A New Life: Part 1 (1995) User Reviews (15)

Excellent show

[kerigrindstaff · 9/10 · 30 October 2005]

David James Elliot and Catherine Bell make a wonderful duo through the entire running of JAG. Their constant banter and bickering, their obvious chemistry, and the shaded romance add to the underlay of the show, adding just another twist and avenue to be considered while watching the show.

Since the beginning of JAG, the naval court cases and the plots have always been exceptional. The screen writers seemed to be very knowledgeable and versed in law, especially naval law, and understand the workings of the military and crime investigations. Each episode builds with suspense and there is seldom a dull moment. It integrates the real-life scenarios of war, of the characters, and of hardships that they face together in a wonderful blend. There's often comedy and often drama, but they both work together nicely and they're not overdone.

Overall, I give the entire run of the series 9 stars out of 10. The series finale was very emotional and very touching, and after a 10 year run, the family bonds that the cast made with each other were evident, especially in the bar scene during the last 15 minutes. Very outstanding conclusion.

Excellent script, like IRL, large variety on characters

[JayKam · 8/10 · 15 January 2003]

Excellent script, minor mistakes. Large variety on characters, like IRL. Harmon Jr.'s character looks a lot like mine, as A.J.'s looks like my mom's. What else could I do than.... LOVE IT!

A good show with a lot of creativity.

[kesner1 · 9/10 · 7 October 2004]

*Warning - two small plot spoiler's for anyone who has not seen the show.

Although the writing is somewhat predictable, the actors do a good job of making it work. There have been some surprises during the first nine years. These include Harm finding a brother he never knew, and certain romances that were unexpected. Some romances that were expected have not happened. One big surprise was Lt. Bud Roberts getting injured and almost dying in Afghanistan and how everyone has dealt with that.

The show does a good job of using locations to include aircraft carriers and other Navy ships and Navy aircraft. Also does a fair job of showing the JAG lawyers interacting with other government agencies and officials.

The character development has been good enough to deliver a spin-off, Navy NCIS, (although you could predict at the end of the episodes that initiated this that a spin-off was coming) that is holding it's own as well.

Over all a good show that could use some fresh writing but the characters make it work. Just waiting for it to come out on DVD.

A wonderful series

[lil_house · 10/10 · 18 May 2005]

I am very saddened that JAG has come to an end it really breaks my heart.Why didn't they just CBS just pay David what he wanted in salary and be done with and let the show go on.They are going to be the losers not DJE for him and Bell were a great team to gather the best in the business as for as i am concerned.I know a lot of fans of JAG feel the same i do about this and maybe if enough of people respond that that maybe CBS will have have second thoughts on this.It is a good thing that CBS decided to air another series related to JAG called NCIS as this also a great and wonderful series that relates to navy and the military.It features some wonderful actors also.

miss show

[rolandehayner · 10/10 · 18 October 2005]

My son was about 8 when JAG came on. During the show's run he progressed through AFJROTC for 4 years. He is now a Cadet at Norwich University in VT, preparing for a career as Marine officer. A lot of things influenced this decision, but I believe the weekly renewal of service before self, service to one's own country, the example set before him in JAG is hugely responsible for his choices.

Long live JAG in syndication (I watch every day!).

Thank you, all of you. Rolande Hayner

Thank you for the impact your imagination had on my son and others. God Bless You. Rolande Hayner

Go navy!

[jhobson1 · 6 July 2004]

My wife is a real fan of this show, so I've seen quite a few episodes. Just once, I would like to see an episode where the US Navy itself was made to look less than perfect.

To judge from this program, when you get promoted in the navy, you gain wisdom with each stripe. On the other hand, if you don't think well of the navy, you are a cad and a scoundrel, acting from the basest motives.

My father was a regular navy officer and my brother put 20 years in the navy (mostly on submarines) and they had plenty of examples of institutional stupidity in the navy.

Alas...what could have been (An unpopular opinion)

[TheMovieSmith · 10/10 · 6 August 2021]

Everytime I watch the pilot episode for JAG I can't help but wonder about the squandered potential of the series. While I'm still a fan of JAG I would have liked this series more if they had followed the plan outlined in the pilot episode. A fun, adventure of the week series with military action and sparingly used legal drama instead of overdrawn legal battles in the courtroom which permeated the eventual series. The pilot episode was fun, exciting, and action packed. It was airy and lighthearted while still managing to highlight (rather well I may add) the tension and high stakes of every situation in the episode. It well written, funny and the cast was well balanced and preformed spectacularly which brings be to the biggest what if...the cast. I know this will probably be an unpopular opinion but the dynamic of the pilot cast was better suited than when we got in the actual series. I don't know what was the excuse the network or producers put forth to not make Andrea Parker, Kevin Dunn, and W. K. Stratton part of the regular cast but in my opinion they would had better contrast to David James Elliott how was by far the right casting choice for Harm and played the part excellently in both the pilot and series (right up to the end when he just looked rather uninterested). Not to say that the eventual castings of Catherine Bell, Patrick Labyorteaux, and John M. Jackson gave bad performances, because they didn't but there was hardly any chemistry and no balance whatsoever (i.e. Look at both the Admiral and Mac trying to constantly outdo each other as the gruffest person in the room). Dunn and Stratton's Bovo and Lindsey had great contrast with each other and provided balance to Harm (Bovo's good humor and nature in contrast to the straight laced Lindsey balanced out the charming, debonair Harm). My last point is probably the least popular but Andrea Parker and her character Kate were a better love interest for Harm than Catherine Bell and Mac. At the end of the pilot episode it is heavily implied (and later confirmed) that Harm and Kate had a relationship which would have hopefully ended the tedious 'will they/won't they' trope the series struggled through from season two onward (Not to mention the horrible Mac looks like Diane plot points - did Harm love Mac for Mac or because he reminded her of Diane?) There could have been tension as a result of a fallout from their relationship but there would be closure in the sense that they would have confessed their feelings for one another and had a relationship instead of the quagmire that has never been resolved. Case in point look at Harm and Mac's cameos in NCIS:LA which still showed them as having never married despite the series finale of JAG itself. A twenty-year 'love affair' with no closure whatsoever did a great disservice to the characters and to mention the fans of the series. Also, Parker / Kate's personality was way more lighthearted, charming, and funny while still being assertive and demanding when the situation required. A stark comparison to the mostly emotionless Mac who always seemed like a statue. And I know it's choice since Mac was a Marine but the woman never looked like she was a pleasant person to be around. After all, television like movies should be escapist in nature primarily and that's what was sold in the pilot episode however, unfortunately JAG may have been one of the biggest bait and switch series in history. Like I said, the series was good and I saw every episode but when looking at the pilot I just can't help to wonder what could have been and the wasted opportunities.

Great Show!

[jlthiessen · 10/10 · 11 April 2002]

I started watching JAG about a year ago. I fell in love with the show immediately. The episodes are well written, humorous, and sometimes controversial. I am also a huge Navy fan, so it definitely attracts my attention when shows revolving around the military air. However, please don't let that last comment sway you if you are not as gung-ho about the military as I am. The show is essentially "Law & Order" (another one of my favorites) with the Navy as the backdrop. The characters are very well developed, and they grow with each episode. Too often, shows err by keeping their characters stagnant. If you haven't watched an episode yet, try it! I don't think you'll be sorry.

Jag

[HorrorMonster · 10/10 · 13 March 2006]

I love Jag. It ended about 1 year ago and I am still amazed that Harm and Mac decided to get Married. The end with the Jag coin was a little confusing. I have been watching the show for three years and I didn't remember the Jag coin that the Admiral gave to bud. I hope they have a reunion episode in a few years. I was also confused about that one episode where Mac went to the doctor and got some horrible news that changed her life forever. I have to say though my favorite episode is the last one even if it ended with a cliffhanger. It came as a shock to me that they didn't show the wedding. I hope in the reunion episode some things will be cleared up. I gave Jag a 10 because even though most people don't think young people like it I do.

JAG one of the best written shows on television

[Rutharie · 10/10 · 7 September 2002]

JAG gives insight into the lives of US service men/women. The story lines are current and provide more insight into the operations of the service at the higher levels especially with reference to other government agencies and bureaucracy. The characters appear real and vivid to the audience. Lt. Singer's personality is such a turnoff that it's hard to imagine her married to David James Elliott in real life.

Mac has the characteristics that most women would admire in a female officer. The admiral, gunny, the other lieutenants all become part of the watchers "family" instead of t.v, characters.

Be all you can be.

[rungust · 1/10 · 21 March 2003]

I kind of like JAG. It do have it´s charm but lately it´s to much propaganda in it. For an outsider (a non American) the patriotic feeling can be a bit to much.

I don´t like that Rabb and MacKenzie goes from being lawyers (as they were in the early parts of the TV show) to become super heros that stops wars and rescues entire continents. Its almost like watching a recruitment video from the US army.

I still watch the show, so it´s not that bad. But i would prefer more episodes when Rabb and MacKenzie investigates military accidents and don´t save the world in the future.

love the show

[JAG_MASH_NUT · 15 November 2004]

I was 5 years old when this show came out. As I got older, I was opened up to the world of planes, law and the military, because my parents watched it every week. I never liked it, because I didn't understand it.

Two years ago, during a very difficult, trying, sad time in my life, I discovered this show again, just before the start of the ninth season. I threw myself into the plot lines, sexual tension, action, adventure and the very juicy David James Elliott. I became hooked, my parents and friends call it an absolute obsession, but it's great anyway. If Harm and Mac don't get together, I'll cry. The introduction of Mattie Grace was a welcome one, because she really opened Harm up and got him to admit the truth about his feelings for his partner. Her departure was bittersweet. She brought a lot to the show, and I'm sad to see her go, but maybe it's for the best. I cried during their final scene together. This show is wonderfully, although slightly predictable, written, and the day it ends will probably kill me...joking! I am now 14 years old, considerably wiser...although still I have a lot to learn. But now that I am no longer a 5 year old who doesn't understand, I realize that this show is a gem, hidden in a pile of crap...and so I sign off with this advice... WATCH THE FREAKING SHOW...OR YOU'LL BE SORRY!!! :)

Mac: In one way or another, we're all searching for something. Harm: Oh yeah, what are you searching for? Mac: What every woman wants, a great career, a good man and

comfortable shoes...lots and lots of them.

Mac: Well, I do have a tattoo; I'm a pretty good arm wrestling; and, although, I don't like the term, I am, technically, a jar head. Harm: Whoa, whoa, whoa…back up. You have a tattoo? How come I've never seen it? Where would one find this tattoo? Mac: I'm afraid that's classified information, Commander!

Harm: You have tattoos...

"JAG" Season 3 - Episode: "Vanished"

J*A*G*

[viperfx2 · 10/10 · 17 April 2002]

JAG the TV-Pilot was a good movie. When I first saw the movie a few good men. I thought to myself wouldn't it be nice if they made a TV show about this short of thing. Then what happen. They did. If you are a fan of this series. I would highly recommend that this movie for the young and old.

"A New Life"

[allmoviesfan · 9/10 · 14 April 2023]

A brilliant debut!

The feature-length pilot that started it all: 227 JAG episodes followed by 4 NCIS spin-offs and counting. A female Radio Intercept Officer, Lieutenant Arutti, disappears off the USS Seahawk in suspicious circumstances hours after helping to shoot down an enemy fighter.

Lieutenant Harmon Rabb Jr, a lawyer from the Judge Advocate General Corps (and a former fighter pilot now grounded due to night blindness issues), is detailed to investigate Arutti's disappearance, clashing at times with the ship's captain and CAG (played by Terry O'Quinn).

Rabb is accompanied by Lieutenant Caitlin Pike (Andrea Parker) who becomes the first of four of Rabb's partners during the show's decade-long - Sarah MacKenzie mostly, Meg Austin and Tracey Manetti as well.

Jay Leno has a cameo as himself on his show, telling a joke about Arutti's efforts in downing the enemy fighter.

Also notable from the feature-length premiere: the first appearance of Patrick Labyorteaux as Bud Roberts, the Seahawk's public affairs officer, who would be a cast regular from Season 2 onward.

A well-structured episode which kept me guessing right to the very end.

Not Bad

[rohan_g · 20 July 2002]

I've only started to watch this show only a couple of weeks ago out of sheer boredom, however this isn't a bad show. I am not a big fan of the military or law genres, however when you combine the elements, you do get one hell of a show.

One recommendation for the directors, a little CGI wouldn't go astray, as the footage provided by the DOD seems to be a little dodgy (weird). Apart from that let the show continue as it is.

7 out 10.