The Fifth 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. For more details about this series, refer to DVD Talk's reviews of season one, season two, season three, and season four.

Season five begins with Harm no longer assigned to JAG. In season four, Harm was cured of night blindness and able to fly again. He left JAG in the season four finale to relive his glory days as a fighter pilot. However, he soon realizes that his place is in JAG. He is no longer the young top gun he used to be. Before returning to JAG, he gets involved in some dicey court cases, like the exciting two-part season opener "King of the Greenie Board" and "Rules of Engagement". A fighter pilot is charged with manslaughter for killing Russian aid workers -- who he mistook for terrorists.

Upon Harm's return to JAG, he finds the office's state of affairs much different. Mic has moved into his old office, Mac was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and is the JAG Chief of Staff, Harriett is pregnant and serving on a limited basis in the Naval Reserve, Bud is a seasoned lawyer and now trying cases, Lt. Singer continues to try to get on Harm's good side and does what she can to win cases (sometimes a little too devious), and Gunnery Sergeant Galindez (Randy Vasquez) joins the cast as the a tough Marine in charge of running the office.

As the season continues, new cases of a common flavor surface for the JAG lawyers. The episodes follow the past season's format with a mix of courtroom drama, investigation, and action. "Rogue" is an example when action is key. Bud is assigned as the legal attache to Special Forces unit that gets too zealous when their funding is cut. They go against the brass and take a nuclear submarine hostage, facing the Navy with a possible terrorist attack. "Contemptuous Words" is a pretty exciting episode with a dash of mystery. Harm is up for promotion to Commander, which is deep sixed after he faces a court-martial for a letter in the local newspaper defacing the President. Harm must convince the Navy he did not write the letter and is being framed. The catch is that the closest people around him have trouble being he did not author the letter.

Midway into the season, a pretty big development occurs when Mic Brumby, the Australian Royal Navy lawyer on detail to JAG, is recalled to his native country ("Life or Death"). Upon his departure from the states, the romance between Mic and Mac pinnacles. Mic professes his love for Mac and they engage in a long distance romance. The relationship is especially dramatic, as Mac and Harm acknowledge the chemistry between themselves. However, due to their careers prohibiting such an affair, the situation escalates to the melodramatic. It is a love triangle that works for this military courtroom drama.

The trio really gets into it in the two-part episode "Boomerang". A once-thought dead sailor is accused of murdering an Australian sailor -- an act that occurred over twenty years ago. Mic and Harm face each other in the courtroom and try to come to terms about the romantic tension involving Mac. Despite the love triangle, Harm tries to subdue his feelings with someone else, Renee Peterson (Cindy Ambuehl).

All in all, JAG's season five episodes continue to entertain with a lot of diversity in its content and solid developments for the cast. However, at the same time there are a few episodes that get a little too soapy. "People v. Gunny" is an episode that addresses the issue of gays in the military. While an interesting issue to tackle, how the episode is approached leaves it feeling a little too over-the-top. Other so-so episodes include "The Witchces of Gulfport", a Wiccan high priest is accused of rape, and "Psychic Warrior", the effectiveness of the Navy's research division in the paranormal comes into question when an officer dies.

Overall, JAG has a pretty good run in its fifth season, but fails to capture full attention with every episode. Still, there are enough solid character developments and all-around enjoyable episodes that fans will appreciate season five's content.

Episode Guide

1. King of the Greenie Board: Harm is now a combat pilot stationed on a carrier in the Adriatic Sea, where he tries to rein in a hot-shot flier.
2. Rules of Engagement: After Harm's young pilot mistakenly shoots down some Russian peacekeepers, Mac and Bud board the carrier, where they intend to prosecute.
3. True Callings: Harm takes an interest in a case aboard the carrier, but then receives bad news about his career. The men of JAG try to score some concert tickets.
4. The Return: With Harm now back at JAG, he is given a controversial case where the son of the Secretary of the Navy is being tried for disobeying his strict captain.
5. Front and Center: Bud and Harm try to locate the only witness to their rape case, a Marine who has disappeared. Mac and Brumby spar in court over a drug-sniffing dog.
6. Psychic Warrior: Mac is critical of an admiral who claims to have ESP, but when her young friend goes missing in the woods he offers to help.
7. Rogue: A colorful character who tests security for the military is ordered to "sink" a submarine, but then ends up stealing it... with Bud Roberts on board!
8. The Colonel's Wife: Mac and Harm travel to Panama to investigate a high-ranking Marine's young wife, who shipped a package of cocaine to California.
9. Contemptuous Words: When a scathing article criticizing the President is traced to Harm's computer, a right-wing political group offers to pay for his legal defense.
10. Mishap: Harm learns he must head back to the carrier and defend his former RIO, who disobeyed orders and waved in a plane that crashed upon landing.
11. Ghosts of Christmas Past: On Christmas Eve, Harm meets a beautiful singer who was part of the 1969 USO show, and who had an encounter with Harm's fighter pilot dad.
12. Into the Breech: The admiral sends Harm and Mac back to school to assist students at a military academy, where they end up reopening an old murder case.
13. Life or Death: Mac tries to save the life of a Marine on death row, a case the Admiral lost years ago. Meanwhile, Brumby announces he's heading back to Australia.
14. Cabin Pressure: While Harm is aboard ship questioning a petty officer suspected of murder, their boat hits a reef and they become trapped in the brig below.
15. Boomerang Part 1: Bud and Harm travel to Australia to defend an American accused of murdering an Aussie sailor decades ago; Brumby is surprised when Mac tags along.
16. Boomerang Part 2: While Harm and Brumby square off in court over the murder case, Harm grows jealous of Mac's relationship with the Aussie attorney.
17. People V. Gunny: When the JAG gunnery sergeant is arrested for gay bashing, the only witness to the crime is the Admiral's personal yeoman.
18. The Bridge At Kang So Ri: The commercial airliner that Harm and Mac are traveling on is hijacked by Korean radicals, who demand that a trial be held aboard the plane.
19. Promises: Fresh from starring in a recruitment commercial, Harm must defend a female seaman who claims the Navy made her promises they could not keep.
20. Drop Zone: Bud defends a senior chief who is brought up on manslaughter charges when it is suspected he was hung over during a parachuting exercise.
21. The Witches of Gulfport: Mac goes undercover on a military base in Mississippi in order to investigate a rape charge against a chief who heads a controversial Wiccan group.
22. Overdue and Presumed Lost: Admiral Chegwidden tries to stop a businessman from exploiting an old WWI submarine, which may contain the first causalities of Pearl Harbor.
23. Real Deal Seal: A Navy SEAL who was awarded the Medal of Honor is charged with assaulting a politician who he claims lied about his military service.
24. Body Talk: When Harm tries to free a man from the Leavenworth prison for the murder of his wife, he is shocked to find out their daughter is an old friend.
25. Surface Warfare: Days before the Admiral is due to give a big speech, Bud finds out his petty officer brother almost killed fifteen Marines during an exercise in Florida.

The DVD

Video:
For the most part, JAG's fifth season is presented in anamorphic 1.85:1 ratio widescreen color format. However, the majority of the episode "Ghosts of Christmas Past" and assorted scenes (primarily stock footage) are given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color, which is formatted in a widescreen presentation (black bars exist on the sides). In general, the picture quality is good. The images are sharp with a slight grain and good representations of colors. There are exceptions, such as the stock footage and some ghosting during high-motion scenes. Nevertheless, season five looks much better than past seasons.

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.

Extras:
For extras, there is a short gag reel included that runs for three minutes and four seconds.

Final Thoughts:
JAG is a courtroom drama about military lawyers who prosecute and defend military cases. In season five, the show continues to offer a solid lineup of episodes that include crucial character developments, big cases, and life and death situations. As a whole, it is a pretty intense season. However, there are some dramatic developments that come off a little too over-the-top. Nevertheless, there is enough solid content that fans will enjoy it.