The fourth season of '' JAG'' premiered on CBS on September 22, 1998, and concluded on May 25, 1999. The season, starring

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

and Catherine Bell, was produced by Belisarius Productions in association with

Paramount Television The first incarnation of Paramount Television was operated as the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, until it changed its name to CBS Paramount Television on January 17, 2006. History Desilu Pro ...

Plot

Marine Major Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie ( Catherine Bell), a Duke graduate, and Lieutenant Commander Harmon "Harm" Rabb Jr. (

), a former naval aviator, work at the Headquarters of the Judge Advocate General, 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 The United States Department of the Navy (DON) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense. It was esta ...

which investigates, prosecutes and defends cases under the

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is the foundation of the system of military justice of the armed forces of the United States. The UCMJ was established by the United States Congress in accordance with their constitutional authority ...

(UCMJ). This season, Harm and Mac are assumed dead following an altercation with a Russian fighter pilot ("Gypsy Eyes"), however after punching out of their plane before impact, they begin a journey to uncover the truth about Harm's father. Later, Harm and Mac head several investigations including an undercover operation at an embassy ("Embassy"), the suspected rape of a Japanese national ("Innocence"), an escape from a VA hospital ("The Martin Baker Fan Club"), an execution on national television ("Act of Terror"), and a pilot who defied direct orders after hearing the voice of God ("Angels 30"). Meanwhile, Bud (

Patrick Labyorteaux Patrick Francis Labyorteaux (born July 22, 1965) is an American actor. 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 the NBC series ''Little House on the Pra ...

) is promoted to Lieutenant ("The Adversaries"), Harriet Sims (

Karri Turner Karri Kathleen Turner (born December 21, 1966) is an American television actress who is best known for playing Lieutenant Harriet Sims in the television series '' JAG'' (1997–2005). Biography Turner was born in Fort Worth, Texas and raised ...

) is promoted to Lieutenant J.G. ("Rivers' Run"), Mac's " little sister" Chloe (

Mae Whitman Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actor. She began her career as a child actor, starring in the films '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994), '' One Fine Day'' (1996), ''Independence Day'' (1996), and '' Hope Floats'' (1998), ...

) arrives at JAG shortly before Christmas ("Jaggle Bells"), Rear Admiral

A.J. Chegwidden This is an overview of the regular and recurring characters of long-running series ''JAG (TV series), JAG''. ''Note'': All ranks are those shown or stated by the end of the series. Regular cast Captain Harmon "Harm" Rabb Jr., USN (JAGC) Playe ...

( John M. Jackson) rescues his daughter from the

Italian Mafia Criminal organizations have been prevalent in Italy, especially in the southern part of the country, for centuries and have affected the social and economic life of many Italian regions. There are major native mafia-like organizations that are ...

("Going After Francesca"), and Royal Australian Navy Commander Mic Brumby (

Trevor Goddard Trevor Joseph Goddard (14 October 1962 – 7 June 2003) was an English actor. He was best known for playing Kano in the martial arts film ''Mortal Kombat'', a live action adaptation of the popular video game series. Lieutenant Commander Mic ...

) arrives in the United States as an exchange officer ("Mr. Rabb Goes to Washington"). Also this season, Harm receives combat orders and departs JAG ("Goodbyes"), Mac and Harm make a pact to have children together ("Yeah, Baby"), and both Clayton Webb (

Steven Culp Steven Bradford Culp (born December 3, 1955) is an American actor. Culp appeared in films '' Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' (1993), '' James and the Giant Peach'' (1996), ''The Emperor's Club'' (2002), and most notably in the 2000 politic ...

) and Admiral Chegwidden heads to Italy to rescue a common mentor from captivity ("Soul Searching").

Production

During this season the production team filmed partially on location in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

for scenes for a few episodes with the main characters. By this point, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

was now enthusiastic about its support to the series, "We treated ''JAG'' the way we would any other production," according to Captain Ron Morse at

Navy Office of Information West The Navy Office of Information West, also referred to as NAVINFO West, is a public affairs office in Westwood, Los Angeles that serves as the primary Navy liaison to feature films, documentaries, and television programs depicting or involving th ...

, the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based liaison office with the

entertainment industry Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

, "We look at the scripts, the principal characters and how they respond to the situations they're presented." And both Harm and Mac was clearly to their liking, " ey're attractive, smart, dedicated individuals who behave the way naval officers should and know what they're doing." In summation, " found ''JAG'' to reflect well on the Navy." This season also advertised the

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the Pre ...

, while the telephone number 1-800-The-Lost was featured in the closing credits of the season finale, "Goodbyes".

Reception

During its fourth season, ''JAG'' ratings were "up 11 percent in households, 8 percent in adults 18-49 and 10 percent in adults 25-54" when compared to the third season, positioning the series as the fourteenth most watched show in household ratings in the United States. Michael Kilian in

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

opined that at this point in the series, in contrast to ''JAG''s first more action oriented season, "the scripts have become much more intelligent and the stories more realistic, sophisticated and personal" and that the series had "carved itself a niche in the viewing audience" as the "numerous fan Internet sites attest."

Cast and characters

Main

Also starring

Recurring

Episodes

Notes

References

External links

Season 4
on

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Season 4
on TV.com
Season 4
on

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

{{JAG television 04 1998 American television seasons 1999 American television seasons