THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 23, 1995 TAG: 9509220077
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT, the Canadian-born actor who stars in ``JAG'' on NBC, looks terrific in his cool, crisp whites - he's a recruiting poster come to life.
Elliott's portrayal of a dashing, heroic lieutenant who risks his life to save a wounded comrade is about all the Navy will like in the drama, which premieres tonight at 8 with a two-hour episode.
At the Pentagon, they'll be upset to hear the commanding officer of an aircraft carrier ask when ``Washington will realize that a carrier is no place for a woman.'' Nobody in the Navy wants to hear dialogue like that in the wake of the Tailhook scandal.
In the premiere of ``JAG,'' Elliott plays an officer in the Judge Advocate General's Office sent aboard the carrier Seahawk to investigate the death of a female pilot. Somebody pushed her off the flight deck in the dark of night.
That plot twist alone is enough to make them cringe at the Pentagon. The series' creator, executive producer and director, Don Bellisario, sets back feminism to the stone age in ``JAG'' when he has male pilots criticizing, demeaning, (``she has no guts''), harassing and eventually killing women officers.
When the Navy brass isn't fuming at what it sees on NBC tonight, the admirals will likely be laughing at the corny dialogue (``I don't have to be fair. I'm the CAG'') and wondering who advised Bellisario about life in the fleet. (A CAG is the carrier air wing commander.)
The carrier in ``JAG'' is named the Seahawk. A goof. The Navy names its carriers for famous Americans and epic battles. In ``JAG,'' Navy ensigns treat lieutenants junior grade as if they were four-star admirals. How silly.
On the show they use two phrases - ``on my six'' and ``stick to my six'' - which is supposed to be Navy flier talk for ``follow me.'' Yet nobody I talked to recently in the Navy ever heard those phrases. Nor did I hear them during four years in bell-bottoms.
After showing the ``JAG'' tape to Navy officers and enlisted men in Norfolk, here are some of the comments I collected:
``The show's technical advisors did not serve the project well, based on the gross inaccuracies in safety and flight deck procedures shown in the film.'''
``The pilot episode of `JAG' is a caricature of how Hollywood sees the military. It's way off base.''
``Technically, `JAG' is flawed, and does not give a realistic picture of life at sea. It exaggerates certain negative aspects in today's Navy. The people in Hollywood are out of touch with reality.''
``Technically flawed''? How?
Well, in the climactic scene, Elliott as Lt. Harmon Rabb Jr. brings in a crippled F-14 Tomcat to a safe landing aboard the carrier while operating the aircraft from the back seat. Not possible, said a Navy spokesman in Norfolk.
``You can't see the flight deck from back there. And there are no Tomcats in the fleet with dual controls, as far as I know.''
The Navy in Norfolk supplied these comments from officers and enlisted men on the condition that their names not be used.
In a formal statement, the Navy here stressed that the two-hour premiere of ``JAG'' was produced without cooperation from the Department of Defense.
``The producers have submitted scripts for subsequent episodes. If DOD criteria is met, and the military life, operations and policies are accurately portrayed, it is possible that the making of individual episodes may receive cooperation from the Department of Defense.''
When Bellisario met with members of the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles not long ago, he said he would like to have the Navy helping him with ``JAG,'' but not if it means being stifled, creatively speaking.
``I have to be open to do stories about negative aspects of the military life,'' said the man who gave TV ``Quantum Leap'' and ``Magnum, PI.''
``To date, the military has been very cautious about cooperating. They have not given me help. They have not given me anything.''
With Bellisario prohibited from shooting on Navy ships, planes and bases, he has had to improvise. He borrowed scenes from such films as ``Top Gun,'' ``Flight of the Intruder'' and ``Final Countdown.''
In a future episode, some of which takes place on a submarine, Bellisario plans to use stock footage from ``The Hunt for Red October.'' And he intends to film some of that episode on the set of ``Crimson Tide.''
Even with renting sets and using stock file footage, each episode of ``JAG'' costs around $1.5 million, said the producer.
``I'm trying to give the series the look of a big feature-length film every week.''
As for Elliott, ``JAG'' could be the show that makes him a star. Bellisario's other TV shows did wonders for a couple of guys named Tom Selleck and Scott Bakula.
Elliott has been seen lately on ``Melrose Place,'' playing the hunky quarterback with a range of addictions who bedded Alison Parker (Courtney Thorne-Smith). He did four episodes.
Elliott said he studied a training manual or two to prepare for the role of Rabb, who becomes a Navy lawyer when problems with his eyesight take away his career as an aviator. In the finale, he safely brings in the disabled Tomcat - it's a casualty of the air war over Bosnia - and the wounded air wing commander. Rabb does all of this despite the fact it's been five years since he last flew, and couldn't see the flight deck.
``Inaccurate and unrealistic,'' said a Navy pilot in Norfolk as he watched the tape of ``JAG.'' That about sums up the series. ILLUSTRATION: NBC color photos
David James Elliott...and Tracey Needham...
NBC photo
David James Elliott stars with Tracy Needham in this new series
about Navy life that premieres tonight at 8 on NBC.
by CNB