JAG (TV series)
Encyclopedia
JAG 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.
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.
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).
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
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.
|+ Awards and nominations for JAG
|-
colspan=3
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.
! rowspan="2"|Name !! rowspan="2"|Portrayed by !! rowspan="2"|Occupation !! colspan="11"|Seasons
|-
! width="5%"| 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 "Harm" Rabb, Jr.
|| David James Elliott
|| Captain, USN, JAGC || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="10" align="center"| Main
|-
| Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie
|| Catherine Bell
|| Lt. Col., USMC, JAGC || colspan="1" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="9" align="center"| Main
|-
| Meg Austin
|| Tracey Needham
|| Lt. JG., USN, JAGC || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main || colspan="9" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" |
|-
| Bud J. Roberts, Jr.
|| Patrick Labyorteaux
|| Lt. Cmdr., USN, JAGC || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="1" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="9" align="center"| Main
|-
| AJ Chegwidden || John M. Jackson
|| Rear Admiral, JAGC || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="1" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="8" align="center"| Main || colspan="1" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" |
|-
| Sturgis Turner
|| Scott Lawrence
|| Cmdr., USN, JAGC || colspan="6" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="3" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main
|-
| Jennifer Coates || Zoe McLellan
|| Legalman First Class, USN || colspan="6" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="3" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main
|-
|}
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.
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).
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
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.
{| 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 for JAG
|-
colspan=3
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.
! rowspan="2"|Name !! rowspan="2"|Portrayed by !! rowspan="2"|Occupation !! colspan="11"|Seasons
|-
! width="5%"| 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 "Harm" Rabb, Jr.
|| David James Elliott
|| Captain, USN, JAGC || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="10" align="center"| Main
|-
| Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie
|| Catherine Bell
|| Lt. Col., USMC, JAGC || colspan="1" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="9" align="center"| Main
|-
| Meg Austin
|| Tracey Needham
|| Lt. JG., USN, JAGC || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main || colspan="9" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" |
|-
| Bud J. Roberts, Jr.
|| Patrick Labyorteaux
|| Lt. Cmdr., USN, JAGC || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="1" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="9" align="center"| Main
|-
| AJ Chegwidden || John M. Jackson
|| Rear Admiral, JAGC || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="1" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="8" align="center"| Main || colspan="1" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" |
|-
| Sturgis Turner
|| Scott Lawrence
|| Cmdr., USN, JAGC || colspan="6" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="3" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main
|-
| Jennifer Coates || Zoe McLellan
|| Legalman First Class, USN || colspan="6" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="3" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main
|-
|}
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.
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).
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
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.
{| 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 for JAG
|-
colspan=3
class="collapsible collapsed" width=100%
! colspan=3 style="background-color: #D9E8FF; text-align: center;" Awards & Nominations
-
|- bgcolor=#D9E8FF
| style="text-align:center;" | Award
| style="text-align:center;background: #cceecc;text-size:0.9em" width=50| Won
| style="text-align:center;background: #ffccdd;text-size:0.9em" width=50| Nominated
|- bgcolor=#eeeeff
|align="center"|
BMI Film & TV Awards
|
|
|- bgcolor=#ddddff
|align="center"|
Emmy Award
s
|
|
|- bgcolor=#eeeeff
|align="center"|
Genesis Awards
|
|
|- bgcolor=#ddddff
|align="center"|
TV Land Awards
|
|
|- bgcolor=#eeeeff
|align="center"|
Young Artist Awards
|
|
}
|- bgcolor=#D9E8FF
|align="center" colspan="3"|
Total number of wins and nominations
|- bgcolor=#D9E8FF
|align="center"|Totals
|
|
|- bgcolor=#D9E8FF
| colspan="3" style="font-size: smaller; text-align:center;" | Footnotes
|}
|-
! width="3.5%" | Year
! width="30%" | Category
! Nominee
! width="18%" | Episode
! width="3.5%" | Result
|-
| 1996
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Editing for a Series - Single Camera Production
| Jon Koslowsky
| "Pilot Episode"
|
|-
| 1996
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costuming for a Series
| L. Paul Dafelmair
| "Smoked"
|
|-
| 1996
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music
| Bruce Broughton
| N/A
|
|-
| 1997
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costuming for a Series
| L. Paul Dafelmair
| "Cowboys and Cossacks"
|
|-
| 1998
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Series
| Hugo Cortina
| "The Good Of The Service"
|
|-
| 1999
| Outstanding Costuming for a Series
| L. Paul Dafelmair
| "Gypsy Eyes"
|
|-
| 1999
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Series
| Hugo Cortina
| "Gypsy Eyes"
|
|-
| 2000
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series
| Hugo Cortina
| "Boomerang, part II"
|
|-
| 2001
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series
| Hugo Cortina
| "Adrift, part I"
|
|-
| 2002
| Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)
| Steven Bramson
| "Adrift, part 2"
|
|-
| 2003
| Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)
| Steven Bramson
| "Need To Know"
|
|-
|}
Imagen Foundation Awards:
TV Guide Awards:
American Cinema Editors, USA:
American Cinema Foundation, USA:
ACS Awards
:
Cinema Audio Society, USA
Tim Philben (re-recording mixer)
Ross Davis (re-recording mixer)
Grover B. Helsley (re-recording mixer)
Sean Rush (production mixer)
Humanitas Prize
:
Motion Picture Sound Editors
:
TV Guide Awards:
Young Artist Awards:
.
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.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2"|DVD Name !! rowspan="2"|Ep# !! colspan="3"|Release Dates !! rowspan="2"|Extra features
|-
! Region 1 !! Region 2 !! Region 4
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Complete First Season
| style="text-align:center;"|22
| July 25, 2006
| October 16, 2006
| October 16, 2006
| style="text-align:left;"|Behind the Scenes Footage
Making Of Featurette
Episode Commentaries
Rare Un-aired episode Skeleton Crew
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Complete Second Season
| style="text-align:center;"|15
| November 7, 2006
| September 10, 2007
| August 16, 2007
| style="text-align:left;"|Behind the Scenes Footage
Making Of Featurette
Episode Commentaries
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Third Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| March 20, 2007
| June 24, 2008
| June 5, 2008
|
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Fourth Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| August 21, 2007
| October 22, 2008
| October 2, 2008
| style="text-align:left;"|Gag reel
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Fifth Season
| style="text-align:center;"|25
| January 29, 2008
| May 7, 2009
| May 7, 2009
| style="text-align:left;"|Gag reel
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Sixth Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| May 20, 2008
| September 14, 2009
| September 3, 2009
|
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Seventh Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| November 4, 2008
| March 22, 2010
| March 4, 2010
|
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Eighth Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| March 17, 2009
| June 21, 2010
| August 5, 2010
| style="text-align:left;"|Gag Reel
NCIS Pilot episodes Ice Queen & Meltdown
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Ninth Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| November 10, 2009
| September 20, 2010
| November 4, 2010
|
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Final Season
| style="text-align:center;"|22
| February 9, 2010
| June 29, 2011
| July 6, 2011
| style="text-align:left;"|JAG: The Final Goodbye
|}
'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).
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
Network Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
(now CBS Television Studios) and, for the first season only, NBC Productions. Originally conceived as Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
meets A Few Good Men
A Few Good Men (film)
A Few Good Men is a 1992 drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore. It was adapted for the screen by Aaron Sorkin from his play of the same name. A courtroom drama, the film revolves around the trial of two U.S...
, 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
Network change
The term network change refers to the phenomenon in which a television series moves from one network to another. Generally this term only refers to original episodes of a series; repeats of a long-running series will usually be picked up by other channels in syndication, often before the series...
, rival network CBS picked up the series for a midseason replacement
Midseason replacement
In American and Canadian television, a midseason replacement is a television series that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between January and May...
, 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
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
, HDNet
HDNet
HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...
, and Sleuth. It also spawned the hit spinoff NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
.
It was one of the last Paramount-produced TV series to end under that name, prior to the firm becoming CBS Paramount Television.
Starring roles
| Name | |Occupation | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr. Harmon Rabb Captain Harmon 'Harm' Rabb, Jr., JAGC, USN, is a fictional and lead character in the American television series JAG.... |
David James Elliott David James Elliott David James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:... |
Captain, USN, JAGC | Main | |||||||||
| Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie Sarah MacKenzie Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, JAGC, USMC is one of the main characters in the JAG TV series.In her first appearance on the show and for several seasons, she holds the rank of Major USMC, but is then promoted to Lieutenant... |
Catherine Bell Catherine Bell Catherine Lisa Bell is an American actress known for her role of Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the television show JAG from 1997 to 2005... |
Lt. Col., USMC, JAGC | Main | |||||||||
| Meg Austin Meg Austin Lieutenant, Junior Grade Megan "Meg" Austin , is a main character in the first season of the television series JAG portrayed by actress Tracey Needham.-Character Biography:... |
Tracey Needham Tracey Needham Tracey Needham is a Texas-born American actress best known as Paige Thatcher on Life Goes On during the series' second to fourth seasons , and then on the first season of JAG as Lt. Meg Austin .-Biography:... |
Lt. JG., USN, JAGC | Main | |||||||||
| Bud J. Roberts, Jr. Bud Roberts Lieutenant Commander Bud J. Roberts, Jr. JAGC, USN is a character in the JAG TV series.-Story:Son of a retired Master Chief, Roberts joined the Navy, and as an Ensign was assigned to sea duty aboard the USS Seahawk as the Public Affairs officer under Captain Ross. It was during this role as the... |
Patrick Labyorteaux Patrick Labyorteaux Patrick Labyorteaux is an American actor. He is best known for his roles of Andrew Garvey on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie as well as Bud Roberts on the hit CBS series JAG.-Life and career:... |
Lt. Cmdr., USN, JAGC | Recurring | Main | ||||||||
| AJ Chegwidden | John M. Jackson John M. Jackson John Murice Jackson is an American actor, best known for playing Rear Admiral A. J. Chegwidden on the CBS series JAG.... |
Rear Admiral, JAGC | Recurring | Main | ||||||||
| Sturgis Turner Sturgis Turner Commander Peter Ulysses "Sturgis" Turner JAGC, USN was a character in the JAG TV series.-Biography:A good friend and former Naval Academy classmate of Harm, and a great rival in the courts. He served on submarines before becoming a lawyer and is the son of a Baptist Navy chaplain. Sturgis and Harm... |
Scott Lawrence Scott Lawrence Scott Lawrence is an American actor best known for his role as United States Naval JAG lawyer Cdr. Sturgis Turner on the CBS series JAG. Lawrence played the role from 2001 until 2005, when the series ended.-Career:... |
Cmdr., USN, JAGC | Recurring | Main | ||||||||
| Jennifer Coates | Zoe McLellan Zoe McLellan Zoe McLellan is an American actress who is mostly recognized for her roles as Petty Officer Jennifer Coates on JAG and as Lisa George on ABC's Dirty Sexy Money.-Biography:... |
Legalman First Class, USN | Recurring | Main | ||||||||
Cast overview
David James ElliottDavid James Elliott
David James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:...
stars as LT/LCDR/CDR/CAPT Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr.
Harmon Rabb
Captain Harmon 'Harm' Rabb, Jr., JAGC, USN, is a fictional and lead character in the American television series JAG....
, a USN JAG Lawyer, who is partnered at first with LTJG/CDR Caitlin Pike
Caitlin Pike
Andrea Parker portrayed Commander Caitlin "Kate" Pike, USN in episodes A New Life, A New Life Part 2, Brig Break, Ares and Touch and Go...
played by Andrea Parker
Andrea Parker
Andrea Nicole Parker is an American actress and former ballet dancer.-Career:Parker began ballet training at age 6 and at age 15 she joined a professional dance company. She quit her career in ballet after three years of touring and trained to become an actress while working as a bartender...
, 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
Meg Austin
Lieutenant, Junior Grade Megan "Meg" Austin , is a main character in the first season of the television series JAG portrayed by actress Tracey Needham.-Character Biography:...
played by Tracey Needham
Tracey Needham
Tracey Needham is a Texas-born American actress best known as Paige Thatcher on Life Goes On during the series' second to fourth seasons , and then on the first season of JAG as Lt. Meg Austin .-Biography:...
, 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
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie
Sarah MacKenzie
Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, JAGC, USMC is one of the main characters in the JAG TV series.In her first appearance on the show and for several seasons, she holds the rank of Major USMC, but is then promoted to Lieutenant...
, played by Catherine Bell
Catherine Bell
Catherine Lisa Bell is an American actress known for her role of Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the television show JAG from 1997 to 2005...
, who was later his fiancée. Other cast members included LCDR
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
Bud Roberts
Bud Roberts
Lieutenant Commander Bud J. Roberts, Jr. JAGC, USN is a character in the JAG TV series.-Story:Son of a retired Master Chief, Roberts joined the Navy, and as an Ensign was assigned to sea duty aboard the USS Seahawk as the Public Affairs officer under Captain Ross. It was during this role as the...
(played by Patrick Labyorteaux
Patrick Labyorteaux
Patrick Labyorteaux is an American actor. He is best known for his roles of Andrew Garvey on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie as well as Bud Roberts on the hit CBS series JAG.-Life and career:...
), first a Public Affairs Officer (PAO) on the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
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
Karri Turner
Karri Kathleen Turner is an American television actress who is best known for playing Lieutenant Harriet Sims on the television series JAG .Turner was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Bentonville, Arkansas...
, 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
Trekkie
A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the Star Trek franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise.-History:In 1967, science fiction editor Arthur W...
, fascinated by the paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
, 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
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
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
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
and later was able to return to limited active duty with a prosthetic leg.
Nanci Chambers
Nanci Chambers
Nanci Chambers is a Canadian/American actress who was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. She is perhaps best known for her role as the ambitious Lieutenant Loren Singer on the television series JAG. Chambers married David James Elliott, a fellow Canadian and her co-star on JAG, in 1992. Both...
, 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
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
).
Trevor Goddard
Trevor Goddard
Trevor Goddard was an English actor. He played Kano in the first Mortal Kombat movie and Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby on JAG.-Career:Goddard was born in Croydon, Surrey, England, in 1962...
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
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
Tarawa class amphibious assault ship
The Tarawa class is a ship class of amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy . Five ships were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding between 1971 and 1980; another four ships were planned, but later cancelled...
, Ticonderoga class cruisers
Ticonderoga class cruiser
The Ticonderoga class of missile cruisers is a class of warships in the United States Navy, first ordered and authorized in FY 1978. The class uses phased-array radar and was originally planned as a class of destroyers...
, Arleigh Burke class destroyers
Arleigh Burke class destroyer
The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers is the United States Navy's first class of destroyer built around the Aegis combat system and the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh "31-Knot" Burke, the most famous American destroyer officer of...
(in particular the USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51)
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51)
The USS Arleigh Burke , named for Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN , is the lead ship of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers. She was laid down by the Bath Iron Works company at Bath, Maine, on 6 December 1988, and launched on 16 September 1989 by Mrs. Arleigh Burke...
itself during the opening credit montage), and Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates
Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate
The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of frigates named after the American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie...
. In one of the episodes, the Spanish
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
frigate SPS Santa María (F81)
SPS Santa María (F81)
SPS Santa María is the lead ship of six Spanish-built s, based on the American design, of the Spanish Navy.Laid down on 22 May 1982 and launched on 11 November 1984, the Santa María was commissioned into service on 12 October 1986....
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
David James Elliott
David James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:...
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
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
star Chris Beetem
Chris Beetem
Chris Beetem is an American television and film actor.-Filmography:* One Tree Hill — Ethan Copeland* One Life to Live — Tate Harmon...
). 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
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
: 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
Challenge coin
A challenge coin is a small coin or medallion , bearing an organization’s insignia or emblem and carried by the organization’s members. They are given to prove membership when challenged and to enhance morale. In addition, they are also collected by service members.- Origins of the 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-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
in a two-part episode in which Rabb is accused of the murder of Lieutenant Singer. The two episodes, titled "Ice Queen
Ice Queen (JAG)
"Ice Queen" is an episode of the television series JAG and the first part of the pilot for its spin-off NCIS.-Synopsis:The Naval Criminal Investigative Service team is called to investigate the mysterious death of a Judge Advocate who is discovered by a boy scout searching for a stray arrow...
" 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
Alicia Coppola
Alicia Coppola is an American television actress.-Career:Coppola started her TV career as a hostess on the MTV game show Remote Control. In 1991, she was hired to play vixen Lorna Devon on the soap opera Another World; she played the role until 1994...
appeared in her JAG role of Lieutenant Commander Faith Coleman in several episodes and Adam Baldwin
Adam Baldwin
Adam Baldwin is an American actor, known for his roles as Animal Mother in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Ricky Linderman in My Bodyguard, Knowle Rohrer in The X-Files, and Marcus Hamilton in Joss Whedon's Angel...
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
Michael Bellisario
Michael Angelo Bellisario is an American actor and the son of scriptwriter and producer Donald P. Bellisario.Bellisario has mostly had parts in series produced by his father, he played Midshipman Michael "Mikey" Roberts in JAG and also appeared during the first part of NCIS season 3 as Charles...
, who played Mike Roberts on JAG, appeared as Assistant Forensic Technician Charles "Chip" Sterling, and Steven Culp
Steven Culp
Steven Bradford Culp is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Rex Van de Kamp in the television series Desperate Housewives and CIA Agent Clayton Webb in JAG.-Early life:...
, 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.
| Season | Season premiere | Season finale | 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 | 1996–1997 | #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
{| class="infobox" style="width: 25em; text-align: left; font-size: 90%; vertical-align: middle;"|+ Awards and nominations for JAG
|-
colspan=3
JAG (the American military acronym for Judge Advocate General
Judge Advocate General's Corps
Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, refers to the legal branch or specialty of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called Judge Advocates. The Marine Corps and Coast Guard do not maintain separate JAG Corps...
) is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
Network Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
(now CBS Television Studios) and, for the first season only, NBC Productions. Originally conceived as Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
meets A Few Good Men
A Few Good Men (film)
A Few Good Men is a 1992 drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore. It was adapted for the screen by Aaron Sorkin from his play of the same name. A courtroom drama, the film revolves around the trial of two U.S...
, 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
Network change
The term network change refers to the phenomenon in which a television series moves from one network to another. Generally this term only refers to original episodes of a series; repeats of a long-running series will usually be picked up by other channels in syndication, often before the series...
, rival network CBS picked up the series for a midseason replacement
Midseason replacement
In American and Canadian television, a midseason replacement is a television series that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between January and May...
, 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
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
, HDNet
HDNet
HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...
, and Sleuth. It also spawned the hit spinoff NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
.
It was one of the last Paramount-produced TV series to end under that name, prior to the firm becoming CBS Paramount Television.
Starring roles
{| class="wikitable"! rowspan="2"|Name !! rowspan="2"|Portrayed by !! rowspan="2"|Occupation !! colspan="11"|Seasons
|-
! width="5%"| 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 "Harm" Rabb, Jr.
Harmon Rabb
Captain Harmon 'Harm' Rabb, Jr., JAGC, USN, is a fictional and lead character in the American television series JAG....
|| David James Elliott
David James Elliott
David James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:...
|| Captain, USN, JAGC || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="10" align="center"| Main
|-
| Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie
Sarah MacKenzie
Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, JAGC, USMC is one of the main characters in the JAG TV series.In her first appearance on the show and for several seasons, she holds the rank of Major USMC, but is then promoted to Lieutenant...
|| Catherine Bell
Catherine Bell
Catherine Lisa Bell is an American actress known for her role of Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the television show JAG from 1997 to 2005...
|| Lt. Col., USMC, JAGC || colspan="1" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="9" align="center"| Main
|-
| Meg Austin
Meg Austin
Lieutenant, Junior Grade Megan "Meg" Austin , is a main character in the first season of the television series JAG portrayed by actress Tracey Needham.-Character Biography:...
|| Tracey Needham
Tracey Needham
Tracey Needham is a Texas-born American actress best known as Paige Thatcher on Life Goes On during the series' second to fourth seasons , and then on the first season of JAG as Lt. Meg Austin .-Biography:...
|| Lt. JG., USN, JAGC || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main || colspan="9" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" |
|-
| Bud J. Roberts, Jr.
Bud Roberts
Lieutenant Commander Bud J. Roberts, Jr. JAGC, USN is a character in the JAG TV series.-Story:Son of a retired Master Chief, Roberts joined the Navy, and as an Ensign was assigned to sea duty aboard the USS Seahawk as the Public Affairs officer under Captain Ross. It was during this role as the...
|| Patrick Labyorteaux
Patrick Labyorteaux
Patrick Labyorteaux is an American actor. He is best known for his roles of Andrew Garvey on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie as well as Bud Roberts on the hit CBS series JAG.-Life and career:...
|| Lt. Cmdr., USN, JAGC || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="1" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="9" align="center"| Main
|-
| AJ Chegwidden || John M. Jackson
John M. Jackson
John Murice Jackson is an American actor, best known for playing Rear Admiral A. J. Chegwidden on the CBS series JAG....
|| Rear Admiral, JAGC || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="1" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="8" align="center"| Main || colspan="1" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" |
|-
| Sturgis Turner
Sturgis Turner
Commander Peter Ulysses "Sturgis" Turner JAGC, USN was a character in the JAG TV series.-Biography:A good friend and former Naval Academy classmate of Harm, and a great rival in the courts. He served on submarines before becoming a lawyer and is the son of a Baptist Navy chaplain. Sturgis and Harm...
|| Scott Lawrence
Scott Lawrence
Scott Lawrence is an American actor best known for his role as United States Naval JAG lawyer Cdr. Sturgis Turner on the CBS series JAG. Lawrence played the role from 2001 until 2005, when the series ended.-Career:...
|| Cmdr., USN, JAGC || colspan="6" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="3" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main
|-
| Jennifer Coates || Zoe McLellan
Zoe McLellan
Zoe McLellan is an American actress who is mostly recognized for her roles as Petty Officer Jennifer Coates on JAG and as Lisa George on ABC's Dirty Sexy Money.-Biography:...
|| Legalman First Class, USN || colspan="6" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="3" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main
|-
|}
Cast overview
David James ElliottDavid James Elliott
David James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:...
stars as LT/LCDR/CDR/CAPT Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr.
Harmon Rabb
Captain Harmon 'Harm' Rabb, Jr., JAGC, USN, is a fictional and lead character in the American television series JAG....
, a USN JAG Lawyer, who is partnered at first with LTJG/CDR Caitlin Pike
Caitlin Pike
Andrea Parker portrayed Commander Caitlin "Kate" Pike, USN in episodes A New Life, A New Life Part 2, Brig Break, Ares and Touch and Go...
played by Andrea Parker
Andrea Parker
Andrea Nicole Parker is an American actress and former ballet dancer.-Career:Parker began ballet training at age 6 and at age 15 she joined a professional dance company. She quit her career in ballet after three years of touring and trained to become an actress while working as a bartender...
, 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
Meg Austin
Lieutenant, Junior Grade Megan "Meg" Austin , is a main character in the first season of the television series JAG portrayed by actress Tracey Needham.-Character Biography:...
played by Tracey Needham
Tracey Needham
Tracey Needham is a Texas-born American actress best known as Paige Thatcher on Life Goes On during the series' second to fourth seasons , and then on the first season of JAG as Lt. Meg Austin .-Biography:...
, 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
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie
Sarah MacKenzie
Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, JAGC, USMC is one of the main characters in the JAG TV series.In her first appearance on the show and for several seasons, she holds the rank of Major USMC, but is then promoted to Lieutenant...
, played by Catherine Bell
Catherine Bell
Catherine Lisa Bell is an American actress known for her role of Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the television show JAG from 1997 to 2005...
, who was later his fiancée. Other cast members included LCDR
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
Bud Roberts
Bud Roberts
Lieutenant Commander Bud J. Roberts, Jr. JAGC, USN is a character in the JAG TV series.-Story:Son of a retired Master Chief, Roberts joined the Navy, and as an Ensign was assigned to sea duty aboard the USS Seahawk as the Public Affairs officer under Captain Ross. It was during this role as the...
(played by Patrick Labyorteaux
Patrick Labyorteaux
Patrick Labyorteaux is an American actor. He is best known for his roles of Andrew Garvey on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie as well as Bud Roberts on the hit CBS series JAG.-Life and career:...
), first a Public Affairs Officer (PAO) on the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
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
Karri Turner
Karri Kathleen Turner is an American television actress who is best known for playing Lieutenant Harriet Sims on the television series JAG .Turner was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Bentonville, Arkansas...
, 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
Trekkie
A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the Star Trek franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise.-History:In 1967, science fiction editor Arthur W...
, fascinated by the paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
, 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
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
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
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
and later was able to return to limited active duty with a prosthetic leg.
Nanci Chambers
Nanci Chambers
Nanci Chambers is a Canadian/American actress who was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. She is perhaps best known for her role as the ambitious Lieutenant Loren Singer on the television series JAG. Chambers married David James Elliott, a fellow Canadian and her co-star on JAG, in 1992. Both...
, 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
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
).
Trevor Goddard
Trevor Goddard
Trevor Goddard was an English actor. He played Kano in the first Mortal Kombat movie and Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby on JAG.-Career:Goddard was born in Croydon, Surrey, England, in 1962...
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
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
Tarawa class amphibious assault ship
The Tarawa class is a ship class of amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy . Five ships were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding between 1971 and 1980; another four ships were planned, but later cancelled...
, Ticonderoga class cruisers
Ticonderoga class cruiser
The Ticonderoga class of missile cruisers is a class of warships in the United States Navy, first ordered and authorized in FY 1978. The class uses phased-array radar and was originally planned as a class of destroyers...
, Arleigh Burke class destroyers
Arleigh Burke class destroyer
The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers is the United States Navy's first class of destroyer built around the Aegis combat system and the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh "31-Knot" Burke, the most famous American destroyer officer of...
(in particular the USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51)
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51)
The USS Arleigh Burke , named for Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN , is the lead ship of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers. She was laid down by the Bath Iron Works company at Bath, Maine, on 6 December 1988, and launched on 16 September 1989 by Mrs. Arleigh Burke...
itself during the opening credit montage), and Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates
Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate
The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of frigates named after the American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie...
. In one of the episodes, the Spanish
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
frigate SPS Santa María (F81)
SPS Santa María (F81)
SPS Santa María is the lead ship of six Spanish-built s, based on the American design, of the Spanish Navy.Laid down on 22 May 1982 and launched on 11 November 1984, the Santa María was commissioned into service on 12 October 1986....
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
David James Elliott
David James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:...
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
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
star Chris Beetem
Chris Beetem
Chris Beetem is an American television and film actor.-Filmography:* One Tree Hill — Ethan Copeland* One Life to Live — Tate Harmon...
). 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
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
: 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
Challenge coin
A challenge coin is a small coin or medallion , bearing an organization’s insignia or emblem and carried by the organization’s members. They are given to prove membership when challenged and to enhance morale. In addition, they are also collected by service members.- Origins of the 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-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
in a two-part episode in which Rabb is accused of the murder of Lieutenant Singer. The two episodes, titled "Ice Queen
Ice Queen (JAG)
"Ice Queen" is an episode of the television series JAG and the first part of the pilot for its spin-off NCIS.-Synopsis:The Naval Criminal Investigative Service team is called to investigate the mysterious death of a Judge Advocate who is discovered by a boy scout searching for a stray arrow...
" 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
Alicia Coppola
Alicia Coppola is an American television actress.-Career:Coppola started her TV career as a hostess on the MTV game show Remote Control. In 1991, she was hired to play vixen Lorna Devon on the soap opera Another World; she played the role until 1994...
appeared in her JAG role of Lieutenant Commander Faith Coleman in several episodes and Adam Baldwin
Adam Baldwin
Adam Baldwin is an American actor, known for his roles as Animal Mother in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Ricky Linderman in My Bodyguard, Knowle Rohrer in The X-Files, and Marcus Hamilton in Joss Whedon's Angel...
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
Michael Bellisario
Michael Angelo Bellisario is an American actor and the son of scriptwriter and producer Donald P. Bellisario.Bellisario has mostly had parts in series produced by his father, he played Midshipman Michael "Mikey" Roberts in JAG and also appeared during the first part of NCIS season 3 as Charles...
, who played Mike Roberts on JAG, appeared as Assistant Forensic Technician Charles "Chip" Sterling, and Steven Culp
Steven Culp
Steven Bradford Culp is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Rex Van de Kamp in the television series Desperate Housewives and CIA Agent Clayton Webb in JAG.-Early life:...
, 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
{| class="infobox" style="width: 25em; text-align: left; font-size: 90%; vertical-align: middle;"|+ Awards and nominations for JAG
|-
colspan=3
JAG (the American military acronym for Judge Advocate General
Judge Advocate General's Corps
Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, refers to the legal branch or specialty of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called Judge Advocates. The Marine Corps and Coast Guard do not maintain separate JAG Corps...
) is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
Network Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
(now CBS Television Studios) and, for the first season only, NBC Productions. Originally conceived as Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
meets A Few Good Men
A Few Good Men (film)
A Few Good Men is a 1992 drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore. It was adapted for the screen by Aaron Sorkin from his play of the same name. A courtroom drama, the film revolves around the trial of two U.S...
, 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
Network change
The term network change refers to the phenomenon in which a television series moves from one network to another. Generally this term only refers to original episodes of a series; repeats of a long-running series will usually be picked up by other channels in syndication, often before the series...
, rival network CBS picked up the series for a midseason replacement
Midseason replacement
In American and Canadian television, a midseason replacement is a television series that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between January and May...
, 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
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
, HDNet
HDNet
HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...
, and Sleuth. It also spawned the hit spinoff NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
.
It was one of the last Paramount-produced TV series to end under that name, prior to the firm becoming CBS Paramount Television.
Starring roles
{| class="wikitable"! rowspan="2"|Name !! rowspan="2"|Portrayed by !! rowspan="2"|Occupation !! colspan="11"|Seasons
|-
! width="5%"| 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 "Harm" Rabb, Jr.
Harmon Rabb
Captain Harmon 'Harm' Rabb, Jr., JAGC, USN, is a fictional and lead character in the American television series JAG....
|| David James Elliott
David James Elliott
David James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:...
|| Captain, USN, JAGC || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="10" align="center"| Main
|-
| Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie
Sarah MacKenzie
Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, JAGC, USMC is one of the main characters in the JAG TV series.In her first appearance on the show and for several seasons, she holds the rank of Major USMC, but is then promoted to Lieutenant...
|| Catherine Bell
Catherine Bell
Catherine Lisa Bell is an American actress known for her role of Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the television show JAG from 1997 to 2005...
|| Lt. Col., USMC, JAGC || colspan="1" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="9" align="center"| Main
|-
| Meg Austin
Meg Austin
Lieutenant, Junior Grade Megan "Meg" Austin , is a main character in the first season of the television series JAG portrayed by actress Tracey Needham.-Character Biography:...
|| Tracey Needham
Tracey Needham
Tracey Needham is a Texas-born American actress best known as Paige Thatcher on Life Goes On during the series' second to fourth seasons , and then on the first season of JAG as Lt. Meg Austin .-Biography:...
|| Lt. JG., USN, JAGC || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main || colspan="9" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" |
|-
| Bud J. Roberts, Jr.
Bud Roberts
Lieutenant Commander Bud J. Roberts, Jr. JAGC, USN is a character in the JAG TV series.-Story:Son of a retired Master Chief, Roberts joined the Navy, and as an Ensign was assigned to sea duty aboard the USS Seahawk as the Public Affairs officer under Captain Ross. It was during this role as the...
|| Patrick Labyorteaux
Patrick Labyorteaux
Patrick Labyorteaux is an American actor. He is best known for his roles of Andrew Garvey on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie as well as Bud Roberts on the hit CBS series JAG.-Life and career:...
|| Lt. Cmdr., USN, JAGC || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="1" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="9" align="center"| Main
|-
| AJ Chegwidden || John M. Jackson
John M. Jackson
John Murice Jackson is an American actor, best known for playing Rear Admiral A. J. Chegwidden on the CBS series JAG....
|| Rear Admiral, JAGC || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="1" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="8" align="center"| Main || colspan="1" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" |
|-
| Sturgis Turner
Sturgis Turner
Commander Peter Ulysses "Sturgis" Turner JAGC, USN was a character in the JAG TV series.-Biography:A good friend and former Naval Academy classmate of Harm, and a great rival in the courts. He served on submarines before becoming a lawyer and is the son of a Baptist Navy chaplain. Sturgis and Harm...
|| Scott Lawrence
Scott Lawrence
Scott Lawrence is an American actor best known for his role as United States Naval JAG lawyer Cdr. Sturgis Turner on the CBS series JAG. Lawrence played the role from 2001 until 2005, when the series ended.-Career:...
|| Cmdr., USN, JAGC || colspan="6" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="3" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main
|-
| Jennifer Coates || Zoe McLellan
Zoe McLellan
Zoe McLellan is an American actress who is mostly recognized for her roles as Petty Officer Jennifer Coates on JAG and as Lisa George on ABC's Dirty Sexy Money.-Biography:...
|| Legalman First Class, USN || colspan="6" style="background: #ececec; color: grey; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | || style="background: #ffdddd" colspan="3" align="center"|Recurring || style="background: #ddffdd" colspan="1" align="center"| Main
|-
|}
Cast overview
David James ElliottDavid James Elliott
David James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:...
stars as LT/LCDR/CDR/CAPT Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr.
Harmon Rabb
Captain Harmon 'Harm' Rabb, Jr., JAGC, USN, is a fictional and lead character in the American television series JAG....
, a USN JAG Lawyer, who is partnered at first with LTJG/CDR Caitlin Pike
Caitlin Pike
Andrea Parker portrayed Commander Caitlin "Kate" Pike, USN in episodes A New Life, A New Life Part 2, Brig Break, Ares and Touch and Go...
played by Andrea Parker
Andrea Parker
Andrea Nicole Parker is an American actress and former ballet dancer.-Career:Parker began ballet training at age 6 and at age 15 she joined a professional dance company. She quit her career in ballet after three years of touring and trained to become an actress while working as a bartender...
, 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
Meg Austin
Lieutenant, Junior Grade Megan "Meg" Austin , is a main character in the first season of the television series JAG portrayed by actress Tracey Needham.-Character Biography:...
played by Tracey Needham
Tracey Needham
Tracey Needham is a Texas-born American actress best known as Paige Thatcher on Life Goes On during the series' second to fourth seasons , and then on the first season of JAG as Lt. Meg Austin .-Biography:...
, 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
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie
Sarah MacKenzie
Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, JAGC, USMC is one of the main characters in the JAG TV series.In her first appearance on the show and for several seasons, she holds the rank of Major USMC, but is then promoted to Lieutenant...
, played by Catherine Bell
Catherine Bell
Catherine Lisa Bell is an American actress known for her role of Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the television show JAG from 1997 to 2005...
, who was later his fiancée. Other cast members included LCDR
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
Bud Roberts
Bud Roberts
Lieutenant Commander Bud J. Roberts, Jr. JAGC, USN is a character in the JAG TV series.-Story:Son of a retired Master Chief, Roberts joined the Navy, and as an Ensign was assigned to sea duty aboard the USS Seahawk as the Public Affairs officer under Captain Ross. It was during this role as the...
(played by Patrick Labyorteaux
Patrick Labyorteaux
Patrick Labyorteaux is an American actor. He is best known for his roles of Andrew Garvey on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie as well as Bud Roberts on the hit CBS series JAG.-Life and career:...
), first a Public Affairs Officer (PAO) on the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
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
Karri Turner
Karri Kathleen Turner is an American television actress who is best known for playing Lieutenant Harriet Sims on the television series JAG .Turner was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Bentonville, Arkansas...
, 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
Trekkie
A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the Star Trek franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise.-History:In 1967, science fiction editor Arthur W...
, fascinated by the paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
, 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
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
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
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
and later was able to return to limited active duty with a prosthetic leg.
Nanci Chambers
Nanci Chambers
Nanci Chambers is a Canadian/American actress who was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. She is perhaps best known for her role as the ambitious Lieutenant Loren Singer on the television series JAG. Chambers married David James Elliott, a fellow Canadian and her co-star on JAG, in 1992. Both...
, 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
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
).
Trevor Goddard
Trevor Goddard
Trevor Goddard was an English actor. He played Kano in the first Mortal Kombat movie and Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby on JAG.-Career:Goddard was born in Croydon, Surrey, England, in 1962...
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
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
Tarawa class amphibious assault ship
The Tarawa class is a ship class of amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy . Five ships were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding between 1971 and 1980; another four ships were planned, but later cancelled...
, Ticonderoga class cruisers
Ticonderoga class cruiser
The Ticonderoga class of missile cruisers is a class of warships in the United States Navy, first ordered and authorized in FY 1978. The class uses phased-array radar and was originally planned as a class of destroyers...
, Arleigh Burke class destroyers
Arleigh Burke class destroyer
The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers is the United States Navy's first class of destroyer built around the Aegis combat system and the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh "31-Knot" Burke, the most famous American destroyer officer of...
(in particular the USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51)
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51)
The USS Arleigh Burke , named for Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN , is the lead ship of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers. She was laid down by the Bath Iron Works company at Bath, Maine, on 6 December 1988, and launched on 16 September 1989 by Mrs. Arleigh Burke...
itself during the opening credit montage), and Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates
Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate
The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of frigates named after the American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie...
. In one of the episodes, the Spanish
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
frigate SPS Santa María (F81)
SPS Santa María (F81)
SPS Santa María is the lead ship of six Spanish-built s, based on the American design, of the Spanish Navy.Laid down on 22 May 1982 and launched on 11 November 1984, the Santa María was commissioned into service on 12 October 1986....
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
David James Elliott
David James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:...
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
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
star Chris Beetem
Chris Beetem
Chris Beetem is an American television and film actor.-Filmography:* One Tree Hill — Ethan Copeland* One Life to Live — Tate Harmon...
). 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
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
: 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
Challenge coin
A challenge coin is a small coin or medallion , bearing an organization’s insignia or emblem and carried by the organization’s members. They are given to prove membership when challenged and to enhance morale. In addition, they are also collected by service members.- Origins of the 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-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
in a two-part episode in which Rabb is accused of the murder of Lieutenant Singer. The two episodes, titled "Ice Queen
Ice Queen (JAG)
"Ice Queen" is an episode of the television series JAG and the first part of the pilot for its spin-off NCIS.-Synopsis:The Naval Criminal Investigative Service team is called to investigate the mysterious death of a Judge Advocate who is discovered by a boy scout searching for a stray arrow...
" 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
Alicia Coppola
Alicia Coppola is an American television actress.-Career:Coppola started her TV career as a hostess on the MTV game show Remote Control. In 1991, she was hired to play vixen Lorna Devon on the soap opera Another World; she played the role until 1994...
appeared in her JAG role of Lieutenant Commander Faith Coleman in several episodes and Adam Baldwin
Adam Baldwin
Adam Baldwin is an American actor, known for his roles as Animal Mother in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Ricky Linderman in My Bodyguard, Knowle Rohrer in The X-Files, and Marcus Hamilton in Joss Whedon's Angel...
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
Michael Bellisario
Michael Angelo Bellisario is an American actor and the son of scriptwriter and producer Donald P. Bellisario.Bellisario has mostly had parts in series produced by his father, he played Midshipman Michael "Mikey" Roberts in JAG and also appeared during the first part of NCIS season 3 as Charles...
, who played Mike Roberts on JAG, appeared as Assistant Forensic Technician Charles "Chip" Sterling, and Steven Culp
Steven Culp
Steven Bradford Culp is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Rex Van de Kamp in the television series Desperate Housewives and CIA Agent Clayton Webb in JAG.-Early life:...
, 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
{| class="infobox" style="width: 25em; text-align: left; font-size: 90%; vertical-align: middle;"|+ Awards and nominations for JAG
|-
colspan=3
class="collapsible collapsed" width=100%
! colspan=3 style="background-color: #D9E8FF; text-align: center;" Awards & Nominations
-
|- bgcolor=#D9E8FF
| style="text-align:center;" | Award
| style="text-align:center;background: #cceecc;text-size:0.9em" width=50| Won
| style="text-align:center;background: #ffccdd;text-size:0.9em" width=50| Nominated
|- bgcolor=#eeeeff
|align="center"|
BMI Film & TV Awards
|
|
|- bgcolor=#ddddff
|align="center"|
Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s
|
|
|- bgcolor=#eeeeff
|align="center"|
Genesis Awards
Genesis Awards
The Genesis Awards are awarded annually to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by The Humane Society of the United States, the awards show takes place every March in California...
|
|
|- bgcolor=#ddddff
|align="center"|
TV Land Awards
|
|
|- bgcolor=#eeeeff
|align="center"|
Young Artist Awards
|
|
}
|- bgcolor=#D9E8FF
|align="center" colspan="3"|
Total number of wins and nominations
|- bgcolor=#D9E8FF
|align="center"|Totals
|
|
|- bgcolor=#D9E8FF
| colspan="3" style="font-size: smaller; text-align:center;" | Footnotes
|}
Emmy Awards
{| class="wikitable"|-
! width="3.5%" | Year
! width="30%" | Category
! Nominee
! width="18%" | Episode
! width="3.5%" | Result
|-
| 1996
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Editing for a Series - Single Camera Production
| Jon Koslowsky
| "Pilot Episode"
|
|-
| 1996
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costuming for a Series
| L. Paul Dafelmair
| "Smoked"
|
|-
| 1996
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music
| Bruce Broughton
Bruce Broughton
Bruce Broughton is a film, video game, and television soundtrack composer who has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career, including American music classics such as "Homeward Bound," "Silverado", "Tombstone," and wonderfully lyric music for "Miracle on 34th...
| N/A
|
|-
| 1997
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costuming for a Series
| L. Paul Dafelmair
| "Cowboys and Cossacks"
|
|-
| 1998
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Series
| Hugo Cortina
| "The Good Of The Service"
|
|-
| 1999
| Outstanding Costuming for a Series
| L. Paul Dafelmair
| "Gypsy Eyes"
|
|-
| 1999
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Series
| Hugo Cortina
| "Gypsy Eyes"
|
|-
| 2000
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series
| Hugo Cortina
| "Boomerang, part II"
|
|-
| 2001
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series
| Hugo Cortina
| "Adrift, part I"
|
|-
| 2002
| Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)
| Steven Bramson
| "Adrift, part 2"
|
|-
| 2003
| Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)
| Steven Bramson
| "Need To Know"
|
|-
|}
Additional Awards
ASCAP Award:- Top TV Series (x2) – 2004
- Top TV Series – 2003
- Top TV Series (x2) – 2000
Imagen Foundation Awards:
- Primetime Television Series (episode "Retreat Hell") – 2001
TV Guide Awards:
- Favorite Actor in a Drama (David James ElliottDavid James ElliottDavid James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:...
) – 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 BroughtonBruce BroughtonBruce Broughton is a film, video game, and television soundtrack composer who has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career, including American music classics such as "Homeward Bound," "Silverado", "Tombstone," and wonderfully lyric music for "Miracle on 34th...
- 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
American Society of Cinematographers
The American Society of Cinematographers is an educational, cultural, and professional organization. It is not a labor union, and it is not a guild. Membership is by invitation and is extended only to directors of photography and special effects experts with distinguished credits in the film...
:
- 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
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
:
- 60 Minute Category (episode "Angels 30") – 1999
Motion Picture Sound Editors
Motion Picture Sound Editors
Founded in 1953, Motion Picture Sound Editors is an honorary society of motion picture sound editors. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound editors, show the artistic merit of the soundtracks, and improve the professional relationship of its...
:
- Best Sound Editing – Television Episodic – Sound Effects & Foley – 1999
TV Guide Awards:
- Actor of the Year in a Drama Series (David James ElliottDavid James ElliottDavid James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:...
) – 2001
Young Artist Awards:
- Best Performance in a TV Series – Recurring Young Actress (Hallee HirshHallee HirshHallee Leah Hirsh is an American actress known for her roles as Daley in the children's series Flight 29 Down and as the second actress to portray Rachel Greene on ER...
) – 2004 - Best Performance in a TV Drama Series – Guest Starring Young Actress (Aysia PolkAysia Polk- Background :Polk had a recurring role on American Dreams playing Angela Walker from 2002–2005, and on Six Feet Under playing Taylor from 2002-2003....
) – 2000
DVD and VHS releases
On September 1, 1998, the pilot episode of JAG was released on VHS in the U.S. by Paramount Home EntertainmentParamount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment is the division of Paramount Pictures dealing with home video founded in late 1975.-History:...
.
CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment is the division of Paramount Pictures dealing with home video founded in late 1975.-History:...
) 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.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2"|DVD Name !! rowspan="2"|Ep# !! colspan="3"|Release Dates !! rowspan="2"|Extra features
|-
! Region 1 !! Region 2 !! Region 4
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Complete First Season
| style="text-align:center;"|22
| July 25, 2006
| October 16, 2006
| October 16, 2006
| style="text-align:left;"|Behind the Scenes Footage
Making Of Featurette
Episode Commentaries
Rare Un-aired episode Skeleton Crew
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Complete Second Season
| style="text-align:center;"|15
| November 7, 2006
| September 10, 2007
| August 16, 2007
| style="text-align:left;"|Behind the Scenes Footage
Making Of Featurette
Episode Commentaries
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Third Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| March 20, 2007
| June 24, 2008
| June 5, 2008
|
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Fourth Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| August 21, 2007
| October 22, 2008
| October 2, 2008
| style="text-align:left;"|Gag reel
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Fifth Season
| style="text-align:center;"|25
| January 29, 2008
| May 7, 2009
| May 7, 2009
| style="text-align:left;"|Gag reel
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Sixth Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| May 20, 2008
| September 14, 2009
| September 3, 2009
|
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Seventh Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| November 4, 2008
| March 22, 2010
| March 4, 2010
|
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Eighth Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| March 17, 2009
| June 21, 2010
| August 5, 2010
| style="text-align:left;"|Gag Reel
NCIS Pilot episodes Ice Queen & Meltdown
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Ninth Season
| style="text-align:center;"|24
| November 10, 2009
| September 20, 2010
| November 4, 2010
|
|- style="text-align:center;"
| The Final Season
| style="text-align:center;"|22
| February 9, 2010
| June 29, 2011
| July 6, 2011
| style="text-align:left;"|JAG: The Final Goodbye
|}
Soundtrack
On April 26, 2010, Intrada released an album of music from the series, featuring Bruce BroughtonBruce Broughton
Bruce Broughton is a film, video game, and television soundtrack composer who has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career, including American music classics such as "Homeward Bound," "Silverado", "Tombstone," and wonderfully lyric music for "Miracle on 34th...
'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