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My Ramblings
This page contains my various disjointed thoughts and ideas relating to the episodes as they air. I'm starting this in the tenth season, and fully aware that it may be a very short page indeed, but I thought it'd be fun to put my thoughts out here for you to see. Agree with me? Disagree? Want to chat about what I post? Hit the feedback button below and send me an email. The more ideas I hear from you, the better my understanding of the dynamics of our favorite show, and the better I understand things, the better I can write. Oh, and one word to the wise...On the off chance that you haven't discovered this by reading my stories, I am a shipper, but I also try to be realistic about my favorite duo. My thoughts may not always be admiring of Harm/Mac's actions, but I will always respect the writer's right to portray them as they see fit.
Bridging The Gulf (February 18, 2005) - Excellent episode. Both story lines held my attention very well and included plot twists that I didn't expect. We got to see action Harm flying a cool plane and making a split second, gut instinct decision. It's the Harm we all know and love from times past, come back for a visit. I have to say that the conversation between Harm and Sturgis took me completely by surprise. I never saw that coming, and I'll have to watch the show a few more times before I can hope to understand it. I'm not impressed with the new guy, but maybe he'll grow on me. To me, he seems weak and self-serving. Hopefully, Mac will straighten him out. I certainly look forward to seeing her in Marine mode with him. He obviously needs a firm hand, and we all know Mac's more than capable. I didn't see any warm feelings between the two of them at all, not that I really expected to. My only complaint about the episode, and it's a little one, is the fact that Mac looked tired again, like she hasn't been sleeping well. What happened to that radiance we saw in "Whole New Ballgame?" Oh...and an interesting comment from the general, about needing somebody at JAG who has a "fire in his belly." Didn't that used to be Harm? Fit For Duty (February 11, 2005) - I have to say that I really enjoyed this episode. It isn't often that we hear about the mental and emotional impact war has on our soldiers, much less on the support staff who serve behind the scenes. I'll admit, the mental health professional in me couldn't believe the psychiatrist sent that Marine back to the front lines after hearing what he had to say, but who's to say how your perceptions change when the prospect of sudden and painful death is as close to you as the person passing you on the street or sitting across from you in the mess tent? This definitely wasn't a shipper episode, but Harm and Mac worked well together, and I felt more chemistry in this episode than I did last week by a far shot. Also, thank God they didn't do that strange camera work again. :) Here's a question, though. What in the world prompted the writers to bring Jordan up after all this time? IMHO, it would've made more sense to have Dr. McCool testify instead. By the way, isn't it interesting the way tptb has been showing all these different women's attraction to Harm? It isn't that I don't think he's attractive. Not by a far shot. But JAG's been around for 10 years now, and though Harm's obviously not been celibate all that time, I don't remember seeing this many women demonstrate open interest in him during any other season. I'll admit to a certain amount of curiosity to find out where TPTB is going with it. All in all, I think this was a good, strong episode, and though I'm very much crossing my fingers that Harm and Mac end up together by the end of the season, I'm not going to turn away from any story as finely written and performed as this one was. Heart of Darkness (February 4, 2005) - This day has certainly been one of many mixed emotions. I woke up this morning to the news that David Elliott had signed a contract with ABC. He has, of course, every right to do that, and I think he's made a good move career wise. Unfortunately, that means he's going to be leaving JAG, and his loss is going to leave a gaping hole. Will CBS renew JAG without Harm? Too early to say. Do I want it renewed without Harm? I'm not even sure of my answer to that question right now. I can only say that I hope tptb send our favorite flyboy out in style. I had high hopes for tonight's episode. We've been hearing about it for weeks, and many of us had visions of "In Country" floating in our heads. Unfortunately, this was nothing like that. It was okay, and I'll keep it in my collection, but frankly, I found the camera work highly distracting, and the B story line difficult to watch. When, exactly, did Bud's dad buy a bar? And where did he get the money? Very strange and disconnected story line there. As to the A line, Harm and Mac looked wonderful, as always, and it was great to see them working a case together. But I didn't see much emotion or chemistry anywhere in tonight's show. It felt...cold, somehow - like the actors hearts weren't in their work. While I believe the A story had great merit, I'm not sure the writers did it justice. I can only say that I hope the rest of the stories we see during sweeps will be better. The Sixth Juror (January 14, 2005) - I have to say that of all the episodes I've seen so far this season, this one is probably my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, was decent and (mostly) believable. It's just that for some reason it didn't resonate with me the way some of the others did. Now, before you suggest that the reason I didn't like it is because it wasn't a shipper episode, check out my comments on some of the other non-shipper stories. The good news here was that we got to see Harm and Mac working together, and I loved the interaction between Bud and General Cresswell. Summer whites are always appreciated - especially when we get to see them in January. Those are the good points. The story itself didn't really hold my attention. Again, I'm not sure I could pinpoint why that is. Something about the entire show felt slipshod to me, as though it had been cobbled together in a hurry with an eye more toward getting it ready to air than toward producing a top quality story. Personally, I'd have been happy to wait another week to see this one if it might've given the production crew more time to make it tighter. It was a solid episode, and I'll keep it in my collection, but I doubt it's one I'll watch very often. Automatic for the People (January 7, 2005) - I haven't laughed that hard during a JAG episode in months. The lovely murder mystery obsessed lieutenant was hilarious - especially because she never seemed to realize just how funny she was. I instantly recognized her likeness in appearance to Harriet, and her personality quirks to Bud. I wonder if that was deliberate on TPTB's part. She's clearly smitten by Harm, and in typical Harm fashion, he's completely oblivious to the fact. The redhead (funny how I'm remembering these characters by their hair color instead of their names...), was truly gorgeous, and not shy about letting Harm see her interest in him. I thought her a bit nosy at times, but other than that, she seemed nice enough. I was relieved to see Harm's stiff response to her kiss, but puzzled by the way he kept looking back at her. Surprise, maybe? I don't think we'll see her again, and I can't say I'm sorry about that. Nice she may have been, but Harm's taken - thank you very much. The opening scenes of this episode were breath-taking. I so love high tech planes. I also enjoyed the case itself, the only little hiccup for me being how quickly everybody leaped to the conclusion that the artist had been killed in the accident. Granted, that's the truth of what happened, but there wasn't any consideration at all of other possibilities. That seemed a little off to me. Finally, it was wonderful to see spunky smiling Mac again. I missed her. And Sturgis seemed almost human. It's about time, huh? All in all, a good episode. Definitely worth watching again. The Four Percent Solution (December 17, 2004) - First let me apologize to any of you who came to check my comments right after air time. To be honest, I was still mulling over my reaction at that point and hadn't a clue what to write. This was an awesome episode, but unusually angst filled for a Christmas story. The good news was that we gained insight into a lot of what Mac's been feeling and what has driven her to act the way she has since the start of the season. TPTB threw a few bones to us shippers (little ones, granted, but I'm not picky, I'll take what I can get), and I'll admit I was pleased to hear Mac's comments about Webb. It's sad though, that our favorite duo can't seem to read each other better. Mac convinced herself that Harm had moved on, and probably still at least half believes that, despite her conversation with Dr. McCool. Then, at the end of the episode, she apologizes to Harm for pushing him away. I took that as a good sign, one that maybe means she's willing to consider that her conclusions about him were mistaken. Only time will tell, but it was good to see them holding hands, good to see the concern on Harm's face, and good to see Mac lay a few demons to rest. The Man on the Bridge (December 10, 2004) - Okay, I have to say that I loved this episode. The only disappointment was the absolute lack of shippery moments but hey, I'm used to that. Many fans have complained lately that there's a sameness to JAG episodes - no surprises, old storylines rehashed. Maybe some will try to claim that tonight was also a rehash, but I don't see how they can. Many is the time I've been able to guess the guilty party before the end of the show. Not so tonight. Maybe I'm just not a good enough sleuth. :) This episode kept me guessing until the very end, and even then I was surprised. Very well done, nice working relationship between Harm and Mac, and ever so nice to see Bud up to some of his old goofy behaviors. Overall I was very pleased, and I'll definitely watch this one again. There Goes the Neighborhood (November 26, 2004) - Once again, my comments are coming to you immediately after watching this air. I thought this episode to be the best of of the November sweeps. I was interested all the way through and found both story lines well written and acted. Zoe did a great job with a demanding story line. I was very much impressed with her work. I'm still having trouble with Bud and the whole anger management thing, but I'm guessing that it's about to be Bud's turn to go through the emotional meat grinder that Harm and Mac both had to suffer through. I sort of hope the writers prove me wrong, because I'm kind of meat grindered (I know, not a real word. Call it creative license and move on) out for now. There were lots of references to past episodes that only a true fan would notice, and lots of double meanings. I'm definitely going to have to watch this one more than once to sort out all of the background information that was shared. This episode was very Mac light, but when we did see her, I thought she looked good. So did Harm, but then...when doesn't he? <grin> Camp Delta (November 19, 2004) - Okay, writing this immediately after the episode, and without having taken much time to process what I just saw. My feelings on this one are very mixed. I'll deal with the B story line, first. I had a problem from the beginning with this one. There's no way I can see the Bud that we've all known and loved for so many years punching somebody like that. He'd be much more likely, in my opinion, to be the voice of reason - up to and including dragging Mike away from the scene before things got out of hand. Since I had trouble with the very idea of Bud punching somebody, the rest of that line didn't work for me either. On the other hand, I thought the A line was well done and believable. The situation with the detainees, whether we're talking about Guantanamo, or Abu Ghraib, or wherever, is murky. It's easy to sit in our comfortable homes and condemn the actions of our servicemen and women for stories we see in our newspapers and on our television sets. It's easy to be appalled by what, on the surface at least, appear to be brutal acts perpetrated on defenseless prisoners. In real life, as in tonight's JAG episode, things are rarely that simple. I think the writers did a good job dealing with what is, in actuality, an incredibly complicated issue. Do I necessarily agree with everything that was said? No. But I appreciate the effort made to encourage the public to see beyond the sensationalized stories that often appear in the media.
One Big Boat (November 12, 2004) - Good episode. The more I see of Cresswell, the more I like him. I'm still not ready to give him my full support, though. I keep thinking he's hiding something up his sleeve. Besides, I loved AJ, and it's hard to let go of the things you love. This was a Mikey (sorry, he'll always be Mikey to me) episode, and though I'm not particularly fond of the character, I think the part was believably played. I have to say, I loved seeing grown up Bud taking his brother to task. Bud's matured nicely, and I think Harm and Mac can be proud of the job they've done with him. Two very interesting conversations from this episode. Mac's with Mattie, and Mac's with Cresswell. Cresswell first. I know he was attempting to put Mac at ease about Okinawa, and I think Mac does feel a little better about things. Somehow I don't think she's ready to completely let her guard down, though. I suspect she'll be wary of her new C.O. for quite a while, until he proves by his actions that he's trustworthy. But then, I suspect he's going to be watching her just as closely. It's going to make for an interesting relationship to watch. Now... the second conversation, Mac and Mattie. Very interesting. I hadn't realized before that Mac was quite this aware of what was going on with Harm and how much he'd changed. I will be curious to see how Mac demonstrates the understanding we now know she has...how will it effect her relationship with Harm? Inquiring minds want to know. :-)
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