The Crow TV Show You Forgot Existed
The Crow is preparing the stalk the city once again on his quest for revenge. The underground comic created by James O'Barr way back in 1989 has continued to be a pop culture phenomenon. Many know of the character from "The Crow," a 1994 film that's notable for being the final performance of Brandon Lee, who died on set. Since the successful box office release of the film, "The Crow" has made a sizable dent in pop culture. There have been three sequels, several novels, and a terrible video game in the years. Hollywood has been doing its best to produce further sequels and reboots since the 2005 release of "The Crow: Wicked Prayer." Jason Momoa, Jack Huston, Luke Evans, Tom Hiddleston, and Bradley Cooper have all been attached or in talks to star as The Crow. Unfortunately, none of these projects were able to crawl from their graves.
Recently, a new iteration of the character was announced, starring Bill Skarsgard in the title role and helmed by "Snow White and the Huntsman" and "Ghost in the Shell" director Rupert Sanders. Will this one actually happen? Only Eric Draven knows. Prior to many of the sequels and attempted reboots, however, there was a single-season television series that most folks probably haven't heard of.
Getting on the stairway
You'll find the television show smack dab in-between 1996's "The Crow: City of Angels" and 2000's "The Crow: Salvation." Entitled "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven," the show follows the same plot and premise as the original film. One year after being murdered alongside his fiancée, former rock star Eric Draven returns to life seeking revenge. His postponed death gives Draven additional powers to enact his revenge, including the ability to heal his wounds.
In the film and its sequels, each iteration of The Crow is brought back to life for a limited period of time; once they get revenge, they return to the grave. That wasn't going to work for a television series, though. Instead, Eric Draven in "Stairway to Heaven" has a less specific mission to put right what went wrong, which extends beyond those that caused his death. Once he completes his mission and finds redemption, Draven will be able to move on to the Land of the Dead where he'll be reunited with his lost love, Shelly Webster.
The television show expands on the mythology of the films, with more Crows, anti-Crows called Snakes, and secret organizations that want to utilize the power of the Crow to achieve immortality. It's a crime-of-the-week show centering around our supernatural hero kicking bad guys in the head.
Heaven ain't hard to find
"The Crow: Stairway to Heaven" was developed for television by Bryce Zabel, starring martial artist and actor Mark Dacascos. Dacascos has had a long career in genre projects, including supporting roles in "Brotherhood of the Wolf," "Double Dragon," "Crying Freeman," and "John Wick: Chapter 3." Some may even know him as the Chairman in "Iron Chef America."
The show ran for a full season of 22 episodes, enjoying critical success and decent ratings. Over the course of its run, it had some interesting supporting cast members and guest stars, including Kadeem Hardison as Draven's guide the Skull Cowboy, Corey Feldman as Draven's estranged brother, and Anthony Michael Hall as a serial killer. A mix of martial arts, mood, and music video cinematography carries the show. It sports the wonderful B-tier magic of a late '90s genre television show shot in Vancouver; "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven" would later run on the designated home for such shows, The Sci-Fi Channel.
The second season was in pre-production when everything was shut down due to a change in management, as producer PolyGram Productions was purchased by Universal. "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven" sadly ended on a cliffhanger, meaning we'll never know if a powerless Eric Draven ever got his strength back from the leader of the Lazarus Group. Maybe the upcoming "The Crow" reboot will be bold and just continue the TV show's plotline. We can hope and dream.