IMHO, making changes in sequels is usually the death of a series.
What makes the Jesse Stone series work is the maintenance of all the characterizations, from Jesse to the least recurring character, of all the tag lines, of the music, and even of the naming of characters.
Regarding character names, did anyone else notice that "Amelia's" last name is Hope which is the last name of the actress who plays Sydney Greenstreet? Of course, Sydney Greenstreet is the name of an actor who portrayed major roles in Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, both starring Humphrey Bogart, Bogart's character in both movies being somewhat unhappy loners.
"Amelia's" restaurant is named, Rose Cafe which is the actress's middle name, her full name being Amelia Rose Blaire.
BTW, the actress, Maria Brooks, who plays Sandy in "Jesse Stone: Night Passage" directed a 1999 one hour docudrama called, "The Odyssey of Captain Healy" about the real life Coast Guard Captain Mike Healy. Healy is of course the name of Captain Healy, State Police Homicide Commander played by Stephen McHattie, who is in Paradise Lost only off screen.
I do not believe the Jesse Stone franchise would have had more than two movies if they had messed with everything just for the sake of messing with everything. As we say in the engineering field, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
What makes the Jesse Stone series work is the maintenance of all the characterizations, from Jesse to the least recurring character, of all the tag lines, of the music, and even of the naming of characters.
Regarding character names, did anyone else notice that "Amelia's" last name is Hope which is the last name of the actress who plays Sydney Greenstreet? Of course, Sydney Greenstreet is the name of an actor who portrayed major roles in Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, both starring Humphrey Bogart, Bogart's character in both movies being somewhat unhappy loners.
"Amelia's" restaurant is named, Rose Cafe which is the actress's middle name, her full name being Amelia Rose Blaire.
BTW, the actress, Maria Brooks, who plays Sandy in "Jesse Stone: Night Passage" directed a 1999 one hour docudrama called, "The Odyssey of Captain Healy" about the real life Coast Guard Captain Mike Healy. Healy is of course the name of Captain Healy, State Police Homicide Commander played by Stephen McHattie, who is in Paradise Lost only off screen.
I do not believe the Jesse Stone franchise would have had more than two movies if they had messed with everything just for the sake of messing with everything. As we say in the engineering field, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."