W.A.F. REVIEWS: "The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage"(1991)

In 1991, Walt Disney Television joined forces with NBC & Stephen J. Cannell Productions to create a show that, at the time, was radically different than anything else that dominated the airwaves. What they produced combined elements of 1980s/early ‘90s Wall Street, classic swashbuckling pirate movies, and supernatural forces. Thus, we were treated to “The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage”!

The series told the story of the dreaded 17^th century pirate Black Jack Savage, who is captured during a battle, taken back to his castle, and hanged from a tree in his own courtyard. Many years later, Wall Street businessman & con artist Barry Tarberry flees to the Caribbean and takes up residence in his new home, Savage’s Castle. Together, Barry and the ghost of Black Jack Savage must do what they can to save 100 lives, or else both their souls will suffer eternal damnation for their crimes.

I always enjoyed this show as a kid. The concept was pretty interesting, giving each episode a “villain-of-the-week” angle that was pretty popular among shows such as this. And some of the quirks they fit in seemed to work nicely. I especially liked how they tried to showcase that Jack isn’t allowed to leave his castle, otherwise he’s chased down by these demons from Hell called Snarks, that attempt to drag him back to the tree from which he was first hanged, which, as it turns out, also happens to be a portal to the Underworld. Yet Barry knows he needs Jack to help him, so he seeks out the aid of tech wizard Logan “FX” Murphy, played by Steve Hytner, who basically soups up a vacuum cleaner and uses it to battle against the Snarks.

The cast was chosen fairly well for their respective roles, although this was the first time I watched something where one of the main characters in the pilot was played by a different actor in the actual series. Stoney Jackson, who you may remember from his roles in films like “Angels In The Outfield” and “CB4”, or his appearance on “Everybody Hates Chris”, took on the role of Black Jack Savage for the pilot. Yet for the actual series of episodes, the role was played by Steven Williams, better known as the crazy bounty hunter Creighton Duke in the 1993 horror film “Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday”! For the role of corrupt Wall Street businessman Berry Tarberry, producers chose veteran actor David Hugh Kelly, who already had a television following for his previous role as Mark “Skid” McCormick on the 1980s ABC series “Hardcastle and McCormick”.

When it comes right down to it, the concept had promise. But actually making the show work was just too ambitious of an undertaking. The series only lasted 7 episodes before being pulled from the lineup, which is a shame. I feel like if it had been given a real chance, it would have found an audience that would have supported it completely. I actually thought about this series quite a bit when I look around at the plethora of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu that are overtaking the market today and wonder if maybe someone will think to look back at this TV show and attempt a reboot. The pieces to the puzzle are there. Someone just has to figure out how to put them all together and make the best picture. Until next time…