The first season of '' JAG'' premiered on NBC on September 23, 1995, and concluded on July 15, 1996. The season, initially starring

David James Elliott David James Elliott (born September 21, 1960) is a Canadian actor who was the star of the series ''JAG (TV series), JAG'', playing lead character Harmon Rabb, Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. Early life Elliott was born David William Smith on S ...

and

Tracey Needham Tracey Renee Needham (born March 28, 1967) is an American actress who has acted primarily in television roles such as Paige Thatcher on '' Life Goes On'' (2nd-4th seasons; 1990–1993), Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Meg Austin on the first seas ...

, was produced by Belisarius Productions in association with

NBC Productions Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predeces ...

and

Paramount Television The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its name ...

Plot

Lieutenant Harmon "Harm" Rabb Jr. (

), a former

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

turned lawyer, is employed by the Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps, the internal law firm of the

Department of the Navy Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the ...

. In Washington, D.C., Harm is partnered with Lieutenant Junior Grade

Meg Austin Lieutenant, Junior Grade Megan Austin (USN), is a main character from the first season of the television series '' JAG'' portrayed by actress Tracey Needham. Character Biography Meg Austin was the second partner to Lieutenant Harmon Rabb, rep ...

(

), a junior officer with drive and determination. Together, Harm and Meg work alongside Commander Alison Krennick (

Andrea Thompson Rebecca Andrea Thompson (born January 6, 1960)
Film Reference. Retrieved May 19, 2013. is an Ameri ...

), Rear Admiral A.J. Chegwidden (

John M. Jackson John Murice Jackson (born June 1, 1950) is an American actor, best known for playing Rear Admiral A. J. Chegwidden on the CBS series '' JAG'' and also as a special guest star on its spinoff '' NCIS'' and recurring cast to its spinoff '' NCIS: ...

), and Lieutenant

Caitlin Pike Caitlin "Kate" Pike is a character in the American TV series '' JAG'' portrayed by Andrea Parker. She appears as the partner of Harmon "Harm" Rabb (David James Elliott) in the pilot episode. Pike then appears as a recurring character in the fir ...

(

Andrea Parker Andrea N. Parker is an American film and television actress. She is known for her roles on '' ER'', '' The Pretender'', ''Less than Perfect'', ''Desperate Housewives'', and ''Pretty Little Liars''. Career Her first documented film role was at ...

), as they prosecute and defend the under the

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution ...

(UCMJ). This season, the team investigate the murder of a female

naval flight officer A naval flight officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots (naval aviators), but they may perform many "co-pilot" or ...

("A New Life"), the death of a civilian contractor ("Shadow"), a training mishap ("Desert Son"), a murder at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

with connections to Thai diplomats ("Déjà Vu"), and a murder at the U.S. Embassy in Peru ("War Cries"). Also this season, Harm suffers personal losses when his best friend ("Pilot Error") and girlfriend ("Skeleton Crew") are both killed, Meg faces death when she is critically wounded by an professional assassin ("Hemlock"), and Harm is promoted to the grade of Lieutenant Commander ("Defensive Action").

Production

Production of the first season of ''JAG'' was based at

Sunset Gower Studios Sunset Gower Studios is a television and movie studio at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, California. Established in 1912, it continues today as Hollywood's largest independent studio and an active facility for telev ...

, right in the heart of

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. In Spring 1996, NBC announced that they were not commissioning

to make a second season of ''JAG''. Creator and Executive producer

Donald P. Bellisario Donald Paul Bellisario (born August 8, 1935) is an American television producer and screenwriter who created and sometimes wrote episodes for the TV series '' Magnum, P.I.'' (1980), ''Tales of the Gold Monkey'' (1982), ''Airwolf'' (1984), ''Quan ...

states that he had already received offers from

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

to pick up the series. Bellisario also credits the cancellation with allowing him to create "the show he'd always wanted to make", as NBC had "wanted

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

, and

e had E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plur ...

wanted a mix of

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

and action".

Cast and characters

Main

Harmon Rabb Jr. Harmon 'Harm' Rabb, Jr. is a fictional character and lead role in the United States, American television series ''JAG (TV series), JAG''. The character was created by Donald P. Bellisario, as a work for hire for Paramount Television (original), P ...

, Lieutenant Commander *

, Lieutenant (pilot only; recurring, thereafter) *

, Lieutenant J.G. (from episode 1.3)

Recurring

as A. J. Chegwidden, Rear Admiral *

Patrick Labyorteaux Patrick Francis Labyorteaux (born July 22, 1965) is an American actor, television producer and television writer. In many of his earlier credits, his last name is spelled as "Laborteaux". He is best known for his roles of Andrew "Andy" Garvey on ...

Bud Roberts Bud J. Roberts Jr. is a fictional character in the '' JAG'' TV series (played by Patrick Labyorteaux), created by Donald P. Bellisario as a work-for-hire for Paramount Television. Bud Roberts made two appearances in the first season of ''JAG'' ...

, Ensign *

Andrea Thompson Rebecca Andrea Thompson (born January 6, 1960)
Film Reference. Retrieved May 19, 2013. is an Ameri ...

as Allison Krennick, Commander * W.K. Stratton as Theodore Lindsey, Commander *

Terry O'Quinn Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He played John Locke on the TV series ''Lost'', the title role in '' The Stepfather'' and ''Stepfather II'', and Peter Watts in ''Millennium'', w ...

as Thomas Boone, Captain, "CAG"

Guest appearances

* Kevin Dunn as Rear Admiral Albert Brovo *

Julie Caitlin Brown Julie Caitlin Brown ( née Andrich; born January 27, 1961) is an American actress and singer known for her role as Na'Toth in the first and fifth season of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5''. Career Her first stage role was as ...

as Staff Sergeant Carrington *

Jenny Gago Jenny Gago (born September 11, 1953) is a Peruvian-American actress best known as Maria in ''Knots Landing'' (1984-1986), Maria in ''My Family'' (1995), Anaya in '' The Agency'' (2002-2003), and Det. Ochoa in ''Southland'' (2011). Life Gago w ...

as Sergeant Gonzalez *

Sam Jenkins Sandra Lynn "Sam" Sorbo ( née Jenkins; born October 18, 1964) is an American actress. She played Serena in the television series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and hosts the weekday, syndicated radio program, ''The Sam Sorbo Show''. C ...

as Private Whitley *

Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Secu ...

as Uncle Ollie *

Rex Linn Rex Maynard Linn (born November 13, 1956) is an American film and television actor. He is best known domestically for playing the role of Sgt. Frank Tripp in the CBS drama ''CSI: Miami'' and more recently for playing Kevin Wachtell in the televi ...

as Submarine Skipper *

Ryan Hurst Ryan Douglas Hurst (born June 19, 1976) is an American actor, known for his roles as Gerry Bertier in ''Remember the Titans'' (2000), Sgt. Ernie Savage in ''We Were Soldiers'' (2002), Tom Clarke in '' Taken'' (2002), Opie Winston in the FX dram ...

as Dirk Grover *

Spencer Garrett Spencer Garrett (born September 19, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Air Force One'' (1997), '' 21'' (2008), '' Public Enemies'' (2009), ''All the Way'' (2016), and '' The Front Runner'' (2018). He is th ...

as First Lieutenant Vince Boone *

Neal McDonough Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn Compton, Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries ''Band of Brothers (miniseries), Band of Brothers'' (2001), Deputy District Attorney ...

as First Lieutenant Jay Williams *

Walton Goggins Walton Sanders Goggins Jr. (born November 10, 1971) is an American actor. He has starred in a number of television series, including ''The Shield'' (2002–2008), '' Justified'' (2010–2015), ''Vice Principals'' (2016–2017), ''The Righteous ...

as Communications Officer *

Michael Paul Chan Michael Paul Chan (born June 26, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Lieutenant Michael Tao on the TNT series ''The Closer'' and '' Major Crimes''. He also acted in '' U.S. Marshals'', playing an assassin. Biography Ch ...

as Ambassador Sonsiri *

Vivian Wu Vivian Wu ( Wu Junmei; ; born February 5, 1967) is a Chinese-American actress.Chen Nan ''China Daily'', 27 April 2007. Her big break came in 1987, appearing in the biographical film '' The Last Emperor''. She later went to starring in films '' ...

as Angelique Sonsiri *

Ron Livingston Ronald Joseph Livingston (born June 5, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for playing Peter Gibbons in the 1999 film ''Office Space'' and Captain Lewis Nixon III in the 2001 miniseries '' Band of Brothers.'' Livingston's other roles include ...

as Corporal David Anderson *

Madeline Zima Madeline Zima (born September 16, 1985) is an American actress. She portrayed Grace Sheffield on the CBS sitcom ''The Nanny'' (1993–1999), Mia Lewis on the Showtime comedy drama series ''Californication'' (2007–2011), and Gretchen Berg on ...

as Kathy Gold * Catherine Bell as Lieutenant J.G. Diane Schonke

Episodes

Notes

References

{{JAG television 01 1995 American television seasons 1996 American television seasons