# Crossbow (TV series)

Crossbow is a 1987 historical drama action-adventure television series that aired on CBN Cable Network. The series was produced by Steven North and Richard Schlesinger for Robert Halmi Inc., in co-production with French television network FR3. It was filmed entirely on location in France.

## Premise

Set in 14th-century Switzerland, Crossbow follows the adventures of William Tell (played by Will Lyman), a legendary folk hero and expert marksman. The story begins with Tell and his son, Matthew, imprisoned by the tyrannical Governor Hermann Gessler (played by Jeremy Clyde), who seeks to suppress a Swiss uprising against Austrian rule. When Tell is forced to shoot an apple off his son’s head with a crossbow—a feat he successfully accomplishes—he becomes a symbol of resistance. Using his exceptional skills, Tell escapes captivity and leads a rebellion against Gessler’s oppressive regime, encountering both allies and formidable adversaries along the way.

## Cast and Characters
### Main Characters

* William Tell, played by Will Lyman
* Governor Hermann Gessler, played by Jeremy Clyde
* Blade, played by Melinda Mullins
* Roland, played by Valentine Pelka
* Matthew Tell, played by David Barry Gray
* Katrina Tell, played by Anne Lonnberg
* Tyroll, played by Hans Meyer
* Horst, played by Nick Brimble
* Conrad, played by John Otway
* Arris, played by Robert Addie
* Stefan, played by Conrad Phillips
* Weevil, played by Bernard Spiegel
* Ambrose, played by Bertie Cortez

### Guest stars

* Eleanor, played by Dana Barron
* The Emperor, played by Guy Rolfe
* Prince Ignatius, played by Johnny Crawford
* Gaston, played by Brian Blessed
* Princess, played by Valerie Steffen
* Captain of the Guard, played by Steve Buscemi
* François Arconciel, played by Roger Daltrey
* Sara Guidotti, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar
* Vogel " The Alchemist", played by David Warner
* Stefan, William Tell's mentor, played by Conrad Phillips (Philips had previously played the title role in The Adventures of William Tell)
* Pamenta, played by Imogen Annesley

## Media

A television film, Crossbow: The Movie, edited from combined episodes of the series, was released on DVD in 2005, under the title The Adventures of William Tell. The complete series was later released in 2018 on six DVD discs.
An action-adventure game titled Crossbow: the Legend of William Tell, based on the series, was released in 1989 for the Amiga and the Atari ST.
Marvel Comics released several issues of a tie-in comic book, with the characters of Tell and Gessler drawn to the likenesses of Will Lyman and Jeremy Clyde. An illustrated storybook and a novelization were released as well.
The musical score for the series was composed by Stanisław Syrewicz, and used an arrangement of the William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini in one of the tracks. A limited printing of the score was released in 1989 on CD and on LP record.

## Episodes
### Season 1 (1987–88)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "The Banquet" | George Mihalka | Edithe Swensen and Steven Bawol | August 30, 1987 (1987-8-30) |
| 2 | 2 | "The Prisoner" | George Mihalka | Edithe Swensen and Steven Bawol | September 6, 1987 (1987-9-6) |
| 3 | 3 | "The Little Soldier" | John David Coles | Anthony Horowitz | September 13, 1987 (1987-9-13) |
| 4 | 4 | "The Scavengers" | John David Coles | Anthony Horowitz | September 20, 1987 (1987-9-20) |
| 5 | 5 | "Reunion" | Chris King | Anthony Horowitz and Steven Bawol | September 27, 1987 (1987-9-27) |
| 6 | 6 | "Albion" | George Mihalka | Edithe Swensen and Steven Bawol | October 4, 1987 (1987-10-4) |
| 7 | 7 | "Sanctuary" | Paul Stanley | Edithe Swensen | October 11, 1987 (1987-10-11) |
| 8 | 8 | "The Dukes of Zharinghen" | Paul Stanley | Edithe Swensen | October 18, 1987 (1987-10-18) |
| 9 | 9 | "The Bet" | Paul Stanley | Edithe Swensen | October 25, 1987 (1987-10-25) |
| 10 | 10 | "The Stallion" | Chris King | Anthony Horowitz and Steven Bawol | November 1, 1987 (1987-11-1) |
| 11 | 11 | "The Imposter" | Allan A. Goldstein | Edithe Swensen | November 8, 1987 (1987-11-8) |
| 12 | 12 | "The Pass" | Allan A. Goldstein | Edithe Swensen | November 15, 1987 (1987-11-15) |
| 13 | 13 | "Misalliance" | Allan A. Goldstein | Edithe Swensen | November 22, 1987 (1987-11-22) |
| 14 | 14 | "The Alchemist" | David Kappes | Harry Kappes | November 29, 1987 (1987-11-29) |
| 15 | 15 | "Possessed!" | Dennis Berry | Mark Princi and Steven Bawol | December 6, 1987 (1987-12-6) |
| 16 | 16 | "The Moor: Part 1" | John David Coles | Mark Princi and Anthony Horowitz | December 13, 1987 (1987-12-13) |
| 17 | 17 | "The Moor: Part 2" | John David Coles | Mark Princi and Anthony Horowitz | December 20, 1987 (1987-12-20) |
| 18 | 18 | "The Four Horsemen" | George Mihalka | Story by : Bernard Frangin Teleplay by : Steven Bawol and Anthony Horowitz | December 27, 1987 (1987-12-27) |
| 19 | 19 | "The Citadel" | George Mihalka | Story by : Bernard Frangin Teleplay by : Steven Bawol and Anthony Horowitz | January 3, 1988 (1988-1-3) |
| 20 | 20 | "The Princess" | George Mihalka | Story by : Bernard Frangin Teleplay by : Steven Bawol and Anthony Horowitz | January 10, 1988 (1988-1-10) |
| 21 | 21 | "Lotus" | Dennis Berry | Anthony Horowitz | January 17, 1988 (1988-1-17) |
| 22 | 22 | "The Physician" | Dennis Berry | Anthony Horowitz | January 24, 1988 (1988-1-24) |
| 23 | 23 | "The Handmaiden" | Jacques Methe | Ranald Graham | January 31, 1988 (1988-1-31) |
| 24 | 24 | "The Rebirth" | Jacques Methe | Ranald Graham | February 7, 1988 (1988-2-7) |

### Season 2 (1988–89)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 25 | 1 | "Nightmare" | George Mihalka | John Flanagan & Andrew McCulloch | September 3, 1988 (1988-9-3) |
| 26 | 2 | "Birthright" | George Mihalka | Anthony Horowitz | September 10, 1988 (1988-9-10) |
| 27 | 3 | "Trolls" | George Mihalka | Pascal Bancou & Christian Bouveron | September 17, 1988 (1988-9-17) |
| 28 | 4 | "Nemesis" | George Mihalka | David Wilks | September 24, 1988 (1988-9-24) |
| 29 | 5 | "The Pit" | Christian Duguay | Claude Harz | October 1, 1988 (1988-10-1) |
| 30 | 6 | "The Rock" | Christian Duguay | Claude Harz | October 8, 1988 (1988-10-8) |
| 31 | 7 | "The Taking of Castle Tanner" | Christian Duguay | Pascal Bancou & Christian Bouveron | October 15, 1988 (1988-10-15) |
| 32 | 8 | "Fear" | Christian Duguay | David Wilks | October 22, 1988 (1988-10-22) |
| 33 | 9 | "The Emperor: Part 1" | George Mihalka | Steven Bawol | October 29, 1988 (1988-10-29) |
| 34 | 10 | "The Emperor: Part 2" | George Mihalka | Steven Bawol | October 29, 1988 (1988-10-29) |
| 35 | 11 | "The Lost Crusader" | George Mihalka | David Wilks | November 5, 1988 (1988-11-5) |
| 36 | 12 | "Exit the Dragon" | Dennis Berry | John Flanagan & Andrew McCulloch | November 12, 1988 (1988-11-12) |
| 37 | 13 | "Actors" | Dennis Berry | Michelle Princi | November 19, 1988 (1988-11-19) |
| 38 | 14 | "Seekers of the Soul" | Dennis Berry | Claude Harz | November 26, 1988 (1988-11-26) |
| 39 | 15 | "Masterplan" | Richard Schlesinger | Claude Harz | December 3, 1988 (1988-12-3) |
| 40 | 16 | "Ladyship" | Richard Schlesinger | Michelle Princi | December 10, 1988 (1988-12-10) |
| 41 | 17 | "The Promised Land" | Richard Schlesinger | John Flanagan & Andrew McCulloch | December 17, 1988 (1988-12-17) |
| 42 | 18 | "Rejection" | Richard Schlesinger | Claude Harz | December 24, 1988 (1988-12-24) |
| 43 | 19 | "Message to Geneva" | Christian Duguay | Harold Kappes | January 7, 1989 (1989-1-7) |
| 44 | 20 | "The Electors" | Christian Duguay | Steven Bawol | January 14, 1989 (1989-1-14) |
| 45 | 21 | "The Inquisitor" | Dennis Berry | Ranald Graham | January 21, 1989 (1989-1-21) |
| 46 | 22 | "Amnesty" | Christian Duguay | Ranald Graham | January 28, 1989 (1989-1-28) |
| 47 | 23 | "Blood Brothers" | Dennis Berry | Ranald Graham & Claude Harz | February 4, 1989 (1989-2-4) |
| 48 | 24 | "Betrayal" | Dennis Berry | TBD | February 11, 1989 (1989-2-11) |

### Season 3 (1989)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 49 | 1 | "The Touch" | Dennis Berry | Ranald Graham | 1989 (1989) |
| 50 | 2 | "Spirit of Rebellion" | Paolo Barzman | Ranald Graham and Mark Lyons | 1989 (1989) |
| 51 | 3 | "Insurrection" | Dennis Berry | Claude Harz and Mark Lyons | 1989 (1989) |
| 52 | 4 | "Doppelganger" | Paolo Barzman | David Wilks | 1989 (1989) |
| 53 | 5 | "Trailbreak" | Paolo Barzman | Ranald Graham | 1989 (1989) |
| 54 | 6 | "The Mission" | Dennis Berry | John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch | 1989 (1989) |
| 55 | 7 | "The Bounty Twins" | Dennis Berry | Leonard Tuck | 1989 (1989) |
| 56 | 8 | "The Gods" | Christian Duguay | David Wilks | 1989 (1989) |
| 57 | 9 | "Gansari's Zombies" | Dennis Berry | Claude Harz | 1989 (1989) |
| 58 | 10 | "The Shadow" | Christian Duguay | John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch | 1989 (1989) |
| 59 | 11 | "Gorian the Spider" | Christian Duguay | Claude Harz | 1989 (1989) |
| 60 | 12 | "Forbidden Fruit" | Dennis Berry | Ranald Graham | 1989 (1989) |
| 61 | 13 | "The Lost City" | Dennis Berry | David Wilks | 1989 (1989) |
| 62 | 14 | "The Bridge" | Christian Duguay | David Wilks | 1989 (1989) |
| 63 | 15 | "Silver Rider" | Christian Duguay | Mark Princi | 1989 (1989) |
| 64 | 16 | "The Children" | Mai Zetterling | Mai Zetterling and David Hughes | 1989 (1989) |
| 65 | 17 | "The Magician" | Dennis Berry | Claude Harz | 1989 (1989) |
| 66 | 18 | "The Wind Wagon" | Mai Zetterling | Mai Zetterling and David Hughes | 1989 (1989) |
| 67 | 19 | "Goldilocks" | Dennis Berry | Ranald Graham | 1989 (1989) |
| 68 | 20 | "The Amazon" | Christian Duguay | David Wilks | 1989 (1989) |
| 69 | 21 | "Headhunters" | Christian Duguay | Story by : Robert Halmi Jr. Teleplay by : David Wilks | 1989 (1989) |
| 70 | 22 | "Forbidden Land" | Mai Zetterling | Mai Zetterling and David Hughes | 1989 (1989) |
| 71 | 23 | "Moment of Truth: Part I" | Christian Duguay | Claude Harz | 1989 (1989) |
| 72 | 24 | "Moment of Truth: Part II" | Christian Duguay | Claude Harz | 1989 (1989) |