Jesse Stone (character) - Television Adaptations

Television Adaptations

CBS has adapted the Jesse Stone novels into a series of movie specials starring Tom Selleck in the title role. The movies begin out of sequence but stay relatively true to storylines and character with exceptions made mostly for television network viewing palatability, until the fourth film. Tom Selleck plays the character as straight from the novels as possible, and although Selleck is much older (late fifties/early sixties vs. late thirties in the books) than Stone, the author, Robert B. Parker, stated that he found the Jesse Stone movies the most accurate television adaptations of his novels, having gone so far to say on his blog that "Tom nails the character".

As Police Chief Stone, Tom Selleck carries a Smith & Wesson Model SW1911SC .45 pistol. In real life, Tom Selleck is a former soldier and a skilled shooter and collector of firearms. Most of the characters that Selleck has portrayed in television who carry a sidearm have carried a type of Model 1911A1 .45 pistol. However, in the first novels, Jesse Stone usually carried a .38 Special Smith & Wesson Model 36 snub-nosed revolver; the same firearm that Stone carried when he was a homicide detective with the LAPD. Robert B. Parker's private detective character Spenser also carried a snub-nosed Smith & Wesson Model 36 .38 Special revolver in the first thirteen Spenser novels. In the most recent Jesse Stone novel, Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues, Chief Jesse Stone has started carrying a 1911A1 Colt Commander .45 pistol.

Other regular characters have included Viola Davis as Police Officer Molly Crane, Kohl Sudduth as Police Officer Luther "Suitcase" Simpson, and Vito Rezza as Police Officer Anthony D'Angelo (as fellow members of the Paradise Police Department). The character of Anthony D'Angelo was no longer a member of the department by the time the 5th film "Thin Ice," having quit at the urging of Chief Stone. The character of Molly Crane was discontinued in that film too. This was due to scheduling conflicts Viola Davis had with other film projects, which caused her to leave the film series. However, in the Jesse Stone storyline it was explained that she quit the department to raise a family after becoming pregnant. Her position in the department was replaced by Police Officer Rose Gammon, portrayed by Kathy Baker (from Picket Fences), who is actually closer to the character of Molly Crane from the novels. Stephen McHattie appears in some of the movies as Captain Healy head of the Massachusetts State Police Homicide Division and likewise William Devane as Dr. Dix, a former cop turned psychiatrist, who Stone sees for help with his drinking and other personal issues. Saul Rubinek has a recurring role as Hastings "Hasty" Hathaway, the former corrupt town council president, who has since been released from prison and is now running a local automobile dealership. Hasty and Jesse have become friends despite their past. Robert Harmon has directed all of the films, and Jeff Beal has provided original music. Selections from the scores of all the movies to date were released on a limited edition CD by Varèse Sarabande in 2009.

Starting with the fifth film, Tom Selleck and Michael Brandman took over writing duties. That film marked a departure from films based on the novels by Robert B. Parker (who recently died while working on another novel at his home in Boston) and a significant divergence from the storyline in the novels. In the recent television storyline, Jesse Stone was forced out of his job as the Paradise Chief of Police by the town council. The council dubbed it "early retirement" and granted Stone a partial pension (plus, as a retired sworn officer, Stone was also granted the right to carry concealed firearms, without having a "concealed carry" permit, which he usually did). The head of the town council wanted to install his son-in-law as the new police chief. Stone is hired as an occasional "temporary consultant" by Captain Healey to assist on certain state police investigations. Stone insists that he will get his old job as chief back saying that he is "not done." Jesse's buddy, man's best friend, his Golden Retriever Reggie (played by Joe the dog) does a great job watching over Stone after Jesse puts down his first dog Boomer in Night Passage. Reggie plays an important role in the Jesse Stone series.