Official Synopsis:
Exactly one year after being brutally murdered, rock musician Eric Draven returns to Earth, searching for a way to right what has been wronged and to reunite with his missing soul-mate Shelly Webster. Guided by a mystical Spirit Crow, he is neither living nor dead, possessing strange new powers to aid him in his search for revenge which, ultimately, must become a quest for redemption. The legend of "The Crow" began as a popular comic series by James O'Barr, and grew into a sensation with the release of the feature films. In the 1998-1999 season, The Crow: Stairway To Heaven became a successful television series starring world-wide action star and martial arts expert Mark Dacascos (Brotherhood of the Wolf, John Woo's Stranglehold, Iron Chef America). The critically acclaimed series was developed for television and executive produced by TV feature writer/producer Bryce Zabel (Mortal Kombat Annihilation, The Poseidon Adventure, Dark Skies). All 22 hours of the original episodes have been collected into this five-DVD set.
Our Take:
I've always wondered what The Crow franchise could have been if it weren't for the untimely and tragic death of Brandon Lee. Based on James O'Barr's amazing comic book epic, the first Crow movie was a spectacular dark action film, and it clearly would have made Lee into a big star with a solid career. After his death, the film series devolved into a rotation of ever-worsening sequels, which seemed destined to be the fate of this once-promising franchise.
Enter The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, the live-action television series from the late 90's. While budgetary constraints and syndicated production values kept the show from truly living up to the potential it had, it's also the only project since the first film to give us a sense of the depth of material The Crow could provide. Lead actor Mark Dacascos does a sufficient job as Eric Draven/The Crow, even if he lacks Brandon Lee's natural charisma. Dacascos' martial arts skills certainly come in handy, though, as the action scenes in the series are always top-notch; it's just unfortunate that there aren't more of them. The rest of the characters from the movie are carried over as well, including Shelley, Sarah, Sarah's mom, Detective Albrecht, and the various gangsters who killed Eric.
It's interesting and a bit disconcerting to watch the show restructure the events from the film; clearly there are some changes to make the story work in a weekly setting. What this does allow, however, is for The Crow Universe to develop a mythology of sorts. Even if things like the incarnation of The Skull Cowboy (played by Kadeem Hardison of all people) don't quite live up to the original vision for the character, the show at least tries to create a story arc and a realistic world for our characters to inhabit. Some episodes succeed better than others, but overall, the show isn't bad.
The five-disc The Crow: Stairway to Heaven - The Complete Series box set includes all 22 episodes of the show and a nice collection of bonus features.
* Commentary - On the first two episodes by Mark Dacascos and Bryce Zabel.
* Gag Reel (10 minutes)
* Production Dailies (23 minutes) - On set footage and master takes from three episodes: Death Wish, Dead to Rights, and A Gathering Storm.
* Photo Gallery.
* Mark Dacascos Biography.
* Inside Kung-Fu Magazine Articles - Excerpts from show-related interviews that you can read on your screen.
* DVD-ROM Scripts - For all 22 episodes, which is very cool.
* The Score - Seven tracks of the show's theme music.
* TV Guide Crossword Puzzles - Via DVD-ROM.
The Crow: Stairway to Heaven suffers a little from the lack of budget for the syndicated program (resulting in a lot of dialogue and less action), but it at least has grand designs on staying true to the spirit of the original comic book and movie. It's not the perfect Crow adaptation, but it does have a lot of heart, and that heart is in the right place.
Overall Picture:
Show: B-
DVD: B+
- Mike Spring
Editor
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