JAG: Judge Advocate General - The Final Season

It wasn't until the complete season DVD sets started rolling around that I got into JAG, I mean, really got into it. And I'm sure other folks are now going thru painful JAG withdrawal, same as me, now that the final season is available on DVD, and there ain't no more after this. It's been a wait and a half for this tenth season to come out on disc, and never mind that these aren't exactly the best episodes in the series. There are enough terrific moments here to still make it a satisfying capper. And, finally, there's a resolution to that long unresolved thing between Mac & Harm. But more on that in a bit.The cases the JAG officers work on remain as topical and relevant as ever. The courtroom battles revolve around issues such as combat stress, combat high, ageism, improper psychiatric counseling, communication breakdowns in the chain of command, private contractors getting in a firefight with U.S. troops, equal rights (a female sergeant - played by professional boxer Lucia Rijker - wants to fight men in the ring), how far can you take torture to garner information, etc. For me, though, the cases are secondary to what's going on in the cast's personal lives. Bud and Petty Officer Coates are old favorites, and they're featured in several episodes. Bud, as calm and non-threatening a guy as you'll ever meet, is ordered to attend anger management classes, and that notion alone is enough to elicit a grin, if you know your Lieutenant Roberts. Later he goes up against the "Dream Team" of Commander Rabb and Lt. Vukovic in court, and manages to get the better of them. Since Vukovic happens to be the lead counsel of that team and an arrogant pup who likes to cut corners, this goes down very gratifyingly. This isn't A FEW GOOD MEN, and Vukovic isn't Tom Cruise.Meanwhile, Jennifer Coates, reformed thief turned indispensable yeoman to the JAG corps, is a compelling character, and I perk up whenever she's on the screen and quietly running things (doesn't hurt that she's cute, too). "There Goes the Neighborhood" finds Coates's past haunting her, forcing her to step out of military protocol and call on her hard-knock experiences in the streets. In "The Sixth Juror" Coates gets drafted as a juror on the very same case with which she'd been assisting Harm and Mac. Meanwhile, Mattie's father is more in the picture than ever and he's seeking custody of Mattie, which leaves Harm more or less out in the cold. But then something happens..."JAG: San Diego" is another interesting episode, especially since it gives us another chance to see the enthusiastic mystery buff Lt. Graves (we first meet her in "Automatic for the People"). This episode was intended to pave the way for a possible spin-off, except that CBS chose not to roll the dice.With David James Elliott opting to leave the show - I think he got tired of waiting for JAG to get its eleventh season pick-up - new characters were introduced. Rear Admiral Chegwidden having retired, the headquarters up in Falls Church, Virginia come rife with rumors regarding the identity of the new Judge Advocate General. The no-nonsense, don't-eff-with-me marine who ends up in the JAG chair doesn't exactly fill Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie with optimism. But, bar none, the most annoying new character is Lt. "Vic" Vukovic, who I guess is supposed to be this charming rogue, except he comes off as weasely and really unlikable. Plenty of times, I felt myself wanting to skip over scenes involving him and, to be honest, he kinda soured me on some of the episodes. Especially since he was taking away from more time with the rest of the cast.Now I do resent that the writers strung out the audience for so long with the whole Mac & Harm "Will they, why won't they?" soap opera. Nine years is an exhaustive wait just for the final episode's almost perfunctory resolution, although I suppose it's better than nothing. Still, those final fifteen minutes are not nearly enough, not by far, and I do feel cheated. At least "The Four Percent Solution" aired a few months before that, and featured Mac's flashing back to a day spent with her shrink as they explore her very big emotional and psychological baggage. And, yes, one of the issues she's been working thru concerns Harm. Mac and Harm have been so good at internalizing their feelings that something like "The Four Percent Solution" is necessary, letting us know that the writers haven't forgotten one of the key elements in the show which drew in the viewers week after week.And, yes, the special feature isn't that special and, with its brevity, is barely a feature, although the sentiment passed on by David James Elliott and the cast and crew is appreciated. But, again, I feel cheated by the lack of more bonus features. Despite this and the inclusion of the shady Lt. Vukovic and also that Harm and Mac's romance is given short shrift, I'm still rating this 4 stars out of 5. Ultimately, I still love this show, great comfort television that it was.My guess, by the way, is that it's Harm who ended up retiring...

Love how it was shipped on time can't wait to watch it

While I was in the Air Force I served as a military police officer, paralegal, and administrator. I am extremely familiar with the military justice system. I once had to testify, as a Staff Sergeant, in a military court-marital of an airman for assaulting me, showing disrespect for my unit's commanding officer, and for being AWOL. I was treated just like any other witness for the prosecution on the show JAG. The accused defense counsel took my police statement and went word for word in every sentence to trip me up bue he failed to do because I lived it and knew what happened that fateful day in the summer of 1973. All I did on the witness stand was tell the truth about what happened. I was on the witness stand for over an hour with him trying to bate me. Yes, I did sleep well with my testimony.Some of my friends and others have called this show "The Catherine Bell Show." That title would have been very appropriate because she is so lovely, a great actress, and portrayed her role as a Lt. Col Marine JAG officer in an outstanding manner.I have written two books and in both books I have addressed the military justice system regarding themilitary death penalty and sex crimes in the military.I truly hated seeing the show to end. I have purchased the entire series and review it often. Also, I have seen and recorded a few of the later Perry Mason series from the 1980s through the 1990s.I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys courtroom drama and miitary operations.Dr. Larry Cornwell

I have been binge watching all the seasons of JAG and am almost finished with the final season. The final season lost its way. The show was never as good without the character of Admiral Chegwidden. I liked General Cresswell but he was just not as good as the JAG. Since David James Elliot had told them he would not do another season, he was pretty much made into a secondary character. I never like Vulcovic at all and the character of Coates was annoying at best. Bud and Harriet were two of my favorite characters, especially Bud. I never did understand what turned Turner and Harm against each other. The show just lost its zing that it had for the first 9 seasons. Sad.

O.K. Yes, the last year was sub-par. Most of the critical comments you read are true. Adm. "C" being gone was almost fatal to the show because the show revolved a lot around him...of course, the Harm and Sarah characters were the the main attraction. Still this is one of my all time faves on tv. We deserved to see a romance evolve between Harm and Sarah. We deserved to see them walk under the swords of their fellow officers...heck, they did it for Bud and Harriet (season 4, me thinks.) We should have seen him as a Captain at the beginning of season 10.We deserve a reunion movie with him as a two star in charge of Jag and Sarah as a U.S. Senator, with a Rabb, Jr.But to end whether he becomes a Captain or her a General and do they get married...ended with a coin toss... we wuz robbed Bubba, jus' plain out robbed. But hey, it's Jag...Harm and Sarah and the gang so the old sentimental heart compels me to say 5 stars becos' they finally put H & S together!

pity no more series but would loved to see the wedding & who would have relinquished their job

good buy, well worth it...

ok

RECENTLY STARTED WATCHING THE ENTIRE SERIES AGAIN. THE CASTING COULDN'T HAVE BEEN BETTER. DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT AND CATHERINE BELL, JOHN M. JACKSON, PATRICK LABYORTEAUX AND KARRI TURNER, AS WELL AS THE MORE RECENT ADDITION OF SCOTT LAWRENCE PERFORM AS THOUGH THEY ARE ACTUALLY THE INDIVIDUALS THEY PORTRAY AND, OF COURSE, THEY ARE ALL EXTREMELY GOOD-LOOKING. WE HAVE ENJOYED VIEWING EACH AND EVERY EPISODE. THIS SERIES WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITES.

Ich hab' JAG auf französischen Sendern kennengelernt - die Möglichkeit mir die gesamte Kollektion jetzt multilingual anzusehen ist wie Alkohol für enen Alkioholiker, im Augenblick tue ich kaum etwas Anderes als mir die Serie anzugucken & das in Deutsch, Französisch und Englisch - verrückt, aber schön verrückt - Schade daß die Serie beendet wurde, ich könnte mir das andauernd reinziehen