Equal parts horror, suspense and sci-fi drama, Poltergeist, on the whole, delivers scares as few series have over the years. And in its first season, the series has more hits than misses. The characters gel well together, even though they move in and out of focus, depending upon the episode.

Laden with religious overtones and Christian icons, the series has an overarching mythology for the evil the Legacy battles, but it never feels constrained by that mythology—the evils range from the primeval (including demons set free from holy relics) to the more mundane (such as the soul of a pharaoh’s murdered daughter seeking eternal rest). The cinematography is often daring and scattershot, and is key to portraying the satisfying, tastefully executed frights; the writing and acting tend to vacillate between the overacted and lethargic to spot-on angst.

Set in San Francisco, the story revolves around Derek's mansion, the clandestine center of operations for his team of operatives within the Legacy. At the center of the story are Derek and Rachel Corrigan (Shaver), a psychiatrist who joins with the Legacy after she and her daughter are inadvertently caught up in the wrath of an ancient demon who's freed from his prison.

By the end of the season, in "The Reckoning," it becomes clear that it was no coincidence that Rachel and her daughter belong with the Legacy, even though they were seemingly thrust into the situation at random. Rachel's daughter has the sight, the sensitivity to see things that others cannot, and the importance of her abilities unfolds as time goes on.

The only extras are ghostly

Among the standout episodes here are "Town Without Pity," a creepily fascinating tale about a timeless colony ruled by a mad holy man; "The Twelfth Cave," in which an estranged friend of Derek's returns (featuring guest star David Ogden Stiers); "Doppleganger," in which Kat's imaginary friend turns out to be the restless spirit of an Egyptian girl; "The Crystal Scarab," guest-starring genre regular Nicole de Boer; "Revelation," in which Rachel faces her past at a prep school ruled by a witches’ coven; and "The Reckoning," with a stellar turn by character actress Velda Rubinstein as 300-year-old seer.

Early on in the DVD revolution, one wouldn't have been surprised to see a disc set released without supplemental content. However, it's been a long time since a set has hit the scene that's completely devoid of any sort of extras whatsoever. No commentaries, no featurettes, not even cookie-cutter electronic press-kit material to bridge the gap between nothing, and, well, something, no matter how rudimentary or crude. Clearly, Sony Pictures has missed an opportunity with this first season of Poltergeist to provide extra context to this rich and complex series from the same team that brought us The New Outer Limits, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.

In the absence of extras, the discs themselves are rather starkly designed. This observation is not meant as a negative, though: The menus are clean and straightforward to navigate, with a convenient play-all feature and the ability to navigate directly from one episode to the next without first jumping back to the menu.

Since this series predates letterbox formatting, it's presented in 4:3 aspect ratio. The transfer is adequate, though sometimes it appears a bit grainy. Sound levels seem an issue, too: Sometimes the audio is too soft; sometimes it's overwhelming loud, so keep your remote on hand to adjust as needed.