In this sixth entry in the TV movie series, based on the character created by novelist Robert B. Parker, suspended Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone (Tom Selleck) not only pursues a serial killer who is terrorizing Boston, but also helps his local staff go after homicidal convenience store robbers.  At the same time, he must deal with his own “demons,” alcohol and an ex-wife who keeps phoning him.

CRITIQUE

Character-driven, the Jesse Stone movies make up one of the most engrossing series on television, even though we only get a new entry about once every year.

Parker’s multi-faceted characters are all extremely well conceived, each one having their own particular set of personal problems which, if not dealt with completely in one of the movies, is carried over to the next film or the one after that.  Indeed, the characters in these stories are just as important as the criminal cases that need to be solved.

Some reviewers have suggested that Jesse Stone should be turned into a weekly series, but as much as I would like to see Selleck and company on a weekly or even a monthly basis, I think that would be a mistake.

One of the reasons why these movies are so well done is because the writers and director are not facing a weekly deadline to get a particular episode on the air.  By doing only one 90-minute (excluding commercials) film per year, rather than 22 one-hour episodes, they have the luxury of taking their time to properly develop their script and not rush their formal pre-production process.  Production values on these pictures are first-rate and look much more like a theatrical feature than a television movie.

On the other hand, part of the frustration of these films is the fact that they only air once every year.  The creators have a tendency to bring back secondary characters that may have appeared two or three movies earlier and have not been seen since.  Even if you’ve seen all of the films, it does take a few minutes to reacquaint yourself with these characters and recall the nature of their relationship with Jesse Stone.

Co-starring with Selleck in the current film are regulars (or semi-regulars) Kathy Baker, Kohl Sudduth, Stephen McHattie, William Sadler, Mae Whitman, Saul Rubinek and William Devane.  Robert Harmon, once again, directs.

Good news: The seventh Jesse Stone movie has been shot and an eighth is currently being written.

THE VIDEO

The widescreen presentation is sharp with no issues.

THE AUDIO

The 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound is excellent.

THE EXTRAS

Unfortunately, there are none.

FINAL THOUGHT

This is an excellent entry in the TV movie series.