Haven season one, so far by Heather M

When I decide to watch a new show, it’s usually a decision reached according to a few unwritten criteria:

• Is it shot in Canada – pretty much an automatic yes (closet Canadafanatic).
• Do I have a positive history with a writer/actor/producer – see above.
• Is it a medical drama – yeah, sorry, next.
• Is it supernatural-oriented – Sure, show me whatcha got.

Which brings us to Haven, the newest Syfy summer drama running on Fridays through September. It is:

• Shot in Nova Scotia, doubling as Maine.
• Features beaucoup talent with whom I’m friendly.
• Has a supernatural bent that’s weirdly warm and very welcome.

To catch you up, the story begins with FBI agent Audrey Parker venturing to Haven to fetch a suspect and falling into a series of flash storms that kill said suspect and open the door for her investigative talents to help find out who is behind them. While investigating, she is paired with the town’s (only?) detective, Nathan Wournos, a chap with his own special gift of not feeling pain, literally. Audrey slams his hand in the door of his truck and nets nary a wince.

As the case is wrapped, Audrey is shown a picture of a woman who visited Haven during “the Troubles” and is clearly her doppelganger. Her interest is piqued since she’s never met her birth parents and was raised in the group home system. Audrey trades her Feeb status for newest town detective and begins investigating her birthright while lending a hand to Nathan’s everyday caseload of the wacky.

Subsequent cases had a boy projecting butterflies and energy out of grief and guilt and musically-driven psychosis and anger-fueled food as weapons (really). The most recent outing involved the show’s third lead, a swarthy boat-captain/”importer” by the name of Duke Crocker, and inhabited by the dashing and ever-so-cheeky Eric Balfour. Duke found himself on the receiving end of a really bad one-night stand that sentenced him to rapid aging and certain death at the hands of a succubus who turned out to be the alternate identity of a straight-laced law pro. Duke was saved, and the succubus had to ride out her succubal mood swings chained to a lighthouse. Oh, and Duke’s progeny was handed off to a social worker because any physical contact with the child would kill him.

For starters, I love the show’s mood – visual and written. Shooting in Halifax, Nova Scotia (in lieu of Maine), it has the rainy secretive aura of X-Files as well as two other Canadian-filmed sci-fi series, Poltergeist the Legacy and Friday the 13th the Series, of which I was extraordinarily fond in the 90s. Neither was based on their namesake films and instead were about investigators/regular folks drawn to cases of the supernatural tied to phenomena and objects. Both shows could be out-there gross and weird but then dial back into a really sweet sensibility, and Haven does that too.

The initial 42 minutes of each episode can be sort of hard and violent and icky and then when they get around to the denouement, the person who caused the episode’s crisis du jour is always treated very respectfully and sweetly and usually sent on his/her way as long as they’ll steer clear of causing harm again. I love that. Everybody gets a second chance.

The majority of the screen time is garnered by Lucas Bryant (formerly a regular on SoapNet’s dishy M.V.P) as Nathan and Emily Rose as Audrey, with an assist from Balfour. Nathan is scarred by his own physical deformity as well as a previous encounter with “The Troubles,” a period of time tied to unusual events that hasn't been completely explained but seem to be returning. His history and animosity with Duke, who’s been a “friend” since childhood, isn’t entirely explained either, but Duke seems less inclined to maintain the war than Nathan, who feeds on it. Audrey is settling in with a little bit of Dr. Fleischman-meets-Cicely going on but on the whole she seems to embrace that staying in Haven is a means to accessing her identity and that goal supersedes all of the strangeness. She also has a knack for resolving the weird and unexplainable, so she’s pretty happy to stick around. There’s a nice camaraderie between Nathan and Audrey, and Duke definitely has more romantic intentions but she’s holding that at bay for now.

The guest cast have been some familiar Canadian faces. Nathan’s dad is the police chief and he’s played by Nicholas Campbell (see Davinci’s Inquest/City Hall and get back to me) and his genius is always welcome. No word yet on a second season, but I hope so. The show has a nice rhythm and energy that’s a relaxing tonic at the end of the week. 13 episodes have been ordered. Here’s hoping Syfy gives it a chance. You can catch up with the aired eps on Hulu and Syfy.com and catch the next new episode Friday at 9 pm Eastern.