The Crow: Stairway to Heaven was a 1998 Canadian television series created by Bryce Zabel based on The Crow comic by James O'Barr starring Mark Dacascos in the lead role as Eric Draven, reprising the role originally played by Brandon Lee in the 1994 film The Crow.

Synopsis

Eric Draven, a musician, and his fiancée, a photographer, are murdered. One year after their death, Eric returns from the dead, but has been changed. Eric remembers little by little what happened to him and finds those which destroyed his life. He then kills them off one by one until he finds the head of the organization the murderers work for.

Characters

Eric Draven (Mark Dacascos)
Eric Draven was lead guitarist in Hangman's Joke, signed to Mace Reyes' record label. Exactly one year after his murder and the murder of his fiancée, Shelly, at the hands of T-Bird and his crew, he returns from the dead. Imbued with regenerative powers and heightened strength, and guided by a crow, he seeks to "set the wrong things right", and ultimately return to Shelly and move on to the Land of the Dead.

Daryl Albrecht (Marc Gomes)
Albrecht was the detective heading up the Draven-Webster murder investigation, and initially thinks Eric may have been responsible for Shelly's death, and then faked his own to escape justice. As the series progresses he begins to trust and befriend Eric, until he becomes an ally in his quest for redemption - even at the risk of damaging his own career.

Shelly Webster (Sabine Karsenti)
Shelly was a photographer, murdered by T-Bird's crew after getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. After Eric is sent back to the Land of the Living, she waits for him, unwilling to move on to the Land of the Dead without him.

Sarah Mohr (Katie Stuart)
Argumentative and headstrong, Sarah is a 13 year-old kid with a rough upbringing. She befriends Eric and Shelly, who became parent-like figures to her before their murders. She becomes Eric's closest friend after his return, helping him in any way she can.

Darla Mohr (Lynda Boyd)
Darla is Sarah's mother, and works the front desk at Albrecht's precinct. A recovering alcoholic, her relationship with her daughter is sometimes strained.

Lieutenant David Vincennes (Jon Cuthbert)
Vincennes is Albrecht's boss. They share a close friendship, although Vicennes "plays by the rules" and is suspicious of Albrecht's relationship with Draven.

Jessica Capshaw (Christina Cox)
When Albrecht's relationship with Draven starts to raise eyebrows amongst his superiors, Capshaw is brought in as his new partner. Young and inexperienced, she often finds herself left out of the loop by Albrecht.

Top Dollar/Jason Danko (John Pyper-Ferguson)
The manager of the Blackout nightclub, Top Dollar ran contract killings for Mace Reyes using T-Bird and his crew as muscle before Draven returned and shut them down. After Draven's return Top Dollar becomes obsessed with gaining the power of a crow.

India Reyes (Julie Dreyfus)
India was the manager of the Blackout before it was bought by Mace Reyes, who she married. She later resumes her old role, hoping to bring the club back from its dark past.

Shea Marino (Gaetana Korbin)
Shea is an employee at the Blackout, who harbours at least a physical attraction to Draven - if not more. It is in the course of helping her escape the attentions of her abusive ex-husband that truly brings Draven to the attention of the law.

Cordelia Warren (Suleka Mathew)
Albrecht's girlfriend, and Port Columbia's District Attorney, Cordelia is strong-willed and intolerant of the kind of vigilante-style tactics Draven utilizes. Albrecht's friendship with Draven ultimately causes problems between him and Cordelia.

Funboy/George Jamieson (Ty Olsson)
One of T-Bird's crew, Funboy was Darla's boyfriend until Draven's return. Even after finding religion and repenting for his sins he finds himself as a pawn working against Draven.

Skull Cowboy (Kadeem Hardison)
Cryptic with a black sense of humour, the Skull Cowboy is a guide in the Land of the Living for all the "poor souls" like Draven who find themselves in the limbo between life and death. Although he is a bystander for the most part, allowing each course of action to play itself out, he is willing to get involved in certain situations.

Hannah Foster/Talon (Bobbie Phillips)
Like Draven, Hannah has returned from death to put the wrong things right. Unlike Draven however, she constantly struggles between the need for redemption and her lust for vengeance on the men who murdered her and her daughter. Even afterwards, her methods are far more vicious than Draven's.

Episodes

1. The Soul Can't Rest
2. Souled Out
3. Get A Life
4. Like It's 1999
5. Voices
6. Solitude's Revenge
7. Double Take
8. Give Me Death
9. Before I Wake
10. Death Wish
11. Through A Dark Circle
12. Disclosure
13. The People vs. Eric Draven
14. It's A Wonderful Death
15. Birds Of A Feather
16. Never Say Die
17. Lazarus Rising
18. Closing Time
19. The Road Not Taken
20. Brother's Keeper
21. Dead To Rights
22. A Gathering Storm

Filming locations

Production took place in Vancouver, British Columbia which, in the series, was named Port Columbia. Parts of the series were filmed inside the top floors of the Sun Tower. Another recognizable location was the B.C. Museum of Mining, in Britannia Beach, British Columbia, Canada. which had numerous movie and tv appearances, like, for example, in the X-Files

DVD release

On March 17, 2005, all 22 episodes were released in a 5-disc DVD boxed set in central Europe through Dutch distributor A-Film, and features the original broadcast trailer, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and interview snippets with cast members Mark Dacascos, Marc Gomes, Sabine Karsenti, Katie Stuart, and John Pyper-Ferguson; fight co-ordinator James Lew; crow handler Dave Sousa, director of photography Attila Szaly, and executive producers Bryce Zabel and Brad Markowitz.

2005 also saw a bare-bones episode-only release of the series in Australia on six discs across two volumes via Warner Bros, this release was proceeded in 2001 by an even more basic single disc through Manga Pacific which featured the pilot and two "bonus" episodes.

In March 2007, Bryce Zabel announced on his blog that the series would get a Region 1 release in July 2007 as a four- or five-disc set by Hart Sharp Entertainment under their TV Guide Presents banner. Exclusive special features are also to be produced.

I've been talking to Marylou Bono of Hart Sharp and the great news is how seriously they take the job of making this a first class release. The incredible lead actor of The Crow: Stairway to Heaven Mark Dacascos and I will be doing an audio commentary track during the first two hours of the series. We're also on the hunt for some other goodies to include. The one I'm trying to track down is Mark's screen test which I'm sure the fans will get a kick out of.

On July 24, 2007, Arts Alliance America released The Crow: Stairway to Heaven- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. The 5-disc set features an extensive array of special features including commentaries, photo gallery and a gag reel.

Music

As with each of the movie adaptations and the original comic book, underground music played a key role in the show. Bands such as Econoline Crush and Mudgirl made guest appearances on the show, while the source music included tracks by Rob Zombie, The Crystal Method, Delerium, Bif Naked, The Painkillers, Oleander and Xero (a pre-fame Linkin Park). Two tracks from Peter Himmelman's 1998 album Love Thinketh No Evil, "Fly So High" and "Seven Circles", were re-recorded for use by the lead character's band, Hangman's Joke, with the latter song becoming a major plot point during the early episodes of the series.

Cancellation

It consisted of 22 episodes, 44 minutes long each, and ran between and May 22, 1999 in nationwide syndication. In 1999 and 2000, it was aired extensively on the Sci Fi Channel in the US and UK.

The series was cancelled after the first season in June 1999, when Polygram was sold to Universal, which decided not to continue Stairway to Heaven, despite positive fan reactions and decent ratings. The producers tried to make a TV movie to wrap up the major loose ends from the season one cliffhanger, but were not successful.

The beta website Hulu now host all 22 episodes of the show.

Trivia

• A soundtrack CD was made for cast and crew only. Fan sites have track listings available for those who wish to make their own soundtrack.
• Mark Dacascos' resemblance to Brandon Lee is likely the reason why he was chosen for the role of Eric Draven.
• The series reunited actors Mark Dacascos, Kadeem Hardison and John Pyper-Ferguson, who had previously worked together as the three lead roles on Steve Wang's martial arts cult classic Drive.

References

External links

• The Stairway To Heaven