Haven: Season 5 Vol. 1 (DVD) – Series Review
Haven is a supernatural drama television series based on the remarkable novel The Colorado Kid written by the finest supernatural fantasy novelist, namely Stephen King. As a small town in Maine, Haven acts as a safe haven for troubled townspeople who have been cursed for centuries with supernatural abilities which they cannot control. While people wreak havoc with their peculiar gifts, an elite group guarding the Troubled come face to face with their maker.
The fourth season of Haven ended with a bang as William (Colin Ferguson) refuses to deviate from his plan to turn Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) back to her original self better known as Mara. In the meantime the rest of the gang find doors that should be left alone for they only cause from trouble for the Troubled.
The first part of the fifth season picks up right after the shocking aftermath of the season four finale. The Lighthouse has imploded, leaving several bodies in the chaos but many more have survived. William has been defeated but the victory is deflated when Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) and Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour) find out that Audrey’s original persona Mara has taken over control of Audrey’s body. Nathan refuses to believe that Audrey’s goodness is completely destroyed by the villain that is Mara, while Duke is struggling to accept Jennifer’s death. Going back and forth with The Guard about the destiny of Audrey/Mara, the duo does the unthinkable. Duke unleashed a trouble, splitting Mara and Audrey into two separate beings.
Happiness and quietness never lasts long in the town of Haven. A newcomer rolls into town, one with centuries old secrets of her own, and The Troubled are afraid that their supernatural abilities will be exposed to the rest of the world. In the meantime the gang faces terrible Troubles after Troubles, whom the innocents have unleashed unbeknown to themselves. Audrey and Nathan do their thing where they track the owner of the troubles and calm them down before more people get killed. Dealing with this would have been much easier if it weren’t for the devious plans of Mara.
The carefully crafted supernatural novels of Stephen King are widely known for their brilliantly dark and twisted plots. Translating these masterpieces to a visual pièce de résistance can be a tedious task. More often than not, these visual adaptations are lacking the spirit of creative imagination from readers of the novels. Without reading the original narrative, we can honestly conclude that the film adaptation of The Colorado Kid is exceptional in its own unique way. The narration seems quite complicated and while it is in a way, the show manages to simplify the plot so that even newcomers can figure out what goes on in the mystical town of Haven. While being a science fiction series, the show’s episodical narration feels like a detective series. Each episode continues the story of the previous one while the team solves cases in-between. These overarching storylines create a heavy load of suspension but it suits the series perfectly.
Performance wise the actors have set the bar quite high this season. Emily Rose portrays the timid Audrey Parker as well as the serpentine Mara and she does it rather brilliantly. Both characters are nothing like each other and it is hard to imagine them being played by the same person. Her fellow cast members Lucas Bryant and Eric Balfour continue the trend, although the latter one truly shines translating his burdens into emotional rollercoaster’s the viewers can relate to.
Adam Copeland who portrays the Dwight Hendrickson, the new police captain and head of The Guard, seems like a good actor but his character comes across as a monotonous and impassive. On the other side we have Jayne Eastwood portraying the lovely medical examiner Gloria Verrano. Of course we shouldn’t forgot the duo Vince (Richard Donat) and Dave Teagues (John Dunsworth) whom play critical roles in the series, providing enough information for newcomers while keeping the long-time fans on their toes. All in all, the entire cast balances each other out quite well, making up for a superb performance.
The DVD-boxset of Haven Season 5 Volume 1 comes with a ton of extra footage that will extend your view time by at least the same amount of the series itself. Each episode comes with audio commentary which unfortunately has no subtitles to back up the badly recorded audio. Luckily the “inside Haven” featurette where the actors comment on each episode is of a far better quality. Two more features explain the origins of Haven and their inhabitants, giving viewers an interesting perspective of the show.
Conclusion
Haven is a fascinating supernatural series with plenty of thought-provoking and original paranormal powers to please fans of the fantasy genre while sporting a good chunk of personal drama. The first volume of the fifth season showcases 13 of the 26 episodes and one will get into the groove rather fast as the show isn’t too fast-paced nor is it slow. It’s a perfect paced show with superb acting performances and the mid-season finale will keep both newcomers and fans of the show on the edge of their chair.
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