Will It Survive Rough Seas?
By Harriet Winslow, Washington Post, April 7, 1996

Since he made the pilot for NBC's JAG last year, actor David James Elliott has worked hard to fit his uniform.

"I have about six Navy manuals, and the odd thing is, I read them," he joked. Now, he said, he gets distracted when Hollywood gets sloppy, and he finds himself nitpicking other military films.

Harm saluting

"Saluting without covers [caps]! People with their hands in their pockets!" Elliott said some uniform pockets are sewn shut to prevent that. (But a number of local Navy men said they have complete access to their pockets.) The bareheaded-salute photo on the cover must have been taken before he knew better.

On JAG, Elliott plays dark-haired Lt. Harmon Rabb, a lawyer, and Tracey Needham (Life Goes On), a [5'11"] blonde, plays Lt. Meg Austin, a lawyer and computer weapons specialist.

Both characters belong to the Navy's JAG (Judge Advocate General) Corps. Members of that group serve as investigators, prosecutors and defense attorneys, but Rabb and Austin stretch the job description for TV, solving murders, tracking spies and settling international disputes Wednesdays at 8.

Although JAG has evolved into a solid military-mystery series during its first year, it has earned mediocre ratings, had to overhaul its cast and switched nights. Lost at sea on Saturdays until mid-March, JAG must rebound in the next few weeks to be granted renewal.

In effect, each JAG episode is like an hour-long Tom Clancy movie, with a price tag to match.

The show is filled with splashy footage culled from military training films and Hollywood studios' B-rolls, carefully adapted with computers. These clips are approved by the show's executive producer, Don Bellisario (Magnum, P.I., Quantum Leap), who estimated that each episode costs close to $2 million. It helps, then, that JAG has been sold in Europe and elsewhere. "Overseas sales have been fabulous," Bellisario said. "I know that it ran in Australia and it was their number-one show. I find that my shows are appreciated more out of the country."

"Bellisario, a former Marine, is actively involved with JAG," said Elliott. "He's all over. This is his only project at the moment. He's writing and editing and releasing the scripts, and all the other duties that go along with being executive producer."

A Canadian, Elliott got this role after appearing as Carl, the moving guy, on Seinfeld and the sex-addicted athlete on last year's Melrose Place, the one who was briefly engaged to Alison.

As "Harm" Rabb, Elliott plays the son of a decorated Navy pilot whose plane went down one Christmas Eve in Vietnam. Rabb Jr. flew planes until a night-blindness problem led to a crash that killed his radio operator, leaving him with enough guilt to switch over to the investigative unit of the JAG corps.

The series is made to resemble the real Navy JAG corps, despite the daredevil stunts these lawyers are continually having to pull. JAG employs a former Navy man as an on-set technical advisor, but the U.S. Navy wouldn't touch the show, initially.

"It's changed slightly," said Bellisario. "Let's put it this way: The Navy now says that they are willing to cooperate with us, and they have in some small way cooperated." Specifically, the Navy has conceded the use of certain film footage.

The Marines, however, responded quickly - and positively. "The Marine Corps, on the other hand, has been extremely cooperative," he added, allowing JAG to be filmed on their bases. "They realize the value of publicity."

Another former Marine, Oliver North, recurs as the mysterious informer "Ollie". Elliott said he will appear again in the season's last episode. "He's a very nice man and he's available to anyone," said Elliott. "We have a lot of former Marines in the crew. He's quite a hero in the Marine population."

JAG is filmed all over California, said Elliott. And the scripts try to keep pace with world news. One episode drew an eery parallel to the February downing of two American planes near Cuba, and others keep up with changes in Bosnia.

"We are surfing the crest of history as it happens," he said.

There are loads of stunts that Elliott is not allowed to do, including plunging off a bus. For those, stunt-man Diamond Farnsworth (son of actor Richard) steps in. Elliott said he would like to do more, but pointed out that if he broke a leg, the entire production would have to shut down.

And if he broke a leg, how could he exercise? Between scenes, Elliott spends a lot of time making sure his Lt. Rabb is in the best possible shape. "I work out all the time," he said. "I have weights in [my trailer], where I'll do a dumbbell routine." He does these or follows a workout tape between scenes and runs on weekends. "You have to keep changing it. Your muscles get bored."

After JAG's average 14-hour days, you'd think Elliott would go home to his wife and daughter and collapse. Nope: "I do about 20-minutes worth of sit-ups at home at night." Twenty minutes, straight? Well, he said, he really notices the payoff.

His wife is actress [Nanci] Chambers, who Elliott said is "actively pursuing work at the moment." They have a 3-year-old daughter. "She's a very smart little girl and she's understanding and she knows the weekends are hers." Except during her naps, when he exercises again. His schedule is wearing, Elliott allowed, but said he has started meditating more to relive it. "I'm becoming a bit of a Zen master."

Elliott squeezes in a personal life, so why can't Navy lawyer Harmon Rabb? "It's happening more," he said, but faulted the fact that most of the cast, including the actress who played his first partner, left for other commitments in the three months between the pilot and the start of series filming.

"In the end, we were left with Harmon Rabb again, and Don had to recast everyone," he said.

Elliott said he expects more emphasis on Rabb's off-duty life. "That's the goal of the show, that's what makes people tune in, to see the relationships." And Bellisario said he is not worried about the show's renewal on NBC.

"Maybe I've been doing this for too long," he said. "I just make the best show I know how to make. I've written or rewritten every script. I don't think I've ever worked harder than I have on this show."