Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 23, 1995 TAG: 9509260016
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Then, when she finally scrambles to safety, a dark figure emerges from the shadows behind her - and pushes her back over the side.
That horrifying incident opens tonight's two-hour premiere of NBC's new action drama ``JAG,'' a fresh and stylish series that starts with a considerable bang as we're plunged into a difficult murder investigation by young Lt. Harmon Rabb Jr. (David James Elliott) of the Judge Advocate General's office, the legal branch known within the military simply as the JAG.
Not only does Rabb face the awesome task of sorting out a murder mystery aboard a ship of war, but he also must delicately pick his way through the complex relationships in a Navy beset with revolutionary changes.
Because the carrier is in the midst of a near-war crisis off the coast of the former Yugoslavia, the experimental use of combat-trained female pilots has provoked controversy aboard ship.
Before this episode of ``JAG'' is over, the series has given us an intense and exciting peek into the kinds of stressful situations that now may be quite common in a military establishment that has been backed to the wall by the forces of social change.
But there's no mystery about why ``JAG'' has such a feel of reality about it: It comes from writer-producer Don Bellisario, an ex-Marine and professed ``military junkie,'' who also happens to be one of TV's best producers of action shows, from ``Baa Baa Black Sheep'' and ``Battlestar Galactica'' through ``Magnum, P.I.,'' ``Airwolf'' and ``Quantum Leap.''
``I like the moral code of most of the military,'' he says. ``I like the respect and responsibility that comes with military. I like the idea of having a goal that has to do with your country. Those things all appeal to me, and I guess that's why I write this show.''
Bellisario also thinks the settings for ``JAG'' almost dictate lots of action, and he confesses he loves stuff like aircraft carriers, F-14 fighter-bombers and ``the equipment that goes with the military.''
NBC is counting on the breakout potential of tall, handsome David James Elliott as the 1995-'96 TV season's ``hunk to beat.'' The network sees him booming the way Tom Selleck did in Bellisario's ``Magnum, P.I.'' a decade ago, drawing in the hordes of women who otherwise might never tune into a military-theme show.
Though Elliott's character is a former Navy fighter pilot who's forced to take over the controls of an F-14 in this week's show, he's mainly a canny lawyer-type, much like the Tom Cruise character in ``A Few Good Men.'' But nobody thinks seeing him get into the thick of some action in the series premiere will hurt his long-term appeal.
So far, Elliott is rather cool to the ``hunk of the year'' talk. His attitude seems to be, ``if it happens, it happens.'' But he's quite keen on the role, which is sort of wish-fulfillment time for him.
``It's thrilling, because I loved war movies as a child,'' he said. ``For some people, their dream would be doing a western. Mine was always being in war pictures.''
Surprisingly, Bellisario received absolutely no cooperation from the Navy when filming this week's ``JAG'' pilot. Most of the aerial combat scenes were borrowed from other films, including ``Top Gun,'' and given some computer enhancement where necessary. He still hopes to get the military to come around, especially since he sees things from their point of view.
``I don't think they wanted to talk about a female pilot who gets murdered on a carrier,'' he said. ``That's not the kind of press they're looking for, especially after the Tailhook scandal and other issues that have come up.''
In this week's show, Rabb is accompanied by a female lawyer, Lt. Kate Pike, played by Andrea Parker, who's a semi-regular on NBC's ``ER.'' She'll reprise the role on future ``JAG'' episodes, but Tracey Needham will be the show's regular female lawyer, Lt. j.g. Meg Austin. Needham joins the cast in the episode airing Sept. 30.
``JAG'' probably has one other thing going for it now - a growing interest in seeing the U.S. military presence displayed positively, which may be a spillover from the boom in pride surrounding the performance of U.S. troops during the Persian Gulf War.
``I think the country has always had a core - and I'm not talking about an extremist core - of people who believe in God, honor and country,'' said Bellisario. ``In the media, we've tended to be much more to the left than the right.''
Obviously, he feels ``JAG'' will please those action fans who want to see the score balanced a bit when it comes to stories about the military.
``JAG'' premieres tonight at 8 on WSLS-Channel 10.
by CNB