The second season of JAG premiered on CBS on January 3, 1997, and concluded on April 18, 1997. The season, starring David James Elliott and Catherine Bell, was produced by Belisarius Productions in association with Paramount Television.
Following in his father's footsteps as a Naval Aviator, Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr. suffered a crash while landing his Tomcat on a storm-tossed carrier at sea. Diagnosed with night-blindness, Harm transferred to the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps, which investigates, defends, and prosecutes the law of the sea.[note 1] There, with fellow JAG lawyer Major Sarah MacKenzie, he now fights in and out of the courtroom, with the same daring and tenacity that made him a top gun in the air. - 2nd and 3rd seasonopening narration, read by Don LaFontaine
For its second season, JAG moved from NBC to CBS. Donald P. Bellisario had previously received offers from CBS and ABC to pick up the series,[1] which was reworked to be one of both "legal [drama] and action".[1] Following the departure of series co-star Tracey Needham, Catherine Bell was cast in the lead role of Major Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie. Bellisario and CBS President Leslie Moonves "cast Catherine Bell, and [Bellisario] never heard another word from [Moonves] - who took great delight in the fact that it was part of the building block that started the CBS turnaround".[1] On her casting, Catherine Bell stated that she "guest starred on the season finale in the first season and there was another girl playing the female lead opposite Harm [...] One of the days when I was working, he announced that the show had been canceled, but CBS picked up the show and they decided to recast the female lead. I went after the role and wrote Don a letter after I had read the breakdown for Mac and they brought me in. Six callbacks later, I got the role."[2]
The episode starts near Yuma, Arizona with a military helicopter stopping a U.S. Mailtruck and stealing its well-packaged cargo, which turns out to be the Declaration of Independence. After having received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in the pilot episode at a White House Rose Garden ceremony, Lieutenant Commander Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr. and his new partner, Major Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, and their assistant Lieutenant JG Bud Roberts are tasked by the Judge Advocate General, Rear Admiral A.J. Chegwidden, to investigate the theft and the alleged involvement of Marine Colonel Matthew O'Hara (Carmen Argenziano), a Vietnam War veteran and recipient of the Medal of Honor, in cooperation with Clayton Webb (Steven Culp), who goes by the title of "Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State" (but Mac hints at that it is a just a cover for the CIA). Ascertaining the involvement of the famed Marine colonel is soon resolved when his men commandeers a ZNN satellite uplink and Colonel O'Hara broadcasts his message from the right-wing militia "The Defenders" on live television and demands a ransom to bring the document back. As they get to Arizona, Harm figures out that O'Hara is Mac’s uncle and together they then set out to get him to surrender peacefully before Webb finds him. Meanwhile Bud stays to keep an eye on Webb. While O'Hara is willing to surrender for the sake of his niece, dissention among his men follows. The concluding scene shows a brief snippet of Colonel O'Hara in a courtroom.[note 2]
Marine Corporal Jason Magida (Victor Love), whom Admiral Chegwidden prosecuted more than eight years ago, escapes from the brig in Groton, Connecticut, and takes Admiral Chegwidden, Mac, and Bud as hostages inside the Admiral's office. He demands a retrial here and now in the admiral's office; a court had convicted him of giving classified information about the Patriot missile system to Israel. Harm and CIA officer Clayton Webb work from the outside to rescue them without killing the corporal. They also must be wary of shady CIA operative Gayle Osbourne (Leon Russom), who may try to prevent a revelation of the truth about the corporal's case.
Harm must prove that an F-14 Tomcat aircraft that accidentally bombed a mosque during Operation Desert Storm is not "jinxed" after a mid-air accident kills his best friend.
Harm and Mac engage in a tense courtroom battle when a Navy SEAL is accused of murdering his friend during a mission. Harm goes way overboard to prove a point about firearms, by firing an MP5 in the courtroom.[note 3]
Harm, Mac and Bud are sent out to the USS Seahawk and face political pressure when a female F-14 Tomcat pilot, Lieutenant Marilyn Isaacs (Nancy Everhard), accuses the CAG, Captain Thomas Boone (Terry O'Quinn), of sexual harassment. The CAG says she is simply a bad aviator, gender notwithstanding, and prominent Congresswoman Adele DeLong (Dee Wallace) intervenes in the investigation. Bud meets his successor as the public affairs officer, Ensign Harriet Sims (Kari Turner) and they soon form a bond.[note 4]
The infant son of a female U.S. Navy officer (daughter of CINCPAC) is kidnapped from Holy Loch Naval Base in Scotland and the evidence implicates the boy's father, an Irish Republican Army leader. Harm and Mac are assigned to work with the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Belfast to help get the child back, but the local cop is hiding a vengeful secret.
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7
"Ghosts"
Ray Austin
Story by : Brian Nelson and R. Scott Gemmill Teleplay by : R. Scott Gemmill
Admiral Chegwidden's life is in danger when the last surviving members of his SEAL team from the Vietnam War are killed and it appears someone is eliminating the witnesses to an atrocity committed 30 years earlier.
When Harm's Stearman biplane runs out of fuel in the Appalachian Mountains, he and Mac must avoid trigger happy poachers who killed a game warden and do not want to leave any witnesses.
Harm and a Colombiandrug lord play a high-stakes game of "Go", with the prize being a Marine that was left behind during a covert mission, as Webb and the JAG team once again butt heads.
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11
"Force Recon"
Alan J. Levi
Story by : Tom Towler and R. Scott Gemmill Teleplay by : Tom Towler and Stephen Zito
Harm goes undercover as a Gunny for a Marine Force Recon Squad at Camp Pendelton, while Mac and Bud investigate whether their Captain Koonan (Phil Morris), known as The Duke like in John Wayne, is using unsafe techniques as a means of hardening his men for unexpected combat conditions.
Harm and Mac are out running and Harm saves Mac from getting hit by a car by taking the blow himself. When Hamas takes over the DC hospital where an Israeli diplomat is undergoing a heart transplant, an injured Harm becomes the inside man of the FBI hostage negotiator to thwart the terrorists. This episode shows Mac speaking fluent Persian.
A joint exercise between American and Russian naval forces in the Black Sea becomes deadly when the two captains decide to settle their Cold War grudges, trapping Harm, Mac and Bud in the middle. This episode shows Mac can speak at least a little Russian.[note 7]
^This episode marks the first appearance of recurring character Clayton Webb.
^This marks first episode of the series in which a trial takes place in the JAG HQ courtroom.
^"Crossing the Line" marks the first appearance of recurring characters Harriet Sims and Lieutenant Elizabeth "Skates" Hawkes.
^In real life, Romania has not restored its monarchy; but it did join NATO seven years after this episode's airdate.
^Nanci Chambers guest stars as the assassin; Chambers would later on in the series act as recurring character Lieutenant Loren Singer.
^To simulate the explosion of the Russian ship, real footage from the Falklands War was used. It shows HMS Ardent blowing up during the attempt to defuse an aircraft dropped bomb.
