The Third Season

J.A.G.: Judge Advocate General is about the judicial body of the United States Navy, Judge Advocate General's corps (J.A.G.). The individuals who serve in J.A.G. are military officers with specializations in legal matters; they are military lawyers. J.A.G. officers investigate, prosecute, and defend crimes involving persons and property connected to the Navy and Marine Corps. Their investigations take them all over the world, wherever U.S. military presence may be. The crimes include homicide, treason, espionage, terrorism, conspiracies, hostage situations, and other criminal acts. This season's content focuses on both action-packed investigations and courtroom proceedings.

The third season has the same great tempo found in the second with exciting storylines, both in and out of the courtroom. One of the primary focuses in season three deals with the story arc about Harm and his long lost father. Season three begins with Harm and Mac investigating the skeletal remains of a dead sailor found on a decommissioned aircraft carrier. On the ship, Harm finds evidence about his father's disappearance. The single clue opens up a great story arc for the season, which Harm pursues vigorously until the season finale. These episodes are very strong that tie the JAG team into the Vietnam War and the KGB.

Another good story arc deals with Mac, a new boyfriend, and a new career. Dalton Lowne (Larry Poinexter) pursues Mac both professionally and romantically. Dalton is successful in both endeavors. He and Mac engage in a romantic relationship that follows by Mac leaving the JAG office to join a private law firm. While she is absent from JAG, she quickly learns that JAG is her rightful place and returns after a few weeks in private practice. At this time, her relationship with Dalton starts to go down the toilet. It especially gets bad when they face each other in court, which really puts a damper between them. The Mac-Dalton relationship also plays a key part when a stalker comes after Mac.

Bud and Harriett's romance continues to be a humorous aspect of the show. Their fun chemistry only gets better as their relationship becomes more serious. There are some great episodes involving the pair defining the boundaries of their relationship, meeting the parents, getting engaged, and finally tying the knot, which includes a riotous bachelor party. Notably, the bachelor party in "Wedding Bell Blues" is a great episode that involves a wild night with strippers.

In addition to the great story arcs, the season has many solid episodes. "King of the Fleas" ties into the story arc about Harm's father, but it also includes more. Harm meets a Vietnam P.O.W. who claims to have known his father. The story that he tells is very intriguing and emotional. In "Against All Enemies", the U.S. has a political thunderstorm when they accidentally shot down a North Korean airliner. It is a good episode that involves mystery and espionage.

"Death Watch" is a re-hash of season one episode "Skeleton Crew". In "Skeleton Crew", Harm's true love Diane (the Mac-look-alike) was murdered. Harm and Krennick joined NCIS agent Turkey trying to find the killer. The story ended without much closure and unanswered questions. "Death Watch" reuses footage from "Skeleton Crew" and continues Harm's investigation when gets he a new lead. This episode makes a solid conclusion to the previous episode and was a well done episode.

Overall, J.A.G.'s third season is a great set of twenty-four fun-filled episodes. The stories are just as enticing as the past season and the cast continues to be great together, with strong chemistry. Viewers who enjoy in and out of the courtroom drama with tidbits of action will enjoy every minute this season has to offer.

Episode Guide

1. Ghost Ship: A skeleton found on a decommissioned aircraft carrier was a murder victim, so Harm investigates. But then he discovers clues about his missing father.
2. The Court-Martial of Sandra Gilbert: A female pilot has charges brought against her after she ignores orders to stop seeing a married enlisted man. And a congresswoman is determined she gets a fair trial.
3. The Good of the Service: Major MacKenzie must prosecute her mentor, an officer on trial for leading a controversial rescue mission in Haiti where civilians were killed.
4. Blind Side: Harm's former flying instructor and a trainee clip a tower during a maneuver, causing it to crash and kill civilians. But could the accident have been avoided.
5. King of the Fleas: A former Marine in a wheelchair visits the JAG offices to turn himself in for a murder...and tells a horrific tale of his time spent as a POW Vietnam.
6. Vanished: When a jet disappears over the Bermuda Triangle, Harm suspects the plane was stolen. But Bud Roberts believes UFOs were involved.
7. Against All Enemies: After a Navy jet accidentally shoots down a North Korean commercial airliner, the JAG team learns that a spy may have been responsible.
8. Above and Beyond: An African-American Navy SEAL is a candidate for the Medal of Honor. But a background check brings information to light that might make him unworthy.
9. Impact: While Harm and Bud investigate a mysterious mid-air collision, Harriet Simms joins the JAG office...and Mac is courted by a high-powered law firm.
10. People v. Rabb: Harm's charged with killing a Russian who sold him documents concerning his father. So Mac returns from private practice to defend her former partner.
11. Defenseless: A female ensign is visited at home by a high-ranking Turkish officer. When she shoots him, claiming self-defense, a story of international intrigue is revealed.
12. Someone to Watch Over Annie: Annie (Daphne Ashbrook), the widow of Harm's best friend, claims her young son Josh (Will Rothhaar) witnessed a murder on an Air Force base. Later, she and Harm start a romance.

13. With Intent to Die: Admiral Chegwidden is haunted by the suicide of a colleague, another admiral who he believes was actually murdered on a hunting trip.
14. Father's Day: A tank gunner who drove through his commander's tent is about to be charged. But then his bitter custody battle over his infant son makes headlines.
15. Yesterday's Heroes: The JAG team travels to Miami, where three old, retired Navy men have blown up the yacht of a drug dealer. While there, Bud meets Harriet's parents.
16. Chains of Command: Harm and Mac prosecute a master chief who for years sexually harassed women aboard his ship. And Mac's boyfriend, attorney Dalton Lowne (Larry Poinexter), is defending him.
17. The Stalker: After their break-up, Dalton starts harassing Mac. But when he is killed, Mac finds herself with another stalker. Harm has a run-in with the boss's daughter.
18. Tiger, Tiger: When Harm takes Annie's son Josh out on a weekend cruise, Cuban terrorist hijack the ship. Meanwhile, Bud and Harriet become engaged.
19. Death Watch: Harm recalls to Mac his past investigation of the murder of his girlfriend Diane. He recently found a letter indicating that her murderer is still at large.
20. Imposter: A government agent - who is really an assassin and master of disguise - plans to impersonate Harm in court and murder the key witness.
21. The Return of Jimmy Blackhorse: The Navy plans to honor a World War II Navajo code talker. But when his family goes to bury him, they insist his remains belong to someone else.
22. Clipped Wings: In Italy, Harm defends an American pilot whose recklessness may have killed six civilians. While there, he visits Admiral Chegwidden's daughter.
23. Wedding Bell Blues: As Bud and Harriet's wedding day approaches, Bud argues with his father, Harm loses his dress whites to a stripper, and half the wedding party ends up in jail.
24. To Russia with Love: Harm and Mac find themselves dodging spies and ex-KGB agent when hey fly to Moscow to follow a lead that Harm's MIA father may be in Russia.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture quality is not great, but it is not awful either. The picture has a fair amount of noise with noticeable dirt and grain. The picture, while rough, is still very viewable and should not ruin the viewing experience.

Audio:
The audio track supplied is an English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo surround sound track. The track is pretty clean sounding. Spoken dialogue is audible throughout the episodes. There is also a fair usage of the surround sound setup used with sound effects from gunfire, explosions, military aircrafts, etc.

The release also has support for closed captioning.

Extras:
There are no extras included with this season set, which is a disappointment because past seasons had featurettes and audio commentaries.

Final Thoughts:
J.A.G. is a television drama about the military judicial body, Judge Advocate General Corps. The show's third season continues the same great pace set in season two, with a solid focus on in and out of the courtroom drama with action and humor. The investigations and cases take the JAG team into espionage, the KGB, murder, and other intriguing stories. Fans of the series will not want to miss out on this exciting season, specifically, the story arcs about Harm's father, Mac's new boyfriend, and the Bud-Harriet relationship. Overall, this season set comes highly recommended.