slowly, but nevertheless surely. After a couple of seasons, the original head honcho Patrick Hashburgh left. And although Johnny and his equally committed co-stars were assured that the new creative team would keep up Jump Street's high standards, it didn't work out that way. Johnny felt - and he let everyone know it! - that Jump Street had lost it's focus; it was no longer a positive voice for youth.

But Johnny didn't jump the TV ship right away. He worked out a compromise schedule where he could take up those hot movie offers (like Cry - baby and Edward Scissorhands) and do Jump Street at the same time. For, in spite of his disillusionment with the show, he stuck by it. He fought along with Peter DeLuise and other cast members - against scripts he found distasteful. "There was one" Peter remembers, "where our characters were actually supposed to show the viewers how to make a bomb and blow up a building. Now, what kind of role model is that?"

Eventually , Johnny felt he was fighting a losing battle. So he negotiated a new contract where he appeared in a fewer episodes. but he was still unhappy - and according to sources on the set, he let everyone know it. When he was working, they say, "Johnny made life miserable for everyone. He purposely did what he could to sabotage certian scenes. A lot of us were just plain fed up with him."

Finally, Johnny just plain up and said it, to his bosses, to the press and to his fans, "I want to quit!"