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Poltergeist: The Legacy is a Canadian horror television series which ran from 1996 to 1999. The series tells the story of the members of a secret society known as the Legacy and their efforts to protect humankind from occult dangers. Despite bearing the Poltergeist name, there is no real connection between the show and the Poltergeist trilogy aside from the title.
Poltergeist: The Legacy debuted on Showtime, and all first-run episodes of the first three seasons premiered on that network, though they were later syndicated. After the third season, Showtime cancelled the show, and the rights were purchased by Sci Fi Channel which continued the series for another season. This same pattern was followed by Stargate SG-1, which also debuted on Showtime, was also sold into syndication, and was rescued from cancellation by Sci Fi.
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[original research?] crossover with RAW, which was also airing on the USA Network at the time and 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).
In 2009 Poltergeist: The Legacy aired on NBC Universal's horror and suspense-themed cable channel Chiller.
Series overview
editEpisodes
editSeason 1 (1996)
editNo. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "The Legacy" | Stuart Gillard | Richard B. Lewis, Brad Wright | 21 April 1996 | |
Members of an ancient secret society attempt to stop an evil force that's unleashed when a mysterious sepulchre is discovered in Ireland.. | ||||||
2 | 2 | "Sins of the Father" | Allan Eastman | Garner Simmons, Brad Wright | 26 April 1996 | |
An old friend of Derek's is accused of child abuse. Guest stars: Anthony Heald, Ron Halder. | ||||||
3 | 3 | "Town Without Pity" | Ken Girotti | Robert Masello | 3 May 1996 | |
Nick and Rachel become trapped in an 18th-century commune ruled over by a reverend with a dark secret... Guest stars: Nick Mancuso, Jay Brazeau. | ||||||
4 | 4 | "The Tenement" | Jerry Ciccoritti | Frederick Rappaport | 10 May 1996 | |
After getting a slumlord placed under house arrest in his own tenement, Alex learns that an evil force inhabits the building. Guest star: David Cubitt. | ||||||
5 | 5 | "The Twelfth Cave" | Allan Eastman | Robert Masello | 17 May 1996 | |
An old friend and ex-member (David Ogden Stiers) returns for Derek's help in translating an ancient scroll. But soon Derek begins acting strangely... and it has to do with the scroll... | ||||||
6 | 6 | "Man in the Mist" | Mario Philip Azzopardi | James Cappe | 24 May 1996 | |
Rachael investigates a very peculiar "John Doe" case. Guest star: Julian Stone. | ||||||
7 | 7 | "Ghost in the Road" | Neill Fearnley | James Cappe | 31 May 1996 | |
Nick tries to help a woman escape the ghost of her abusive boyfriend. Guest stars: Frank Grillo, Michelle Beaudoin, Alex Diakun. | ||||||
8 | 8 | "Doppleganger" | Allan Eastman | William Bleich | 7 June 1996 | |
Kat makes a new imaginary friend that proves to be dangerous. | ||||||
9 | 9 | "The Substitute" | Brad Turner | Jerry Patrick Brown | 14 June 1996 | |
A trio of Catholic students unwittingly summon a vengeful spirit. Inspired by "The Hand" by Theodore Dreiser | ||||||
10 | 10 | "Do Not Go Gently" | Michael Robison | John Shirley | 21 June 1996 | |
An old lover of Nick's calls in the team when hospital patients begin to die in their sleep. | ||||||
11 | 11 | "The Crystal Scarab" | Brad Turner | Hart Hanson | 28 June 1996 | |
A desperate man gets hold a scarab that can cure his dying daughter... but at the cost of someone else's life. | ||||||
12 | 12 | "The Bell of Gerardius" | Joseph L. Scanlan | Robert Masello | 12 July 1996 | |
The Legacy is called into investigate the theft of a bell that can raise the dead. | ||||||
13 | 13 | "Fox Spirit" | Allan Eastman | William Bleich | 19 July 1996 | |
A ghost begins to murder non-Asians after being released. Derek contacts an old friend, Lee Tzin-Soong, for insight into the case. Lee Tzin-Soong's daughter Mei Ling is who Derek knew as a young girl is now grown and beautiful and just as educated in the history of the Chinese folklore and language. Alex's research reveals that three men were lynched in the late nineteenth century during a time of prejudice against Chinese immigrants and the Fox Spirit is the ghost of one of the men's fiancée who is now seeking revenge against those who disrespect or harm Asian people. The Legacy rushes to locate the man's grave to properly put him to rest to give the Fox Spirit peace. | ||||||
14 | 14 | "The 13th Generation" | Brad Turner | Garner Simmons | 26 July 1996 | |
A witch's curse begins to target the descendants of the man who drowned her. 300 years ago, Reverend Josiah Blood drowned a suspected witch Sarah Browning, who cursed him to the thirteenth generation as she was sunk in a local pond. Derek goes to Boston to read the diary of Josiah Blood to a Professor Jordan Slater's class. Cora Jennings, a young woman in Slater's class seems particularly affected by the reading and begins to see visions of local murders, linked only by an old coin dropped at each scene. The Legacy team back in California research Josiah Blood's family tree and the DNA of the victims to learn that they are all descendants of Blood. Derek works with Cora to discover who else might be involved in the killings and how to stop them. Meanwhile, Nick shares with Rachel a little about why he left the Navy Seals. | ||||||
15 | 15 | "The Dark Priest" | Brad Turner | Grant Rosenberg | 2 August 1996 | |
During a fundraising party at the Legacy House for their cover as the Luna Foundation, two brothers, Tom and Stan Davace steal a medallion that belonged to their father, Levon Soltar, a satanist leader from the sixties. Stan is interested in selling it for cash, but Tom chants and becomes a vessel for the Dark Priest. Using the guise of an illusionist, Tom begins executing women on stage (including guest star Sarah MacLachan). Meanwhile, at the Legacy, the team is hunting for the missing artifact while Nick is particularly upset about the women who were the victims. Eventually Nick investigates the hot, new magic show in a local bar where he sees an execution. He pursues the brothers, but loses them. Derek lets him know that Nick's father was the one who killed Soltar originally and Soltar swore revenge on him and the Legacy. The brothers show up at the house, one to wreak revenge with the other shortly behind to try to stop him. Both brothers wind up dead in the foyer. Derek decided that the medallion will never again see the light of day. | ||||||
16 | 16 | "Revelations" | Allan Eastman | Frank Abatemarco | 16 August 1996 | |
Rachel is invited to her old boarding school to help a girl, Patty Greer, who is injured one night and accuses a teacher, Constance Merrick, of attacking her and accuses the school of evil doings. Patty's mother Monica is afraid she will lose custody of her daughter because of this. Rachel begins to experience flashbacks and suffers psychic attacks. Derek goes to visit his sister, a nun called Sister Ingrid Rayne, in her convent. He believes that she is hiding in the convent and only praying. He eludes that he has lost faith and she encourages him to forgive their father. Nick and Alex learn that former students end up dead or arrested due to practicing the occult. Monica is coerced by Constance into bringing Patty back to school. Rachel tells the rest of the Legacy that she is beginning to remember terrible things about her time at the school. When night falls the Legacy sneaks into the school while a coven gathers to enact a black magic ritual on Patty with her mother. Rachel remembers that she was indeed part of the coven, but couldn't go through with sacrificing another girl and tried to rescue her. The team interrupts the ritual; Rachel confronts the headmistress of the school, the true leader of the coven. She gathers enough strength to condemn her to hell. As she and Derek discuss, he concedes that his sister's prayers may have been helping them. | ||||||
17 | 17 | "The Bones of Saint Anthony" | Helen Shaver | Robert Masello | 23 August 1996 | |
The team investigates when church bells begin ringing after a geneticist dies. | ||||||
18 | 18 | "The Inheritance" | Brad Turner | William Bleich | 30 August 1996 | |
Following her aunt's death, Rachel inherits her house. But nothing is as it seems... | ||||||
19 | 19 | "The Signalman" | Brenton Spencer | George Geiger | 6 September 1996 | |
A dream causes Alex to reunite with an old acquaintance. | ||||||
20 | 20 | "The Reckoning" | Michael Robison | Garner Simmons | 13 September 1996 | |
Sequel to "The Inheritance": The spirit of Rachel's grandfather returns. | ||||||
21 | 21 | "A Traitor Among Us" | Brenton Spencer | Richard B. Lewis, Bill Froehlich | 20 September 1996 | |
Clip show: Derek is put on trial when a Legacy member accuses him of evil. |
Season 2 (1997)
editNo. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
22 | 1 | "The New Guard" | Michael Keusch | Michael Sadowski | 9 March 1997 | |
When Derek pulls a gun on Alex and Nick, and is landed in the hospital, the two must work with visiting London head William Sloan to take up Derek's investigation. | ||||||
23 | 2 | "Black Widow" | Allan Eastman | James Cappe | 9 March 1997 | |
A succubus goes on a killing spree. | ||||||
24 | 3 | "Lights Out!" | Rafal Zielinski | William Bleich | 14 March 1997 | |
Malevolent faeries plague the San Francisco House. | ||||||
25 | 4 | "Spirit Thief" | Allan Eastman | William Bleich | 21 March 1997 | |
Alex's sister shows up with a shaman boyfriend, who asks Alex to come with him. But what's he really up to? | ||||||
26 | 5 | "The Gift" | Michael Robison | Gary Sherman | 28 March 1997 | |
The ghost of Kat's brother shows up for Christmas and brings trouble. | ||||||
27 | 6 | "Transference" | Brad Turner | James Cappe | 4 April 1997 | |
The ghost of a former patient of Rachel's begins stalking her. | ||||||
28 | 7 | "Dark Angel" | Michael Keusch | Robert Masello | 11 April 1997 | |
Suspicions abound when a mysterious young woman shows up at the House. | ||||||
29 | 8 | "Lives in the Balance" | Graeme Lynch | Garner Simmons | 18 April 1997 | |
A young man claiming to be Derek's son shows up. | ||||||
30 | 9 | "Rough Beast" | Garner Simmons | David Tynan | 25 April 1997 | |
A patient of Rachel's is plagued by dreams of wolves. | ||||||
31 | 10 | "Ransom" | Allan Eastman | Chris Black | 2 May 1997 | |
The kidnapper of Derek's sister demands an item that bestows immortality as the ransom price. | ||||||
32 | 11 | "Finding Richter" | Michael Robison | Garner Simmons | 9 May 1997 | |
Nick’s past comes back when his former commander wants him to help assassinate a clergyman. | ||||||
33 | 12 | "Repentance" | Paul Lynch | Mike Berman | 23 May 1997 | |
Father Callaghan is framed for the murder of one of his parishioners by the spirit of a prisoner he refused to absolve. | ||||||
34 | 13 | "The Devil's Lighthouse" | Graeme Lynch | Robert Masello | 30 May 1997 | |
While the team is on an investigation, Alex is captured by a ghost that inhabits a lighthouse. | ||||||
35 | 14 | "Lullaby" | William Fruet | John Benjamin Martin | 13 June 1997 | |
A Ouija board experiment goes wrong when Kat and her friends summon a ghost that begins abducting them. | ||||||
36 | 15 | "Silent Partner" | Brenton Spencer | William Bleich | 20 June 1997 | |
Nick comes to the aid of a deaf friend. | ||||||
37 | 16 | "Shadow Fall" | Allan Eastman | Steve De Jarnatt | 27 June 1997 | |
The spirit guardian of a Native American teen goes overboard in its job. | ||||||
38 | 17 | "Mind's Eye" | Ken Girotti | James Cappe | 4 July 1997 | |
A phony psychic receives true ESP after a blow to the head. | ||||||
39 | 18 | "Fear" | Allan Eastman | William Bleich, Jay Roach, Mark Stern | 18 July 1997 | |
Rachel goes undercover as a mental patient to find out the source of supernatural goings-on at a psychiatric ward her friend works at. | ||||||
40 | 19 | "Someone to Watch Over Me" | Brenton Spencer | Robert Masello | 25 July 1997 | |
Derek and Sloan encounter the Lord of the Underworld in a replica of Alexander the Great's reflecting pool. | ||||||
41 | 20 | "Let Sleeping Demons Lie" | Gary Sherman | Stephen J. Feke | 3 August 1997 | |
The team comes to the aid of Sloan and his group when their plane crashes in the mountains while transporting the remains of a supposed sorcerer. | ||||||
42 | 21 | "Trapped" | Graeme Lynch | Michael Sadowski | 10 August 1997 | |
Clip show.[1] Derek is possessed by the spirit of his evil father, Winston. | ||||||
43 | 22 | "The Choice" | Michael Robison | David Tynan | 17 August 1997 | |
Clip show. Rachel must make a choice between leaving the Legacy or staying. |
Season 3 (1998)
editNo. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
44 | 1 | "Darkness Falls" | Michael Robison | Michael Sadowski | 23 January 1998 | |
Alex reunites with her college friend Justine, who is now a vampire. After being bitten, Alex starts slowly turning into one herself. | ||||||
45 | 2 | "Light of Day" | Michael Robison | Michael Sadowski | 30 January 1998 | |
Continued from the previous episode: Derek, Rachel and Nick must try to stop Alex from being completely transformed into a vampire, which will happen upon the death of her first victim. | ||||||
46 | 3 | "The Enlightened One" | Graeme Lynch | Grant Rosenberg | 6 February 1998 | |
A member of the Boston Legacy House (Kristin Lehman) comes to San Francisco to find her younger brother, who has been abducted by a cult that is suspected of being behind various arson attacks on churches. | ||||||
47 | 4 | "Stolen Hearts" | Michael Robison | Garner Simmons | 13 February 1998 | |
Rachel makes the mistake of falling for a man who has made a bargain with the devil. | ||||||
48 | 5 | "Father to Son" | Graeme Lynch | John Benjamin Martin | 20 February 1998 | |
The ghost of Nick’s murdered father returns to ask his son to find his killer. | ||||||
49 | 6 | "Fallen Angel" | William Fruet | Chris Black | 27 February 1998 | |
The Legacy find themselves up against the forces of evil when they side with an angel on Earth to save a soul from Hell. | ||||||
50 | 7 | "Dream Lover" | Jim Kaufman | David Tynan | 6 March 1998 | |
A malevolent and long-dead spirit escapes from an urn and possesses the fiancée of Derek's friend. | ||||||
51 | 8 | "Debt of Honor" | Gilbert M. Shilton | Jim Piddock | 13 March 1998 | |
Nick seeks out the ghost of a friend who is haunting a man he believes betrayed him during combat. | ||||||
52 | 9 | "The Light" | Paul Lynch | Michael Ahnemann | 20 March 1998 | |
Wanting revenge for the death of her granddaughter, a woman places a curse on an American family that unleashes a demon upon them. | ||||||
53 | 10 | "Hell Hath No Fury" | George Mendeluk | William Bleich | 10 April 1998 | |
54 | 11 | "Irish Jug" | Martin Cummins | Bill Dial | 17 April 1998 | |
The entrapped souls of two Irish miscreants escape from their jug prison, then possess Derek and his friend, Milo (René Auberjonois). | ||||||
55 | 12 | "Metamorphosis" | William Fruet | Mike Berman | 24 April 1998 | |
Rachel is infected with a disease that forces her to kill. | ||||||
56 | 13 | "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" | Brenton Spencer | Garner Simmons | 29 May 1998 | |
The ghost of a beautiful slave possesses Alex. | ||||||
57 | 14 | "The Prodigy" | Gilbert M. Shilton | Garner Simmons | 26 June 1998 | |
A concert pianist, who also happens to be an old boyfriend of Kristin’s, is seemingly under the thrall of his mysterious agent. | ||||||
58 | 15 | "The Human Vessel" | Paul Lynch | David Tynan | 3 July 1998 | |
Lightning transforms an autistic man into a dangerous genius. | ||||||
59 | 16 | "The Covenant" | William Fruet | Mike Berman, Richard B. Lewis | 10 July 1998 | |
A novice dies at a convent, and Derek is asked to investigate. | ||||||
60 | 17 | "The Internment" | Gilbert M. Shilton | Michael Sadowski | 17 July 1998 | |
Kristin and Rachel are trapped in a ghost town that evaporates at dawn. | ||||||
61 | 18 | "Seduction" | Paul Lynch | Grant Rosenberg, Helen Shaver | 24 July 1998 | |
A mysterious artifact causes Alex, Kristin and Rachel to fall under the spell of Nicholas Oldman. | ||||||
62 | 19 | "Out of Sight" | Michael Robison | James Cappe | 31 July 1998 | |
Sequel to “Mind’s Eye”. A deadly spirit threatens to end the grifting career of Jeffrey Starr. | ||||||
63 | 20 | "The Last Good Knight" | Garner Simmons | David Tynan | 7 August 1998 | |
An ancient map leads Kristin to Istanbul in search of her father. | ||||||
64 | 21 | "Armies of the Night" | Michael Robison | Garner Simmons | 14 August 1998 | |
Unknown assailants besiege the Legacy while Kristin and Rachel are away. | ||||||
65 | 22 | "The Darkside" | Michael Robison | Grant Rosenberg | 21 August 1998 | |
The dark side seeks to recruit Alex after the defeat of the vampire Marcus. |
Season 4 (1999)
editNo. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
66 | 1 | "Song of the Raven" | Garner Simmons | David Tynan | 19 March 1999 | |
Bizarre deaths resemble murders committed years earlier by a man currently on Death Row. | ||||||
67 | 2 | "Bird of Prey" | Garner Simmons | David Tynan | 26 March 1999 | |
Corvus is executed, yet the string of bizarre murders continues. | ||||||
68 | 3 | "Vendetta" | Jim Kaufman | Stephen McPherson | 2 April 1999 | |
Derek and Kristen must investigate killings associated with a vengeful spirit, wrongfully hung for murdering her family. | ||||||
69 | 4 | "The Painting" | Allan Kroeker | Clint Morris, Michael Sadowski | 9 April 1999 | |
Rachel is bequeathed an eerie painting from a patient (Venus Terzo) who has mysteriously disappeared. | ||||||
70 | 5 | "The Possession" | William Fruet | John Simmons | 16 April 1999 | |
After Alex's grandmother contracts a mysterious sickness, she decides to resurrect the spirit of a shaman. | ||||||
71 | 6 | "The Traitor" | Michael Robison | Grant Rosenberg | 23 April 1999 | |
A 20-year-old murder investigation is reopened after questions arise regarding the Legacy's cause. | ||||||
72 | 7 | "Double Cross" | Michael Robison | Grant Rosenberg | 30 April 1999 | |
The rest of the San Francisco House mourns Derek's supposed suicide and Cross is appointed interim precept. | ||||||
73 | 8 | "Brother's Keeper" | Helen Shaver | Garner Simmons | 4 June 1999 | |
Jimmy (Jeremy Ratchford) tries to escape from hell, however the "soul-chaser" (The Undertaker) is determined to keep him there. | ||||||
74 | 9 | "Initiation" | William Fruet | Mike Berman | 11 June 1999 | |
Kat's friend, Miranda, convinces her to refine her mystical powers. But Miranda may have something else in mind. | ||||||
75 | 10 | "Wishful Thinking" | Martin Cummins | Michael Sadowski | 18 June 1999 | |
When Milton releases a genie from her bottle, she seeks revenge on past masters. | ||||||
76 | 11 | "Still Waters" | Michael Rohl | Alex Amin, Mark Stern | 25 June 1999 | |
The spirit of a drowned boy seeks to avenge his death. | ||||||
77 | 12 | "Unholy Congress" | Michael Robison | Richard B. Lewis, David Tynan | 30 July 1999 | |
The excavation of an ancient Boston catacomb releases a malevolent spirit that may threaten the Legacy. | ||||||
78 | 13 | "Sacrifice" | Michael Robison | Richard B. Lewis, David Tynan | 6 August 1999 | |
Kristen leaves the Legacy after the alliance between Doctor Benjamin Church and Horton causes Ethan's death. | ||||||
79 | 14 | "She's Got the Devil in Her Heart" | Michael Rohl | Mike Berman | 20 August 1999 | |
Nick's former Navy buddy resurfaces with a strange woman (Diane DiLascio) who exhibits an unnatural interest in him. | ||||||
80 | 15 | "Body and Soul" | Neill Fearnley | Michael Sadowski | 27 August 1999 | |
Derek and Alex face Horton again while searching for the killer of Derek's lover. | ||||||
81 | 16 | "Forget Me Not" | Jerry Ciccoritti | John Benjamin Martin | 10 September 1999 | |
Kat becomes friends with an enigmatic girl who might not be so friendly... | ||||||
82 | 17 | "The Portents" | Derek de Lint | Jonas Quastel | 17 September 1999 | |
Rachel and Alex investigate the violent death of a young monk and find that the Darkside is planning to unseal a secret portal to hell. | ||||||
83 | 18 | "Gaslight" | Martin Cummins | Richard B. Lewis, Grant Rosenberg | 24 September 1999 | |
Rachel's asthmatic patient becomes the target of vengeful ghosts when she inherits her family's mansion. | ||||||
84 | 19 | "Sabbath's End" | Brenton Spencer | Michael Sadowski | 1 October 1999 | |
Rachel must face her past in order to save Kat when she renews her friendship with an ill Miranda. | ||||||
85 | 20 | "The Mephisto Strain" | Michael Robison | Garner Simmons | 8 October 1999 | |
Nick is infected by a demonic parasite that makes him see evil all around him. | ||||||
86 | 21 | "Infernal Affairs" | Michael Robison | Grant Rosenberg | 5 November 1999 | |
Derek, Nick, and Alex entertain themselves with a troublesome deck of ancient tarot cards. | ||||||
87 | 22 | "The Beast Within" | James Head | Sam Glickson | 12 November 1999 | |
Series finale. Derek is plagued by nightmares of his evil father's spirit. |