Heroes - 26

[This is the most often referenced episode in the whole JAG ten year series! It establishes 'ground rules' and expectations for Harm and Mac's relationship.] A SEAL team had boarded a terrorist ship full of "Symtex" explosives and planted a detonator when the team was surrounded by terrorists. PO1 Mark Harridan charged into the middle firing and saved their unit. On the way out Harridan was shot by CPO Greg Connor in a corridor. Gorski retrieved Harridan's body and claimed Connor had done it on purpose. Harm (H) prosecuted and couldn't get past the idea that Connor was too good for it to be an accident. Connor requested Mac (M) as defense because he heard that "after Rabb, you are the best." H & Ms litigation became personal. H suggested M think of "ricochet" and then, when she used it, made her look foolish. He said "nothing personal" but she said she "didn't turn on and off friendship." Bud (B) , who was helping H, said it was like "watching your parents fight," and judge Harrington told them to "try taking turns" when they both talked at once in court. H & B felt Connors was hiding something and noticed that Harrington's parents weren't at the trial. B had to track them down to find that the father hadn't told the mother that there was even going to be a trial. Mr. Harrington was antagonistic to H and said that Connor and his son grew up together and were long time friends, and that his son was up for the navy cross but they didn't give that to murder victims.

Gorski testified that he saw Connor carry Harridan's body to the deck and stow it in a compartment to leave it, along with his gun, that he claimed had jammed. Gorski retrieved Harridan and the gun. Back on board he saw Connor going through Harridan's locker and taking some pills. When he tried to stop him, Connor knocked him down then went on deck and threw the pills overboard. M tried to show that Gorski had been angry at Connor for a long time, and was just trying to "get even." Connor wouldn't tell M about the pills or other aspects of the case. Chegwidden (C) kept coming into the courtroom to watch, then told H that he might have "target fixation" and be "so intent on winning" he might "crash and burn." He continued his "sniping" with M and suggested that she could "plea bargain." She said "in your dreams," and he replied, "you don't want to be in MY dreams." She told him "red light," and he backed her up, saying, "there's nothing sexual in what I said and if you think so, I should call red light on you." She told him that "loosing your first case is a right of passage." He and B went to Harridan's apartment and found his mother there. She told him that her husband demanded perfection and could turn his back on anyone." H asked "even his son?" H surreptitiously took some pills from the apartment. Mrs. Harridan, later, brought H her son's last letter, delivered two weeks after his death. In it Harrington said he "hoped my death would be courageous and will make dad proud."

When M slobbered her hamburger catsup on Hs briefcase he told her that she had the "four major food groups: starch, grease, dead animal and catsup." She suggested that he "eject from this one," and he told her that she didn't understand navy pilots. "You end up an inch shorter every time you eject, it's the last thing you want to do." He tried to hold the door open for her and was rebuffed so he just whistled Anchor's Aweigh to her annoyance. Later H told B that if "she makes one more point, Connor's will walk, and we'll never know the truth- and the truth is everything." Then M whistled the marine hymn to Hs annoyance. H recalled the weapons expert to testify about the gun jamming and M rebutted him. H wanted to re-re-rebut but Judge Harrington closed him off. Frustrated, H cocked the automatic weapon and fired it into the ceiling as everyone hit the deck. Before C could read him the riot act, B found that the pills they took from the apartment were AZT, AIDs medicine. H told C that he couldn't tell him about the case because as JAG he would be bound to make it public but that he was not. H talked to Connor's alone and told him he knew the 'secrets'. Connors finally told him the true story, that Harridan had been gay since high school. His mother knew and his father had suspected. He developed AIDs and had said that the "best thing that could happen would be for him to be killed on a mission. He was more afraid of his father than death. Connor's had been shooting a terrorist down the hall behind them when Harridan jumped into the line of fire. H didn't know whether to believe the story or not so he talked with Gorski again. Gorski fabricated that Harridan had the "hots" for Connor's wife, which H knew was a lie so, in court, he apologized for shooting the ceiling and dropped the charges. Later, Mr. Harridan was harassing H so he told him that his son "didn't die for his country, but for you. He was gay with AIDs and rather than face you he stood in the LOF. H threw his drink in Harridan's face and walked away.

M brought a "peace offering vegetarian plate" to Hs apartment where he was doing major remodeling. When he commented on how fast she ducked when he shot the gun, she told him that he knew nothing about Marine's. "Marines don't duck. We take cover, but never duck."

Jinx - 27

[Another very complicated plot] Bud answered his cell phone while flying with Harm in his stearman. Mac asked them to meet her and then told H that Lt Tess McKee was killed when her F-14 hit a flock of birds during a low level flight practice mission and spun into the ocean. McKee had held on long enough for her RIO, Lt Peter Ayers, to eject. She had been recommended, by several members of congress, to be appointed as the first female member of the Blue Angels. Ayers was then the last surviving member (out of 8) of the Howler squad, who accidentally blew up a mosque in gulf war. SadDAM claimed that 100 were killed. Intel later confirmed that a radio link to the missile had shut off and SadDAM had parked a SAM missile truck right in front of the mosque. H visited Annie Pendry and Josh, wife of deceased pilot friend Lucas Pendry and helped her around the house. Josh had his arm in a cast from a hockey injury. A reporter came to Annie asking about a supposed "Jinx" of the squadron and seemed to know information about the mosque, which Luke had sworn her to secrecy about. B "ticked-off" H by buying into the "bad Karma" of the unit so was assigned some "busy work" in a brusque manner. Later he asked H if he was "still mad at me," and H said "I was never mad at you B, it's M who is always complaining about you." Staying at Annie's, H had a dream of being in a bar and talking with his old friend Luke who told him that it was alright if he wanted to "be with" Annie, but to "not start anything that he didn't intend to finish." H's long time feelings for Annie began to come to the surface and they kissed several times. She was offered a transfer to the Baltimore area but didn't know if she was going to take it. She finally told him that she had decided to "go for it" to get her life back on track. She said that she would call H when she was on her feet.

Ayers was assigned on a mission with pilot Lt Vanderway and panicked going through a storm, then was hit by lightening which started a fire. They landed ok but Vanderway told the captain he didn't want to fly with Ayers anymore because he was a jinx. The captain told him to not talk of it again because "this stuff feeds on itself, and becomes a self fulfilling prophecy." H bristled at an obnoxious reporter trying to find a "scoop" over the Jinx aspect so told M that he was going to "take a couple of days." He stayed with Annie fixing up the house and pursuing their relationship. She wondered to him if Luke would want her to have another relationship, "especially if it was with you." M appeared at the house and caught them kissing. M informed H that Ayers had turned in his wings when he was asked to fly the missing man formation the next day for McKee's funeral. B tailed him to a mosque where H caught up with him. B calculated that of the 7 Howler crashed since the Gulf War, 6 of them were on Islamic holy days. The funeral was on another Holy day and "I wouldn't want to fly either," B said. H finally convinced Ayers that it was up to him to "put an end to this or it will destroy the Howlers." No one would fly with him so H said that he would. H pulled the missing man then went for the "standard" refueling practice. During the refueling the basket hit and broke the Plexiglas canopy wounding and partially blinding H. Ayers was panicking and demanding to eject but H ordered him not to. They diverted to El Toro and Ayers had to talk H down reading out the instrument values to him. H landed "blind" and afterwards Ayers found that a Plexiglas shard had fouled his ejection mechanism and his seat wouldn't have fired so Hs "would have fried" him. H told him that he would fly with him anytime because he was "untouchable."

Secrets - 28

[A very complicated plot, but gives background for Webb and the CIA connections which will be used in upcomming episodes] Mac (M) was in her new office at JAG and shown helping Bud (B) study for a law exam. Corporal Jason Magida, who had been in the brig for eight of his twenty year sentence for espionage, poisoned the water supply to overwhelm the brig's infirmary and escape during the confusion. He made a beeline for the man who had put him there, Admiral Chegwidden (V) , and took him hostage- "to clear his name." Chegwidden, who had wanted to see Harm (H) on the Russell file, told him he wanted the Clawson file (which was a code for someone who had taken their CO hostage). H picked up on the reference, with B's help, and cleared the building. C played the tough guy, trying to catch Magida off guard, and refused to cooperate. Magida had H bring his court-martial records to the office but H found they were classified "Top Secret." He called Webb (W) , who was dancing with his mother, for a favor and got the records. W accidentally let slip that he had to give the security codes to obtain the information so H realized that W was really a CIA agent instead of with 'state'. Magida took M & B hostage to hold another trial for him. M assigned to prosecute, B to judge and C to defend. W refused to aid H any more and was leaving until he saw Gayle Osborne come as the leader of the "special response team." W told H that, the sunflower chewing, arrogant, Osborne was CIA and was probably there to "neutralize" Magida. Osborne used a fiber optic scope to "target" Magida from under the door but H took him down and C stepped on the scope when he heard that Osborne had been sent. C said that "if Osborne is involved you probably were set up and so was I." C told Osborne to stand down but he wouldn't, giving him only an hour. C asked H to try and get Malka Dayan, the Moussad Israeli agent who was supposed to have received documents from Magida. H asked W to go get her but he angrily refused, only to go get her eventually.

H found that Osborne was lying, and not up on the roof like he claimed, just as W drove up with Dayan. Osborne's men wouldn't let H in with Dayan so H took one man down and W slugged the other. Dayan said that the CIA had blackmailed her into lying and promised her that 'nothing would happen to Magida.' H realized that she had been a double agent. CIA was afraid that she was about to be discovered as a double, so they exposed her as a Moussad agent to avoid embarrassment of being caught spying on an ally. C said that he would present the case to the SECNAV and that it would be dropped. Just as Magida was giving H his gun, H saw sunflower seeds coming from the air conditioning vent and pushed him out of the way of Osborne's shots. H yanked Osborne down out of the vent and they had a stand off, pointing their guns at each other. C told Osborne that, "he will do it." Osborne said "you've never lied to me, AJ. I think he will," and stood down. Magida then told H that he was glad that he didn't fire the gun because it had no bullets! C was shown defending Magida where the espionage charges were dropped, but he was found guilty on hostage taking etc., and sentenced to the eight years he had already served.

We the People - 25

[A bit 'far fetched'; but none-the-less a significant episode in that Mac's history and family is further elucidated. Unfortunately, it was never followed up on except a cursory tangential mention. This episode also introduced Hs new partner and an explanation for a frequently used 'excuse' for his odd personal behaviors.] Harm (H) was presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross by President Clinton for rescuing the unconscious Capt Thomas Boon (the CAG) and landing on a carrier despite his 'night blindness'. Bud Roberts, (B) attending law school at night, was introduced as a new JAG assistant in Hs section. He had been recommended by Meg (Mg) before she left. Sarah Mackenzie (M) was introduced as Hs new associate, to replace Mg. Clinton told H that he may single-handedly give lawyers a good name and when B acted the "doofus" Chegwidden (C) had to tell him that "joking was Admiral's Privilege." H had flashbacks to Lt Diane Schonke, a fiancé' who had been killed, every time he looked at M; because, she was a "dead ringer" for Schonke. And, he now has a new loft apartment that he is renovating himself.

The US Declaration of Independence was being transferred to a document restorer in California and the "mail truck," which was carrying it, was hijacked, by Ms paramilitary militia uncle flying a marine helicopter. Webb (W), posing as an assistant to the State Department, told C that the investigation was "States" and he should butt out. C, however, said: "yes but it's my navy" then forced W to take B along with H & M. B continually annoyed W by interjecting facts which proved to be true. When M tried to "ditch" H, he landed in a helicopter in front of her car. He was upset with her for not telling him that it was her uncle, Matthew O'Hara, who had stolen the document. She said that she thought he already knew because "someone had pulled her off a double murder investigation" to do this... so they must have known. Her former Marine Col. uncle had won the medal of honor in Vietnam and was a "politically principled" man, she claimed. They went to find O'Hara together. O'Hara took over a ZNN van and transmitted a television message that the "defenders" had the document. One of his men, Cahill, phoned the government later and said they wanted $500 million ransom. H called the stranded tag-along, B, who whined that W wouldn't let him in a van which had all kinds of antennae. H then realized that their conversations were being "bugged" so told B, in 'code' that if W gave him trouble he had permission to use "admirals privilege" on him. Then they swapped cars with a gas station attendant to avoid the "bugs." The attendant used Hs phone in the swapped car, which tipped off W. W wouldn't take B with him to find H; and, when asked why, recounted that it was "admirals privilege!" B then knew that he had a "wire tap" in place and threatened to tell C that his people were being bugged, which is illegal. B got to go with him.

H discerned that W had 'set up' M, knowing her connection with O'Hara. They flashed their headlights at the base of Devils Tower to signal her Uncle, who was hiding out in the cave where he had taken the 16 year-old M to "dry out" and hunt for dinosaur track fossils. M faked taking H prisoner to fool the 'defenders'. H convinced O'Hara that he'd made his point and to give up an return; but, his mercenaries wouldn't let him because of the $500 million they expected to get. When O'Hara claimed that he hadn't known anything about the ransom, Cahill was killed. The men forced O'Hara to fly them out in the helicopter, taking M with them as hostage. H jumped and held onto the skid as it flew off devils tower! M fought off the mercenaries and threw one of them out the door, all the while H just held on to the skid. The document dropped out of the helicopter, but was in its case and was recovered by W. H offered to defend O'Hara in court and was shown doing it at the end; but no outcome was given.

Skeleton Crew - 22

[A "cliff hanger" which, because the show was cancelled by NBC, was not aired - until it was syndicated by the USA channel. To date it is still rarely, if ever, shown; and, I've just now seen it on the season one DVD. Catherine Bell, who played Lt Shoenke, only had a very brief role - but she was later brought back as "Mac," who was then explained as "a dead ringer for Diane." Patrick L. who had been in the pilot but took another position before the show was picked up, is now back in the series as Bud Roberts.] Lt. Diane Shoenke, Jr. OOD, left the just-returned-from-deployment USS Seahawk (CVN-65) after standing mid-watch the first night back in port. She was pursued by Lt. Lamm who was upset that chief Bannon had let her off the ship in the Officer of the watch, Bud Roberts (B), absence. The next morning, while eating breakfast at a shore diner, B and Bannon found Shoenke shot dead in her car. Brian Turque (pronounced turkey by everyone but himself) was the NCIS agent aboard the Seahawk investigating the case when Harm (H) and Meg (Mg)showed up under Chegwidden's (C) orders. H was visibly shaken and told Mg that he and Shoenke had been in the Academy together and were supposed to have had dinner together last night except she called to postpone due to mid-watch. Turque (Tq) demanded H to pull off the case but was told that she had been "like a sister and I'm not leaving the murder investigation to someone who jumps to conclusions as much as you"! Then, to further he own political agenda Krennick (K) devised a plan that she would go be "lead" and H would "be under me" in the investigation. C agreed and had to tell her that she was "sitting him my chair"!

Immediately upon arriving H had to tell K that Shoenke had been his academy classmate and their relationship had been platonic. K initiated her customary harassment of him until H finally had to shut her up with a "red light." K bellowed that any relationship on a ship could NOT be platonic "unless one was gay and the other neutered." H gave her another "red light" but she still continued to wile that she was just trying to help him defend against Tq's demand to have him removed from the case. H told her that the rules at the academy were perfectly clear and that they both "played by the rules so long they might not have known how to do it any other way." He further told her "I don't care I don't care what you or Tq think about it and if you have any decency you won't ask me anything personal again"! The executive officer (XO) Commander Hobarth was in charge of the ship while the captain had been called to Washington. He had stood mid-watch himself, as he claimed was his habit the first night back in port, with Shoenke (the Jr. OOD) together on the bridge. Shoenke had only been aboard the ship for two months after she had replaced the former crypto officer who went home after his wife was killed in an auto accident. Lamm was the communication officer for the mid-watch in the communication room and told Tq and Mg that he run after Shoenke because he was supposed to have a date with her, and that Shoenke had previously told him that "someone was stalking her although she didn't know who."

B tried to explain the ships deck and compartment numbering system to K but she said "it gives me a headache." Then K began sensing someone watching her. Tq began questioning Sarah Williams, Shoenke's roommate, about possible "one-night-stands" in Hs presence. K pulled H out of the room and made a big deal about H not rising to Tq baiting because he only wanted to get them pulled off the case. Sarah said that Shoenke loved H like a brother and had gotten hit on a lot because of her looks. She said that Shoenke had given Lamm "red lights" several times but he was "one of the type who doesn't get the message" so she had had to report him to Hobarth. K then lit into Hobarth for not reporting her concerns and withholding the information from the investigation. Sarah told Mg that Shoenke was not like other beautiful women, she listened as if you were the only person in the room; and, that she really loved H and had saved all of his letters, which Tq had taken out of her lock box.

When Mg told H that Lamm had left the ship for lunch H tore after him thinking that he was going to run. He found him in the diner and confronted him with his lie about having a date with Shoenke before he decked him. When Bannon pulled him off, H said to confine Lamm to the ship and then report his own assault. Lamm said "what assault… I can understand how someone who loved her feels." K came after H and began harassing him again. She lit up a cigarette, and when was told "no smoking" by the waitress, said defiantly "stuff it"! K filed charges against H as "damage control" saying she had "to distance myself from you"! "I'm not going to risk my career over your pining," she told him, and "better your career than mine." Hobarth was shown watching their discussion through binoculars from the bridge. K was shown being followed when she got lost on the ship. She called security and was told that the had to go down a level then come back up on the other side. The stalker turned out the lights just as she pushed through a secured hatch. She defiantly blustered at Hobarth and security when they were slow to believe her complaints. Hobarth said that with a skeleton crew they normally cut back lights. While trying to find Lamm, believing he was the stalker, they found him shot in his quarters with a suicide note. K was shown telling Tq that she was wrong about him after thinking that he "was a rent-a-cop more concerned about control than solving murder." He told her that he had though she was just another hot shot female lawyer who thought her sweat didn't stink"! She replied, "It doesn't." K told Hobarth that she didn't intend to put his non-reporting in her report but couldn't guarantee someone else wouldn't charge him -- just not her. He replied that she must "find me callous with 2 deaths and me worried about my career." She said, "No, I find it refreshingly honest."

B was told by Tq not to "hand over any more faxes to H" so he "accidentally" dropped a copy of the autopsy report at Hs feet. Mg said she would read it so H wouldn't have to. Going back to his cabin to shower before he had to go back to JAG for his captain's mast that K had arranged, he found Tq in his compartment and all Shoenke's letters. Tq said that even though they had met like junkyard dogs he hoped they could part like men, and shook Hs hand. But, when Mg told H that the report said Shoenke had been raped, then shot, then moved to the car 2 hours later, he realized that Tq really suspected him of the murder and had been searching his room. He asked Mg to check with all the MPs to see if they remembered Shoenke leaving. After leaving the ship, H was shown being arrested by Tq on the dock, claiming that Hs fingerprints had been found on the murder weapon which they had recovered from the water that afternoon.

[I can see now why this episode is so rarely shown as it was intended to be the season "cliff hanger"; and, although the resolution episode may even have been written, it was never filmed. So this story is incomplete and leaves one hanging in disbelief.]

Ares - 21

[A interesting episode even though it is only marginally believable. Campisano was played by the same actor who would later go on to become the weenie JAG lawyer, Lt Yuen. Also, cockpit footage was used (intentional or not) of a pilot with "Pendry" on his helmet.] Harm was in Okinawa in his Hawaiian shirt making a flight layover while on vacation; when, Lt Kate Pike came aboard, at the request of Chegwidden, to extract him into a murder investigation. Lt Mason had been chasing a teen thief when his shipmate, Lt Donovan, found him dead with a "Yankee go home" sign on his neck. Pike said that she had become expert into turning temporary assignments into semi-permanent exile, having been in Okinawa for over 6 months. Donovan had shipped out to war games so H and Pike shuttled out to the Destroyer, USS Daniel Boone, with Mason's replacement, Lt Cdr Gino Campisano. They met Pike's old partner, Cdr Brockman, already aboard the ship; and, who quickly became a pain in the ass, lording his rank over H at every chance. Pike admitted to having an affair with him but broke it off after he wanted to get married. Brockman was still pursuing her however. Campisano bragged to H that he had been the one who had trained Mason on the new ARES system which only 3 or 4 people knew how to run. It was a prototype navigation and combat computer system which could recognize, track and destroy targets by automating nearly every aspect of ships functions (all except conventional radar and ships com) - even locking doors!

Captain Evans had not allowed Brockman on the bridge and when H asked why he flippantly said: why don't you go, "in fact I'd like to see you try"! So harm went to the bridge and reported claiming that he'd been ordered there by Brockman. He convinced Evans to let him speak to Donovan before the games started. Brockman took over the interview and banned H and Pike to search Donovan's locker. They found Mason's old computer disks, which had been stolen, so they reported to the Captain that their mission was being compromised. While on the bridge H advised Evans that he had flown in his adversary's, Admiral Wiles, air wing; and, that he better "watch the deck" because he was a "hi lo man." That endeared him to the captain, so, when Brockman tried to extricate him from the bridge, Evans told him to "get off" and H to "stay." The ARES system unexpectedly switched to "live mode" when Wile's low-attack jets appeared and shot them down using missiles. The pilots ejected before explosion but couldn't be rescued, except by surface craft. Meg was arriving by helicopter, having past Bingo fuel, and was only saved by H racing to use a surface craft radio. He told them to "act like a boat" slow and skimming the waves. The ship automatically headed toward North Korea and H realized that, because North Korea hadn't launched aircraft, they already knew of the situation. The captain armed the crew to prevent boarding with a fight.

They interrogated Donovan, who was denying doing anything, and said that "Compisano had already tried the 'back-door' to the program but it didn't work." Brockman started to beat him up but Meg stopped him saying that when she had asked Compisano about the back door he had said that he "didn't know of one." After overhearing the captain prepare to set C4 charges to scuttle the ship in case of boarding, Compisano sneaked away and killed the seaman bringing the charge. H, Pike and Brockman began chasing Compisano. Pike told Brockman not to "try anything heroic" but he was nearly shot by H after getting into the way. H told him to "stay here" and he bristled "are you giving me an order"? H said, "no, a strategy." Meg went to get Donovan while N Korean ships were preparing to board. H found Compisano holding a gun to Brockman's throat in a compartment. He admitted to have been "inserted" by the North Koreans over a long time and threatened to shoot Brockman if H didn't put down his gun. H said "go ahead I don't like him anyway," and when he was distracted shot him right past Brockman's ear. H then told the Captain that "I found him but he didn't survive the encounter" as Meg used the retrieved codes to get in the back-door and restore the ships arms. Brockman asked H not to tell Pike what had happened and H agreed; but, told him to "let her go"! H invited Pike to accompany him on the remainder of his leave; but, on the plane again H was paged.

The Prisoner - 20

[A sort of "odd" complicated plot difficult, at times, to follow. We do learn some more information about H, namely: Military ID number: 989-54-8301, DOB Oct 25th 1963 and several details about what he and his father did before leaving for Viet Nam Richard Crenna provided the voice of Harms "father"] Harm was captured and brainwashed by Chinese who thought that he would be able to tell them whether or not the "Americans will intervene if we take back Matsu and Quemoy" from Taiwan. Maria Elena Carmelita Moreno Gutierrez was supposed to meet H to go sailing with him but he ended up going alone and went missing. Sec Bair (dunderhead state flunky from the Cuban episode) told Krennick to keep working with him on the legal report to the president while Austin tried to find what happened to Harm. Harm's female interrogater, Captain Lishi, claimed they had processed many americans since Viet Nam and offered to tell Harm what happened to his father if he would cooperate. H began giving mis- and superfluous- information so she injected him with drugs. After cutting himself on a sharp rock in his cell, H heard morse code from a prisoner below being tapped on the pipes. The prisoner new all about American ways and allowed H to convinced himself that he really was his father. He knew that Harm's father had taken him to Belmont Park, in San Diego on Mission Boulevard, the day before he had shipped out for Viet Nam. He said that he wanted to show him the roller-coaster before they tore down the park and they carved their initials on one of the cars. They had carved "HR with a little 2 (squared)" on one of the cars. The prisoner said that he would help Harm "keep sane" from all the "mind games" Col Hahn would play on him.

Austin found grey paint that showed Harms boat was rammed by Chinese naval vessel. Baird said his job was to "avoid international incidents not create them" and refused to help. So Krennick began slipping out on him. Inspector Chang informed Krennick that Harm was being held in local Chinese Garrison and possibly might be "bribed" out through the "black market." Col Hahn told H that he was given drugs incorrectly and had been in a coma for 27 days, and that everyone thought he was dead. The "prisoner" couldn't confirm how long he'd been gone but H found his fairly fresh cut still unhealed. Chang was actually the black marketeer and said that he had a "highly placed contact, who was probably honest, and could break Harm out - he wanted asylum in the US" and Chang wanted a 24/7 phone number he could call for instant embassy sanctuary should he ever need it. They retrieved Harm's wallet, ID and info that Harm could be broken out the next day but Baird still refused to help until Krennick blackmailed him with telling his wife they were having an affair.

Lishi told Harm that she had arranged to get her, Harm and his father out the next day. Harm, still confused from drugs, confided his confusion to "his father." He reminded him that he had always told him that "our instincts are always right, we just learn to ignore them," Harm finished, "and deep down if we know something is not right, it isn't." Lishi and Col Hahn were shown watching H have his discussion with his father over closed circuit television. Hahn said "he's created his father in his mind, just like you said he would." Harm subdued his guard the next day and, with gun, found his "fathers cell empty, but with the letters HR2 carved on the wall. Lishi said that his father was "already on his way" then shot a guard herself when Harm didn't shoot. They left for the cars and Hahn was shown watching on TV, then the "killed guard" got up. Meg and Krennick watched at the border crossing while Harm found that his father wasn't there and Lishi told him that it had only been drugs. He tried to shoot her but the gun had only blanks and he was surrounded by Chinese guards. Hahn showed up, Lishi told him that she had learned that the US wouldn't attack, but he claimed that she was a spy and had her arrested. He then took Harm at gunpoint to cross the border quickly. Lishi grabbed a machine gun and fired, hitting Hahn; but Meg and Krennick fired and hit her, starting a barrage of gunfire only stopped by an arm waving guard captain. When Harm told Hahn thanks, the Col said that he wasn't Hahn he was Col Yang-Chai (replaced Hahn 10 years prior) leaving Harm with the suspense that if the "visions" of his father were only a figment of his own mind- how did it "know" something that he didn't know! (No Chegwidden this episode.)

Recovery - 19

The US recon satellite over China failed and a replacement satellite was launched but failed to reach proper orbit. The next Space Shuttle mission which was supposed to test High Energy Light experiments (laser) was transferred into a repair mission with a 3 day window of opportunity. During the launch there was a main engine breech which was supposed to become fatal in 60 seconds (but never did and was never explained) and required all the astronauts to use their escape baskets on a wire. During the escape the pilot, Cdr Atkins, fell to his death requiring Lt. Cdr. Mark Lowrey, the backup pilot, to take over. Harm and Meg came to the launch site to investigate to Atkins dismay. H & he exchanged insults prompting Mg to say that she "knew a cockfight when she saw one." A civilian contractor named Gallant called to Hs attention that the cable had been carefully hollowed out and weakened with a laser so as to fail when a basket loaded with a man rode in it. Then they found that Lowrey's access card was used the night before the accident to enter the laser storage area at night. H tried to get Colonel Fisher to remove Lowrey but he wouldn't. Then he made formal recommendation to the president that the mission be delayed, but he wouldn't either. H wanted to talk to Lowrey but he was scheduled for STA (Shuttle Training Aircraft). Lowrey dismissed his 2nd saying that Harm was "the best pilot in JAG." There was a catastrophic failure of Lowrey's controls and H had to land the aircraft. They turned off the fuel and H "dead-stick" landed.

Someone had set up an accident to kill the primary pilot and frame the only one who could replace him. Then Mg realized that if it hadn't been for Gallant they wouldn't have suspected Lowrey. She found threads of STA programming in the erased sectors of Gallant's hard drive and that he had been a researcher in the SDI program which had been scuttled. Being disgruntled they surmised that Gallant would have been approached by the Chinese and told Fisher, who relieved Gallant from his station. He ran and H had to give chase to capture him. Gallant denied everything so H asked if he could try interrogating him. Gallant said he was a visionary and would be known for his exploration of the galaxy with his Super-Conducting Magnetic Ion Engine. He wouldn't destroy the shuttle, he said, and intimated that China had promised to build his engine. H realized that he may have sabotaged the capture mechanism and convinced Fisher to re-test the mechanism before using it on the sattelite. It blew up during the test so they were without a capture arm. H suggested that they "get a bunch of people out there and grab it." they tried that too, and it worked. Mg suggested H still had time to be "the first lawyer in space" as "navy pilots make the best astronauts." H responded, later alone to himself... "maybe."

Survivors - 18

Col Matt Anderson's son Trevor was being moved away from his father by his divorced mother. The boy began calling his father by a nickname known only to him and his childhood/marine buddy, "digger." The Col wasn't able to keep a promise that he had made to "digger" and bring him back from Vietnam. The mothers attorney, on his own, got an arrest warrant for the Col who was trying to take Trevor back to their boyhood cabin in order to somehow fulfill his promise. Deputy Terrance Hodge (a bitter ex-marine) manhandled Trevor while he was arresting the Col and was "decked" by the Col. Then Hodge lied about it, forming a manhunt. Harm helped the Col escape in a helicopter twice, frustrating Hodge who then got a warrant for Hs arrest as well.

Hodge's partner had to restrain Hodge from shooting H when H threw himself between Hodge and the Col who was carrying Trevor up to the cabin. H and Meg bluff Hodge about actually having a videotape of his manhandling the col and backhanding Trevor, so he let H go and the Col surrender to H without Trevor being there and witnessing his fathers arrest. The Col and Mrs. Anderson were getting divorced only because of the Col's career - (which he doesn't have any more.) H and Mg don't believe in the psychic link between Trevor and "digger" until Trevor, in sort of a trance, turned and gave them a "diggers" thumbs up.

Black Ops - 17

[A truly masterful episode. Compare with the season 10 episode "San Diego", filmed to please CBS minions wanting the "younger demographic," and it's: intrusive space-ship music; vertiginous, aimlessly wandering photography; disgustingly confusing character morality; and superficial entertainment despite a moderately interesting core plot. This was a well written and delivered episode. Music was grand, photography larger than life, character development captivating and script (as C said) "heroic."] Harm & Meg investigated the death of USN Pilot, Lt Douglas Marion, the son of unforgiving Senator Grace Marion, during a SEAL "black op" mission; but, they were "stonewalled" until finally they charged the entire team with obstruction. Marion's autopsy showed massive injury from his fall after his parachute didn't open but also hypoxic coma which proved some of their lies. The group leader, Lt Alexander Kellogue, thought Gen Behnke would get him out of trouble; but, the general just let them all hang. Chegwidden came personally to San Diego and brought the Senator. Kellogue still lied but C's threats got the men to tell the story. The General and changed the Op at the last minute from a 30 knotts/30 feet helicopter insertion into a High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) jump, 2 hrs before the mission. He hoped the SEALs would decline so "his own men" could do it. Marion was to have flown back a drug lord plane; but his parachute didn't open and he hit the water. H found that he had suffocated on the way down due to a sabotaged o-ring on his oxygen. The General probably did it.

Kellogue gave C the pre-mission letter Marion had written to his mother - (a SEAL tradition started many years earlier by "Ensign Chegwidden".) H found that the General was repeating the mission with his own men, so C ordered him to HALO with the SEALS and recover the plane. The team quizzed each other on famous quotes as was their tradition in order to keep their minds off anxiety. The general had a "spy" watching the SEALs so was told of Cs plan. In the race to the site the SEALs win and beat general there, finding an old R4D prop plane; but, also that it had been outfitted with AWACs type black ops gear from McDill - apparently sold to them by Gen Behnke! That was why the general had to be first to the site, to prevent being found out. Worried that they couldn't get the old plane to fly, Kellogue asked "who said: I will fight no more, forever"? When others couldn't answer he continued, "I don't know either, but he wasn't a marine"! C and the senator flew in the aircraft with the seals insertion. She was impressed with the jump and the men, and and was visibly softened; so, C gave her son's letter to her, saying: "you're ready to read it." After he saw H take off with the plane he realized the trouble he was in and the General committed suicide by jumping out of his helicopter over the ocean. No Krennick in this episode (thankfully).