Monday, July 12, 2010

Haven - Welcome to Haven, S01E01

Haven may not immediately grab the attention, as Syfy network shows like Warehouse 13 and Eureka did, but the lack of over-the-top crowd-drawing action simply indicates a sophistication which many other Syfy shows lack. Slow starting, the intrigue is likely to grow, creating more of a desperate need to see the next episode rather than the simple desire to be entertained.

The best word I can think of to describe Haven (both the town and the series) is odd. Normality seems to have been left behind, and yet the characters so easily accept strange things - everything might as well be normal for the shock which they feel. When our heroine, Audrey Parker (Emily Ross) learns that the detective she is working with, Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) completely lacks the ability to physically feel, she takes longer to simply accept and not ask questions than when she later discovers that the murderer she is trying to arrest has control over the weather.

And that is something I really like.
Audrey comes from a normal world and works for the FBI in a normal capacity, and yet her belief and understanding that there is more in this world that meets the eye is so deeply rooted in her that she can believe the unbelievable without making a big deal about it. Why this is, and what her past might be, are questions that I am very excited to explore over the course of the season.

Meanwhile, I really want to praise Lucas Bryant's performance. Many of you may never have seen him in anything before, but I have followed his career since he was in high school and I really felt that his portrayal of Nathan resembles nothing I have seen him do. The combination of quiet yet determined, sometimes quite funny though always straight, and "tough guy" because he can't feel anything creates a solid and realistic character whom you can't help but like even though we've barely scratched the surface of his personality. We hardly know a thing about him, while he never comes across as the type who would withhold information. Amber, on the other hand, comes across as more closed off but willingly talks about her past with little prompting. The two characters balance well.

Plus, the mysteries of characters with supernatural powers which hopefully won't be vampire and werewolf every other week, with far less cheesiness than Eureka and Warehouse 13 is very, very refreshing. I hope you will be watching this with me week to week.

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