The Worst Episodes of JAG
Every episode of JAG ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of JAG!
Harmon "Harm" Rabb Jr. is a former pilot turned lawyer working for the military's JAG (Judge Advocate General) division, the elite legal wing of officers that prosecutes and defends those accused of military-related crimes. He works closely with Lt. Col. Sarah Mackenzie, and together they do what needs to be done to find the truth.
Lowest Rated Episodes Summary
The worst episode of "JAG" is "What If", rated 5.8/10 from 161 user votes. It was directed by Kenneth Johnson and written by Don McGill. "What If" aired on 3/12/2004 and is rated 0.5 point(s) lower than the second lowest rated, "Mutiny".
5.8/10 161 votes#1 - What If
Season 9 Episode 18 - Aired 3/12/2004
Members of the "JAG" staff are "helped" along to discover their true inner feelings while celebrating Jennifer Coates promotion to Petty Officer 1st Class.
Director: Kenneth Johnson
Writer: Don McGill
6.3/10 147 votes#2 - Mutiny
Season 6 Episode 23 - Aired 5/15/2001
Preparing to give a lecture about an 1842 Naval court-martial, Mac finds herself daydreaming about what actually happened.
Director: Mark Horowitz
Writer: Nelson Costello, Ed Zuckerman
6.5/10 142 votes#3 - 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.
Director: Mark Horowitz
Writer: Ed Zuckerman
6.7/10 199 votes#4 - 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)
Director: Greg Beeman
Writer: R. Scott Gemmill
6.7/10 146 votes#5 - The Witches of Gulfport
Season 5 Episode 21 - Aired 4/25/2000
Mac goes undercover to help Harm investigate charges of sexual misconduct against Chief Petty Officer Merker who is the leader of the Wiccans, a local witches coven with many Navy members. The female seaman who brought the charges claims she was seduced when she fell under the man's spell, but Merker claims the sex was consensual. The Wiccan's attorney is sharp and claims his client is the unfortunate victim. However, Mac learns that another young woman suffered the same fate. He convinces her to testify and Merker is found guilty. Later, Mac learns that Mic Brumby was also thrown into a compromising position while undercover in the Royal Australian Navy.
Director: Tony Wharmby
Writer: Dana Coen
6.7/10 145 votes#6 - 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.
Director: Alan J. Levi
Writer: Mark Saraceni
6.7/10 129 votes#7 - People v. SecNav
Season 9 Episode 14 - Aired 2/6/2004
When civilians are killed in a bombing raid, an International Criminal Court charges the United States with war crimes and the SecNav is the one on trial representing the USA. The SecNav is defended by Harm, Mac & Bud who find they must also defend the United States decision for waging the war. At the end, the court finds the USA on the following charges: Crimes against humanity - Not Guilty War Crimes - Not Guilty Intentionally targeting non-combatants - Not Guilty Willful destruction of civilian property - Guilty. The court orders the USA to provide reparations to the town of Tikifa in the amount of $20 million US dollars. The prosecutor mentions to the SecNav that he doesn't agree with the verdicts, but pleased the SecNav won't have to go to prison. In response, the SecNav states that the two countries have been friends for too long and they both go off to get a drink together.
Director: Dennis Smith
Writer: Larry Moskowitz
6.8/10 151 votes#8 - The Martin Baker Fan Club
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 10/20/1998
Harm volunteers to defend a psychotic Vietnam vet accused of aiding the suicide of a fellow V.A. patient. While Harm argues in court that Roscoe Martin withheld the victims medication as a way to free him from the trancelike state in which it left him, the prosecution claims that the lack of medication is exactly what caused the mans death. Disappointed with the direction of the case, Roscoe feels that the cards are stacked against him and engineers an escape from the V.A. facility with three other patients. Their escape takes them to Harms apartment, and a negotiable situation turns deadly when guns are drawn and a SWAT team swoops in to help with what it sees as a hostage situation.
Director: Tony Wharmby
Writer: Dana Coen
6.8/10 140 votes#9 - Psychic Warrior
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 11/2/1999
When a Navy research project involving psychic phenomena goes awry and results in the death of one of its research subjects, Harm defends the admiral in charge of the project. As Mac prosecutes, she steadfastly proves that the admiral's ESP theories are wrong. But when her friend Chloe disappears and Mac experiences a vision that could save her life, she begins to have second thoughts about the paranormal.
Director: Greg Beeman
Writer: Paul J. Levine
6.9/10 204 votes#10 - Trinity
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 2/7/1997
Harm & Mac are sent to Belfast, Ireland when the child of Navy Lieutenant Nivens suddenly turns up missing and a note left behind indicates it was taken by Lorcan Barnes of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), who also happens to be the child's father. Arriving in Belfast, Harm & Mac are immediately at odds with the Royal Police, when they suggest ""negotiating"" with the IRA for return of the baby. Not finding much help, they go and search out the IRA on their own. Directed to a bar & told to ask for a particular type of beer. While playing darts, a man showing Mac the proper way to throw a dart whispers in her ear to go to an abandoned storefront. With the Royal Police tailing them, Harm and the baby's mother risk going to the storefront, while Mac boards a bus and leads the Police away from Harm.
Director: Alan J. Levi
Writer: Jack Orman
6.9/10 189 votes#11 - 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.
Director: Terrence O'Hara
Writer: Dana Coen
6.9/10 137 votes#12 - 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.
Director: Terrence O'Hara
Writer: Douglas Stark
7.0/10 242 votes#13 - Deja Vu
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/21/1995
Harm and Meg are investigating the death of a Navy officer at the Arlington Cemetary, where during the months before, other Navy officers have been murdered, too. This murder happened after a reception at the French embassy and the trail leads to the Thai ambassador and his wife. Harm is attracted to her as she reminds him of a girlfriend back in Vietnam who was killed. Also, Colonel Patano (the ambassador's guard), is one of the suspects. Locations: Washington D.C.; McLean, Va.; Bethesda, Md.
Director: Doug Lefler
Writer: Evan Katz
7.0/10 169 votes#14 - Father's Day
Season 3 Episode 14 - Aired 2/3/1998
Due to frustration at being unable to wrest custody of his son from his drug addicted wife, Corporal Wetzel was distracted during a war game exercise and crashed a tank. Accused of dereliction of duty, Wetzel admits to being diverted on the job, but insists that Mac and Harm must keep him out of jail, since his arrest would certainly mean losing his son. Harm and Mac like Wetzel and understand that his frustration accounts for his poor judgment. But nobody's more surprised than they when Wetzel winds up in a tank in a stand-off with the military, questioning why he's being forced to choose between being a marine and being a father.
Director: Tony Wharmby
Writer: Dana Coen
7.0/10 175 votes#15 - Clipped Wings
Season 3 Episode 22 - Aired 5/5/1998
Political pressures come into play after an F-14 pilot clips a ski helicopter during a NATO exercise over Italian airspace, killing six civilians. Harm and Mac are assigned to opposite sides in the case, but the Italian government wants to prosecute on its own.
Director: Tony Wharmby
Writer: Stephen Zito
7.0/10 142 votes#16 - Angels 30
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 11/3/1998
When a fighter pilot claims he heard the voice of God tell him not to fire on an attacking Iraqi, Harm and Mac are sent in to investigate his claim. Despite the pilot's assertions that he heard God, Harm insists on finding a more ""military"" explanation. When Harm fails from the ground to discover the origination of the voice, he suggests that Rice duplicate his earlier mission to see what they can learn about the incident in the sky.
Director: Tony Wharmby
Writer: R. Scott Gemmill
7.0/10 146 votes#17 - Florida Straits
Season 6 Episode 3 - Aired 10/17/2000
When the captain of a U.S. Navy frigate rescues a young girl in Cuban waters and sets off the beginnings of an international incident, Harm and Bud's investigation leads them to Cuba and a meeting with Castro.
Director: Alan J. Levi
Writer: Dana Coen
7.0/10 123 votes#18 - The One That Got Away
Season 9 Episode 4 - Aired 10/17/2003
While conducting a flight test, Harm ends up involved in a serious CIA mission, over North Korea. In Iraq, a Marine recon platoon is surprised by a 10 year-old Iraqi unarmed civilian tending to his goats. Surprised at seeing the armed Marine, the boy runs off. Later the platoon is involved in a skirmish, resulting in two deaths and the Sergeant losing their radio. Unable to call in for transportation out of the desert, the platoon must end up walking many miles in the desert to safety. Once safe, it is learned that the firefight was the result of the boy returning to his village & notifying some of the local Iraqi resistance members, who immediately went out to engage the platoon.
Director: Kenneth Johnson
Writer: Thomas L. Moran
7.1/10 153 votes#19 - The Return
Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 10/12/1999
Admiral Chegwidden welcomes Harm back to JAG by assigning him a tricky case - defending the son of the Secretary of Navy. Harm takes the case when Lt. Nelson, the son of the Secretary of the Navy, is accused by Cmdr. Burke of disobeying an order at sea, an act worthy of a court martial.
Director: Greg Beeman
Writer: Larry Moskowitz
7.1/10 141 votes#20 - 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.
Director: Alan J. Levi
Writer: John Schulian
7.1/10 151 votes#21 - Drop Zone
Season 5 Episode 20 - Aired 4/4/2000
Mac prosecutes a SEAL jumpmaster is charged with causing the drowning death of a trainee during a parachute mishap by being hung over and is defended by Bud, assisted by a new female Lieutenant who is very ambitious, wanting to be the first female JAG. Bud & Lt. Singer discovers a safety file that is inadmissible in court that supports the prosecution's contention that the jumpmaster was impaired. The file mysteriously winds up in Mac's car and she thumbs through it. After conferring with Harm who tells her what she already knows, she burns the file. But during questioning court, Lt. Singer objects that Mac is basing her argument based on the file, which Bud reluctantly agrees. Mac is charged with prosecutorial misconduct, removed & replaced by Harm. Having been chewed out by the Admiral, she takes some leave & heads to spend time with Mic in Australia, running into the Admiral & Dr. Walden who are taking their own weekend 'trip'.
Director: Hugo Cortina
Writer: Larry Moskowitz
7.1/10 139 votes#22 - Salvation
Season 6 Episode 19 - Aired 4/10/2001
A Marine sergeant in prison needs Harm's help again when his prints are found on a murder weapon.
Director: Bradford May
Writer: Ed Zuckerman
7.1/10 179 votes#23 - Lifeline
Season 6 Episode 22 - Aired 5/8/2001
Harm & Mac square off in court over a charge of illegal fraternization, but when they oral arguments become directed at each other & reflecting their own relationship, Judge Helfman recesses the court for the day with a strong admonishment to the both of them. All the staff shows up at Admiral Chegwidden's house for Mic & Mac's engagement party. Lt. Singer shows up in a knock-out of a dress which stuns the Admiral for a moment, not used to seeing her in civilian clothes. Bud shows up dress properly for once, but Harriet notices after arriving that he has peanut butter on his tie. Bud is mortified trying to get a tie from anyone, without much luck. Later, he is forced to remove his jacket when wine gets spilled all over him. Even more mortified, Bud feels desperately out-dressed. Throughout the evening, Mac reminisces with the Admiral about past events involving the both of them.
Director: David James Elliott
Writer: Larry Moskowitz
7.1/10 133 votes#24 - Tribunal
Season 7 Episode 21 - Aired 4/30/2002
US Special Forces capture Mustafa Atef, who is believed to be a very high ranking Al-Queda official instrumental in training the hijackers who attacked the World Trade Center & the Pentagon. As a result, the President convenes the first military tribunal in over 50 years. As none of the JAG staff is eager to defend the accused terrorist, Adm. Chegwidden takes it upon himself to defend him, with Cmdr. Turner volunteering to sit second-chair for the Admiral. Harm & Mac are assigned to prosecute. The tribunal is held aboard the USS Seahawk, so with the senior JAG staff flying out to the carrier, Lt. Singer is placed in charge of JAG's Administration Staff, much to the dismay of Harriet and the others. Lt. Singer then takes over the Admiral's office, conducting a fire drill and generally making a nuisance of herself. On board the carrier, the staff are reunited with Bud, who as fleet JAG is assigned to assist Harm & Mac.
Director: N/A
Writer: Charles Holland
7.1/10 124 votes#25 - The Promised Land
Season 8 Episode 2 - Aired 10/1/2002
Mac and Harm defend a Marine corporal (Steve Petrarca) who's charged with desertion. He claims that anti-Semitism drove him to leave the Corps and join the Israeli army, where he was awarded for heroism.
Director: Scott Brazil
Writer: Dana Coen