James O'Barr The Crow: Stairway to Heaven

James O'Barr The Crow Stairway to Heaven tv series

The Crow: Stairway to Heaven was a 1998 Canadian television series created by Bryce Zabel spun off from the The Crow film series starring Mark Dacascos in the lead role as Eric Draven, reprising the role originally played by Brandon Lee in the 1994 film The Crow.

PLOT
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.

EPISODES

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

CHARACTERS
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, whom 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.
 * Eric Draven (Mark Dacascos)
 * Daryl Albrecht (Marc Gomes)
 * Shelly Webster (Sabine Karsenti)
 * Sarah Mohr (Katie Stuart)
 * Darla Mohr (Lynda Boyd)
 * Lieutenant David Vincennes (Jon Cuthbert)
 * Jessica Capshaw (Christina Cox)
 * Top Dollar/Jason Danko (John Pyper-Ferguson)
 * India Reyes (Julie Dreyfus)
 * Shea Marino (Gaetana Korbin)
 * Cordelia Warren (Suleka Mathew)
 * Funboy/George Jamieson (Ty Olsson)
 * Skull Cowboy (Kadeem Hardison)
 * Hannah Foster/Talon (Bobbie Phillips)