By Jefferson Graham, USA Today, May 1, 1996David James Elliott--who could be a poster boy for the Navy recruitment office--never spent a day in the Armed Forces. ``But I feel as though I'm in the service now,'' says Elliott, who stars as Navy lawyer Lt. Harmon Rabb Jr., investigating a variety of criminal cases on NBC's JAG.
``I grew up with American war movies. I loved the grandeur of it all. They deal with the ultimate--life and death,'' he says. ``The military builds pride and discipline, and it's an interesting arena to explore.''
JAG, standing for Judge Advocate General, started the season on Saturdays, where it performed better than NBC shows had there in previous years. But NBC believed the show could do even better on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, where it moved in March. Sure enough, it has won its time slot several times since then.
Series creator Don Bellisario ``was shocked when they put us on Saturdays, '' Elliott says. ``People are home on Wednesdays. That night makes a lot more sense for us.''
Elliott believes JAG has struck a chord because ``it's intelligent, touching and topical. It's an interesting challenge to find the humanity in that rigid system of protocol.''
Lt. Rabb's assignments certainly have been challenging. Tonight, he investigates the murder of a space shuttle pilot. In an earlier episode he pursued a sniper who escaped from the brig after taking a shot at a Marine colonel. In another, he was ordered to destroy a military plane downed in Cuba before its software could be sold to Iran.
Elliott, who grew up in Toronto, knew he wanted to be an actor by his senior year of high school. After he went to drama school, Elliott worked with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and appeared in several Canadian productions, including Fly by Night, which aired on CBS late-night.
After moving to Los Angeles seven years ago, he appeared for one season on Knots Landing and for two on the syndicated The Untouchables. For five episodes on Melrose Place, he played a sex-addicted football star. Last season, he played singer Dottie West's husband in a TV movie and appeared as a moving man who dated Elaine in Seinfeld.
The military's reaction to JAG has been positive, he says. ``I get letters all the time from retired Navy and Marine personnel. We take great pains to adhere to protocol, and they love it.''
During the past few months, Elliott has been traveling all over Southern California -- San Diego, Santa Rosa, El Toro, Malibu and the desert -- for location shots. And now that JAG has wrapped for the season, he plans to visit his family vacation home by the sea in the Bahamas. ``All my relatives are there,'' he says. ``We've been going there all our lives.''
Our thanks to Lois Menzel for submitting this.