The eighth season of '' JAG'' premiered on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

on September 24, 2002, and concluded on May 20, 2003. 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 ...

. Two episodes, "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown", also introduced the team who later appeared in the spin-off series ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'', which became a franchise in its own right.

Plot

Tenacious lawyer Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie ( Catherine Bell), a by-the-book Marine, is tasked with prosecuting, defending, and enforcing the laws of the sea as a member of the Navy's elite Judge Advocate General Corps. Along with her partner Commander Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr. (

) - a former Tomcat pilot - Mac investigates a plethora of cases including desertion ("The Promised Land"), oxygen deprivation ("In Thin Air"), sexual harassment ("Offensive Action"), a mishap aboard the ''USS Seahawk'' ("When the Bough Breaks"), and a death during surgery ("Complications"). Also this season,

Bud Roberts 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 ...

(

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 injured in Afghanistan ("Critical Condition"), Petty Officer Jennifer Coates (

Zoe McLellan Zoe McLellan (born November 6, 1974) is an American actress known for roles in '' JAG'', '' Dirty Sexy Money'', '' NCIS: New Orleans'' and ''Designated Survivor''. Early life and education McLellan was born in La Jolla, California, and raised i ...

) joins JAG ("All Ye Faithful"), Commander Theodore Lindsey (W.K. Stratton) returns ("Fortunate Son"), 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 ...

) goes missing in Paraguay ("A Tangled Webb"), and 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) accidentally ejects from an

F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...

("Heart and Soul"). Meanwhile, Lieutenant Loren Singer (

Nanci Chambers Nanci Chambers Smith is a former Canadian actress. Biography Chambers is perhaps best known for her role as the ambitious Lieutenant Loren Singer on the television series '' JAG''. Chambers has been a board member of the organisation "A Better ...

) is murdered ("Ice Queen"), placing

Leroy Jethro Gibbs Leroy Jethro Gibbs (born November 21, 1954) is a fictional character and the original protagonist of the CBS TV series '' NCIS'', portrayed by Mark Harmon in the original series and by Austin Stowell in the prequel series '' NCIS: Origins''. He ...

(

Mark Harmon Thomas Mark Harmon (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor, writer, producer, television director and former American football, football player. He is best known for playing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs on ''NCIS (TV series), NCIS'' ...

) and his ''

'' team directly in Harm's way ("Meltdown").

Production

In January 2003, CBS president

Leslie Moonves Leslie Roy Moonves (; born October 6, 1949) is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2006 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and ...

announced that ''JAG'' executive producer and showrunner

Donald P. Bellisario Donald Paul Bellisario (born August 8, 1935) is an American television producer and screenwriter who created and wrote episodes for the TV series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), ''Tales of the Gold Monkey'' (1982–1983), ''Airwolf'' (1984–198 ...

was developing a ''JAG''

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

, based on the work of the

Naval Criminal Investigative Service The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary investigative law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Navy. Its primary function is to investigate major criminal activities involving the Nav ...

. Tentatively titled ''Navy CIS'', the series premiered during the ''JAG'' episodes "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown". Also this season,

Dean Stockwell Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a film and television career that spanned seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he appeared in '' Anchors Aweigh'' (1945), '' ...

joins the cast as his ''

First Monday ''First Monday'' is an American legal drama television series which aired on CBS during the midseason replacement from January 15 to May 3, 2002. The series centered on the U.S. Supreme Court. Like another 2002 series, '' The Court'', it was i ...

'' character Senator Edward Sheffield.

Cast and characters

Main

Also starring

Recurring

Guest appearances

Episodes

Notes

References

{{JAG television 08 2002 American television seasons 2003 American television seasons