CITY SALUTES 'JAG,' A BOON TO ECONOMY AS WELL AS STATURE.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - There'll be one less chance for the city to be seen on the small screen when the military courtroom drama ``JAG'' finishes its 10-year hitch at the end of the month and flying ace turned legal sleuth Cmdr. Harmon ``Harm'' Rabb resolves his last case.

The CBS show, which follows two members of the Judge Advocate General Corps as they investigate, prosecute and defend those accused of crimes in the military, just wrapped last week at Valencia Studios. The last episode is scheduled to air April 29.

Since ``JAG'' moved from the Paramount lot to the local ValCom-owned soundstage in 1997, crews and uniformed extras have swarmed Newhall Superior Court, which doubled as Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in an episode. Series stars and producers often donated gifts and face time to local charities.

It's also been a boon to the city's economy and stature as a major television production center, said Jason Crawford, the city's film administrator.

``JAG has been a fantastic show for the city to have based here, and has been great for attracting other film shows to come to Santa Clarita,'' he said. ``It adds to the attractiveness and to the pedigree of Santa Clarita.''

The series, which stars David James Elliott and Catherine Bell, and its spinoff ``NCIS'' signed a five-year, $2 million per-year deal to remain here in 2003.

Other economic gains include millions annually in jobs and services, Crawford said.

``They not only hire locally - over 25 percent of the people that worked on 'JAG' live in the Santa Clarita Valley - when they're getting food and costumes and whatnot, they would've spent a couple hundred thousand dollars per episode into the Santa Clarita economy,'' he said.

Besides the ``JAG'' franchise, the city also is home to ``CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and the HBO dramas ``Carnivale,'' ``Deadwood'' and ``Big Love,'' a new series just entering production. Shows such as ``24'' and ``Alias'' often use the valley as a backdrop. In all, television work contributed about $17 million to city coffers in the 2003-04 fiscal year, Crawford said.

``Television is the bread and butter of filming in Santa Clarita,'' he said. ``Most of our studios are filled with TV shows, and the TV shows film out on location around town every week. They're definitely the main customer of the city film office.''

Canceled after a single season on NBC, ``JAG'' was picked up by CBS and became a reliable ratings performer and part of the network's turnaround, said CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves.

But the series' popularity had begun to ebb. It was averaging 9.8 million weekly viewers for the season to date, compared with 14.8 million viewers in the 2001-02 season.

``We've had an amazing run, particularly for a series that was once canceled,'' show creator Donald P. Bellisario said. ``Over the last 10 years we have had an opportunity to shine a spotlight on our armed forces and call attention to issues of significant importance to our country as well as the men and women who serve it.''

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com