USA Today 12/31/1996 Remodeled 'JAG' returns on CBS: Drama takes on new co-star, more court cases

USA Today JAG, the military drama that began its life on NBC last season, returns for a second try Friday on CBS. And that switch in networks allows executive producer Donald P. Bellisario to make .IAG the show it was meant to be. At NBC, he was forced to make an initial change in co-stars and was asked to spend less time in the courtroom. For CBS, JAG is back in the courtroom, and Catherine Bell has stepped in as the new co-star for David James Elliott. Elliott plays Navy lawyer Lt. Cmdr. Harmon "Harm" Rabb, and Bell is Marine lawyer Maj. Sarah 'Mac" MaeKenzie. As members of the Judge Advocate General's corps, you'll see Harm in court either as a prosecutor or a defender," Bellisario says, ''because .JAG officers do all three things: They investigate, they prosecute and defend. Bellisario also promises more personal stories about the pair. A personal story about Bell: She originally was hired on JAG to play Rabb's lost love, who was killed in last season's final filmed episode. In that cliffhanger, Rabb investigated the murder and was himself found guilty of the crime. I3ut when CBS picked the show up days after NBC canceled it, NBC decided to stop airing .JAG immediately. The cliffhanger was never seen in the United States. ln other countries, where JAG became a big success, the cliffhanger did air over the summer, which means Bellisario will have some explaining to do. lie hopes international viewers will have an open mind. (Bell plays a new character who just happens to look like Harm's old girlfriend.) Another change for this season is that Bellisario is going to tackle the topical issue of' sexual harassment in the military. He stayed away from it initially ''because I was hoping for sonic cooperation from the Navy," but he didn't get it Also look for episodes dealing with AIDS and gays in the military, a group of Marines who are accused of stealing an important historical relic and a story set in Ireland in which the IRA aiid the British Royal Ulster Constabulary get involved to help JAG officers solve the crime. JAG, which finished No. 79 last season, is one of a handful of shows that ended up switching networks, along with The Jeff Foxworthy Show and The Naked Truth (both It started out strong in the ratings on Saturdays but lost some steam when NBC moved it to Wednesdays. JAG now airs on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, as the lead-in to Don Johnson's Nash Bridges. Bellisario thinks the shows are compatible, ''and we have a real chance." It was Ironic, however, that to make room for JAG, CBS canceled Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring Scott Bakula, who last starred in Bellisario' s Quantum Leap on NBC. I felt really had for Scott," the producer says. ''That was a tough break." JAG, the military drama that began its life on NBC last season, returns for a second try Friday on CBS. And that switch in networks allows executive producer Donald P. Bellisario to make .IAG the show it was meant to be. At NBC, he was forced to make an initial change in co-stars and was asked to spend less time in the courtroom. For CBS, JAG is back in the courtroom, and Catherine Bell has stepped in as the new co-star for David James Elliott. Elliott plays Navy lawyer Lt. Cmdr. Harmon "Harm" Rabb, and Bell is Marine lawyer Maj. Sarah 'Mac" MaeKenzie. As members of the Judge Advocate General's corps, you'll see Harm in court either as a prosecutor or a defender," Bellisario says, ''because .JAG officers do all three things: They investigate, they prosecute and defend. Bellisario also promises more personal stories about the pair. A personal story about Bell: She originally was hired on JAG to play Rabb's lost love, who was killed in last season's final filmed episode. In that cliffhanger, Rabb investigated the murder and was himself found guilty of the crime. I3ut when CBS picked the show up days after NBC canceled it, NBC decided to stop airing .JAG immediately. The cliffhanger was never seen in the United States. ln other countries, where JAG became a big success, the cliffhanger did air over the summer, which means Bellisario will have some explaining to do. lie hopes international viewers will have an open mind. (Bell plays a new character who just happens to look like Harm's old girlfriend.) Another change for this season is that Bellisario is going to tackle the topical issue of' sexual harassment in the military. He stayed away from it initially ''because I was hoping for sonic cooperation from the Navy," but he didn't get it Also look for episodes dealing with AIDS and gays in the military, a group of Marines who are accused of stealing an important historical relic and a story set in Ireland in which the IRA aiid the British Royal Ulster Constabulary get involved to help JAG officers solve the crime. JAG, which finished No. 79 last season, is one of a handful of shows that ended up switching networks, along with The Jeff Foxworthy Show and The Naked Truth (both It started out strong in the ratings on Saturdays but lost some steam when NBC moved it to Wednesdays. JAG now airs on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, as the lead-in to Don Johnson's Nash Bridges. Bellisario thinks the shows are compatible, ''and we have a real chance." It was Ironic, however, that to make room for JAG, CBS canceled Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring Scott Bakula, who last starred in Bellisario' s Quantum Leap on NBC. I felt really had for Scott," the producer says. ''That was a tough break."