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Nearly a decade ago, the Sci-Fi Channel took on H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man, hoping to score a hit. Wells’ tale had been featured on big and small screens since at least the 1950s, when UK television released its own version of the scientist who makes himself permanently invisible.

The series starts off with a fizzle and some oddly-placed humor, but picked up speed – and credibility – by mid-season. This year, Sci-Fi releases Season One on DVD so fans can revisit I-Man’s adventures.

Vincent Ventresca plays Darien Fawkes, a highly intelligent career criminal facing life in prison. His brother, always the star pupil, is a highly-renowned doctor who works for Uncle Sam’s covert side. To make imprisonment go away, Darien agrees to undergo an experiment conducted by his brother. They don’t tell him it will make him invisible at will. After the initial shock, Darien learns to use this gift, but discovers something called Quicksilver Madness, which makes him an unwilling killing machine. His brother gets killed, and his sense of humor vanishes as Darien learns that his gift can be a nightmare – and that life as the invisible man can get lonely.

Low-budget, with acting that delves into cheesy at times, I-Man is not a bad show. You have to remember, it aired for the first time on cable in 2000. The special effects and dull sets cannot compete with today’s high-budget monstrosities, but for early 21st century, it works.

Ventresca is a solid player in the series, and his range from humorous flyboy to serious covert operator was pleasantly surprising. Entourage actor Paul Ben-Victor is a funny sidekick, but Shannon Kenny’s character, Claire Keeply (the doctor who keeps Darien alive) is deeply annoying.

The two-hour pilot was SO LONG I thought I would scream, but you really need to watch it to get your Hollywood science down to grasp some of the convoluted scientific logic used later on. The only episode I really liked on the first two of this five-DVD set was “The Catevari”, where a rogue killer can take your life with a touch of his poisonous hands. It was very dark and twisted like the old black and white horror films. By disc three the show really picks up and it was easy to watch the rest of the series from that point.

Creator Matt Greenberg has some really good, original ideas for Darien’s character. Darien played a ghost to get a politician to make the right vote, he battles the Catevari (above), and takes on an assassin who blinds witnesses with some type of ray gun. Throughout the first season, Darien and The Agency must battle governments and rogues who want to steal the Quicksilver formula to create their own invisible armies and all-out bad guys.

WHO fans will note the nods to the popular show in lines and characters from I-Man. WHO is among the most popular shows on the Sci-Fi network, which includes Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1 and Ghost Hunters.

Fans of the show will like to revisit the Quicksilver madness. Loyal fans still rave about it on several Web sites, and wish that Sci-Fi had given it a chance. Fans of the H.G. Wells story might want to give it a go and see if it captures their attention. I’d rent before you buy if you did not see it while it aired.

The five-disc DVD set includes 17 ½ hours of video with a must-watch interview with creator Matt Greenberg and bonus season two episode. You can also turn on commentary during the two-hour pilot.

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