"Vanished" is an episode of JAG that first aired on October 28, 1997. Directed by Alan J Levi. Written by R Scott Gemmill.
An F-14 Tomcat being piloted by Lt. Commander Murray Douglas (Jim Fitzpatrick), a pilot with the call sign "Yankee," and backseater Lt. "Bubba" Fields (Darren Gray Ward) seems to disappear completely without a trace on a stormy night.
Lt. Commander Rabb, Major MacKenzie and Lt. Roberts are sent to the USS Coral Sea to investigate. The plane disappeared close to the Bermuda Triangle, which makes Roberts extremely nervous, as he is a "believer". His "theories" seem to be constantly shot down by Rabb.
As the investigation proceeds, a bookmark on Douglas's computer leads the investigation to suspect right wing militia involvement. Rabb and Roberts head ashore to NAS Jax in Florida and discover that Douglas's family seems to have also vanished without a trace.
At the Douglas house, they find an opened milk can and half eaten muffins, leading them to suspect abduction. Later, Lt. Fields is discovered at a campsite and claims that Douglas ejected him. Roberts shows Rabb a photo on the computer of two UFOs, but Rabb can identify them. Rabb tracks the F-14 to a militia campsite — where they are preparing the F-14 to be used in a heinous act.
Tropes
- Bermuda Triangle: Roberts repeatedly brings up the theory that the F-14 may have disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle.
- The Comically Serious: Rabb pulls Roberts's leg by mentioning "Operation Whirlpool" where Seawolf class attack subs supposedly ride around in a circle to form vortices and suck up ships and planes. He says this in a deadpan manner. Roberts sees through it, though.—Roberts: "Are you mocking me, sir?"
- Embarrassing Password: Roberts's password for the UFO enthusiasts' website is "STUD".
- Flying Saucer: A bunch of UFO sightings were reported along the Florida coastline, ingressing into Georgia. The UFO nuts take pictures, appearing to show a pair of lit saucers flying in formation. Rabb takes a look and immediately recognizes the "twin saucers" as afterburners of a Tomcat.
- I Have Your Wife: The Freedom Brethren militia group have Commander Douglas's wife Lee (Adele Sparks) and their daughter Kim (Cassandra Ray). Which is why he steals an F-14 for them, then uses it to fly a mission for them.
- Oceanic Airlines: The plane Douglas is supposed to shoot out of the sky is an Oceanic Airlines passenger jet.
- Right-Wing Militia Fanatic: The Freedom Brethren.
- Shout-Out to Sherlock Holmes: Rabb fishes a cigar out of the trash and pretends to deduce a lot of facts about it.Rabb: Well... what is it? I think it's Honduran. It's definitely Honduran. March, maybe April. It's definitely the spring of '95. They had a lot of rain that year.Mac: All right, knock it off, Sherlock.
- Take That!: Petty Officer Riggs (David O'Donell), Douglas's plane captain, associates the militia with the U. S. Army, but not in a nice way.Plane Captain: Militias are more of an Army problem, sir. Redneck Army washouts might paint their pickup trucks in camo and call themselves a militia. What would sailors do? Mount a 50 cal on a bass boat?
- Trust Password: To verify they can trust Roberts, the UFO enthusiasts confront him with the phrase "The giant sleeps tonight." Roberts correctly replies: "He dreams of bigger shoes."
