Poltergeist: The Legacy
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Poltergeist: The Legacy is a Canadian/American horror television series which ran from 1996 to 1999. It tells the story of the members of a secret society, the Legacy, and their efforts to protect humanity from occult dangers. Despite the Poltergeist name, there seems to be no real connection to the original trilogy aside from it being intended as a spin-off from them.
The series debuted on Showtime, and all first-run episodes premiered there, though they were later syndicated. After the third season, Showtime cancelled the show, though soon after, the rights were purchased by the US-Sci Fi Channel, which continued the show for another season. This same pattern was later followed by Stargate SG1, which also debuted on Showtime, was also sold into syndication, and was itself rescued from cancellation by the Sci Fi Channel .
The fourth season of Poltergeist: The Legacy featured an episode starring WWE wrestler The Undertaker as a being from Hell who collected souls - a deliberate cross-over with WWE Raw, which was also airing on USA at the time (and which was earning the network some of the highest ratings on Cable TV). It was hoped that this cameo would help boost awareness of the new show, and thus, generate a larger audience (just as USA had attempted to do by having Shawn Michaels appear on Pacific Blue).
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[edit] The Legacy
Founded in England in the 6th century, the Legacy was established to collect dangerous artifacts, investigate paranormal menaces, and gather information on the supernatural. As the organization grew, it established branches in many of the world's major cities. Known as "Legacy Houses", these are staffed by small teams of specialist members of the Legacy. The first house was built in London and is known as the "Ruling House." Each house is ruled by a "precept" who wears a signet ring engraved with a distinctive L. Other houses are mentioned and occasionally seen in the series, but most of the action centers on the San Francisco house.
The physical house is a large castle-like mansion located on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. The house uses the philanthropic Luna Foundation as a front for its investigations.
[edit] Characters
Dr. Derek Rayne (Derek de Lint) is the precept of the San Francisco house. He is a brilliant scholar with a mysterious background. Derek is French and holds doctorates in anthropology and theology. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Winston, who was also a Legacy member. Winston was corrupted and killed by supernatural forces while Derek was still a boy, and eventually, the same evil attempts to do the same to Derek himself.
Nick Boyle (Martin Cummins) is a former Navy SEAL who resigned after his commander caused the deaths of the other men in his unit. His father was a member of the Legacy before him. Nick had a brash and impulsive nature which often caused him to clash with the methodical Derek, which is interesting, since Derek once referred to Nick's lack of respect for the powers of evil as his "greatest strength." He is an expert in weapons and tactics as well as being a skilled investigator.
Alexandra "Alex" Moreau (Robbi Chong) is an African-American woman with psychic abilities, able to sense information about people or events by touching objects associated with them. She serves the Legacy as a researcher and investigator. Alex comes from an old Creole family in New Orleans, and her sister also has ESP. Derek was her mentor in college, and it is hinted that they may also have been lovers at that time.
Father Philip Callaghan (Patrick Fitzgerald) is a Roman Catholic priest from Ireland and a linguist. He is a compassionate man who believes that virtue and faith are the best weapons against evil. Philip appeared only in the first two seasons of the series.
Julia Walker (Jordan Bayne) is an investigator who is killed in the pilot episode. She was Alex's best friend and Nick's lover, and her death affects the characters up until the end of the series.
Rachel Corrigan (Helen Shaver) is a psychiatrist who is helped by the Legacy in the pilot episode. Impressed by her skills and strength of character, Derek invited her to join the house as Julia's replacement. Rachel is a widow with an eight-year-old daughter. She is as much a skeptic as is possible to be with so many magical occurrences always happening. Rachel also struggles with alcoholism.
Katherine "Kat" Corrigan (Alexandra Purvis) is Rachel's young daughter and is eight-years-old at the beginning of the series. Though not a member of the Legacy, she often visits the mansion and is drawn into many of their adventures. Kat also has latent psychic powers, and it is hinted in several episodes that she will become a powerful force for either good or evil when she grows to adulthood.
Kristin Adams (Kristin Lehman) is a Harvard anthropologist on leave from the Legacy House in Boston. She joins the cast in the third season but was never a formal member of the San Francisco house.
William Sloan (Daniel J. Travanti) is the head of the Ruling House in London. Very little is revealed about him, except that he has a troubled history with Derek. Sloan was introduced in the third season, and his character recurred often.
[edit] Production
The series was created by Richard Barton Lewis and produced by PMP Legacy Productions, Showtime Network Inc., and Trilogy Entertainment Group. Special effects were created by Canadian companies C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, Gajdecki Visual Effects, Lindala Make-Up Effects Inc., Rainmaker Digital Pictures, and the American Pixel Envy and Velocity Visuals.
The series was meant to be a spin-off from the Poltergeist movies though no common storylines or characters were used, except that Zelda Rubenstein, who played the clairvoyant in the films, appears in at least one episode, playing a seer named Christina ("The Reckoning", Season 1) [Poltergeist The Legacy].
The series was filmed in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, and lasted four seasons of 22 episodes each running from 1996 to 1999.
