Meg Austin

Megan "Meg" Austin
Tracey Needham as Lieutenant Junior Grade Meg Austin
First appearance	Shadow (9/30/95)
Last appearance	Skeleton Crew (5/29/96)
Portrayed by	Tracey Needham
Information
Occupation	Judge Advocate in the United States Navy
Title	Lieutenant, Junior Grade (United States)

Lieutenant, Junior Grade Megan "Meg" Austin (USN), is a main character in the first season of the television series JAG portrayed by actress Tracey Needham.

Character Biography

Meg Austin was the second partner to Lieutenant Harmon Rabb, replacing Lieutenant JG Caitlin Pike. The character was known to be from Texas, inherited a friendship from her deceased father to an obscure character very well connected in the intelligence community named "Ollie" in clear reference to Oliver North (portrayed by himself on three episodes in 1995, 1996 and 2002)^[1], who knew her father and who helped her on some of their investigations. He also stayed at her bedside when she was shot in the head and comatose in the hospital after a run-in with the (fictionally) infamous assassin known only as Hemlock. She also proved to have superior computer skills to both Rabb and Cate due to a previous stint in weapons and computer R&D. We also find out in her first episode that she has extreme claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces), which was a continual problem for her character.^[2] After her departure from JAG headquarters, she recommended Major Sarah MacKenzie to replace her as Harm's partner, she also recommended that Bud be placed on JAG staff.

Awards and decorations

The list below contains Austin's known awards current as of the end of season 1.

In Order of Precedence

Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation

National Defense Service Medal

Background

The powers that be at NBC didn't like Andrea Parker's character (Caitlin Pike) in the pilot, so they had to recast Rabb's partner for the series.^[3] Andrea Parker went on to work on The Pretender but came back to guest star on a few episodes later in the season.

When JAG was canceled by NBC after the first season, Needham left the series. When CBS picked up JAG from the second season onward, she was replaced by Catherine Bell, playing then Major Sarah MacKenzie. Her final (non flashback clip) appearance was in the final and rarely aired season 1 episode Skeleton Crew.

References

1. ^ Oliver North at IMDb.com
2. ^ JAG Season 1 "Shadow"
3. ^ Donald Bellisario on JAG season 1 DVD Interview