The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage

This was the pilot for a proposed action series under the Disney banner and written by Stephen J. Cannell. The Cannell touch is clearly evident. A duo of would be heroes, Barry Tarberry (Daniel Hugh Kelly) and Black Jack Savage (Stoney Jackson) who are assisted by a nerd genius, Logan "FX" Murphy (Steve Hytner) strive to get the bad guys. Tarberry is an American financier whose questionable deals have forced him to flee the country one step ahead of the Feds. And once he takes refuge on a Caribbean island by bribing the President, Tarberry also has to dodge the bounty hunters hired by the bail bondsman that Tarberry stiffed of $500,000. Tarberry discovers the castle he purchased is haunted by the ghost of Black Jack Savage. The two form an unlikely partnership for their own reasons. Kelly is perfect as the handsome hero who has a smidgen of the coward to overcome. Jackson is terrific as the hip 300 year old ghost who has to redeem himself by saving a hundred lives or he will be sent to Hell. Since this was the premise for a series, the movie has much exposition to fill in the background and present the raison detre. The made for TV movie is fun and should be put on a DVD along with the six episodes of the series. It's too bad this didn't click but audiences may have passed on this as a retrofit of Riptide with one of the good guys as a ghost. Regardless, this movie is entertaining with enough action with comedy to appeal to a large audience, but it didn't.