Haven

This show caught my eye when I saw the ad for it on Hulu. I don't have cable, so I'm not really familiar with a lot of the new shows, but after seeing this is based on the Colorado Kid story by Stephen King, and by being a fan of his work, I decided to check out the show.

I came into the show late; the first episode I saw was the third episode 'Consumed' but that was enough to get me interested. The show takes on some very interesting supernatural elements (with a lot of Stephen King references within them) and it makes for a very entertaining show.

The acting is great, the writing is fun and the two leads, Emily Rose (Audrey Parker) and Lucas Bryant (Nathan Wournos) have great chemistry, while Eric Balfour (Duke) always brings a fun element to the show. I've watched every episode from that first one and I've been hooked. A very enjoyable show with enough supernatural/suspense to keep the viewers intrigued while enjoying the Stephen King-ism and the always burning question "where do I belong?".

If you like Warehouse 13 and Eureka, there's a pretty good chance you'll like Haven too. All in all, there's a lot of similarity. We have yet another unlikely guy and gal cop pair in another strange circumstance. It's also out of Sci Fi channel's stable of Canadian made shows.

The characters are a little different. Instead of a town in Oregon full of super intelligent idiots or a world of bizarre relics, we have the mysterious troubles in a town in Maine. But the formula is much the same. Something bizarre, but in the end true love does triumph. It may be a love that ends in tragedy, but that love is there. Really it's quite a pleasant formula.

No, it's not great, but I enjoy it.

FBI agent Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) is sent to Haven, Maine on a case of a prison escapee. She finds help from local cop Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) and petty criminal smuggler Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour). The town is plagued by strange occurrences. People are cursed by these 'troubles' and she is connected to them in some way.

I really like the show, the mystery and the three leads. I like the actors and their love triangle. I actually like the trouble-of-the-week aspect to those early show. The mystery seems intriguing and it's also the show's Achilles' heel. At some point, the show has to start explaining the origins of the 'troubles'. It's too convoluted. I respect the difficulties of trying to keep viewer interest while constructing a viable story. In the end, it doesn't quite make it but it was fun while it lasted.

Having caught every single episode of Haven up until now, i would say that Haven brings with it a rather weak plot outline in the weekly episodes. Do not expect mystery solving the likes of Fringe or humor like Stargate. Sure, it have its good lines in its episodes. However, what i felt was best in this show is the characters, actors, and that the pace of which the major plot arch in the show plays itself out. The characters are believable, the fr-enemy relationship between characters, the casual flirting, the writers did not overdo it. It clicked really nice. The actors were great, they were able to take some of the rather boring lines in the script and inject some life into them. Overall, i would give haven a chance and let it pick itself up and find its way around. At least it's much more watchable then the first season of V.

One thing television often lacks these days is imagination. Major broadcasting networks tend to saturate our senses with the same old carbon copied television shows each week, with only a few being the exception.

Haven is what television is, and should be, all about. For any individual who loved the good old classic Twilight Zone episodes, or spent hours before Marathons of X-Files, for every kid who grew up on those wonderfully imaginative Sci-Fi comic books, or embroiled themselves in an unfolding mystery - Haven is for you. It's wild, fun and unapologetic for it's deliberately far fetched characters, and that's what makes it a winner. This on top of the discreet references to characters from Stephen King Books/movies ("...Got this book signed by that author.. before he was kidnapped and that crazy woman broke his legs.") as well as other Sci-Fi Shows as though they were real people who exist in this universe, it's a little tongue in cheek treat. For any fan of the fantastical, the speculative and fun, Haven should not be missed!