Welcome to Haven

Haven, a SyFy Channel show, is the perfect series to intrigue fans of the strange and bizarre. It is based on the novel by Stephen King, The Colorado Kid, and brings us in to the small town of Haven, Maine. It is filmed in Nova Scotia, Canada on a southern shore. The town of Haven, Maine has problems. In a 27 year cycle, its inhabitants go through a series of Troubles. The Troubles affect individuals in very different and peculiar ways: a woman who controls the weather by her moods; a man whose shadow is capable of murder; a young boy whose bad dreams really happen; a man whose metabolism has sped up so much that he’s no longer visible to others. These are all termed “Troubles” and it seems that no one from Haven is immune to them.

Season one introduced us to Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) an FBI agent sent to Haven where an escaped murderer has been seen. When reaching the town, Parker discovers that the escapee is dead and investigates his death and begins her new life in a small town with many problems. The escapee, Jonas Lester, had actually been flung off a cliff by a woman who could control storms through her moods. When Marion Caldwell gets angry her woman’s fury is deadly. Her nervousness can cause fast moving fog to envelope the town. This is the first Trouble that Audrey encounters and it is enough to cause her to stay in the town when she discovers that she has a talent for helping the Troubled.

Throughout the first season, Audrey Parker, along with Haven police officer, Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant), and Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour), a bad boy smuggler and Nathan’s childhood nemesis, we learn of many of the Troubles that have seemingly returned to Haven after a hiatus. Nathan has Idiopathic Neuropathy to the extreme. He has no sense of touch, cannot feel pain, nor pleasure through touch – except when Audrey touches him. A young boy manipulates the real world while he is dreaming. A man can rot the ingredients of foods he’s eaten if he gets angry. A young woman’s drawings can manipulate reality. Ripping one of her drawings of a house will rip the real house in two.

Beneath all these individual Troubles, Audrey Parker comes to discover that she has a distinct role in Haven. She is the only one that can ease the Troubled and control their symptoms. Audrey Parker also comes to see that she’s actually been to Haven before. A past mystery comes to haunt Audrey. Shown a photograph from a long-past Haven newspaper, Audrey sees herself at the same age, standing before a dead man on the beach. The woman in the photograph was named Lucy and she was standing on the beach looking at the body of the Colorado Kid. Season two brought us new Troubles. A young woman appears to other Havenites as their worst fears. Only Audrey sees her as she is. Machines come to life and start attacking people. A strange series of electrocutions begin. Audrey experiences one day that keeps repeating itself and always results in someone dying. The dark side of one man goes on a spree of theft and murder while his milder side remains innocent. A young girl turns into a Windigo, a flesh-eating monster.

For Audrey, season two brings more problems when another certified FBI agent comes to town and proves that she is the real Audrey Parker. The two share not only the same name and position in the FBI, but the same memories. Our Audrey Parker begins to realize that her memories are not her own and now needs to find out who she is. The image of Lucy sticks in her mind and the mystery of Audrey Parker gets bigger. In the meantime, Duke, our loveable smuggler, learns that he too is Troubled. When the blood of a Troubled person touches Duke, he becomes incredibly strong and fierce. He also learns that his father and his grandfather had the same Trouble. They worked to rid themselves of this by killing others who were Troubled and ending their problems. This includes the need for Duke to kill his friend Audrey Parker.

Season two ended with an episode to celebrate the Christmas Season – in July. When people of Haven began to put up Christmas decorations, only Audrey believes this to be odd in July. On top of that, residents of Haven begin to disappear one at a time. Audrey hears the tiny sounds of “Silent Night” and discovers that another person has simply disappeared. Worse, the town seems to be surrounded by an invisible shield that seems to be shrinking. People, trees, buildings on the edge of the shield disappear or die as the shield shrinks. Finally, Audrey learns that she and one teenaged girl are the only two remaining in the town that has become a giant Christmas snow globe. Helping the girl to understand and realize her Trouble, Audrey escapes what could be a very scary ending.

Season three has only just begun and we’ve already found new mysteries for Audrey, Nathan, and Duke. In the first episode, “301”, Audrey is abducted by a mysterious and dangerous man who informs Audrey that she not only knew the Colorado Kid, but loved him too. A man who is Troubled with his beliefs of alien invasion has the unknown power to make his fears come true. Lights in the skies, crop circles, and all things associated with alien invasion begin to appear in Haven. Once Audrey is rescued, Nathan, Duke, and Audrey begin investigating the mystery of the man who abducted Audrey and what really happened to the Colorado Kid. Digging up the grave of the Kid, they discover that there is no body in the casket, but there is a message to “Find him before The Hunter”. Audrey recognizes the handwriting carrying the message as her own.

Haven’s recurring characters are:

Audrey Parker (aka Lucy; aka Sarah) Played by Emily Rose	Nathan Wuornos Played by Lucas Bryant
Duke Crocker Played by Eric Balfour	Dwight Hendrickson (aka The Cleaner) played by Adam Copeland
Vince Teagues played by Richard Donat	Dave Teagues played by John Dunsworth
Claire Callahan New to Season 3 played by Bree Williamson	Tommy Bowen New to Season 3 played by Dorian Missick

I’m not often enthused by shows that take on a serial effect where you need to watch every episode to figure out what’s going on. Haven is different. While the mystery of the Colorado Kid and who Audrey Parker really is holds my interest, its very much the individual Troubles that Audrey, Nathan, and Duke deal with every week that keeps me coming back. Just when you think they’ve reached the end of the bizarre, they come up with new intriguing Troubles to deal with. As a minor fan of Stephen King, I also appreciate the references to other Stephen King stories. A young boy floating a paper boat down the rain washed gutters; a toy car looking much like Christine flies across the table; references to Derry, Main, the town used in “It” and “Insomnia”. There’s also the undercurrent love triangle between Audrey, Nathan, and Duke that keeps me interested. Mixing humour with spine-tingling intrigue, this is one of my favourite programs out there. If you haven’t seen it, take the time, watch an episode or two, and don’t blame me when you get hooked.