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JAG (the American Military acronym for Judge Advocate General) is an American adventure and drama television show, that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television. Originally conceived as Top Gun meets A Few Good Men, JAG was first aired on NBC in 1995, but later canceled in 1996 after finishing 77th in the ratings. With a network change, rival network CBS picked up the series and aired it for nine additional seasons until April 2005.

The series depicts JAG-Officers, though heavily romanticized, applying the stipulations of the UCMJ and International Law as well as providing conventional television melodrama. The show relied in its initial phase much on Hollywood military-prop suppliers and using existing stock footage from other well-known naval and military films, including Top Gun, The Hunt for Red October, and Clear and Present Danger. The Department of Defense later recognized the series' positive values and therefore granted official support, providing the producers access to military installations and equipment. It is so far the only television show to have been officially endorsed by both the US Navy and the US Marine Corps. The show regularly incorporated from its beginning real-life military actions into its storylines e.g. aftermath of the Bosnian War, the attack on the USS Cole, the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and the subsequent War on Terrorism. In the wake of the 9-11 attacks the show experienced a boost in the ratings and got a fixture on Nielsen's top 10.

Cast

Note: All military ranks given for currently used characters are their ranks as of the end of the series in April 2005. For characters that left the series, ranks given are their last known ranks.

The final ensemble cast centres on United States Navy Captain Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr., played by David James Elliott, and United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, played by Catherine Bell. Elliott's character was promoted to Captain in the second-to-last episode of the series. Their obvious attraction to each other, which must not be allowed to interfere with their professional relationship, is a long-running thematic element.

Elliott played the Rabb character from the start of the series in 1995. Rabb's original partner was Navy Lieutenant Caitlin Pike, played by Andrea Parker. She in turn left the series to star in The Pretender (she later returned as a guest star in the season 6 episode "Touch and Go"), to be replaced by Tracey Needham as Lieutenant Meg Austin. Needham left the series in 1996 and was replaced by Bell.

Other members of the cast included Lieutenant Commander Bud Roberts, played by Patrick Labyorteaux, a junior Judge Advocate, and his wife, Lieutenant Harriett Sims, played by Karri Turner, the administrative aide 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 nerd), together with his wife's maternal nature, were a frequent source of comic relief. The actress Nanci Chambers, wife of David James Elliott, played Lieutenant Loren Singer. She portrayed this character as a loathsome villainess to great acclaim. Singer was a sociopathic personality who schemed continually to further her ambitions at the expense of those around her. Especially praised was an episode in which Singer hurt fan-loved Harriet by using the death of her baby Sarah to discredit her testimony in court. In a later episode, however, Harriet got a measure of revenge by punching out Singer. Singer was murdered, with suspicion falling on Rabb, 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).

Judge Advocates General of the Navy in "JAG"

Recurring supporting cast

Guest cast

(Paul Parducci) as Special Forces Captain Perry

Final ending

In 2005, David James Elliott announced that he would leave the show to pursue other projects after not being offered a contract renewal from the show's producers. The show introduced new younger characters (including former As the World Turns star Chris Beetem) in an unsuccessful effort to stave off cancellation. Regardless, CBS announced the cancellation of the show after ten seasons on April 4, 2005, the final episode aired April 29. The final episode "Fair Winds and Following Seas" saw Harm and Mac being assigned to different posts: Harm in London, and Mac in San Diego, California. They finally confront their feelings and decide to get married. The episode ends with them tossing a JAG challenge coin to decide who will give up their career to be with the other. However, we never see the outcome, as the screen fades to black the face of the coin is showing, which says: "JAG 1995–2005".

Critical and Media Reception

Despite being a long running show with high audience ratings, JAG did only attract a modest share of media attention compared to other contemporary shows such as Alias, 24 and Sex and the City. One common explanation, mainly among conservatives, is that the established media has regarded the military in the post-Vietnam period generally in pejorative terms, whereas others would argue the lack of attention is due to the show's standard melodramatic lawyer show themes, simply set in a military environment. Another explanation common among the fans is that JAG never received enough advertising by Paramount and CBS.

NCIS spin-off

In 2003, the series spawned the spin-off NCIS. Whereas the JAG episodes were primarily oriented on courtroom drama, NCIS is more focused on criminal investigations.

Episodes

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

JAG around the world

Episodes of JAG are today widely shown in syndication on cable and satellite networks throughout the entire world. The following table, compromising 35 countries, displays on which networks JAG is aired, what local name it goes under and in which language version it is presented.
Country Local title English translation Broadcasters Language version
Argentina JAG - Universal Spanish language version, English language version (Only season 10)
Australia JAG - Seven Network & TV1 English language version
Austria JAG Im Auftrag der Ehre On Behalf of Honor SAT.1 Österreich German language version
Belgium JAG - VT4 & RTL-TVi Flemish subtitles (VT4) & French language version (RTL-TVi)
Brazil JAG - Universal Portuguese language version or English language version with portuguese subtitles
Bulgaria Военна прокуратура Military Prosecution Нова телевизия Bulgarian language version
Canada JAG - History Television English language version
Canada Jag - Historia French language version (Version française)
Chile JAG Justicia Militar Military Justice Universal ?
Croatia JAG - NOV@ TV Subtitled in Croatian
Czech Republic JAG - TV Nova Czech language version
Denmark Interne Affærer Internal Affairs TV3 & TV3+ Subtitled in Danish
Finland Kunnian Miehet Men of Honor YLE TV2 Subtitled in Finnish
France JAG Juge Avocat General - France 2 French language version
Germany JAG - Im Auftrag der Ehre On Behalf of Honor SAT.1 & Kabel 1 German language version
Hong Kong JAG - Now TV (STAR World) English language version
Hungary JAG Becsületbeli Ügyek On Behalf of Honor TV2 Hungarian language version
India JAG - Star World English language version
Ireland JAG - Channel 6 English language version
Israel ג'אג JAG hot 3 Subtitled in Hebrew
Italy JAG Avvocati in divisa Lawyers in Uniform RAI & La7 Italian language version
Japan Hanzai-sosakan Navy File Criminal Investigator Navy File SkyPerfectTV SuperChannel Japanese and English language version
The Netherlands JAG - SBS 6 Subtitled in Dutch
New Zealand JAG - TV3 English language version
Nicaragua JAG Justicia Militar Military Justice Canal 2 Spanish language version
Norway JAG - TV3 & ZTV Subtitled in Norwegian
Poland JAG Wojskowe Biuro Śledcze Military Bureau of Investigation TVP1 & Polsatcurrently TV 4 Polish language version
Portugal JAG: Em Nome da Justiça In the Name of Justice AXN Subtitled in Portuguese
Slovenia JAG - POP TV Subtitled in Slovene
South Africa JAG - SABC 3 English language version
Spain JAG: Alerta Roja Red Alert Antena 3,cuatro & AXN Spanish language version
Sri Lanka JAG - ETV ?
Sweden På heder och samvete On Behalf of Honor and Conscience TV3 & ZTV Subtitled in Swedish
Switzerland JAG Im Auftrag der Ehre On Behalf of Honor SAT.1 Schweiz German language version
Ukraine Слідчі ВМФ Navy Investigators ? Russian language version
United Kingdom JAG - FX (UK) English language version
United States JAG - Original airing: NBC (season 1) & CBS (season 2-10)
Syndication: USA Network & Hallmark Channel 		English language version

JAG on VHS & DVD

The pilot-episode was released on VHS in the US during the 90's.

According to tvshowsondvd.com Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment has announced that 'JAG - Season One' will be released on to DVD in the US and Canada (Region 1) on July 25th, 2006. 'Skeleton Crew', the episode unaired during the series original, is included in the release.

The DVD will be released in Australia on 7 September, 2006.

DVD Name Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
JAG Season 1 July 25 2006 N/A September 7 2006

References

  • Robb, David L. (2004). Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies. 1st ed. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books.
  • Poniewozik, James & McDowell, Jeanne, "BATTLEFIELD PROMOTION," Time, 0040781X, 12/10/2001, Vol. 158, Issue 25 pp. 95-96.

  • Geier, Thomas & Weiner, Allison Hope, "NAVAL GAZING.", Entertainment Weekly, Issue 624 (2001-09-11), pp. 10-11.

See also

Paul Levine

External links

NBC network shows | CBS network shows | Drama television series | Military television series | 1990s TV shows in the United States | 2000s TV shows in the United States | JAG (TV series) | Legal television series | CBS Paramount Television shows | Seven Network shows | Television shows set in Washington, D.C.

Interne Affærer (tv-serie) | JAG – Im Auftrag der Ehre | JAG | Jag | ג'אג | JAG | 犯罪捜査官 ネイビーファイル | JAG | JAG (serial) | JAG | JAG - Vojenská generálna prokuratúra | På heder och samvete (TV-serie)

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "JAG".

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