You may not even have noticed that JAG was still on the air, but it was about to complete its 10th season when CBS announced Monday that it was pulling the plug on the military-legal drama. The official cause of death was low ratings — the series pulls down about 9.8 million viewers a week, compared to 14.8 million three years ago — but its days were surely numbered when star David James Elliott announced months ago that he was leaving JAG at the end of this season. (He's since signed a development deal with ABC.)
''We've had an amazing run, particularly for a series that was once canceled,'' show creator Donald P. Bellisario said in a statement. (The show debuted on NBC, which canceled it after just one season, but CBS picked it up and aired it for nine more seasons.) ''Over the last 10 years we have had an opportunity to shine a spotlight on our armed forces and call attention to issues of significant importance to our country as well as the men and women who serve it,'' Bellisario said.
On the final episode, the network announced, the series will finally resolve the long-running romantic tension between Elliott's Navy Cmdr. Harmon ''Harm'' Rabb and Catherine Bell's Marine Lt. Col. Sarah ''Mac'' MacKenzie, who've been tantalizing viewers about as long as Mulder and Scully did on The X-Files. That episode will air April 29.
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