The WORST episodes of JAG

Every episode of JAG ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of JAG!

JAG is an adventure drama about an elite wing of officers trained as lawyers who investigate, prosecute and defend those accused of crimes in the military. Navy Cmdr. Harmon "Harm" Rabb, an ace pilot turned lawyer, and Marine Lt. Col. Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, a beautiful by-the-book officer, are colleagues who hold the same high standards but find themselves clashing when they choose different routes to get to the same place. The unmistakable chemistry between them must be held at bay for professional reasons as they traverse the globe together with a single mission: to search for and discover the truth. Helping them with their mission is Navy Lt. Cmdr. Bud Roberts, a lawyer who proved his grit and determination when, after losing a leg in a land mine field while on a mission, fought back and became even better at his job.

Last Updated: 3/2/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
Share:
Family Secrets
star
6.78
314 votes

#1 - Family Secrets

Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/12/2000

At Christmas time, while everyone else at JAG is enjoying the happy time of the season, Bud & Harriet are at little Sarah's gravesite unveiling her headstone that has just been placed. Bud vows that it just can't end like this and insists on finding out what happened. Bud & Harriet approach Mic to have him represent the Roberts in their case against Dr. Gettis. Mic warns Bud to stop, leading Bud to realize that Mic can't represent them, as his practice is representing Dr. Gettis. Harriet tries to talk Bud out of pursuing the case, but her pleas are ignored by Bud. Mac is assigned the case by the Admiral despite Bud's plea to be the lead attorney. Even though he is ordered to stay away from the case, he nonetheless can't. Mac questions Dr. Gettis as to why he took so long to respond when Harriet labor was in trouble. Dr. Gettis claims that his pager battery had died & didn't realize he was needed until he heard the overhead page for him. Bud however finds information on the compu

Directors: Bradford May
The Princess and the Petty Officer
star
6.88
369 votes

#2 - The Princess and the Petty Officer

Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/14/2000

Mac is assigned to represent an Arab princess not only at an INS hearing but also before an Islamic court, when the woman elopes with a Naval Petty Officer who is accused of smuggling her into the United States. When AJ talks to Dr. Walden about what happened to his car, she is appalled that AJ would accuse her son of impropriety & terminates their relationship. Danny Walden is quite smug to AJ that he had been able to break them up -- which will come to haunt him later. With his car still being held by the police, he is dismayed with driving a rental car. Harriet goes into labor 4 weeks early and a seemingly positive childbirth turns sour when it is discovered that the baby's head is pressing against the umbilical cord cutting off blood supply to the baby and her doctor (Dr. Gettis) is nowhere to be found. As another doctor steps in, Harriet is wheeled to the operating room in an attempt to save the baby. However, even after the arrival of Dr. Gettis, the medical staff was unable

Directors: Alan J. Levi
Straits of Malacca
star
6.95
264 votes

#3 - Straits of Malacca

Season 10 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/25/2005

Mac and Lt. Vukovic go to Indonesia to negotiate with a modern-day pirate for the release of Naval hostages. Meanwhile, Bud and Harriet have an open house in celebration of their new twin babies.

Directors: Richard Compton
Writer: Darcy Meyers
Enemy Below (2)
star
6.98
276 votes

#4 - Enemy Below (2)

Season 7 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/21/2002

Admiral Chegwidden, Lt. Singer & Cmdr. Turner move over to the Pentagon War Room to easily coordinate & share intelligence information on Kabir Atef's planned attack on the U.S. When an Afghan school is destroyed in a bombing raid, Bud & PO2 Coates fly to the scene to survey the damage. Once there, he promises to the locals that the US will re-build the school. Meanwhile, Harm & Mac are still in Afghanistan attempting to pick up Kabir's trail, still looking for the mysterious truck that disappeared during a raid. (""In Country""). They come under fire, but are unhurt. Once they repair the damage to the vehicle caused by the gunfire, they continue driving all night and find an abandoned truck that appears to be the one they're looking for. They find the driver dead of suspected origin. Continuing onto the next village, they find villagers in the same condition. A medical team is brought in and they determine that the villagers are suffering from radiation poisoning. Mac & Harm hav

Directors: Bradford May
Cowboys and Cossacks
star
7.07
383 votes

#5 - Cowboys and Cossacks

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/11/1997

Harm, Mac and Bud are assigned sea duty to be official observers during a joint war games exercise between U.S. and Russian naval forces, but the games take a deadly turn when the rival captains decide to make the battle real -- and Harm, Mac and Bud are trapped on board the warring ships. The captains are bitter enemies from Cold War days and have deemed this their final grudge match. Both are determined to make it a battle to the death, even if it means going down with their ships -- and taking everyone on board with them -- and it's up to Harm and Bud to defuse what could become World War III.

Directors: Tony Wharmby
With Intent to Die
star
7.07
339 votes

#6 - With Intent to Die

Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/13/1998

Admiral Chegwidden investigates the apparent suicide of his mentor, Admiral Clancy, who allegedly shot himself while on a hunting trip with several friends. Chegwidden can't believe that his friend would kill himself, and discovers that someone else may have actually pulled the trigger.

Directors: Winrich Kolbe
Past Tense
star
7.10
243 votes

#7 - Past Tense

Season 6 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/1/2001

Harm is stunned to learn that his former girlfriend, Lt. Cmdr. Jordan Parker has been found dead in her apartment, having been shot with her own gun. Despite this evidence, Harm is unwilling to accept the premise that Jordan committed suicide & calls in Lt. Cmdr. Teresa Coulter to help examine the forensic evidence. Harm & Mac begin to look for possible suspects who would want to kill her, starting with her last boyfriend who had also been a patient of hers. However, as each of the suspects are ruled out, they begin to look for other possibilities to explain her death. The investigation leads to a shocking discovery for Jordan's neighbor. Returning home, Harm is stunned to find a letter from Jordan in his mail. Jordan wrote & mailed it a few hours before she was killed; in which she tells Harm just how much she had valued their time together.

Directors: Bradford May
Writer: Dana Coen
Survivors
star
7.11
394 votes

#8 - Survivors

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/17/1996

Harm represents the divorced Marine colonel Anderson who has overextended his custody agreement when attempting to spend time with his son before his mother moves him far away. But a warrant goes out to for Anderson, on whom the Vietnam war left its marks. After a local deputy attempts to arrest him without success, a strong police force goes after him. Harm learns what Anderson is really up to and helps him to reach a lodge, the place where he promised to bury an old pal who died back in Vietnam, but was left behind. Locations: Vietnam (1972); California (Tustin, Santa Ana,Big Pine, Bishop)

Directors: Greg Beeman
Collision Course
star
7.13
315 votes

#9 - Collision Course

Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/30/2001

When U.S. and Turkish ships collide during a NATO exercise, Harm and Mac defend the U.S. captain, who is being made the scapegoat for political reasons.

Directors: Greg Beeman
Camp Delta
star
7.16
269 votes

#10 - Camp Delta

Season 10 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/19/2004

Guards at Guantanamo Bay are ordered to remove a detainee from his cell for interrogation. He resists, so the guards try to subdue him and end up putting him in a coma. It turns out the "detainee" was a disguised soldier and the whole thing was a training excercise. Harm is assigned to defend the guards while Mac argues that torture and excessive force are not appropriate even when dealing with terror suspects. Back in Washington, Bud and Mikey Roberts go shopping for shoes and get into a disagreement with another customer that escalates into violence.

Directors: Oz Scott
Miracles
star
7.16
301 votes

#11 - Miracles

Season 6 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/6/2001

Harm defends a Sergeant Major accused of the attempted murder of his wife. However, the Sgt. Major claims that he was concerned when his wife didn't come home, went out looking for her & was led to her location by the vision of a deceased chaplain from his old Vietnam unit. His defense attracts a representative of the Vatican which is considering the deceased chaplain for Sainthood. Meanwhile, when Tiner hooks up a new screensaver that searches for extra-terrestial life on the Admiral's computer, it stirs excitement when it starts making weird noises.

Directors: Mark Horowitz
Writer: Ed Zuckerman
Fit for Duty
star
7.16
265 votes

#12 - Fit for Duty

Season 10 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/11/2005

A Navy psychiatrist in Afghanistan is accused of malpractice and a age discrimination suit are the cases assigned to Harm, Mac & Bud.

Directors: Randy D. Wiles
Recovery
star
7.17
369 votes

#13 - Recovery

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 5/1/1996

An evacuation training for a Space Shuttle team ends with a dead pilot caused by a broken cable. Harm and Meg investigate and soon determine that the cable was sabotaged. Harm's first suspect is promoted pilot Lt.Cdr. Lowry. As this is an important mission (repairing a spy satellite monitoring Southwest Asia) it can't be canceled. And since there isn't another eligible pilot, Lowry cannot be removed from the team. A training flight with Lowry and Harm on board has a fatal system malfunction - again sabotage. Lowrey can now be crossed out but the person responsible for these incidents must be found as the scheduled mission must proceed as planned. It is highly possible that there will be another 'unpleasant surprise' to stop this mission. Locations: AFB Vandenberg; Space

Directors: Joe Napolitano
Writer: Jack Orman
Promises
star
7.17
337 votes

#14 - Promises

Season 5 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/28/2000

Harm and Mac face-off in court when a female seaman, charged with desertion, claims she left because her recruiter lied to her about what her duties would be. Meanwhile, Admiral Chegwidden takes the case of an old friend whose impressive career is threatened because of the side effects of Viagra.

Directors: Arthur W. Forney
Fighting Words
star
7.18
244 votes

#15 - Fighting Words

Season 9 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/30/2004

Cmdr. Turner defends himself against the complaint filed against him for displaying anti-Korean attitudes when assigned to deal with the SARS outbreak earlier. Harm & Mac go up against one another in the case of a Marine General making public speeches stating Islam goes hand-in-hand with evil & terrorism.

Directors: Jeannot Szwarc
Writer: Matt Witten
Two Towns
star
7.18
268 votes

#16 - Two Towns

Season 10 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/8/2005

Mac goes to Iraq to investigate a bombing that killed a group of Marine reservists, while Harm and Bud go to Oklahoma to assist their families, but end up prosecuting the sole survivor, who is accused of starting a fire that destroyed the Marine Reserve Center.

Directors: Kenneth Johnson
Writer: Dana Coen
The Colonel's Wife
star
7.20
308 votes

#17 - The Colonel's Wife

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/16/1999

Harm and Mac are sent to Panama to investigate the wife of a Marine officer, Olivia Dunston, suspected of smuggling drugs into the U.S. When faced with the evidence, Olivia feebly denies the allegations, leaving Mac thinking that she's guilty of the charges.

Directors: Alan J. Levi
Scimitar
star
7.22
413 votes

#18 - Scimitar

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/9/1995

Cpls. Ednar and Anderson mistakenly cross the Iraqi border. Trying to escape an Iraqi patrol, Cpl. Ednar is killed and Cpl. Anderson is taken prisoner. The Iraqi government invite the United States to send advocates to defend the Marine who's facing the death penalty for espionage. Harm and Meg are assigned to travel to Iraq to act as his lawyers as well as attempt to free the Corporal with the help of an undercover agent called 'Scimitar'.

Directors: John McPherson
Ghosts
star
7.22
391 votes

#19 - Ghosts

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/14/1997

The JAG team discovers an evil plot by a rogue CIA agent after two attempts are made on Admiral Chegwidden's life. After Harm and Mac uncover the fact that all the members of the admiral's former SEAL team have recently died under mysterious circumstances, the JAG team learns that Chegwidden and his team were part of a CIA-controlled SEAL mission during the Vietnam war. Suspecting that the murder attempts may be connected to the mission, they start an investigation that leads to the rogue agent's plot to eliminate all witnesses to a terrible incident that occurred during the mission. But when the assassin kills Chegwidden's girlfriend, he decides to take care of the job himself -- even if it means losing his stripes.

Directors: Raymond Austin
The Man on the Bridge
star
7.24
300 votes

#20 - The Man on the Bridge

Season 10 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/10/2004

The car belonging to a Navy Commander assigned to a Bio-Weapons Defense Laboratory is found abandoned on a bridge across the Potomac River. Harm & Mac work with FBI agents in the investigation.

Directors: Vern Gillum
Writer: Don McGill
Valor
star
7.32
245 votes

#21 - Valor

Season 6 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/13/2001

Harm and Mac travel to Bahrain to determine if a female Marine found aboard a terrorist boat that attacked a U.S. Naval destroyer was coerced into helping her captors or was a willing participant. Sgt. Joan Steele, kidnapped by terrorists a month before the attack, insists that the cooperation she gave the terrorists was designed to foil their plot. Harm, who is defending her, finds her claim dubious. CIA Operative Clayton Webb asks for her help in tracking down a known terrorist who is planning to bomb another U.S. target within 48 hours, and Steele readily agrees. But then she suddenly disappears, confirming Harm's suspicions and, more importantly, leaving the target -- a busload of American children -- at risk.

Directors: Terrence O'Hara
Rogue
star
7.32
337 votes

#22 - Rogue

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/9/1999

As lowest ranking lawyer at JAG, Bud is assigned to accompany Raglan, a former special Forces operative who is hired by the Pentagon to test security at military bases. Raglan's current mission is to test the security around a U.S. nuclear attack submarine. But when Raglan goes too far and hijacks the sub with Bud on board, Harm is called in to chase the sub down by second guessing his old friend. The cat and mouse game becomes deadly, though, when it appears that Raglan has switched sides, demanding millions of dollars in ransom or he'll take aim on a U.S. target.

Directors: Tony Wharmby
Unknown Soldier
star
7.35
243 votes

#23 - Unknown Soldier

Season 10 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/15/2005

Gen. Cresswell's brother believes that remains found of a Vietnamese soldier are those of a helicopter pilot who saved his life during the war. Vukovic and Graves end up going to South Vietnam in search of a relative of the man's for a a DNA match.

Directors: Mike Vejar
Second Sight
star
7.35
309 votes

#24 - Second Sight

Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/27/1999

Word of her father's imminent death forces Mac to look back at the years of anger and resentment he caused her. She is furious that a priest is trying to convince her to forgive this abusive alcoholic, who was responsible for her own alcoholism. She comes to realize, however, that perhaps her anger had been misdirected all these years when her mother shows up -- after having abandoned Mac many years earlier. Meanwhile, Harm takes a gamble and undergoes laser surgery as a possible cure for his night-blindness.

Directors: Terrence O'Hara
Writer: Dana Coen
The Prisoner
star
7.35
330 votes

#25 - The Prisoner

Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/8/1996

On a sailing trip near Hong Kong, Harm is captured by the Chinese military. They want him to reveal the United States' position in case the Chinese should take two islands (which are claimed by Taiwan) by force. To get this information, the Chinese employ various mind games including placing Harm's father in a adjacent cell. Cdr. Krennick and Lt. Austin are offered a deal which includes Harm's freedom and asylum for a Chinese military person. Locations: Hong Kong; Nantou, China

Directors: Michael Zinberg
Writer: Evan Katz