JAG (TV series)

JAG
The Promotional Logo used during Season 10
Created by	Donald P. Bellisario
Starring	David James Elliott Catherine Bell Tracey Needham Patrick Labyorteaux John M. Jackson Zoe McLellan Scott Lawrence
Theme music composer	Bruce Broughton
Opening theme	Theme from JAG
Composers	Bruce Broughton (pilot) Steven Bramson
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	10
No. of episodes	227 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Donald P. Bellisario
Producers	Chip Vucelich Chas. Floyd Johnson David Bellisario
Production locations	Big Bear Lake, CA El Mirage Dry Lake, CA Valencia, CA (studio set)
Cinematography	Hugo Cortina (1995–2001) David J. Miller (2004) Larry Lindsey (1995–1996)
Running time	42–44 minutes
Production companies	Belisarius Productions Paramount Television NBC Productions (1995–1996)
Original release
Network	NBC (1995–1996) CBS (1997–2005)
Release	September 23, 1995 (1995-09-23) – April 29, 2005 (2005-04-29)
Related
NCIS NCIS: Los Angeles

JAG (the American military acronym for Judge Advocate General) is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television (now CBS Television Studios) and, for the first season only, NBC Productions. Originally conceived as Top Gun meets A Few Good Men, JAG was first aired on NBC on September 23, 1995, but was later cancelled on May 22, 1996 after finishing 77th in the ratings. With a network change, rival network CBS picked up the series for a midseason replacement, beginning on January 3, 1997. CBS's decision to give JAG another chance would prove very profitable, as they aired it for nine additional seasons until April 29, 2005, for a total of ten seasons. In total, 227 episodes were produced and the show was also seen in over 100 countries. Due to the show's popularity, the show entered syndication early in 1999 and it is still regularly repeated around the world and in the USA on USA Network, HDNet, and Sleuth.

It was one of the last Paramount-produced TV series to end under that name, prior to the firm becoming CBS Paramount Television.

Premise

The series depicts JAG officers applying the stipulations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and international law as well as providing conventional television melodrama. In its initial phase, the show relied much on Hollywood military-prop suppliers and existing stock footage from other well-known naval and military films, including Top Gun, The Hunt for Red October and Clear and Present Danger. The Department of Defense later recognized the series as positive for its public image and therefore granted official support, providing the producers access to military installations and equipment. It is so far the only television show to have been officially endorsed by both the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. From the beginning, the show regularly incorporated elements of real-life military actions into its storylines, e.g. the aftermath of the Bosnian War, the attack on the USS Cole (DDG-67), the events of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the subsequent War on Terrorism. In the wake of the above attacks the show experienced a boost in ratings and became a fixture on Nielsen's top 10.

In his book "Mission: Al-Jazeera", Al-Jazeera correspondent and former USMC press officer Josh Rushing described his old job as a military liaison in Hollywood. And described JAG as "Sappy at best".

Character overview

Main article: Characters of JAG

Character	Portrayed by	Rank	Previous Ranks	Main cast seasons	Recurring cast seasons
LCol. Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie	Catherine Bell	JAG Lawyer Chief of Staff	Major	2-10	—
Capt. Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr.	David James Elliott	JAG Lawyer	Lt LCmdr. Cmdr	1-10	—
RAdml. Albert Jethro "AJ" Chegwidden	John M. Jackson	Judge Advocate General	—	2-9	1
LCmdr. Budrick "Bud" Roberts, Jr.	Patrick Labyorteaux	JAG Lawyer	Ensign LtJG Lt	2-10	1
Cmdr. Peter Ulysses "Sturgis" Turner	Scott Lawrence	JAG Lawyer	—	10	7-9
PO Jennifer "Jen" Coates	Zoe McLellan	Yeoman to the JAG	—	10	7-9
LtJG Megan "Meg" Austin	Tracey Needham	JAG Lawyer	—	1	—
MGen. Gordon M. "Biff" Cresswell	David Andrews	Judge Advocate General	Colonel	—	10
Lt. Harriet Sims (Roberts)	Karri Turner	JAG Administrator	Ensign LtJG	—	2-10
Cmdr. Caitlin "Kate" Pike	Andrea Parker	JAG Lawyer	LtJG Lt	—	1, 6
LCmdr. Michael "Mic" Brumby	Trevor Goddard	JAG Lawyer on assignment from RAN	—	—	4-7
Cmdr. Allison Krennick	Andrea Thompson	JAG Chief of Staff	Cmdr.	—	1

Cast overview

The final ensemble cast centers on Captain Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr., USN (David James Elliott), and Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, USMC (Catherine Bell). Bell had guest-starred on the final episode of season one, entitled "Skeleton Crew" as a Naval Officer that Rabb was supposed to have met for dinner; she was murdered and Rabb was arrested for her murder. This plotline was left open until a later season, when Bell was a regular character, and the loose ends of a doppelganger were revealed. Rabb was promoted to Captain in the second-to-last episode of the series. Harm and Mac's obvious love for each other, which must not be allowed to interfere with their professional relationship, is a long-running thematic element.

Elliott played Harmon Rabb from the start of the series in 1995. Rabb's original partner in the pilot was Navy Lieutenant Caitlin Pike, played by Andrea Parker. She in turn left the series to star in The Pretender (she later returned as a guest star in three episodes), and was replaced by Tracey Needham as Lieutenant JG Meg Austin. Needham left the series in 1996 and was replaced by Bell from season 2 on (old footage of her character was used in a season 3 episode).

Other members of the cast included Lieutenant Commander Bud Roberts (played by Patrick Labyorteaux), first a PAO on the aircraft carrier USS Seahawk (CVN-65), then later a junior Judge Advocate at JAG. While on an assignment to the Seahawk, he met his future wife, Lieutenant Harriet Simms, played by Karri Turner, who would eventually come to be the administrative aide (from the Inspector General's Office) who held the office together. Bud's clumsiness, both physical and verbal, and geeky interests (he's a Trekkie, fascinated by the paranormal, and a computer expert), together with his wife's maternal nature, were a frequent source of comic relief. His clumsiness was played down as the series went on. Bud lost the lower half of his right leg in Afghanistan in the last episode of season 7, while attempting the heroic rescue of an Afghan boy playing in a mine field. For his actions, he received the Purple Heart and later was able to return to partial active duty with a prosthetic leg.

Nanci Chambers, wife of David James Elliott, played Lieutenant Loren Singer. She portrayed this character as a loathsome villianess to great acclaim. Singer was consumed by her continual want to further her career at the expense of those around her. She often clashed with the other characters. Especially praised was an episode in which Singer hurt fan-loved Harriet by using the death of her baby Sarah to discredit her testimony in court. In a later episode, however, Harriet got a measure of revenge by punching out Singer. Singer was murdered, with suspicion falling on Harm, who was eventually cleared (the two-part story detailing the investigation into Singer's murder was used as the pilot for the spin-off NCIS).

Trevor Goddard played Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby from 1998–2001, and was at one point engaged to Colonel MacKenzie. After his death in 2003, the series paid tribute to Goddard by reshowing a scene from a prior episode at the end of a regular episode that showed the cast and crew singing "Waltzing Matilda", an Australian folk song as his character Mic Brumby left a bar where a going away party was taking place prior to returning home to Australia.

Production

Judge Advocate General of the Navy Rear Admiral Donald J. Guter visits the set of "Liberty" (2001)

Ships

Almost all episodes of the series feature scenes filmed aboard real United States Navy ships. The ship most widely used was the USS Forrestal (CV-59), commissioned by the U.S. Navy as a training carrier at the time. Most of the Nimitz class carriers also appear in one or several episodes. The USS Saratoga (CV-60), USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) were also used in the series.

USS Enterprise was used as the fictional USS Seahawk in many episodes. USS Forrestal and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) were also used as the fictional Seahawk, both in Season Four and for one episode each. For scenes filmed aboard Enterprise, the whole crew wore caps reading USS Seahawk – CVN 65 so they matched the ship's real pennant number.

USS Forrestal was featured in many episodes, most prominently two in which she portrayed the fictional USS Reprisal. In these episodes, all crew members wore caps with the CV 35 pennant number. This number was intentionally out of sequence with the pennant numbers of active USN carriers at the time the series was filmed. CV 35 would have been the real pennant number of an Essex-class carrier actually called Reprisal, which was canceled during construction in 1945 when WW2 ended and broken up in 1949 after consideration had been given to completing her to a revised design roughly similar to that of USS Oriskany (CV-34).

Only six USN ships featured in the series were called by their real name: USS Hornet (CV-12), USS Coral Sea (CV-43), USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), USS America (CV-66), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), and USS Belknap (CG-26). The Kitty Hawk is mentioned in one of the Season Three episodes, but never seen on screen. The America is the murder scene in a Season Three episodes, but shots supposedly depicting her are in fact shots of the Forrestal. Real shots of the Roosevelt in harbor are used in one episode of Season One.

Crewmembers set up for a shot at Naval Air Station North Island (2005)

Season Three opener "Ghost Ship" was filmed entirely aboard the Hornet while she was laid up at Alameda Naval Air Station before being preserved as a museum ship. Part of the storyline in "Ghost Ship" deals with the final fate of Hornet. It implies (though not explicitly stating it) that she was eventually scrapped due to severe fire damage sustained during the course of the episode, contrary to her real-life fate as a National Landmark. The sub-plot in "Ghost Ship" indicating that the ship's double hull had to be cut open from the inside to repair torpedo damage during WWII is apocryphal.

Coral Sea is also featured in the Season Three episode "Vanished" and Season Four episode "Angels 30". As she had already been scrapped at the time the episodes supposedly took place, archival footage of Coral Sea was used, with other footage shot aboard Forrestal. The majority of the exterior scenes from "Angels 30" were filmed aboard Forrestal and a few aboard Enterprise.

Belknap is mentioned in the Season Four episode "Going after Francesca" as the Sixth Fleet flagship, a role she actually fulfilled in real life from 1986 until her decommissioning in 1994. Belknap had already been decommissioned and was laid up awaiting scrapping when the episode was filmed, allowing for actual exterior shots of the ship to be featured in the episode.

The series also includes appearances by Tarawa class amphibious assault ships, Ticonderoga class cruisers, Arleigh Burke class destroyers and Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates. In one of the episodes, the Spanish frigate SPS Santa María (F81) is used to depict a fictional USN Perry class ship (denoted by her NATO pennant number "F 81" painted under the bridge, instead of the US practice of having a "number only" ID painted on the bow).

Series end

Harm and Mac flip a challenge coin to determine who will resign

In 2005, David James Elliott announced he would leave the show to pursue other projects after not being offered a renewal from the producers. The show introduced new younger characters (including former As the World Turns star Chris Beetem). Producers also thought about relocating the setting of the show to Naval Base San Diego, and even set a season ten episode there. Nevertheless, CBS announced the cancellation of the show on April 4, 2005, after ten seasons. The final episode, "Fair Winds and Following Seas", which aired April 29, 2005, saw Harm and Mac assigned different stations: Harm in London, Mac in San Diego. They finally confront their feelings and decide to get married. The episode ends with them tossing a JAG challenge coin to decide who will give up their career to be with the other. However, in keeping with JAG tradition, the outcome of the toss is never seen, as the screen fades to black.

RELATED SHOW

NCIS

Main article: NCIS (TV series)

In 2003, the series spawned the spin-off NCIS in a two-part episode in which Rabb is accused of the murder of Lieutenant Singer. The two episodes, titled "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown," focused on the NCIS team, with the JAG regulars as supporting characters. Whereas the JAG episodes were primarily oriented on courtroom drama, NCIS is more focused on the field criminal investigations. NCIS also follows a different storytelling format than JAG, emphasizing character humor more than its parent program.

Many actors who played characters from JAG have appeared on NCIS: Patrick Labyorteaux reprised his role of Bud Roberts in the episode "Hung Out to Dry" as the only major JAG cast member to crossover onto that show, while recurring guest star Alicia Coppola appeared in her JAG role of Lieutenant Commander Faith Coleman in several episodes and Adam Baldwin appeared on both programs as Commander Michael Rainer. Also, Sean Murray, Special Agent Timothy McGee in NCIS, played two characters – Ensign Guitry, an Ensign on trial from Season 4 Episode "Innocence", and "Danny Walden", the son of one of Admiral Chegwidden's many girlfriends. Aside from Murray, Michael Bellisario, who played Mike Roberts on JAG, appeared as Assistant Forensic Technician Charles "Chip" Sterling, and Steven Culp, who played CIA operative Clayton Webb, appeared on NCIS as a Navy commander.

The two-part JAG episode in which the NCIS cast were introduced was later rebroadcast as a regular episode of NCIS, although it was not included in the subsequent Season 1 DVD box set release.

An episode of the final season, "JAG: San Diego" had the cast going to the San Diego naval base and working with the JAG office there. Though it was reportedly considered as a back-door pilot to a possible spin-off, CBS ultimately decided not to pursue a new series.

Proposed spinoff

Following the announcement of Elliott's departure from the series, Bellisario proposed an eleventh season of JAG, retitled and reworked. JAG: San Diego was to see a range of characters reprise their JAG roles. Regular stars Catherine Bell, Patrick Labyorteaux, and Zoe McLellan were to reprise their roles of Col. Mackenzie, Cmdr. Roberts, and PO Coates, respectively. Recurring JAG cast members David Andrews, Chris Beetem and Karri Turner would become regular cast members, reprising their roles as MGen. Cresswell, Lt. Vukovic and Lt. Sims, David James Elliott may have made Guest Appearances. The Credit sequences proposed would see the series starring (in this order): Catherine Bell / Chris Beetem*, Karri Turner, Patrick Labyorteaux, David Andrews, and Zoe McLellan.

• * Chris Beetem and Catherine Bell would share a split screen credit, similar to Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz on Bones

American television ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of JAG.

Note: U.S. network television seasons generally start in late September and end in late May, which coincides with the completion of the May sweeps.

Season	Season premiere	Season final	TV Season	Rank	Viewers (in millions)
1	September 23, 1995	May 22, 1996	1995–1996	#79	11.56
2	January 3, 1997	April 18, 1997	1997	#68	11.80
3	September 23, 1997	May 19, 1998	1997–1998	#36	12.90
4	September 22, 1998	May 25, 1999	1998–1999	#17	14.20
5	September 21, 1999	May 23, 2000	1999–2000	#25	14.07
6	October 3, 2000	May 22, 2001	2000–2001	#26	14.60
7	September 25, 2001	May 21, 2002	2001–2002	#15	14.80
8	September 24, 2002	May 20, 2003	2002–2003	#26	12.97
9	September 26, 2003	May 21, 2004	2003–2004	#37	10.80
10	September 24, 2004	April 29, 2005	2004–2005	#50	9.66

Awards and nominations

Awards

ASCAP Award:

• Top TV Series (x2) – 2004
• Top TV Series – 2003
• Top TV Series (x2) – 2000

Emmy:

• Outstanding Costuming for a Series (episode "Gypsy Eyes") – 1999
• Outstanding Costuming for a Series (episode "Cowboys & Cossacks") – 1997
• Outstanding Individual Achievement in Editing for a Series – Single Camera Production (pilot episode) – 1996

Imagen Foundation Awards:

• Primetime Television Series (episode "Retreat Hell") – 2001

TV Guide Awards:

• Favorite Actor in a Drama (David James Elliott) – 2000

Nominations

Emmy:

• Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) – Steven Bramson (composer) (episode "Need To Know") – 2003
• Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) – Steven Bramson (music by) (episode "Adrift", part 2) – 2002
• Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series – Hugo Cortina (director of photography) (episode "Adrift", part 1) – 2001
• Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series (episode "Boomerang", part 2) – 2000
• Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (episode "Gypsy Eyes") – 1999
• Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (episode "The Good Of The Service") – 1998
• Outstanding Costuming for a Series – L. Paul Dafelmair (costume supervisor) (episode "Cowboys & Cossacks") – 1997
• Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costuming for a Series – L. Paul Dafelmair (costume supervisor) (episode "Smoked") – 1996
• Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music – 1996

American Cinema Editors, USA:

• Best Edited Motion Picture for Commercial Television (the pilot movie) – 1996

American Cinema Foundation, USA:

• Television Series – Drama – 2000

ACS Awards:

• Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series' (Hugo Cortina) (episode "Gypsy Eyes") – 1999

Cinema Audio Society, USA

• Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Television Series (episode "Gypsy Eyes") – 1999

Tim Philben (re-recording mixer)
Ross Davis (re-recording mixer)
Grover B. Helsley (re-recording mixer)
Sean Rush (production mixer)

Humanitas Prize:

• 60 Minute Category (episode "Angels 30") – 1999

Motion Picture Sound Editors:

• Best Sound Editing – Television Episodic – Sound Effects & Foley – 1999

TV Guide Awards:

• Actor of the Year in a Drama Series (David James Elliott) – 2001

Young Artist Awards:

• Best Performance in a TV Series – Recurring Young Actress (Hallee Hirsh) – 2004
• Best Performance in a TV Drama Series – Guest Starring Young Actress (Aysia Polk) – 2000

Episodes

For a full list of JAG episodes, see list of JAG episodes.

DVD and VHS releases

On September 1, 1998, the pilot episode of JAG was released on VHS in the U.S. by Paramount Home Entertainment.

CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) have released all 10 seasons on DVD in Region 1. Seasons 5 – 10 have been released with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The Final Season was released on February 9, 2010

In Regions 2 and 4, seasons 1–7 have been released. The eighth season will be released in region 2 on June 21, 2010.

DVD Name	Ep#	Release Dates			Extra features
		Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
The Pilot Episodes (VHS)	2	September 1, 1998	Not Released	Not Released	None
The Complete First Season	22	July 25, 2006	October 16, 2006	October 16, 2006	Behind the Scenes Footage, Making Of Featurette, Episode Commentaries & Rare Un-aired episode Skeleton Crew
The Complete Second Season	15	November 7, 2006	September 10, 2007	August 16, 2007	Behind the Scenes Footage, Making Of Featurette & Episode Commentaries
The Third Season	24	March 20, 2007	June 24, 2008	June 5, 2008
The Fourth Season	24	August 21, 2007	October 22, 2008	October 2, 2008	Gag reel
The Fifth Season	25	January 29, 2008	May 7, 2009	May 7, 2009	Gag reel
The Sixth Season	24	May 20, 2008	September 14, 2009	September 3, 2009
The Seventh Season	24	November 4, 2008	March 22, 2010	March 4, 2010
The Eighth Season	24	March 17, 2009	June 21, 2010	August 5, 2010	Gag Reel
The Ninth Season	24	November 10, 2009	TBA	TBA
The Final Season	22	February 9, 2010	TBA	TBA	Fair Winds & Following Seas Special Feature (JAG: The Final Goodbye)

Soundtrack

On April 26, 2010, Intrada released an album of music from the series, featuring Bruce Broughton's theme and his pilot score (tracks 1-15) and weekly composer Steven Bramson's score, including Broughton's format music (the main and end title theme and commercial bumper), for the season two episode "Cowboys and Cossacks" (tracks 16-28).

1. Engage and Destroy; Main Title 4:42
2. Getting Some Air; Angela Overboard 2:39
3. Harm and Kate Arrive 2:21
4. Harm’s Past; Over Bosnia 1:55
5. Gold Wings & Dress Whites; Wave Off 1:31
6. Contemplation 0:27
7. Joyride 1:49
8. Angela on a Slab 1:34
9. Playout 0:15
10. Scuttlebutt’s True 4:27
11. To Hell and Back, Sir; Let’m Trap! 6:05
12. Harm Does It 3:25
13. Judgement Call 2:09
14. Gold Wings, White Uniform 1:56
15. End Credits 0:57
16. Format Bumper 0:07
17. Teaser 1:43
18. Format Main Title 0:47
19. Act One Playon; Exchange 1:20
20. Fire!; Grinkov 4:29
21. One Rule of War 1:16
22. Jumping Ship; Convincing Yuri 2:12
23. Yuri Turns 1:57
24. To the Brig; Boxing Petavitch 1:41
25. Live Missile 0:42
26. This Is War 3:05
27. Grinkov Relents 4:26
28. A Sailor’s Death; Format End Credits 1:44

See also

• Uniform Code of Military Justice
• Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy

Notes and references

• Geier, Thomas; Weiner, Allison H (September 11, 2001). "Naval Gazing". Entertainment Weekly: 10–11.
• Poniewozik, James; McDowell, Jeanne (December 10, 2001). "Battlefield Promotion". Time: 95–96.
• Robb, David L (2004). Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies (1st ed.). Amherst, NY: Prometheus.

External links

• Official website
• JAG at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• JAG Database, an external wiki