cast
episode synopses
pros and cons
Mark Daconscos does a sufficient job portraying Eric Draven, especially since anything he does would make him pale in comparison to Brandon Lee. His martial arts moves are pretty cool and he is eye candy, which does not hurt when you're playing a karate kid who has come back from the dead. His acting gets a passing mark, although he never ventures into Oscar territory.
I have been following this series pretty much faithfully and I can't get used to Shelley Webster being ethnic. The very essence of her in the comic book and the movie was that she was blonde and adorable and not overly independent. Sabine's Shelley is more of an all-knowing, cosmopolitan woman who is almost a female Yoda. She does what she can with what she is given, considering she usually appears in the land that separates earth from heaven and is surrounded by soft lighting.
Marc Gomes' Albrecht is a bit more street smart than Albrecht in The Crow movies. Ernie Hudson portrayed the character as a hard-luck guy who was always on the outside looking in. This Albrecht always knows exactly what's going on and is never on the verge of losing his job. He's a good actor but they never really give him a range of emotions to play with, or maybe they do and he just doesn't get them across to the audience. They have recently given Albrecht an annoying partner, played by Christina Cox.
Believe it or not, I find Sarah less annoying on the TV show than I did in the movies. I was pretty pissed after City of Angels showed Sarah all grown up and having a romantic relationship with the Crow, but this redeemed me. She isn't a bad actor.
You never really see her so there isn't much I can say. She appeared mostly in the first episode and she didn't knock my socks off.
It goes without saying that they were going to have to introduce some new characters eventually. She's fine, I guess.
This was the first episode and it was basically the comic book and movie crammed into an hour minus the commercials. It was watered down for TV, with Darla being a drunk instead of a junkie and fewer of the bad guys being picked off. Top Dollar gets away. Darla straightens up in record time. It used a few of the same lines, like in the opening sequence - "sometimes the Crow comes back to make the wrong things right" and thankfully left out "Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children." There is no Gideon, that I recall, and no incestuous Oriental sister. If you haven't seen the first episode, don't worry about it. You already know the story and it has been told much, much better.
Very much like the final scene in the original Crow story, Eric comes face to face with the man who ordered him and Shelley's murder, who also owns the Blackout Club. He bites the dust.
Eric gets involved in a series of home invasions that turn out to be psycho teens who belong to a cult.
This episode wasn't bad. After Sarah's urging, Eric ventures to the carnival where he has flashbacks of him and Shelley's first week together. He sees a side show called Lightning Boy, which is a simple kid who was hit by lightning and can now talk to the dead. Eric passes the kid off as a fake until he says, during one of his performances, "is there an Eric here?" Lightning Boy is kept in a cage by his adopted father, Doc. Eric beats up some bad guys to escape with the kid so he can get some help finding Shelley, but his motives change when he learns that Lightning Boy is repressed and treated badly by Doc. Eventually a police investigation pushes Lightning Boy over the edge and he ends up on top of a roller coaster threatening to jump. Eric and Shelley save him. Brendan Fletcher, who plays Lightning Boy, was pretty good.
A rich young woman with the typical name of Elise Franklin is murdered and her grief-stricken fiance is framed. It turns out to be her father, who Eric dangles off the edge of a skyscraper to get him to confess. Eric saves the day. Also, Eric gets a job. He is a bouncer at the Blackout Club. How quaint.
A nutbar escapes from prison and seeks revenge on Albrecht, who put him away. Eric saves the day.
In the dumbest episode yet, Eric learns that a woman is using Shelley's identity. At first he thinks it might really be Shelley, but it turns out to be the adopted daughter of a mob guy who doesn't want her to quit the mob. The fake Shelley is mourning the death of her boyfriend, who was offed by her family, and they retreat to a cabin where they share sob stories. The bad guys come after them and Eric saves the day.
Top Dollar escapes from a prison asylum and heads off looking for Eric, thinking that if he is killed by the Crow that he will get eternal life. Eric is pissed at him, for obvious reasons, and wants to kill him, which would be playing right into his hands. The Skull Cowboy (Kadeem Hardison of A Different World fame) is a link to the netherworld who persuades him not too. It was okay but...come on, "the Skull Cowboy?"
This is my favorite episode yet. Eric is grief stricken and, at Sarah's urging, goes to see a hypnotist. Under hypnosis, Eric starts recalling a past life where he knew Shelley. Shelley was actually Rebecca, the daughter of a white preacher, and Eric is Blackfeather, a Native American. The setting is 19th-century America. Eric snaps out of the hynosis but still thinks he's Blackfeather, so a Native woman advises the group that he has to return to his roots to return to his sanity. They head off to a teepee, where they sweat it out of him. Neat stuff.
Eric encounters an annoying kid named Casey Thompson in the cemetery. Casey is the dead son of hotshot motorbike daredevil Jake Thompson, who is set to do a death-defying jump over something like 800 cars. Eric spends half the episode trying to convince Jake that yes, indeed, he is hanging out with his dead son. Jake decides not to jump and wants Eric to do it for him. Eric is held up by bad guys and Jake jumps anyway, getting shot in mid air. (This is not Jake's day.) He dies but meets Shelley and Casey on the suspension bridge and they convince him to go back to the land of the living. He does.
Eric, desperate to see Shelly, opens the loft portal and brings back a serial killer, Richard Lee Wilbanks (Lawrence S. Smilgys). Wilbanks wants to get his revenge on everyone who helped convict him. Albrecht and his new partner, Capshaw, are assigned to the case. Cordelia, Albrecht's girlfriend, is kidnapped by Wilbanks because she helped get the death penalty for him. She was Assistant District Attorney when he was convicted. Albrecht is angry at Draven but they manage to overcome their differences and fight for the greater good. Draven, who has been weak lately, gets his powers back and they go rescue Cordelia. There is a neat-looking battle involving electricity and a great moment where Eric is standing there amongst the lightning flashes and he screams "Shelly!" Eric closes the portal, knowing it may mean never seeing Shelly again. A creepier episode than most of them, so it wasn't bad.
I didn't see this one, so this is from the official web site:Strange tales have been coming out of Port Columbia's criminal underbelly and Lieut. Morgan Fine (Tim Kelleher), from Police Internal Affairs, is sent in to investigate. He is suspicious of Albrecht's secretive work habits, mysterious sources, and sudden rise in arrest success rates, so he leans on Jessica to determine if her partner is a dirty cop. The Blackout is running smoothly with Shea (Gaetana Korbin) as the new manager but when her mobster husband turns up, having bought the place, it is obvious that Frank Moran (Kavan Smith) is determined to get his wife back, by force if necessary. Draven turns to Albrecht for background on Moran and when he learns that the man is corrupt and ruthless with judges and cops on his payroll, he realizes the only way to protect Shea is to put Moran behind bars. He infiltrates the mobster's operation but in doing so exposes himself to the police investigation that has Albrecht under surveillance. A Port Columbia Councilman, Doug Fairburn (Dion Luther), was once on Moran's payroll but isn't willing to be bought any more. Draven brokers a meeting between the two at an abandoned warehouse, where Albrecht is supposed to be waiting to arrest Moran. Things go wrong when Albrecht is detained by Internal Affairs and Moran tries to kill Shea. Draven turns into the Crow to rescue her but the police are closing in. When Jessica proves that Albrecht's mysterious source is really Eric Draven, who was supposedly killed over a year ago, Albrecht is forced to hand over his badge. He is also faced with a brutal reality; Draven is going to be arrested and won't go down without a fight. To avoid tragedy, he should be the one to put the cuffs on his friend.
This is also from the official site:Eric has hit rock bottom. After four months caged in jail he is finally on trial for the murder of Shelly but is helpless to defend the charges against him. His court-appointed lawyer, James Pearl (Jaimz Woolvett), won't believe the truth and is only sticking with the case because of the jumpstart it will give to his career. Sarah is desperate to help but her mother refuses to let her take the stand. Even when Darla does relent, Sarah's testimony, far from helping, further damns Eric. Albrecht has his own problems. He is still under suspension, Cordelia has moved out and won't even speak with him and his ambivalence about what really is the truth makes it hard for him to defend Eric on the stand. As the evidence mounts Eric is painted as a jealous lover who had his girlfriend brutally murdered then staged his own death. When Funboy takes the stand, claiming that Draven hired him then tried to blackmail him for the murder, Eric can't stand the lies and lunges for the thug, further damaging his case in front of the jury and Judge Paul Morrison (Jerry Wasserman). Pearl has had enough and confronts Eric, enraging him so much that Draven turns into the Crow before his eyes. The lawyer doesn't know what to believe but does know that with Eric refusing to turn on Albrecht and sitting in shackles in the courtroom, no jury on earth could find him not guilty.
This was an interesting episode. Eric pulls a Jimmy Stewart and gets the chance to go back to that fateful day and see if he can avoid the murder of him and Shelly. He is actually in jail after being found guilty for Shelly's murder, talking to the Skull Cowboy (Kadeem Hardison). Despite the Skull Cowboy's advice, Eric is convinced he can go back and change things. He discovers that fate, and the ways of the crow, cannot be changed. He tries, though. When he is taken back, he finds himself at band rehearsal. He phones home and Shelly answers, causing him to run home. They break up, he tells her the truth, and the second time they try to outrun the bad guys, but it doesn't make a difference. They were meant to die. As is says on the official web site, "Draven turns the clock back twice, and with each vain attempt events dramatically worsen and more people die. In the end Draven is back in jail, reconciled to his fate, but warmed by his brief reunion with Shelly."
This is from the official site:Citing that the jury ignored his instructions, Judge Morrison overturns Draven1s conviction and sets him free in a dramatic reversal of fortune. But a cloud of suspicion still hangs over Draven, and, because of his association with Albrecht, over Albrecht as well. Their friendship is strained, and Albrecht1s girlfriend Cordelia, leaves him too. Adding insult to injury, Albrecht is demoted to beat cop and Capshaw assumes his desk in the detective division. Treated as a pariah by the public at the Blackout, Draven goes outside where he sees a woman demolish two strong attackers in an alley fight. To his shock, Draven discovers that, she, too, is a Crow. He befriends the angry, confused woman and helps her learn the truth about her former life. She was a happily married, successful doctor, Hannah Foster (Bobbie Phillips), who along with her young daughter, was kidnapped by a colleague and left to die a horrible death. She has come back as Talon, a female Crow, but doesn1t understand that her newly found powers cannot be used for revenge without unleashing something more terrible. Evenly matched in strength and force, Draven cannot stop her from killing her murder, Slaughter (Mackenzie Grey), turning him into evil incarnate as a supernatural snake. The Crow saves Talon from destruction at the hands of the snake, but Talon learns that there is no escaping the terrible sadness that brought her back to earth.
My notes: It was interesting to see a female crow, even if the actress who played her overacted a bit. She looked the part.
From the official site:An ancient order of Russian priests is the keeper of a manuscript that holds the evil predictions of the mad monk Rasputin. When the chief guardian, Father Andrew (Stephen Dimopoulos), is brutally murdered and the book stolen, the priests turn to the police for help. Albrecht, now demoted to a street cop, steps aside so Capshaw can take the case but she is highly skeptical of the tale of evil powers, spirit transference and a fearsome prophecy that seems to be coming true. While visiting her Mom at the police station Sarah overhears the story and hurries to warn Draven that whoever stole the manuscript will need access to the portal between worlds, which is in Draven1s loft. Alexander Sokolov (David Lovgren), who has the manuscript and intends to use it to harness untold evil power, comes to the loft but is deterred by Draven, who then tips Albrecht off to what is going on. Draven catches up with Sokolov at the waterfront but as part of the fulfillment of the prophecy, is trapped in a net, chained with weights and dropped off the pier. Albrecht and Capshaw arrive, but Capshaw is shot. The Crow emerges from the icy waters to pursue the fleeing Sokolov. They clash at the loft, where the portal is already open, allowing Rasputin to return in Sokolov1s body. Their battle carries them through the portal, back to 1918, where Rasputin1s resurrected spirit is finally defeated forever.
My notes: Monks are such an easy target. (That's just a joke.) The description doesn't mention that Sarah's Internet friend dies.
Also from the official site:Draven visits Funboy (Ty Olsson) in prison and, using his powers, forces him to relive the night he helped kill Draven and Shelly. Funboy is genuinely overcome by guilt and remorse. Before he can make amends, however, he is visited by the menacing Soleil Hazard (Gabriel Casseus), who seems to have a telepathic connection to the evil spirit of Top Dollar. Posing as a music promoter for Fadeout Records, Hazard approaches Draven at the Blackout Club and suggests he rejoin his old band. Draven refuses but is disturbed by the encounter, and by the incredible music that starts to fill his every thought. Meanwhile, Albrecht gets his Detective badge back along with his first assignment - to find Funboy -- who has broken out of prison. Albrecht warns Darla (Lynda Boyd), but she can't escape her former boyfriend, or the alcohol he forces her to drink. Draven, lost to the increasingly powerful sounds playing in his head, is oblivious to everything, including Sarah and Albrecht. Reunited with Hangman's Joke for a playoff competition against Econoline Crush (as themselves), Draven, turned into the Crow by the force of the music, spots Funboy in the audience with a knife at Darla's throat. Murderous and vengeful, the Crow takes off in pursuit, unaware that they are all being manipulated by Top Dollar's evil tune. Only Shelly can save them.
Official site description:Aimless and guilt-stricken, Hannah/Talon (Bobbie Phillips) has been wandering the streets of Port Columbia when her spirit crow leads her to a distraught mother, Nancy Meyers (Stellina Rusich), whose infant daughter has just been kidnapped. Hannah decides to intervene but her brutal methods for extracting information from anyone who may have been involved awakens interest in the police. Draven, unaware of the havoc Hannah is causing, and the trouble she is in, has gone to a special glade in the woods where he and Shelly spent time. Shelly appears and, not sure if it's real or not, Draven loses himself in the wonder of being together again. Capshaw is finally back on the job, but her nerve is gone. She was instrumental in getting Albrecht demoted but in an ironic twist, Vincennes asks him to keep an eye on her. He has his hands full though with two Crows on the loose. He plays back-up as Draven and Hannah rescue the child but Hannah takes off with the baby as a replacement for her dead child and it is up to Draven to try and put things right.
Official site:A nightmare about his childhood and the appearance of a "ghost soldier" is the first in a series of strange things happening to Draven. When unseen blows fell him and he temporarily goes blind he struggles to get to the root of what is going on, only to realise that what he has been feeling has been really happening to his younger stepbrother Chris (Corey Feldman). Chris, with a lifelong chip on his shoulder, has always been trouble, and Draven has always been picking up the pieces. The brothers go back to Draven's loft but Chris refuses to come clean about just what kind of trouble he is in and instead rehashes the past, and his belief that both boys were abandoned by their soldier father after the evacuation from Vietnam. They argue, but Draven finally gets the truth out of Chris - that he knows where half a million dollars in stolen money is stashed. The problem is that the money belongs to a mobster, Cardosa (Colin Cunningham) who will stop at nothing to get it back. Draven goes to Albrecht for police protection but Chris takes off to get the money for himself and falls into Cardosa's trap. The Crow intervenes and safely back at the loft Draven uses his empathetic powers to get through to Chris and finally get to the truth about their past.
My notes: Corey Feldman!
Official site, just like the rest of these unless otherwise noted:The Port Columbia police force is the target for a cop killer. Extremely intelligent and malevolent, the killer uses woman as bait, kidnapping them, then waiting to pick off any police who come to the rescue. Vincennes launches a verbal tirade against the killer's cowardice, vowing to use any means to catch him. When this message is televised, he becomes the target and his wife Karen (Patricia Harras) is the lure. The frantic Lieutenant brings his children Jason (Alex Pollack) and Libby (Lauren Zabel) to the precinct for safety and Albrecht persuades Sarah to help look after them. She spins them tales of a superhero who will rescue their mom. Meanwhile, the superhero she has in mind has his own problems to deal with. Draven is finding it harder and harder to control the Crow and the Crow's special powers. Meanwhile Albrecht and Capshaw do their own digging and finally, with some empathic insight from Draven, piece together the awful truth. The cop killer is himself a cop. Reid Truax (Anthony Michael Hall), from their own station, is known for violence. As a lowly patrolman, however, no one even noticed him. Now he has lured Vincennes into his trap and Draven and Albrecht have to find them. The trouble is, when the vengeful Crow emerges, he is becoming increasingly difficult to stop.
Frederick Balsam (Mavor Moore), the ailing leader of the mysterious Lazarus Group has successfully transferred his soul into the body of his former personal trainer James Horton (Michael Weatherly). Now young, virile and still pure evil, he has destroyed the body jump technology and is systematically eliminating anyone who knows about it. Part of his master plan is to turn the Crow into his one-man private army and destroy Draven. Meanwhile, Det. Albrecht is assigned to find out who vandalised Draven's grave, covering it in blood. In the cemetery he is approached by an extremely nervous Judge Morrison (Jerry Wasserman). A former member of the Lazarus Group, he did all their judicial dirty work. He now demands police protection in exchange for information about the secret society. Draven's grave is disturbed a second time as the Crow emerges. Balsam/Horton has split him and Draven apart to become two beings. One is malevolent and vengeful, the other good. The Crow kills Funboy (Ty Olsson) in jail, then kidnaps Morrison, severely beating Albrecht in the process. In the Land of the Dead, Shelly again meets Casey Thompson (Jared Zabel). He offers her the chance to save Eric; however, there is a catch. She can reincarnate briefly, but then will no longer be able to resist moving on to the Light. When the jealous Crow kidnaps her, Draven rushes to the rescue. He is no longer invincible and she can only watch as they battle to the death.
Dr. Dorsett (Don Most) seeks Draven out, carrying an unusual offer from the Lazarus Group. It was this secretive consortium of powerful men who smoothed the way for Dorsett's therapy license to be re-instated and he owes them a favor. They claim to posses advanced technology which will reunite Draven with Shelly and want to test it on Draven. Unbeknownst to him, the Lazarus Group is a secret society rumored to have been in existence since the time of the Druids, and their interest in him is anything but benevolent. The society is dominated by the physically frail but still intimidating Frederick Balsam (Mavor Moore) who holds sway not only over Judge Morrison (Jerry Wasserman), who unexpectedly released Draven from jail, but also over head scientist Dr. Jack Saks (Robert Wisden), and group member Steve Fentress (Terry David Mulligan). Draven agrees to the experiment, but once hooked up to the machinery finds himself split. The Crow is the one strapped to the operating table, Draven is stuck in a psychological limbo with someone who looks like, but isn't Shelly. When Dorsett realizes that Draven is being used to be the new body for Balsam's soul, he tries desperately to put matters right. Meanwhile Albrecht, who is still estranged from Draven, has his own crisis of conscience when he is approached by a slick lawyer who wants to pursue a lawsuit of wrongful dismissal based on race.
