Ratings: JAG: B Mac: A

After going through a long dry spell at the beginning of the season, we've now had three episodes in a row which featured Mac strongly. It's about time. I would have been more satisfied if there had been more of a mention of the events of People v. Mac in this episode. All we got was a token exchange between her and Brumby in her office about her "not holding a grudge" against
him for the trial and another one between Harm and Mac in the Bedouins' tent about her upcoming Article 32 hearing. Otherwise, it was business as usual. I certainly didn't sense any tension between her and the Admiral--which I would
have expected, all things considered.

I keep trying to remind myself that The Black Jet wasn't originally supposed to air after People v. Mac. Yet the scene between Mac and Brumby was the sort of conversation they should have had immediately following the murder trial; so it led me to believe this is their first chance to talk since then. But if "Vision Quest" was originally supposed to follow PVM instead of The Black Jet, then where is Brumby in "Vision Quest"? And what ever happened to him taking her out to dinner the night after the trial ended (guess she must have changed her mind about giving him a chance to apologize)? Anyway, because the shuffling of episodes might have confused the writing staff as much as the audience, I'll reserve judgment about fallout from PVM until I see a few more episodes, but I do hope it's dealt with more than it was here.

It was nice to see Mac's (and Catherine Bell's) Farsi language skills finally put to good use in this episode. The scenes where Iranians tell Mac, who clearly thinks her Farsi is very good, that her American accent is "barely detectable" are amusing. I think this may be a case of life imitating art; I seem to recall Catherine Bell mentioning in an interview once that this has happened to her before, and that she was disappointed, too, because she thought her Farsi accent was pretty good. It sounded pretty authentic to me.

The director, camera team, and special effects crew did a really terrific job transporting the viewer to "Iran" in this episode. From the use of the Farsi language (with English subtitles) and the traditional clothing Mac had to wear as a female in Iran, to the bridgeover scene in which we heard the cries of the muezzin (the Muslim crier who calls the hour of the daily prayer) while
seeing a morning shot of the cityscape of Tehran and Iranians praying at the mosque, to the desert location scenes, complete with camels and tanks and blowing sand (and of course the nifty explosions), it was all really effective. It wasn't perfect (for instance, foreigners always speak far better English on TV than they do in real life), but I appreciated the details that
went into the episode.

Man, it's scary that I've been watching this show long enough to pick up obscure military terminology. I was so proud of myself when I understood what Keeter was talking about when he kept saying "No Martin Baker." (Of course, it doesn't hurt that the phrase was explained just a few weeks ago in The Martin Baker Fan Club.)  In terms of the plot, it was all right, but nothing to write home about. I was glad that Webb's agent turned out to be a double-agent, because otherwise, I was thinking that their rescue of Keeter went way too smoothly to be believable. I like Keeter; he's a fun character, and he and Harm have a great
rapport. He seems to bring out the mature, responsible side of Harm (and may I say it was certainly refreshing to see this side of Harm again! I was beginning to fear he'd lost it for good). I wouldn't mind seeing some Harm- Keeter adventures in the future. Could be fun.

Favorite quote:
Keeter: Live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse. Whoever said that first was a freaking idiot.

-- Gray Cargill