Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Show name	JAG
Caption	The Promotional Logo used during Season 10
Format	Adventure, legal drama, thriller
Creator	Donald P. Bellisario
Starring	David James ElliottCatherine BellPatrick LabyorteauxJohn M. JacksonScott LawrenceTracey NeedhamZoe McLellanKarri TurnerTrevor GoddardDavid AndrewsAndrea ParkerSteven CulpAndrea Thompson
Theme music composer	Bruce Broughton
Opentheme	Theme from JAG
Composer	Bruce Broughton (pilot)Steven Bramson
Country	United States
Language	English
Num seasons	10
Num episodes	227 (1 unaired)
List episodes	List of JAG episodes
Executive producer	Donald P. Bellisario
Producer	Chip VucelichChas. Floyd JohnsonDavid Bellisario
Location	Big Bear Lake, CAEl Mirage Dry Lake, CAValencia, CA (studio set)
Cinematography	Hugo Cortina (1995–2001)David J. Miller (2004)Larry Lindsey (1995–1996)
Runtime	42–44 minutes
Company	Belisarius ProductionsParamount TelevisionNBC Productions (1995–1996)
Network	NBC (1995–1996)CBS (1997–2005)
Picture format	480i (SDTV)1080i (HDTV)
First aired	United States
Last aired	(Ended)Germany: 26. July 1996 - 16. July 2006 (Sat.1)Italy: July 1997 - 30 august 2006 (Rai 2)
Related	NCISNCIS: 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 79th in the ratings, leaving 1 episode unaired. 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 it was aired for nine additional seasons until April 29, 2005. In total, 227 episodes were produced over 10 seasons and the show was seen in over 100 countries. JAG was so popular that it 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 also spawned the hit spinoff NCIS.

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

Character overview

Starring roles

! width="5%"Catherine BellTracey NeedhamPatrick LabyorteauxJohn M. Jackson Scott Lawrence Zoe McLellan

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Name !! rowspan="2"|Portrayed by !! rowspan="2"|Occupation !! colspan="11"|Seasons

List of JAG episodes#Season 1: 1995–1996

1 !! width="5%">2 !! width="5%"| 3 !! width="5%"| 4 !! width="5%"| 5 !! width="5%"| 6!! width="5%"| 7 !! width="5%"| 8 !! width="5%"| 9 !! width="5%"| 10

Harmon Rabb

Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr.

David James Elliott

Sarah MacKenzie

Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie

|

Lt. Col., USMC, JAGC

Main

Meg Austin

|

Lt. JG., USN, JAGC

Main

Bud Roberts

Bud J. Roberts, Jr.

|

Lt. Cmdr., USN, JAGC

Recurring

Main

AJ Chegwidden

|

Rear Admiral, JAGC

Recurring

Main

Sturgis Turner

|

Cmdr., USN, JAGC

Recurring

Main

Jennifer Coates

|

Legalman First Class, USN

Recurring

Main

Cast overview

David James Elliott stars as LT/LCDR/CDR/CAPT Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr., a USN JAG Lawyer, who is partnered at first with LTJG/CDR Caitlin Pike played by Andrea Parker, who left the series following the two-part pilot, but later returned to guest star 3 more times, twice in Season 1, and once in Season 6. She was replaced by LTJG Meg Austin played by Tracey Needham, who appeared in the remainder of Season 1 and in archive footage in one Season 3 episode. His final and long term partner was LtCol Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, played by Catherine Bell, who was later his fiancée. Other cast members included LCDR Bud Roberts (played by Patrick Labyorteaux), first a Public Affairs Officer (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, LT 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 limited active duty with a prosthetic leg.

Nanci Chambers, real-life spouse of David James Elliott, played LT Loren Singer. 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. In Season 7's Guilt Singer hurt 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 LCDR Mic Brumby from 1998–2001; Brumby was at one point engaged to Lieutenant Colonel MacKenzie. After Goddard's death in 2003, the series paid tribute to him by reshowing a scene from an episode where the cast and crew sang "Waltzing Matilda," an Australian folk song, as Brumby was leaving a bar where a going away party for him was taking place.

Production

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 , in commission as a training carrier at the time. Most of the Nimitz class carriers also appear in one or several episodes. The , and were also used in the series.

USS Enterprise was used as the fictional USS Seahawk in many episodes. USS Forrestal and 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 .

Only six USN ships featured in the series were called by their real name: , , , , , and . 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.

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 supposed damage to her bow during Vietnam was not at all correct with her service record.

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 (in particular the USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) itself during the opening credit montage), 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

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 an episode in season ten 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 Bud tossing ADM Chegwidden's 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.

NCIS spin-off

In 2003, during season 8, 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. NCIS later produced its own spin-off, NCIS: Los Angeles, which shows a further departure from the styles and themes of JAG.

Many actors who played characters from JAG have appeared on NCIS. Patrick Labyorteaux reprising his role of Bud Roberts in the episode "Hung Out to Dry", and Scott Lawrence appearing as Captain Thomas Lind in the episode "A Man Walks Into a Bar..." are the only major JAG cast members to do so. 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.

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.

{| style="text-align:center;" class="wikitable" |- ! Season ! Season premiere ! Season finale ! TV Season ! Rank ! Viewers(in millions) |- | 1 | September 23, 1995 | May 22, 1996 | 1995–1996 ! style="text-align:center" | #79 ! style="text-align:center" | 11.56 |- style="background:#f9f9f9;" | 2 | January 3, 1997 | April 18, 1997 | 1996–1997 ! style="text-align:center" | #68 ! style="text-align:center" | 11.80 |- style="background:#f9f9f9;" | 3 | September 23, 1997 | May 19, 1998 | 1997–1998 ! style="text-align:center" | #36 ! style="text-align:center" | 12.90 |- style="background:#f9f9f9;" | 4 | September 22, 1998 | May 25, 1999 | 1998–1999 ! style="text-align:center" | #17 ! style="text-align:center" | 14.20 |- style="background:#f9f9f9;" | 5 | September 21, 1999 | May 23, 2000 | 1999–2000 ! style="text-align:center" | #25 ! style="text-align:center" | 14.07 |- style="background:#f9f9f9;" | 6 | October 3, 2000 | May 22, 2001 | 2000–2001 ! style="text-align:center" | #26 ! style="text-align:center" | 14.60 |- style="background:#f9f9f9;" | 7 | September 25, 2001 | May 21, 2002 | 2001–2002 ! style="text-align:center" | #15 ! style="text-align:center" | 14.80 |- | 8 | September 24, 2002 | May 20, 2003 | 2002–2003 ! style="text-align:center" | #26 ! style="text-align:center" | 12.97 |- | 9 | September 26, 2003 | May 21, 2004 | 2003–2004 ! style="text-align:center" | #37 ! style="text-align:center" | 10.80 |- | 10 | September 24, 2004 | April 29, 2005 | 2004–2005 ! style="text-align:center" | #50 ! style="text-align:center" | 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

:

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 – Bruce Broughton - 1996

American Cinema Editors, USA:

Best Edited Motion Picture for Commercial Television (the pilot film) – 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

List of awards and nominations received by JAG

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 1–9 have been released. With Season 10 being released in 2011.

! rowspan="2"

DVD Name !! rowspan="2"|Ep# !! colspan="3"|Release Dates !! rowspan="2"|Extra features
! Region 1 !! Region 2 !! Region 4
The Complete First Season		July 25, 2006	October 16, 2006	October 16, 2006
The Complete Second Season		November 7, 2006	September 10, 2007	August 16, 2007
The Third Season		March 20, 2007	June 24, 2008	June 5, 2008
The Fourth Season		August 21, 2007	October 22, 2008	October 2, 2008
The Fifth Season		January 29, 2008	May 7, 2009	May 7, 2009
The Sixth Season		May 20, 2008	September 14, 2009	September 3, 2009
The Seventh Season		November 4, 2008	March 22, 2010	March 4, 2010
The Eighth Season		March 17, 2009	June 21, 2010	August 5, 2010
The Ninth Season		November 10, 2009	September 20, 2010	November 4, 2010
The Final Season		February 9, 2010	June 29, 2011	July 6, 2011

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).

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

See also

Uniform Code of Military Justice

Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy

References

External links

Category:1990s American television series Category:1995 television series debuts Category:2000s American television series Category:2005 American television series endings Category:American drama television series Category:CBS network shows Category:English-language television series * Category:Legal television series Category:Military television series Category:NBC network shows Category:Television series by CBS Paramount Television Category:Television shows set in Washington, D.C. Category:United States Marine Corps in media Category:Television series revived after cancellation Category:Aviation television series Category:Water transport in fiction

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