The Crow: Stairway to Heaven
Encyclopedia
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
.
Eric Draven was lead guitarist in Hangman's Joke, signed to Mace Reyes' record label. Exactly one year after his murder and the rape/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, he seeks to "set the wrong things right", and ultimately return to Shelly and move on to the Land of the Dead.
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 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.
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 is Sarah's mother, and works the front desk at Albrecht's precinct. A recovering alcoholic, her relationship with her daughter is sometimes strained.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
, 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 - for example, in the X-Files
was struck on the head and killed by flying debris.
in the U.S. and U.K..
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 website Hulu
now hosts all 22 episodes of the show, though the website is only streamable by users from the USA.
Since March 2010 CBS Action has started to show all 22 episodes.
, 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 by an even more basic single disc through Manga Pacific which featured the pilot and two "bonus" episodes.
On July 24, 2007, Arts Alliance America released The Crow: Stairway to Heaven- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 (US only), for the very first time. The 5-disc set features an extensive array of special features including commentaries, photo gallery and a gag reel.
On February 15, 2011, Alliance Home Entertainment
released The Complete Series on DVD in Canada only.
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.
1998 in television
The year 1998 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1998.For the American TV schedule, see: 1998–99 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
television series created by Bryce Zabel
Bryce Zabel
Bryce H. Zabel is an American television producer, director, writer, and occasional actor. He is known as the chairman/CEO of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences who was forced to twice postpone the Emmy Awards following the September 11 attacks...
based on The Crow
The Crow
The Crow is a comic book series created by James O'Barr. The series was originally written by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his girlfriend at the hands of a drunk driver. It was later published by Caliber Comics in 1989, becoming an underground success, and later adapted into a...
comic
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
by James O'Barr
James O'Barr
James O'Barr is an American graphic artist, best known as the creator of the comic book series The Crow.-Personal life:O'Barr, an orphan, was raised in the foster care system...
starring Mark Dacascos
Mark Dacascos
Mark Alan Dacascos is an American actor and martial artist. He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18....
in the lead role as Eric Draven, reprising the role originally played by Brandon Lee
Brandon Lee
Brandon Bruce Lee was an American actor and martial artist. He was the son of martial arts film star Bruce Lee...
in the 1994
1994 in film
1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
film The Crow
The Crow (film)
The Crow is a 1994 American action film based on the 1989 comic book of the same name by James O'Barr. The film was written by David J. Schow and John Shirley, and directed by Alex Proyas...
.
Synopsis
Exactly one year after being brutally murdered, rock musician Eric Draven returns to Earth, searching for a way to right what was wronged and to re-unite with his missing soulmate 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.Characters
- Eric Draven (Mark DacascosMark DacascosMark Alan Dacascos is an American actor and martial artist. He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18....
)
Eric Draven was lead guitarist in Hangman's Joke, signed to Mace Reyes' record label. Exactly one year after his murder and the rape/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, 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 KarsentiSabine KarsentiSabine Karsenti is a French-Canadian actress. Sabine Karsenti has played in both film and television, in French and in English from Montreal to Los Angeles....
)
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 StuartKatie StuartKatherine Anne "Katie" Stuart is a Canadian actress who has appeared in over 15 movies, ranging from the obscure to the more well-known . She has guest-starred on numerous television shows as well as appearing in the television movie A Wrinkle in Time.Stuart was born in Vancouver, British...
)
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 BoydLynda BoydLynda Boyd is a Canadian actress, singer, dancer, musician, and writer. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the Hollywood films Final Destination 2 , An Unfinished Life , She's the Man , and On Thin Ice, with Diane Keaton...
)
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 CoxChristina CoxChristina Cox is a Canadian movie and television actress and stuntwoman.-Biography:Christina Cox was born just outside of Toronto, the youngest of three daughters. Her two sisters are named Tracey and Melissa...
)
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-FergusonJohn Pyper-FergusonJohn Pyper-Ferguson is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He has appeared in a wide range of films and television shows. His notable works include playing Sonny Hamilton on Hamilton's Quest, Peter Hutter on The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., and Joe Whedon on Brothers & Sisters...
)
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 DreyfusJulie DreyfusJulie Dreyfus is a French actress.Dreyfus, who speaks fluent Japanese, French, and English, is well known in Japan, where she made her TV debut on a French-language lesson program on NHK's educational channel in the late 1980s, and has appeared on the TV show Ryōri no Tetsujin as a guest and...
)
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 MathewSuleka MathewSuleka "Sue" Mathew is a Canadian actress, known for her portrayal of Dr. Sunita Ramen on the Canadian television series Da Vinci's Inquest....
)<
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 OlssonTy OlssonTyler "Ty" Olsson is a Canadian actor. He's best known for being the voice of the dragon Ord on Dragon Tales and for portraying real life 9/11 victim Mark Bingham in the A&E television movie Flight 93.-Life and career:...
)
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 HardisonKadeem HardisonKadeem Hardison is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dwayne Wayne on A Different World, a spin-off of the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show.-Childhood:...
)
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 PhillipsBobbie PhillipsBobbie Phillips is an American television and film actress.-Career:Born in Charleston, South Carolina 29 January 1972. Phillips moved to Hollywood in 1991 and began working in television soon after. Her first acting job was guest starring with Halle Berry on the short lived Fox comedy They Came...
)
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
- The Soul Can't Rest
- Souled Out
- Get A Life
- Like It's 1999
- Voices
- Solitude's Revenge
- Double Take
- Give Me Death
- Before I Wake
- Death Wish
- Through A Dark Circle
- Disclosure
- The People vs. Eric Draven
- It's A Wonderful Death
- Birds Of A Feather
- Never Say Die
- Lazarus Rising
- Closing Time
- The Road Not Taken
- Brother's Keeper
- Dead To Rights
- A Gathering Storm
Filming locations
Production took place in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
which, in the series, was named Port Columbia. Parts of the series were filmed inside the top floors of the Sun Tower
Sun Tower
The Sun Tower is a 17 storey Beaux-Arts building at 100 West Pender Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is known for its faux-patina steel dome painted to imitate copper cladding. Nine nude muses, the "nine maidens" supporting the cornice line can be seen...
.
Another recognizable location was the B.C. Museum of Mining, in Britannia Beach,
British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
which had numerous movie and tv appearances - for example, in the X-Files
Accidents
A special effects explosion went wrong during filming on August 15, 1998, when stuntman Marc AkerstreamMarc Akerstream
Marc Akerstream was an American actor best known as Tony in the 1995 martial arts film Rumble in the Bronx, starring Jackie Chan. He was also a stuntman....
was struck on the head and killed by flying debris.
Cancellation
It consisted of 22 episodes, about 44 minutes long each (without commercials), and ran between September 25, 1998 and May 22, 1999 in nationwide syndication. In 1999 and 2000, it was aired extensively on SyfySyfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in the U.S. and U.K..
The series was cancelled after the first season in June 1999, when Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
was sold to Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, 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 website Hulu
Hulu
Hulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...
now hosts all 22 episodes of the show, though the website is only streamable by users from the USA.
Since March 2010 CBS Action has started to show all 22 episodes.
DVD releases
On March 17, 2005, all 22 episodes were released in a 5-disc DVD boxed set in central Europe through Dutch distributor A-FilmA-Film
A-Film is an independent film distributor, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The company was founded in 1999 and has an office in Pand Noord in Amsterdam-Noord, in which several companies in the film industry are located...
, and features the original broadcast trailer, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and interview snippets with cast members Mark Dacascos
Mark Dacascos
Mark Alan Dacascos is an American actor and martial artist. He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18....
, Marc Gomes, Sabine Karsenti
Sabine Karsenti
Sabine Karsenti is a French-Canadian actress. Sabine Karsenti has played in both film and television, in French and in English from Montreal to Los Angeles....
, Katie Stuart
Katie Stuart
Katherine Anne "Katie" Stuart is a Canadian actress who has appeared in over 15 movies, ranging from the obscure to the more well-known . She has guest-starred on numerous television shows as well as appearing in the television movie A Wrinkle in Time.Stuart was born in Vancouver, British...
, and John Pyper-Ferguson
John Pyper-Ferguson
John Pyper-Ferguson is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He has appeared in a wide range of films and television shows. His notable works include playing Sonny Hamilton on Hamilton's Quest, Peter Hutter on The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., and Joe Whedon on Brothers & Sisters...
; fight co-ordinator James Lew
James Lew
James Jene Fae Lew is an American martial arts actor. He has made 80 on screen film and television appearances and 46 more as a stunt coordinator or stunt double. He has done choreography for movies like Get Smart and Double Impact as well as television shows such as, Discovery Channel's Fight...
; 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 by an even more basic single disc through Manga Pacific which featured the pilot and two "bonus" episodes.
On July 24, 2007, Arts Alliance America released The Crow: Stairway to Heaven- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 (US only), for the very first time. The 5-disc set features an extensive array of special features including commentaries, photo gallery and a gag reel.
On February 15, 2011, Alliance Home Entertainment
Alliance Films
Alliance Films is a major Canadian motion picture distribution/production company, which serves Canada, the United Kingdom, and Spain.-History:It was formed in 1984 by Stephen Roth, Denis Heroux, John Kemeny, Robert Lantos and Jay...
released The Complete Series on DVD in Canada only.
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 CrushEconoline Crush
Econoline Crush is a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada formed in 1992. Originally formed in Seattle, they eventually moved back to Vancouver...
and Mudgirl made guest appearances on the show, while the source music included tracks by Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
, The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...
, Delerium
Delerium
Delerium is a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, formed in 1987, originally as a side project of the influential industrial music act, Front Line Assembly...
, Bif Naked
Bif Naked
Bif Naked is a Juno Award-winning, Indian-born American-Canadian multi-platinum record selling, rock singer, writer, poet, motivational speaker and actress.-Personal life:...
, The Painkillers, Oleander
Oleander (band)
Oleander is a post-grunge band from Sacramento, California, USA. Its name is derived from the poisonous wildflower oleander, which line the highways of Northern California. In their nine years of activity, the band released four studio albums under various record labels...
, and Xero (a pre-fame Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
). Two tracks from Peter Himmelman
Peter Himmelman
Peter Himmelman is a singer-songwriter from Minnesota, who formerly played in the band Sussman Lawrence.-Family life:He is Bob Dylan's son-in-law, being married to his daughter Maria Dylan...
'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.