JAGhas the distinction of being both one of the biggest bombs and the biggest success stories in TV history.JAG, short for Judge Advocate General, debuted on NBC in the fall of 1995. Judge Advocates are basically lawyers in Navy and Marine uniforms who either defend or prosecute crimes that take place inside the military. The ’90s were filled with lawyer shows, butJAGoffered a familiar idea wrapped inside of an interesting new setting. It also did it with a likable cast of characters, withDavid James Elliottas Harmon Rabb andCatherine Bellas Sarah MacKenzie. Harm and Mac had the Hollywood good looks and charm that made you want to see them both take down the bad guy, defend the good guy, and in their downtime, fall in love.
JAGfelt built to succeed, but when it debuted on NBC, the show tanked. As Season 1 came to an end,JAGwas cancelled,leaving behind an unaired cliffhanger finale. In “Skeleton Crew,” Harm is arrested for murder, and even crazier, the victim was a woman played by Catherine Bell! Thankfully forJAG, it was picked up by CBS (a rarity in television) and went on to have nine successful seasons, but when it premiered in Season 2,the series never aired “Skeleton Crew” and moved on like it never happened. Still, you can see it today, and if you watch the intended Season 1 finale and Season 2 premiere back-to-back, it creates quite the weird viewing experience.
Harm Is Arrested for Murder in the ‘JAG’ Season 1 Finale
The first season ofJAGon NBC was more action series than legal drama, with Harm and a different woman, Meg Austin (Tracey Needham), often in some sort of trouble that they’d have to risk their lives to get out of. Such was the case for what was supposed to be the first season finale, “Skeleton Crew,” written by series creatorDonald P. Bellisario. In this episode, Lt. Diane Schonke is found dead in her car. To confuse you even more, Schonke was played by Catherine Bell,before she was recast as the co-lead Sarah MacKenize in Season 2.
Rabb is heartbroken to see Schonke dead. He was supposed to see her for dinner the night of her demise, but she never showed up at the restaurant. Some immediately grow suspicious of him, thinking that Rabb and Schonke were an item even though they were nothing more than friends. Because of this, he’s taken off the case of her murder. Soon after, the main suspect in Schonke’s death then ends up dead as well, not long after Rabb confronted and assaulted the guy. Being such a stellar investigator,Rabb thinks he has figured out who actually killed her, but before he can do anything about it, he’s arrested and charged for Schonke’s murder. With that, “Skeleton Crew” comes to an end. That could have created a huge mess in the future, but fortunately forJAGat the time, the episode never aired. NBC had already cancelled the series,so there was no need to aira cliffhanger episode that would never be resolved.
Season 2 of ‘JAG’ Acted Like the Story Never Happened
JAGwas a ratings dud on NBC. With the network aimed at a mostly younger crowd, andits biggest hits being sitcoms likeSeinfeld,Friends, andFrasier, a military action series didn’t fit in. Enter CBS, who was struggling in the mid-90s. It was picked up by them and debuted a second season in January 1997, six months after ending on NBC. There were a few immediate and noticeable changes. Harm was still there, as wasPatrick Labyorteauxas Ensign Bud Roberts andJohn M. Jacksonas Rear Admiral A.J. Chegwidden. Now, though, instead of being recurring characters, they were part of the main cast, asJAGbecame more of an ensemble series. The biggest change, however, was thatthe Meg Austin character was out and replaced by Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie, with Catherine Bell resurrected to play someone new.
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That would have created some major confusion if “Skeleton Crew” had aired on TV.Harm had just been arrested for the death of Diane Schonke, who was played by the same actress who now played Mac! In the Season 2 premiere, “We the People,” again written by Donald P. Bellisario, Harm, Mac, and Bud are out to track down… a guy who has stolen the Declaration of Independence. Harm is no longer under arrest, because there never was a murdered Diane Schonke. That was great news for Catherine Bell.If NBC had kept the series, she couldn’t have been cast as Mac, a role which defined her acting career, because she had just played someone else.
‘JAG’ Went on To Become a Big Hit on CBS
In 1998, Bellisario, who alsocreated classic shows such asMagnum P.I.andQuantum Leap, toldtheLos Angeles TimesthatJAGwas pitched asTop GunmeetsA Few Good Men, but it was to be more character-based because “This is not a show about hardware and guns and planes." Premiering around the same time asEverybody Loves Raymond, the two shows helped bring CBS back.JAGlasted for nine more seasons as a ratings winner, finally ending in 2005. Its legacy didn’t end there, though.It also helped to birth NCIS and its three spin-offsin 2003, with the original being a spin-off ofJAG. In 2019, David James Elliott and Catherine Bell actuallyreprised their characters for an arc onNCIS: LA, with them playing Harm and Mac for the first time in 14 years.
As for the bizarre “Skeleton Crew” episode,although it never aired on NBC or CBS, it was finally seen on syndication and DVD releases. Today, you can watch the Season 1 finale, where Harm is arrested for the murder of a woman who looks exactly like Mac, and is played by the actress who played Mac, but isn’t Mac. Somewhere out there, he’s still in handcuffs and waiting to catch Diane Schonke’s actual killer. Perhaps Mac could have helped him crack the case. Because you’re not confused enough, that’s kind of what really happens. In Season 3’s “Death Watch,” Harm reads letters that Schonke sent him, meaning she does exist. Although we never see her,there is an inside joke from Harm about how much Mac looks and sounds like her. Together, they resolve what really happened to Schonke, and Rabb kisses Mac, but he’s actually kissing Schonke, saying goodbye to her because the two women look so much alike. Say what? It’s a mess, but it’s the perfect encapsulation of the greatness of ’90s and early 2000s TV.
