The Crow: Stairway to Heaven

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The Crow: Stairway to Heaven

The Crow: Stairway to Heaven
Directed by Scott Williams (episode "Give Me Life")
Produced by Gordon Mark
Starring Mark Dacascos, Katie Stuart, Marc Gomes
Music by Peter Manning Robinson (theme, score), Peter Himmelman, The Painkillers (key songs)
Cinematography Attila Szaly
Editing by Charles Robichaud, Richard Schwadel
Release date(s) October 3 1998 (USA)
Running time 45 min (22 episodes)
Country USA
Language English
Preceded by The Crow: City of Angels
Followed by The Crow: Salvation
IMDb profile

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. The series was intended as a follow-up to the 1994 film.

Contents

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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, Bif Naked, The Painkillers, Oleander and Xero (later known as 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 part of the series.

[edit] Cancellation

It consisted of 22 episodes, 44 minutes long each, and ran between September 25, 1998 and May 22, 1999 in nationwide syndication. In 1999 and 2000, it was aired extensively on the Sci-Fi Channel.

The series was cancelled after the first season in June 1999,[1] when Polygram was sold to Universal,[2] 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. As of August 2006, the only widespread home video release of the show is a VHS featuring the first two episodes, which is now out of print; bootlegs of the entire series have been spotted at conventions and other places likely to carry TV show bootlegs.

[edit] On DVD

In 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 6-discs across two volumes via Warner Bros, this release proceeded in 2001 by a 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 Video 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.[3] ”

[edit] Synopsis

Mark Dacascos as Eric Draven
Mark Dacascos as Eric Draven

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.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Episodes

The Crow catches a bullet
The Crow catches a bullet
  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

[edit] 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 bears a resemblance to Brandon Lee which is likely the reason why he was chosen for the role of Eric Draven.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Crow: Stairway to Heaven F.A.Q..
  2. ^ The Crow: Stairway to Heaven Season 2.
  3. ^ As the Crow Flies... Again... (March 21, 2007). Retrieved on March 26, 2007.
  4. ^ Grave Vigilante - Mark Dacascos.

[edit] External links

The Crow
James O'Barr • The Crow comic book
Film and television
The Crow (1994) • The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
The Crow: Stairway to Heaven (1998 series) • The Crow: Salvation (2000)
The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005)
Music
Fear and Bullets The soundtrack to the graphic novel The Crow by Trust Obey (1994)
The Crow soundtrack (1994) • The Crow Original Motion Picture Score by Graeme Revell (1994)
The Crow: City of Angels soundtrack (1996) • The Crow: City of Angels Original Motion Picture Score by Graeme Revell (1996)
The Crow: Salvation soundtrack (2000) • The Crow: Salvation Original Motion Picture Score by Marco Beltrami (2000)
Non-O'Barr comics
City of Angels (comic book) by Wagner/Hester/Ormston (1996) • Dead Time by Wagner/Maleev (1996)
Flesh and Blood by Vance/Maleev (1997) • Wild Justice by Prosser/Adlard (1997)
Waking Nightmares by Golden/Hester (1998) • "The Crow/Razor: Kill the Pain" by Hartsoe/Beck (1998)
Image Comics' The Crow by Muth/Tollagson/Various (1999)
Novels
City of Angels (novelization) by Chet Williamson (1996)
The Lazarus Heart by Poppy Z. Brite (1998) • Clash by Night by Chet Williamson (1998)
Quoth the Crow by David Bischoff (1998) • Temple of Night by S.P. Somtow (1999)
Wicked Prayer by Norman Partridge (2000) • Hellbound by A.A. Attanasio (2001)
Miscellaneous
The Crow: The Movie (book) by Jeff Conner (1994) • The Crow COA, Diary of the Film by Jeff Conner (1996)
The Crow: Shattered Lives and Broken Dreams - Collection of short fiction and poetry edited by James O'Barr and Ed Kramer. Contributors include Alan Dean Foster, Ramsey Campbell, Gene Wolfe, Storm Constantine, Nancy Collins, Andrew Vachss, Iggy Pop and Henry Rollins. (1998)
The Crow: The Story Behind The Film by Bridget Baiss (2000)
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