"We the People" is an episode of JAG that first aired on January 3, 1997. Directed by Les Landau. Written by Donald P. Bellisario.
In the second season premiere, and after having received his Distinguished Flying Cross from President Clinton at a White House ceremony, Lt. Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr. joins Major Sarah 'Mac' MacKenzie (Catherine Bell), Lt. Bud Roberts (Patrick Labyorteaux) and State Department Special Assistant Clayton Webb (Steven Culp) to track down Colonel Matthew O'Hara (Carmen Argenziano), a Medal of Honor recipient who in an act of protest has stolen the Declaration of Independence.
Colonel O'Hara, who turns out to be Mac's uncle, claims he's temporarily taken control of the document as a wake-up call to politicians who have lost sight of its true meaning. However, despite his patriotic-sounding rhetoric, Colonel O'Hara's said to be asking a ransom of one-half billion dollars for the return of the historical document. Some of O'Hara's followers, like Captain Cahill (Tom O'Brien) and Sergeant Riske (Sal Landi), lose sight of O'Hara's ideals and instead become fixated on the $500 million ransom.
This episode marks the first time when;
- JAG aired on CBS;
- Catherine Bell joined the main cast as Major Sarah MacKenzie;
- Lieutenant JG Bud Roberts (Patrick Labyorteaux) is now stationed at JAG Headquarters and part of the main cast;
- Rear Admiral A.J. Chegwidden (John M. Jackson) is also now part of the main cast, Promoted to Opening Credits;
- the first of forty appearances of Steven Culp as the recurring CIA Officer Clayton Webb;
- and JAG Headquarters in-verse location is now Falls Church, Virginia.
Tropes
- Alphabet News Network: ZNN, the CNN stand-in, is shown here for the very first time on JAG. It would also appear many years later in plenty of NCIS episodes.
- Anti-Villain: Colonel Matthew O'Hara is a Marine Corps legend who earned the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, but he's grown tired of American degradation of society with street crimes and corrupted politicians, so he and a few other Marines snatches the Declaration of Independence transported in a mail truck on its back from a restoration job. What no one knows at the outset is that the Colonel is the uncle of Major Sarah Mackenzie.
- Continuity Nod: Rabb is presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in the pilot movie. The fact that those actions happened over a season previously is a nod towards how long it can take for some medals to pass through the review process in Real Life.
- Grade System Snark: Webb gives a rating of Mac's beauty. When someone asks, You go into fractions? Webb replies, I use the Richter Scale.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Admiral Chegwidden hints at the possibility of such reassignment:Lieutenant JGs don't joke with admirals, son, it could get him transferred to a supply ship in the Aleutians. Joking is strictly an admiral's privilege only.
- Sexiness Score: Webb rates Major MacKenzie as 7.6, he says he uses the Richter scale. A later episode shows he also knows her measurements for a dress off the top of his head.
- Shout-Out to Mikhail Gorbachev: Commenting on the brevity of the news cycle, O'Hara says that America has a very short attention span. "We're nothing more than breaking news. We'll be as forgotten as Gorbachev in a year if we don't keep reminding them."
- Spies In a Van: Roberts tells Rabb about the FBI van.Roberts: Webb is spending all his time in an FBI van that's sprouting more antennas than the ants crawling up my leg.Rabb: What kind of antennas?Roberts: Well, little black ones, sir. It's about a half an inch long with tiny, hairy feelers that—Rabb: On the van, Bud.Roberts: Oh, the works, sir. I'd say they're capable of scanning everything from smoke signals to satellites.Rabb: Well, it sounds like Mr. Webb has found a place to stay cool.Roberts: I wouldn't know, sir, he won't let me in.Rabb: Look at the positive side, Bud. As long as Webb's in the van, he isn't bugging us.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In JAG tradition, Rabb has yet another snarky female partner, this time a badass Marine. Unlike Pike and Austin, Mac will be around for the rest of the show.
- Tracking Device: Used by Clayton Webb in his first dealing with Rabb and Mac, to track their rental car. However, they're Genre Savvy enough to get rid of it.
- The White House: Rabb and Mac first meet in the Rose Garden, following a presidential awards ceremony in which Rabb received his first Disthinguished Flying Cross for the heroics he pulled off in the pilot movie.
- With All Due Respect: Comes up in a conversation between O'Hara and Cahill.Cahill: America's looking for a hero to follow. You're it. If you call for action against the government, the people would act.O'Hara: Captain Cahill, I didn't spend 32 years defending this country to lead an insurrection. My goal is to wake Washington, not set it aflame.Cahill: With all due respect, sir, if it gains us our objective, what's the difference?O'Hara: All the difference in the world, captain. Your way is treason. Mine is loyal opposition.
- You Look Like You've Seen a Ghost: When Rabb first meets Major Sarah MacKenzie, who is a dead ringer for Lt. Diane Schonke, a murdered Naval officer Rabb used to know ("Skeleton Crew").Mac: Sounds like I have a twin out there.
Rabb: Not anymore.
As you were...
Dismissed.
