User Reviews

One reviewer, who describes himself as an Italian, has expressed much displeasure about the portrayal of his fellow Italians in this episode. His allegations are patently false. There is no reference to the mafia, no spaghetti or other pasta, and no mandolin music. The treatment and the portrayals of the Italians here are invariably sensitive and respectful. One Italian, Capt. Balducci, becomes caught in a lie (his false testimony) during cross-examination in a courtroom hearing -- just as both Harm and Mac have repeatedly caught US citizens in similarly compromised situations. Another Italian, Col. Marcello, is portrayed as biased, hard-nosed, and one-sided, just as the series has likewise portrayed many US officers and others. A third Italian, Signor Antinori, is portrayed as sincerely but incorrectly persuaded that previous low-level training flights had affected his daughter's health or pregnancy. Two other Italians, Franco Restivo and his daughter, Arianna, are portrayed as honest, honorable, and respected. Nothing in this episode even remotely presents one or more Italians as foolish, goofy, or stupid. Quite to the contrary, it presents them as real human beings with both desirable and undesirable traits, behavior, and characteristics. Yes, we well recall the unfortunate and regrettable incident at Cermis involving Capt. Ashby of the US Marine Corps. This episode, which first aired on 05 May 1998, clearly was a response to that accident, which had occurred on 03 February 1998. Two interesting points are that the airspeed of each aircraft was 540 knots, and the starboard wing of each aircraft struck something else. The first reviewer refers to the US Army and "USA soldiers". None of them is in the US Army; none of them is a soldier. All the US military people in this episode are members of the US Navy or the US Marine Corps, not the US Army. Further, JAG has never suggested or pretended that all of us US citizens or US military members are always completely good, or that any of us is ever perfect. Again, quite to the contrary, JAG presents a wide variety of imperfect people of various nationalities, both good and bad people, who display both good and bad behavior. No, this episode -- indeed, this entire series -- does not consist of racism or prejudice.

Obviously inspired by a real-life event (as were many early episodes of "JAG") when a "cowboy" US fighter pilot flew low through an Italian valley and cut the cables which supported a cable-car, killing Italian civilians.

The "plot" follows the JAG investigators as they seek evidence, develop theories and - as usual - resolve the mystery.

Of "action" interest, Harm flies Congresswoman Bobbi Latham in an F-14 and she enjoys it (inexplicably in Mac's view); plus, the Admiral's daughter Francesca bids a chaste farewell to Harm ("parting as friends" as he insists) with the softly-spoken line "but I was hoping for more". Chances missed, darling.

Having worked my way through the entire box set of all ten seasons over the past 14 months (from May 2017), I can see why this would be rated as the weakest out of all 227 episodes in the ten-year run of "JAG".

Excellent approach involving an international accident which caused the death of six civilians

There is no way the u.s. navy would allow a congresswoman to fly as a copilot in an f-14 as depicted in this episode ... the whole theme of this episode is total fiction ... joe spano again brings nothing to the table

They portrayed the Italian Colonel with golden eagles on its uniform's neckband. Well, those eagles are extremely similar (I would say that they are just as) to the symbols used during Fascists era. When I watch American productions, I never expect thorough research on foreign cultures and facts. Well, JAG makes no exemption. Despite I really enjoy the series, many times I get frustrated watching all those mistakes and "over the top" depictions. They need to show an Italian? Always with Sicilian or Neapolitan accent (despite majority of us lives in the north and speaks a totally different dialect), straight from a Godfather's movie, rural or underdeveloped, with unserious behaviour. This time, with fascist reminiscences.

Really disrespectful.