BOOKER
Release date: August 25, 2009
MSRP: $14.98
During the run of 21 JUMP STREET, Richard Grieco was targeted to be the breakout star. He had that bad-boy look that Fox felt confident would bring them the 18-34 crowd and make Fox the young, hip network. He was given his own show, using the same character. Booker was a rebellious cop that often butted heads with those above him. His character left after being demoted for disobeying orders. He became a private eye and BOOKER was born.
BOOKER lasted one season and Johnny Depp went on to become a film star. Who knew?
While BOOKER did not last, and did not make Grieco a star, it is a fun, little show. Dennis Booker is hired by a large, Japanese company to help them with questionable insurance claims. Booker handles some jobs from them in exchange for his office space and the freedom to take other cases.
In addition to Grieco, Booker had appearances by Lori Petty (for a half season) as well as Thomas Haden Church, Marcia Cross as well as Peter Deluise and Holly Robbinson revising their Jump Street roles. Crimespree regulars might also notice Ian Tracey (Da Vinci’s Inquest, Intelligence) in a couple of episodes.
Greico was by no means a master thespian, but he does a decent enough job here. If anything, Booker holds up a little better than some of the 21 Jump Street episodes. I don’t know if they are quite as good as I remembered, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Of note: This is not the COMPLETE series. There was a cross-over with 21 JUMP STREET and that episode appeared on one of the 21 JS sets and thus was not available to Mill Creek. Also missing is an episode that centered on BB King’s guitar Lucille (music rights is the reason). They have also changed the music (Billy Idol’s HOT IN THE CITY is missing) to save money.
Again, BOOKER is not a brilliant series, but it holds up well and is certainly worth the price of the set.
Order BOOKER: The Collector’s Edition.
Jeremy Lynch
For more reviews from myself, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.
