Jesse Stone (character) explained

Jesse Stone
Creator:Robert B. Parker
Portrayer:Tom Selleck
Gender:Male
Occupation:Law enforcement officer
Paradise, Massachusetts
Police Chief
Spouse:Jenn
Nationality:American

Jesse Stone is the lead character in a series of detective novels written by Robert B. Parker. They were among his last works, and the first series in which the novelist used the third-person narrative. The series consists of nine books, starting with Night Passage (1997) and ending with Split Image (2010), which Parker completed before his death in January 2010 but did not live to see published. The series was initially continued by Michael Brandman.[1] In April 2014, Reed Farrel Coleman assumed the writing of the series,[2] which was subsequently continued by Mike Lupica.

The novels have been adapted into nine TV films. The first eight films were commissioned by CBS, and aired from 2005 to 2012. A ninth film was picked up by the Hallmark Channel, and aired on October 18, 2015.[3] A tenth film was under consideration in 2017.[4]

Overview

The character begins the series at about 35 years old. He is a former minor league baseball shortstop whose career was cut short by a shoulder injury. He was raised in Arizona and California.[5] He was asked to resign from his job as a homicide detective for the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division because of a drinking problem that began after his divorce from his beautiful wife, Jennifer.[6] Showing up drunk to an interview for a job as police chief for the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts (loosely based on the real town of Marblehead, Massachusetts), Stone is hired because the corrupt president of the town board of selectmen thinks he will be easy to control. Stone quickly notices that the town has big league crimes, struggling with the mob, wildly errant wives and a triple homicide, and that his job will be more difficult than he expected. But, he proves up to the task, beginning with making a corruption case against the town council president and arresting him. In the novels, Stone typically carries a .38 Special snubnosed revolver, the same weapon that he carried as an LAPD detective.[7]

The series chronicles Stone's cases as chief of the Paradise Police Department, as well as his struggles with alcohol and his complicated relationship with his ex-wife Jenn. He is respected and well liked by the police officers in the town police department. He develops a good working relationship and friendship with the State Police Homicide Commander, Captain Healy.

The character of Jesse Stone, a deeply troubled man, was a departure for the author. Parker, comparing Stone to Spenser, the protagonist of his first series and the one for which he was best known, said, "Jesse is a much more damaged individual who is coming to terms with himself as he goes along."

There is some overlap of characters with the Spenser books, notably with Healy and Sunny Randall, and (in Night and Day) indirectly with Susan Silverman.

Novels

By Robert B. Parker:

  1. Night Passage (September 1997)
  2. Trouble in Paradise (September 1998)
  3. Death in Paradise (October 2001)
  4. Stone Cold (October 2003)
  5. Sea Change (February 2006)
  6. High Profile (February 2007)
  7. Stranger In Paradise (February 2008)
  8. Night and Day (February 2009)
  9. Split Image (February 2010)

By Michael Brandman:

  1. Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues (September 2011)
  2. Robert B. Parker's Fool Me Twice (September 2012)
  3. Robert B. Parker's Damned If You Do (September 2013)

By Reed Farrel Coleman

  1. Robert B. Parker's Blind Spot, G.P. Putnam (September 2014)
  2. Robert B. Parker's The Devil Wins, G.P. Putnam (2015)[8]
  3. Robert B. Parker's Debt to Pay, G.P. Putnam (September 13, 2016)
  4. Robert B. Parker's The Hangman's Sonnet, G.P. Putnam (September 12, 2017)
  5. Robert B. Parker's Colorblind G.P. Putnam's Sons (September 11, 2018)
  6. Robert B. Parker's The Bitterest Pill G.P. Putnam's Sons (September 10, 2019)

By Mike Lupica

  1. Robert B. Parker's Fool's Paradise, G.P. Putnam (September 8, 2020)
  2. Robert B. Parker's Stone's Throw, G.P. Putnam (2021)
  3. Robert B. Parker's Fallout, G.P. Putnam (2022)

Television adaptations

CBS (and later the Hallmark Channel) adapted the novels as a series of movie specials starring Tom Selleck in the title role; the first was aired in 2005 and the most recent in 2015. Robert Harmon has directed all but one of the films (Dick Lowry directed ), and Jeff Beal has provided original music. Select scores from the movies were released on a limited edition CD by Varèse Sarabande in 2009.

The films stay relatively true to storylines and character, with exceptions made mostly for television network viewing. With the fifth film, Selleck and Michael Brandman took over the screen writing, and took the films in new directions. The premise begins when the town council forced Jesse Stone out of his job as the Paradise Chief of Police. The council dubbed it "early retirement" and granted Stone a partial pension. As a retired police officer, Stone was implicitly granted the right to carry concealed firearms, without having a "concealed carry" permit.

Captain Healy hires Stone as an occasional "temporary consultant" to assist on certain state police investigations. Stone insists that he will get back his old job as chief. In the eighth film of the series, Stone is restored as the Chief of Police after the incumbent is murdered. The chairman of the town council asks Stone to return as Chief and catch the killer. Stone's dog plays an important supporting role in the series.

Tom Selleck plays the character as straight from the novels as possible; he is older (late fifties/early sixties vs. late thirties in the books) than Stone. The author, Robert B. Parker, said that he found the Jesse Stone films the most accurate television adaptations of his novels. On his blog, he wrote that "Tom nails the character".[9]

The cast of the films has included the following regular characters:

A featured piece of music is Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118 (Brahms) no.2.[10]

Filmography

  1. (February 20, 2005)
  2. (January 15, 2006) a prequel to Stone Cold
  3. (April 30, 2006)
  4. (May 22, 2007)
  5. (March 1, 2009)
  6. (May 9, 2010)
  7. (May 22, 2011)
  8. (May 20, 2012)
  9. (October 18, 2015)[3]

Characters

CharacterFilm
Stone ColdNight PassageDeath In ParadiseSea ChangeThin IceNo RemorseInnocents LostBenefit of the DoubtLost in Paradise
Jesse StoneTom Selleck
"Suitcase" SimpsonKohl Sudduth
Captain HealyStephen McHattie
Molly CraneViola Davis
Anthony D'AngeloVito RezzaVito Rezza
Dr. PerkinsJohn BealeJohn Beale
Carter HansenJeremy AckermanJeremy Ackerman
ComdenTom GallantTom Gallant
JennSylvia VillagranGil AndersonGil Anderson
ReggieJoe the DogJoe the Dog
Abby TaylorPolly Shannon
H. Henry UppmanDavid ChristoffelDavid ChristoffelDavid Christoffel
Hasty HathawaySaul RubinekSaul RubinekSaul Rubinek
Cissy HathawayStephanie MarchKrista Allen
Carol GenestLiisa Repo-Martel
Dr. DixWilliam Devane
Sister Mary JohnKerri SmithKerri SmithKerri Smith
Emily BishopMae WhitmanMae Whitman
Rose GammonKathy Baker
Gino FishWilliam Sadler
Alan GarnerTodd Hofley
LauraLaura KohootLaura KohootLaura Kohoot
William ButlerGary LevertJeff Geddis
Sydney GreenstreetLeslie HopeLeslie Hope
StevenChristopher Killam
Thelma GleffeyGloria Reuben
AmandaChristine Tizzard
SteveNed the Dog

Hiatus and relaunch

Although attracted nearly 13 million viewers when CBS aired it on May 20, 2012, producer Michael Brandman told Variety a few days later that he and Tom Selleck had been notified that CBS would not be ordering any more episodes. They said the film attracted older viewers, and CBS is moving away from movies and specials in favor of shorter duration TV series.[11] Selleck noted that the movies were expensive to produce, and he had his own money invested in the last few. Selleck said he was not finished with the Stone character.[12] When interviewed by NBC's "Popcornbiz" in August 2012, he said,

Well, right now CBS hasn't ordered another one. That's nothing new. They always seem to order them one at a time even though we kind of hit home runs, which is frustrating. So I'm not sure whether this is the last 'Jesse' or not. I don't think it will be, because there are so many other markets, cable and everything, that I think would want the series.[13]

On March 4, 2015, Hallmark Mysteries & Movies announced it had picked up a ninth film.[14] Selleck himself indicated he was grateful to Hallmark, however he had to produce the movie with $1 million less budget than what CBS provided for the last film done for the network. Only Selleck, Kohl Sudduth, William Devane, and William Sadler returned for the ninth film, with the balance of the cast being new characters. It aired on October 18, 2015.[3] A tenth film was under consideration in 2017.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Parker's series live on . Mark . Shanahan . Meredith Goldstein . Boston Globe . April 28, 2011.
  2. Web site: Coleman to Handle Jesse Stone for Putnam . Deahl . Rachel . Publishers Weekly . April 7, 2014 . July 12, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140709103843/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20140407/61739-book-deals-week-of-april-7-2014.html . July 9, 2014 .
  3. News: 'Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise' Debuts Oct. 18 on Hallmark Channel . Variety . August 31, 2015 . August 31, 2015.
  4. Web site: Exclusive: Tom Selleck Talks the Blue Bloods Season 7 Finale and the Next Jesse Stone Movie. May 5, 2017. December 26, 2017.
  5. http://www.penguin.ca/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000024618,00.html?sym=QUE Robert B. Parker interview
  6. Parker, Robert (2006). Blue Screen. New York, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
  7. [Night Passage (Parker novel)|Night Passage]
  8. Web site: Reed Farrel Coleman . Beaks and Geeks Podcast @9:20 . June 10, 2014 . July 29, 2014.
  9. http://robertbparker.typepad.com/robertbparker/2007/07/selleck-and-oth.html Robert B. Parker: Selleck and other matters
  10. Web site: Classical Music As Soundtrack To Our Lives. 17 July 2015 . 19 May 2022.
  11. https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118054686.html Variety, May 25, 2012: 'Jesse Stone' over at CBS
  12. http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/jesse-stone-benefit-of-the-doubt-may-be-tom-sellecks-last-stone-turn-at-cbs.html Zap2it, May 20, 2012: 'Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt' may be Tom Selleck's last Stone turn at CBS
  13. http://www.nbcchicago.com/entertainment/television/Tom-Selleck-Continues-to-Score-Hits-as-Parkers-Jesse-Stone-165670246.html 5 NBC Chicago Popcornbiz, Aug 10, 2012: "Tom Selleck Back to his Sleuthing Ways"
  14. Web site: New 'Jesse Stone' Movie Ordered By Hallmark; Tom Selleck Returns As Star. . 4 March 2015 . March 4, 2015.