In
a move unusual for any series, let alone a military one,
CBS' drama JAG has resurrected a lesbian
character from a single-episode storyline last season. Now in
it's ninth season, JAG (the acronym stands for Judge
Advocate General, the legal arm of the military) stars Commander
Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr. (played by David James Elliott)
and Marine Lt. Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie (played
by Catherine Bell) as military lawyers who defend and prosecute
the laws of the United States Navy.
Commander
Beth O'Neill (played by Mary Page Keller) was introduced in the
sixth episode of the eighth season ("Offensive Action")
as a senior naval officer whom Harm and Lt. Commander Tracy Manetti
(Tamlyn Tomita) were assigned to defend against charges of sexual
harassment. The charges were brought by a junior male officer
who claimed that Beth was critical of his performance during flying
maneuvers because he refused her sexual advances. Beth proclaimed
her innocence to Harm and Manetti, but they doubted her veracity
when several witnesses testified that Beth regularly flirted with
junior officers and enlisted men, and when Beth testified that
she had had no sexual relationships with men since her divorce
three years earlier.
Finally,
Beth informed Harm and Manetti in private that she was a lesbian,
so they would understand why the charges could not be true. Her
public flirtations with men, it turns out, were just an attempt
to hide the fact that she was gay. Since Harm and Manetti could
not disclose this information in the hearing without jeopardizing
Beth's career under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
rule, they chose instead to attack the accuser's performance record
(which is spotty), and the case is dismissed.
At
the close of the episode, Harm and Manetti counseled Beth to leave
the Navy so she wouldn't have to continue lying about her sexual
orientation, but Beth countered that she likes what she does as
much as who she is.
Fast
forward a year or so to October 10th and the third episode
of this season ("Secret Agent Man"), and
Harm is now (temporarily) working with the CIA. His first assignment
is to go undercover in Manila to prevent a Philippine radical
terrorist from overthrowing the government, and to his surprise,
the CIA agent with whom he is partnered turns out to be none other
than Commander Beth O'Neill, who took his advice and left the
Navy (to join the CIA). She is the lead on the assignment so Harm
becomes her co-pilot, and the two quickly develop a good rapport.
Beth poses as a prostitute to lure a suspect out of his car, is
arrested, and then freed when Harm blackmails the guy into dropping
the charges.
Beth's
sexual orientation is only referenced briefly during the episode
(when she tells Harm that he is the only officer she came out
to who didn't freak out about it), but she is clearly still gay
and he is still clearly just fine with it.
It
isn't surprising that JAG chose to write an
episode about a closeted military officer, since "gays in
the military" has been a very hot topic in the last few years,
and single lesbian-themed episodes are all the rage these days.
But it is a little surprising that a military drama would
take such a progressive stance on this issue and include the lesbian
character in subsequent episodes when her sexuality isn't the
actual focus of the storyline; in fact, that's rare for any television
show.
Beth
is a very likeable character, with integrity, talent, and intelligence,
but she is also flawed enough to seem realistic. As a pilot and
CIA agent, she's one of the more interesting lesbian characters
on television this season, even if she only has a small role.
Beth
is not likely to become a series regular, both because the series
primarily focuses on the relationship between
Harm and Mac, and because this show is about the military, not
the CIA (so Harm's stint with the CIA seems short-lived). Beth
is scheduled to appear in another episode, however, when
she and Harm work together on another CIA mission in this season's
fifth episode ("Touchdown"), which airs on October 24th
on CBS. Perhaps if viewers react positively, they'll find a way
to bring her back again for future episodes.
