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JAG

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JAG
Image:JAG.jpg </small>
Genre Adventure Drama
Running time 1 hour
Creator(s) Donald P. Bellisario
Starring David James Elliott
Catherine Bell
Patrick Labyorteaux
John M. Jackson
Country of origin Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
Original channel NBC (1995-1996)
CBS (1997-2005)
Original run September 23, 1995–April 29, 2005
No. of episodes 227
IMDb profile
TV.com summary
For other uses, see JAG (disambiguation).

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. In its initial phase, the show relied 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. From the beginning, the show regularly incorporated real-life military actions into its storylines, e.g. the aftermath of the Bosnian War, the attack on the USS Cole, the events of Terrorist attacks on America and the subsequent War on Terrorism. In the wake of the above attacks the show experienced a boost in ratings and got a fixture on Nielsen's top 10.

Contents

[edit] 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.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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 in the pilot was Navy Lieutenant Caitlin Pike, played by Andrea Parker. She in turn left the series to star in The Pretender (she later returned as a guest star in the season 1 episodes "Brig Break" and "Ares" and 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 from season 2 on.

Other members of the cast included Lieutenant Commander Bud Roberts, played by Patrick Labyorteaux, first a PAO on the aircraft carrier Seahawk, then later 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).

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Judge Advocates General of the Navy in "JAG"


[edit] Recurring supporting cast

[edit] Guest cast

(Paul Parducci) as Special Forces Captain Perry

[edit] Final ending

Harm and Mac watch the flip of the challenge coin that will determine who will resign his or her commission.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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".

[edit] Critical and Media Reception

Despite being a long running show with high audience ratings, JAG only attracted 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.

Some critics argue that JAG's basic premise portrayed a glorified view of the military, particularly the Navy and failed to attract younger viewers as it continued through each of its 10 seasons.

[edit] 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 the field criminal investigations. NCIS also follows a different storytelling format than JAG emphasizing character humor more than its parent program.

To date, two characters from JAG have appeared on NCIS: Patrick Labyorteaux reprised his role of Bud Roberts in the episode "Hung Out to Dry", while recurring guest star Alicia Coppola appeared in her JAG role of Lt. Cmdr. Faith Coleman in several episodes.

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.

[edit] Episodes

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

[edit] 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 40+ 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
Image:Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina JAG - Universal Spanish language version, English language version (Only season 10)
Image:Flag of Australia.svg Australia JAG - Seven Network & TV1 English language version
Image:Flag of Austria.svg Austria JAG Im Auftrag der Ehre On Behalf of Honor SAT.1 Österreich German language version
Image:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium JAG - VT4 & RTL-TVi Flemish subtitles (VT4) & French language version (RTL-TVi)
Image:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil JAG "Ases Invencíveis" - Universal Portuguese language version or English language version with Portuguese subtitles
Image:Flag of Bulgaria (bordered).svg Bulgaria Военна прокуратура Military Prosecution Nova Television Bulgarian language version
Image:Flag of Canada.svg Canada JAG - History Television English language version
Image:Flag of Canada.svg Canada Jag - Historia French language version (Version française)
Image:Flag of Chile (bordered).svg Chile JAG Justicia Militar Military Justice Universal  ?
Image:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia JAG - Nova TV Subtitled in Croatian
Image:Flag of the Czech Republic (bordered).svg Czech Republic JAG - TV Nova Czech language version
Image:Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark Interne Affærer Internal Affairs TV3 & TV3+ Subtitled in Danish
Image:Flag of Finland (bordered).svg Finland Kunnian Miehet Men of Honor YLE TV2 Subtitled in Finnish
Image:Flag of France.svg France JAG - France 2 French language version
Image:Flag of Germany.svg Germany JAG - Im Auftrag der Ehre On Behalf of Honor SAT.1 & Kabel 1 German language version
Image:Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong JAG - Now TV (STAR World) English language version
Image:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary JAG Becsületbeli Ügyek On Behalf of Honor TV2 Hungarian language version
Image:Flag of India.svg India JAG - Star World English language version
Image:Flag of Ireland (bordered).svg Ireland JAG - Channel 6 English language version
Image:Flag of Israel (bordered).svg Israel ג'אג JAG hot 3 Subtitled in Hebrew
Image:Flag of Italy.svg Italy JAG Avvocati in divisa Lawyers in Uniform Rai Due & La7 Italian language version
Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg Japan Hanzai-sosakan Navy File Criminal Investigator Navy File SkyPerfectTV SuperChannel Japanese and English language version
Image:Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia JAG - Star World English language version
Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico JAG Justicia Militar Military Justice AXN Spanish language version
Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg The Netherlands JAG - Veronica (television channel) Subtitled in Dutch
Image:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand JAG - TV3 English language version
Image:Flag of Nicaragua.svg Nicaragua JAG Justicia Militar Military Justice Canal 2 Spanish language version
Image:Flag of Norway.svg Norway JAG - TV3 & ZTV Subtitled in Norwegian
Image:Flag of Poland (bordered).svg Poland JAG Wojskowe Biuro Śledcze Military Bureau of Investigation TVP1, Polsat & TV4 Polish language version
Image:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal JAG: Em Nome da Justiça In the Name of Justice AXN Subtitled in Portuguese
Romania Romania Justiţie Militară Military Justice TVR 1 Subtitled in Romanian
Image:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia JAG Vojenská generálna prokuratúra Markíza Slovak language version
Image:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia JAG - first POP TV, then Kanal A Subtitled in Slovene
Image:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa JAG - SABC 3 English language version
Image:Flag of Spain.svg Spain JAG: Alerta Roja Red Alert Antena 3,cuatro & AXN Spanish language version
Image:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka JAG - ETV  ?
Image:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden På heder och samvete On Behalf of Honor and Conscience TV3 & ZTV Subtitled in Swedish
Image:Flag of Switzerland.svg Switzerland JAG Im Auftrag der Ehre On Behalf of Honor SAT.1 Schweiz & TSI1 German language version</br>and Italian language version
Image:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine Слідчі ВМФ Navy Investigators  ? Russian language version
Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom JAG - FX (UK) English language version
Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States JAG - Original airing: NBC (season 1) & CBS (season 2-10)
Syndication: USA Network & Hallmark Channel 		English language version

[edit] JAG on VHS & DVD

The pilot-episode was released on VHS in the US during the 1990s.

[edit] DVD Releases

'JAG - Season One' was released on DVD in the US and Canada (Region 1).'Skeleton Crew', the episode unaired during the series original run, is included in the release.

The DVD was released in Australia on 7 September, 2006 and on 21 September in New Zealand. The Regions 2 and 4 DVD releases do not contain the special features included on the Region 1 release.

On July 20 2006 tvshowsondvd.com [1] announced that JAG Season 2 would be released on Region 1 DVD on November 7 2006.

Season 3 has been announced for March 20, 2007.[2]

DVD Name # Eps Region 1 Cover Art Region 2 Region 4
The Complete First Season Image:JAG S1.jpg 22 July 25 2006 September 28 2006 September 7 (Aus) & 21 (NZ) 2006
The Complete Second Season Image:JAGSeason2.jpg 15 November 7 2006 N/A N/A
The Complete Third Season 24 March 20 2007 N/A N/A

[edit] 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.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

de:JAG – Im Auftrag der Ehre es:JAG fr:JAG it:JAG - Avvocati in divisa he:ג'אג nl:JAG ja:犯罪捜査官 ネイビーファイル no:JAG pl:JAG (serial) simple:JAG sk:JAG - Vojenská generálna prokuratúra sv:På heder och samvete (TV-serie)

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