Of this much I'm convinced: if Brandon Lee hadn't died while filming The Crow, he'd have transitioned from burgeoning martial arts star to mainstream Hollywood icon immediately after its release. He had his famous father's intensity, insane good looks and an intuitive acting ability. By now he'd be scoring Oscar nominations and speaking out against global warming, and the franchise he began would have produced blockbuster sequels on par with The Matrix. As it happened, however, even without its uncommonly gifted star, The Crow still managed to spawn a small litany of sequels, though each was of more dubious quality than the last. The series would hit its ultimate low with Ed Furlong's hideous turn in 2004's Wicked Prayer, but the serial adaptation starring Mark Dacascos wasn't far off that appalling low mark.
Originally aired between the second and third filmic installments of the series, Stairway to Heaven begins with the original movie's story and stretches it out indefinitely: instead of only seeking vengeance for his murder and the murder of his wife, Shelley (Sabine Karsenti), this Crow is more of an opportunist do-gooder, righting wrongs as he comes upon them. The first episode is in many ways nothing more than a rehash of the first movie, setting up all the familiar players - Detective Albrecht (Marc Gomes), street urchin Sarah (Katie Stuart) and her troubled mother, Darla (Lynda Boyd), who in this incarnation is merely an alcoholic instead of a full-blown heroin addict. The only tweak, and it's kind of a major one, is that instead of hastily applied facepaint meant to reflect his inner torment and just generally look cool, Stairway's deceased rocker, Eric Draven (Dacascos), actually sprouts black fingernails and bleeds black and white dye when he gets worked up, not unlike David Banner and The Incredible Hulk, or possibly Jekyll and Hyde. It's a convenient way to give him an alter ego to battle against, which is another departure from the movies.
By the end of the first episode, Draven has dispatched his violators (though all in non-lethal ways that positively reek of family-conscious television) and it would seem that his soul could head back to the land of the dead. But, for reasons passing understanding, he sticks around for what series creators hoped would be several seasons of freelance paranormal ass-kicking. It all still has something to do with reuniting with Shelley in the afterlife, but it's a tenuous link at best and really that overarching goal just provides a background to set up all manner of otherworldly enemies and plotlines.
The show only lasted a single season, and after watching the DVD collection it's easy to see why. The appeal of the original Crow movie, and the incredible graphic novel upon which it was based, is the vicious, dark hero who visits his enemies' own brutality back on them without hesitation or remorse. To cut down on that darkness, even if it's necessary to draw the story out, is to dilute everything that made the film such a cult phenomenon. Seeing Draven tooling around during the daytime in jeans and a flannel shirt is just wrong. You find yourself wondering how he's paying his rent and if he'll have to file taxes this year.
In fairness the series makes an effort to justify Eric's protracted presence in the living world with a trial in which Eric is suspected of having fled after murdering Shelley, but it doesn't make his overwhelming normalcy any more bearable. In this odd elongation it's possible to see the formula that has become standard issue for movie-to-TV adaptations: take out only those elements that send the plot hurtling uncontrollably toward a final life-or-death confrontation, and expand the hero's purview to encompass anyone he meets. This way Draven gets to help out exploited psychics, abducted housewives, and abused children, while still allowing for a few lighthearted detours here and there. This is the formula that makes the Dead Zone series work, but Johnny wasn't the reincarnated spirit of vengeance, so the occasional trip to the beach didn't destroy the appeal of the story.
Dacascos is an interesting study in how a good action star can go terribly wrong. You may remember this handsome Hawaiian martial artist from Only the Strong and the Double Dragon movie, if you remember him at all. He's a few steps beyond your average martial arts movie star—he can speak every one of his lines without tripping over his own tongue—but, his fluid athletic ability notwithstanding, he's still nowhere near a strong enough actor to carry an hour-long serial drama. And whereas Lee's Draven pulled off the tortured, lanky rocker look perfectly, Dacascos looks less alternative rock and more clean-cut musical theater. His boyish good looks and pretty doe eyes don't do much to alleviate the problem.
None of this is to say that the show's star isn't a first-rate martial artists, because he certainly is. But there's yet another problem—the choice to twist the movie, which barely relied on recognizable martial arts at all, into a kick-first-ask-questions-later genre piece is bizarre in itself. Perhaps this was done to remove the show from the movie's penchant for bullets and dead bodies, but the result is, like the other aspects of the show, sterilized, formulaic and more or less uninteresting.
Score: 5 out of 10
Video and Presentation
The Crow: Stairway to Heaven is presented in its original 4:3 aspect ratio. In general the video transfer looks about as good as one could hope for a ten-year-old television show. Some of the night scenes tend to carry a bit of grain and the black levels aren't as deep as they should be. The same is true of the color palette, which appears a little washed out. For the most part Dacascos's rapid punches and kicks are captured well with little trailing, and for a TV show there really isn't much edge enhancement to speak of.
Score: 6 out of 10
Languages and Audio
The Season One DVD set is presented in its original two-channel Dolby Digital audio with no subtitles. It's unfortunate yet unsurprising that there's no surround sound track, but the omission of subtitles, especially given the commentary tracks that are included on some episodes, is disappointing. The audio that is present is fairly clean, though often the fight scene sound effects and constant musical underscoring are mixed way too loud.
Score: 4 out of 10
Packaging and Extras
The Crow: Stairway to Heaven is presented on five DVDs. In addition to all 22 episodes, the set comes with the following extras:
- TV Guide Crossword Puzzles (DVD-ROM)
Looking at the above list, it's obvious that the creative teams behind both the series and DVD release had fans in mind. The commentary tracks feature writer/producer Bryce Zabel and star Mark Dacascos, which is pretty much the best combination you could ask for on this set. The production dailies are a cool feature you don't often see, and it's fascinating to see how physically demanding even the simplest fight scenes were for the amazingly fit Dacascos, who did most of his own stunts. The original score feature includes seven full-length, original songs from the show's score, though many of the rock tunes sound fairly dated by now. Perhaps the most intriguing extra is the inclusion of all 22 original scripts in their entirety. This is something that's almost never done, and it's a real gift to fans of the show.
Score: 8 out of 10
The Bottom Line
The Crow: Stairway to Heaven was a short-lived show that attempted to capitalize on a dark source material that just wasn't a good fit for television. In its brief tenure it managed to cultivate a small following, and those fans should be immensely pleased with this richly featured DVD release.
