Created by Donald P. Bellisario (Magmum, P.I., N.C.I.S.), JAG (the American Military acronym for Judge Advocate General), was originally conceived as Top Gun meets A Few Good Men, the show was cancelled by NBC after its first season and brought back by CBS as a mid-season replacement. This proved to be a smart move, as JAG ran for ten seasons, 227 episodes and was syndicated in over 100 countries.
The series depicts JAG officers, though heavily romanticized, applying the stipulations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and international law as well as providing a healthy dose of television melodrama. During the series early run, the show relied on Hollywood military prop suppliers and stock footage from well known military films. Later, the Department of Defense realized the series was good for their public image and granted their official support. They provided the producers access to military installations and equipment. It is so far the only television show to have been officially endorsed by both the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps.
As with earlier seasons, not all of JAG’s eighth season revolved around court cases and legal proceedings. At the end of the seventh season, fan favorite Bud Roberts (Patrick Labyorteaux) stepped on a land mine during a mission to apologize to an Afghan village whose schoolhouse was accidentally bombed. As the eighth season begins, Bud’s life hangs in the balance and the rest of the JAG team reflects on how much he means to them. This storyline was one of the most interesting of the season because the audience got to see Bud work his way through rehab and slowly make his way back to work as an amputee. We also got to see more of his wife Harriet (Karri Turner) as she struggled to help her husband through rehabilitation and their difficulties as they regained the intimacy in their relationship.
Season eight finds Admiral A. J. Chegwidden (John M. Jackson), in the only serious relationship. Much of it played for laughs, as the usually serious, square jawed military man has several plans to ask his girlfriend Meredith Cavanaugh (Isabella Hofmann) foiled in one way or another. He finally did pop the question though, which was nice for him, because the eighth season would turn out to be a bit rocky professionally.
David James Elliott returns for another season as Commander Harm Rabb. Catherine Bell is back for another go-round as Lieutenant Colonel Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie, and for much of the season, their sexually flirty rivalry maintained the public’s interest in seeing the two characters connect more directly on a personal level. Commander Rabb found his career and life in the balance in the two part episode, “Ice Queen” (which was also the spinoff for NCIS) when Harm is the prime suspect when Lieutenant Singer (Nanci Chambers) is found dead under a frozen pond and the evidence implicates his half-brother as the father of her child. Luckily for Harm, the NCIS Team discovers that another military man is responsible for Lt Singer’s murder and he set Harm up as a measure of revenge.
Not one to stay out of trouble very long, Mac agrees to pose as the pregnant wife of Special Agent Clayton Webb (Steven Culp) for an undercover assignment in South America. With Mac undercover and out-of-touch, Harm turns to a CIA attorney for help. In the last episode of the season, When Mac and Webb go mussing and JAG wont fund an investigation, Harm resigns and goes to South America to resur them.
For a show not known for bringing on a slew of big name guest stars, JAG managed to have a few notables show up during the eighth season: Dean Stockwell (in a recurring role as the new Secretary of the Navy), Doug Savant, David Marciano, William Windom, Terry O’Quinn, Tony Denison, Steven Culp, Gavin MacLeod, Peter Haskell, Greg Evigan, James Denton, Jameson Parker, and Theodore Bikel. From the NCIS pilot episodes, Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, and David McCallum went straight to the series the following fall.
Here is a list of JAG’s eighth season episodes:
1 – Critical Condition (Part 2)
2 – The Promised Land
3 – Family Business
4 – Dangerous Game
5 – In Thin Air
6 – Offensive Action
7 – Need to Know
8 – Ready or Not
9 – When the Bough Breaks
10 – The Killer
11 – All Ye Faithful
12 – Complications
13 – Standards of Conduct
14 – Each of Us Angels
15 – Friendly Fire
16 – Heart and Soul
17 – Empty Quiver
18 – Fortunate Son
19 – Second Acts
20 – Ice Queen (Part 1)
21 – Meltdown (Part 2)
22 – Lawyers, Guns, and Money
23 – Pas De Deux
24 – A Tangled Webb (Part 1)
The picture is framed at 1.78:1 and enhanced for widescreen televisions. The transfers are variable in sharpness on almost a scene-by-scene basis. Color saturation is adequate, and flesh tones generally look appropriate. Much of the stock footage of naval vessels and fighter jets looks terrible, but it always has. There’s some occasional edge enhancement, too, but it doesn’t turn up all that often and there is occasional flashing and aliasing. Black levels are actually surprisingly good. Most episodes are divided into 7 chapters though a few episodes have only 6 chapters.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo surround audio mix typically places the dialog in the center channel and puts music and an occasional sound effect elsewhere. There is also good use of bass in some of the sound design. Overall, it’s an adequate mix, very typical for the era of the show’s production.
JAG: The Complete Eighth Season doesn’t offer much in the way of special features but there is a 3-minute gag reel in 4:3. There are also previews for Mannix, Hawaii Five-O, and Nash Bridges.
