Jesse Stone

They’ve got nine listed in the Jesse Stone series at IMDB. I can’t say for sure that I’ve seen all of those.

A search of Roku shows that 8 episodes are available (6 for rent, one purchase only, and one free on The Roku Channel, Stone Cold, which is also on Amazon Prime). Roku doesn’t show a rent option for Benefit of the Doubt.

Yes, indeedy. We’re in sync about that kind of artistic fraud. There’s a lot of that going around.



You may be giving others the benefit of the doubt. I’ve read more than once that movies and TV are generally oriented toward 13-year-olds. But that’s a quibble. Clearly the Jesse Stone series is entertainment aimed at . . . and I’m not sure what word we can use because “adult” entertainment now means either porn or extreme violence.

Even the dog isn’t run-of-the-mill. I love Selleck’s description which you can read here:

I wonder if he was thinking of Higgins' Dobermans that he often had to dodge.

There is very very little in this culture that isn’t poison. That’s why we really should step back and cherish something as good and “adult” as the Jesse Stone series (and books).

I watched (as of this writing) the last installment in the series, Lost in Paradise.

Small spoilers as we talk about this. But having not watched one of these (other than Stone Cold) in a while, I had forgotten about some of the recurring characters, including the politically-correct nun, Sister Mary John. And I vaguely remember night club singer Thelma Gleffey (who was in at least three of them) and Lt. Sydney Greenstreet whose only other appearance was in Thin Ice.

I consider the nun to be politically correct because she’s just so darn hip (none of that dour “thou shalt not” stuff) that she doesn’t even don a habit. That’s not to say I don’t like the character. I give her a pass, but it’s just a pass because of the way Jesse Stone interacts with her.

Certainly I had not forgotten about Gino Fish. But I didn’t expect to see him. Funny thing was, I had it in the back of my mind that he was dead. There was quite a whiz-bang finish an episode to two back where at least a couple of his associates got killed. I guess I thought he had got caught up in that too.

No surprise at all that William Devane was there as Dr. Dix. He’s about the only kind of shrink I can ever imagine wanting to see. And, again, my memory isn’t straight about Suit. I thought he had sailed off on his boat and wasn’t coming back. Did he come back in an earlier episode? He must have. I’m sure I’ve seen the penultimate episode, Benefit of the Doubt, but maybe I ought to go back and make sure. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to rent it again even if I had seen it.

In Lost in Paradise, the theme is definitely fathers and men are needed. There is zero attempt to assume that women are interchangeable with men. That’s an almost scandalous thing these days. But Jesse Stone is there to do the right thing even though his tag line is “I don’t do right and wrong. I do legal and illegal.” Yeah, keep telling that to yourself, Jesse.

But he uses that line more or less as a way to disarm people. A couple flaws. Suit is in this one but is given virtually nothing to do and his interaction with Jesse seems forced, not the natural give-and-take that they used to have. I’m not sure why they fell short using this character in this one. And I really would have preferred Captain Healy in place of Lt. Greenstreet. They do some adequate back-and-forth between Stone and Greenstreet, but it’s just adequate. And, like Suit, she never comes out from behind her desk to actually do anything. It’s all talking-heads scenes.

Stone does have some interesting interaction with a 13-year-old girl who is obviously having problems. And you can be almost 100% sure that no cop in the world would give the kind of hands-on personal treatment she gets. You’d just be setting yourself up for sexual harassment charges, etc. But Stone certainly has the stones and does what he thinks is right. You can only do what you can do. But he finds a way to do a lot.

Stone is kind to prostitutes too, which is awful nice of him. Luke Perry is good as the imprisoned serial killer. Not great, but at least good. The scenes he has with Stone are pretty well written, if short.

That actor, Saul Rubberneck, has a lot of built-in character. That is to say, I don’t see a mile of difference between Hasty Hathaway and Donny Douglas (Frazier) — just as I don’t see a world of difference in many of the characters John Wayne played, so that’s not necessarily a negative comment. But the way he delivers that “I’m very fond of you, Jesse” is understated magnificence.

Most of the show is understated. In fact, I find it to be a meditation.

Anyway, the first time we meet Hasty Hathaway is in the second movie (the one I just finished), Night Passage. He’s in five of the Jesse Stone movies, total. And in this very first one that he’s in, he mixes it up with Jesse pretty good. I *think* it is written that he goes off to prison for a couple years but comes back a changed (and mostly legal) man. But, honestly, I sort of forget. And I don’t remember if there is any conclusion or resolution to his character in Benefit of the Doubt, which is his last appearance as of this writing.

He doesn’t appear in the latest movie, Lost in Paradise. There’s no mention of him either. If he’s not dead (and I really don’t remember), maybe if there’s another movie he’ll make an appearance.

Pretty much if you had to prove in a court of law that Tom Selleck is not a head-swollen stuck-up prima donna actor, you can find hard evidence in the end credits. I laughed out loud when they did the credits at the end. The style is to run a bit of a previous scene and then freeze a still shot of each major cast member with the actor’s name. Tom and Bubba (the dog) were the very last credits, and they are shown on the screen as a pair. Boomer is played by Bubba. Jesse Stone is played by Tom Selleck. And in that last credit it’s hilarious when they are both in the front seat of his truck and Bubba looks over at Jesse and Jesse looks over at Bubba. I believe that may have been an outtake because I don’t remember that in the movie.

But “not a jerk” is likely the verdict. But who knows? They’re actors.

Today’s Christmas movie is “Death in Paradise,” the third installment of the series. Nothing says “Christmas Spirit” like a pregnant 14-year-old washing ashore. But, really, I wasn’t in the mood for schmaltz.

I watched (rented) Sea Change this afternoon. Of the four so far, I think this is the best.

The two main plots (bank robbery and rape) are good. And we get the first instance of Rose. I like Rose although I wonder why they wrote Molly out of the series. (I assume they were following the books.)

The Genest brothers don’t do well in this series. We see Gino Fish for the first time. Hasty is in prison and Jesse visits him. “I’ve always been fond of you.” In retrospect, we can see that this means Jesse is going to have somebody after him (the second Genest brother).

I don’t know why Jesse is so hard on DeAngelo. Maybe it goes into this is more detail in the book. But in the series, Jesse is simply a bit mean to him for no reason at all. Yeah, later DeAngelo goes behind his back to the city council. But coming in late because you were hung over might be a good reason for him to report about his boss.

Quality acting all around. No weak links.

That’s very convenient. I got my Tom Selleck fix yesterday. Every Wednesday, as you probably know, the over-the-air ION Television station has a Blue Bloods marathon.

I’m trying to savor these Jesse Stone movies, if only because they’re four bucks a pop for me. I should get to Thin Ice soon.

Meanwhile, I’ve been reading Charles Todd’s A Divided Loyalty. Mr Flu, you can take that look of incredulity off your face. I know I’ve complained about these Ian Rutledge Scotland Yard detective novels in the past. They may start off well but this author doesn’t tend to finish well.

And, good god, I see it coming. Where the story stands (and it’s sort of an inverted or reverse mystery), it should take one or two chapters, at most, to wrap things but. But I’m not quite halfway done yet. If I complain on these pages, I have no one to blame . . . but Charles Todd.

But this melds well with the Columbo episodes I’ve been watching. I’ve started the series from beginning and I’ve just started the episode (one of the best) with Donald Pleasence as the murderer. Reverse mystery it is.

Anyway, this Todd novel is unusual. A few spoilers here but these things are learned in the first dozen or so pages. Ian Rutledge is otherwise involved in wrapping up the paperwork for some earlier case so it’s up to one of his superiors, Chief Inspector Leslie, to go to Avebury to investigate a murder. Avebury, as you likely know, is famous for its very large henge — the largest in England, apparently. The murder took place at the base of one of the stone pillars.

Part of the fun is the Todd sets many of his stories in real places in England, not fictional villages, so you can follow along on Google Maps. From what I’ve been able to make out, the woman was killed in the southwest quadrant of the henge (as, more or less, bisected by north-south/east-west thoroughfares). It was one of the stones nearest Beckhampton Road. Stabbed thrice in the heart, the body was then dragged to the nearby ancient ditch that is part of the entire stone circle structure.

So, yeah, that’s now on my bucket list of places to visit in England. Just to the west of the circle is Avebury Manor. And you can tell by the overhead map that they have some lovely gardens.

Anyway, it’s sort of a shame that this book will almost certainly fizzle-out and drag on for far too long. But it’s actually been a good read so far. And I’m almost exactly halfway there.


Now, the main point I didn’t tell you (and that is revealed in the first dozen pages or so) is that it was apparently Chief Inspector Leslie who murdered the girl in Avebury. Gimmicky, I know. But at this point in the book, after having spent days on his own thorough investigation, Rutledge is becoming suspicious of Leslie. So, like I said, one or two chapters at most should be needed to conclude this. But maybe Todd will add-on some interesting bits. There could be much more to the story. Etc. We’ll see. I’ll try not to pout and cry if Charles Todd does this to me again.