The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage

The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage
Genre Comedy
Created by James Wong
Glen Morgan
Stephen J. Cannell
Written by James Wong
Glen Morgan
Stephen J. Cannell
Jack Bernstein
Gary Rosen
Directed by Kim Manners
Tucker Gates
Bruce Kessler
Jorge Montesi
David Nutter
James Whitmore, Jr.
Starring Daniel Hugh Kelly
Steven Williams
Roma Downey
Bert Rosario
Steve Hytner
Theme music composer Mike Post
Composer(s) Mike Post
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 7
Production
Executive producer(s) Stephen J. Cannell
Producer(s) John Peter Kousakis
Cinematography Frank Johnson, A.S.C.
Running time 42 minutes
Production company(s) Stephen J. Cannell Productions
in association with Walt Disney Television
Distributor Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Original run March 31 – May 26, 1991

Disney Presents The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage is a television series broadcast in the United States by NBC and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions in association with Walt Disney Television. This show originated as a TV-movie. The program originally aired in 1991, but lasted less than one season.

Plot

The series followed the story of Black Jack Savage (played by Steven Williams - Stoney Jackson in the pilot), the ghost of a legendary 17th-century Caribbean pirate who teams up with Barry Tarberry (played by Daniel Hugh Kelly), a crooked Wall Street con artist who has escaped trial by coming to the Caribbean. Facing eternal damnation, both of them discover that they need to save 100 lives to compensate for the damage done by their sinful lives, and thus save their own souls.

Any time Black Jack tries to leave the safety of his castle haunt on San Pietro Island, he is fair game for the "snarks". They are entities that can transport Jack to Hell through an entrance at the base of the tree where he was originally hanged. Tarberry has his own difficulties dodging the government agents sent to extradite him back to the United States to stand trial for his crimes. Other characters on San Pietro include the corrupt governor-general, Abel Vasquez (played by Bert Rosario), with whom Tarberry is able to make another deal, and island activist Danielle (played by Roma Downey), who is constantly trying to help protect the locals from the effects of Vasquez's corruption and is not above enlisting Tarberry's help in doing so.

The show follows the misadventures of both Black Jack and his human counterpart as they team up to dodge the law, both supernatural and secular, to make their 100 soul quota and thus win their way to salvation. Each episode ended with a graphic telling the viewers "??? Lives To Go..."

Blackbird powerboat

A regular part of every episode was an appearance of the high tech powerboat. Built by scientist/inventor Logan "FX" Murphy (played by Steve Hytner), the Blackbird was a black trimaran speedboat that resembled a SR-71 reconnaissance plane. It was originally commissioned by the previous owner of Blackbird Castle, a drug runner. After his arrest, Tarberry took possession of the Blackbird from Murphy. When not in use, the Blackbird was moored at a secret dock at Blackbird Castle on San Pietro Island. A 2002 photo of the mockup boat on a Disney backlot can be found at (http://www.disneypix.com/Studios/Street/2002a/ST0402-41.html).

References

    External links