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?".

I liked Haven from the beginning. It's got an excellent mix of engaging characters, creepy stories and a mysterious story arc.

It also continually seemed like it was ending and didn't. Every season it was like, they're going to explain everything and bring it to a conclusion, and instead it just got even weirder. Over and over. And sometimes I had doubts at the direction I was going as it became less episodic and more about its insane underlying story. But I kept going and I always liked it.

By the fourth episode I was concerned that, like Lost, it was just building a tower of questions that would never be answered, but the series was pretty good at answering questions as new ones arose, so it never got *too* out of control. And every time I thought they'd written themselves into a corner they somehow got control of the story again.

Great series. Check it out. Stay to the end.

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.

The show in some places is a bit silly, I won't deny that. It is a Fantasy series after all, so there has to be some suspension of disbelief. I'm just now re-watching the series for a second time and the first season isn't as "on the-edge of your seat" as some of the later seasons. The good thing is there are stories every episode that are resolved with an underlying arc that the story follows(you get your payoff for time invested, unlike many series that drag stuff along). So many Sci-fi/Fantasy shows these days are basically long movies chopped into series. This really hinders the rewatchability factor of such shows and why older Sci-fi series like Star Trek are watched over and over again(not the new abominations, except for Strange New Worlds).

If you are in to Fantasy or Sci-fi who likes suspense/mystery/thrillers, this is a really good show to consider. Also, at least currently, you can watch this on Tubi(which is totally free).

I enjoyed this series when it was telecast in 2010-2015 and I recently watched it again because it is available on the one streaming service I use.

The first time round I missed some of the show's nuances and didn't appreciate some of the amazing minor characters. Haven's ensemble cast is wonderful. I originally enjoyed the show because the two lead actors and the story arc over the 5 seasons is top notch. A bonus is that the show is a rarity because the story ended, and it ended in a satisfying manner. Being familiar with the show did not detract from the enjoyment of watching it again. There's a freshness to show that is timeless. The camera work and setting is a major reason.

I can honestly say that Haven is like good wine that got even better with time.