thedreamer6

"Love That Jill" has a title most people seem to recall, but no one can remember seeing. Perhaps it's because of the name similarity to "Love That Bob" from a few years later. This show starred real-life husband & wife Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys as managers of opposing model agencies in New York City. Jill was constantly trying to steal Jack Gibson's business opportunities, and conjured some comical ways in which to do it. Unfortunately, even though the humor in the program was good, and Sterling & Jeffreys provided a compelling and likable couple, it was canceled by ABC after about four months. This was mostly due to the popularity of TV westerns during the late 50's, as it was up against a successful cowboy show called "The Texan" which starred Rory Calhoun. Of note,film actress Barbara Nichols appeared regularly as a ditsy blonde working for Jack Gibson's modeling service. Earlier, in 1952 to 1955, Sterling & Jeffreys portrayed a deceased married couple in a hit sitcom titled "Topper."

At the end of the episode, a teen on a mall roof is picking people off like flies, yet two professional officers below are totally incapable of shooting him because of bad aim, even though his upper body is fully visible! Then, an "old pro" detective later races into the open, knowing the shooter is close by, running toward a bag he knows is full of explosives! He ends up getting a fellow officer seriously wounded because of his stupidity. And then, even though the teen is in full open view of all of the six officers around him on the roof, none of them are able to shoot him or his bag of explosives as he prepares a bomb! Yes, he has body armor on, but he had no head or arm protection on. At this point he'd already shot numerous innocent people and was preparing to set off a pipe bomb, why would an officer not take him down?! I don't get it! This was a great story that got spoiled by totally stupid writing and I sincerely hope somebody from the show eventually realized that. I like "The Closer" but this episode was a waste of my time & patience. I feel sorry for all the authority figures out there who know this particular story makes them look incompetent.

Although the Jesse Stone character was created by Robert B. Parker, and he wrote an entire series of books based on him, this particular story was penned by the star, Tom Selleck, along with Michael Brandon (one of the executive producers). As such, their collaboration has resulted in a most-excellent continuation of the Stone series. But Jesse is not reinstated as Chief of the town of Paradise as is stated in the IMDb movie description. Instead, he works solely on his own this time as he strives to solve two unassociated crimes, one which involves the death of a young friend of his. Unfortunately, Jesse is still struggling with personal issues including his interest in hard liquor. Although there may be several times during progression of the story that viewers may feel frustration over how things are going, everyone will come away from the film with an undeniable sense of satisfaction, and the ending, as always, will leave you yearning for additional future stories. Tom Selleck is an impressive, professional actor, and his exquisite portrayal of this role is part of what keeps people coming back for more.

It does appear as though this movie was made as a pilot for a possible TV series, and in some ways it's too bad it didn't get a chance. The premise was good, and the potential for good future stories was laid out well --- including the discovery little Helen Hunt made of those strange rocks in the water bed. The basic story presents an element of realism that was missing in many of the western television shows from those days, and the idea that a woman with two children could successfully run a farm by herself was a subject unheard of. Perhaps William Shatner's brief appearance was meant only as way to get people to watch... as for me, I enjoyed seeing him looking young again and in a roll other than James T. Kirk. Maybe someday another producer will consider doing an updated version of this story, and that would be a plus.