Everything about Haven, eh?

In the news: More and more Haven reviews and interviews

smallFrom Bill Harris of QMI Agency:

From Andrea Reiher of Zap2it:

From Zack Handlen of AV Club:

  • Haven
    “I mention this because Haven, a new SyFy (ugh) original series inspired by a Stephen King novella, is the sort of mildly pleasant escapist fare that I don’t really watch anymore unless I’m paid to do it. Which makes it a little odd for me to review. The pilot isn’t great, but it isn’t awful, either.” Read more.

From Hugh Hart of Wired:

  • Stephen King Novel Spawns Syfy’s Tepid Haven
    “Syfy’s new supernatural dramedy Haven brings its The X-Files-lite-meets-Murder She Wrote storytelling to a ho-hum resolution by the end of its pilot episode, despite the best efforts of sharp star Emily Rose.” Read more.

From Meredith Woerner of io9:

  • Syfy’s Haven smothers the Stephen King influences in its own fog
    “Haven, is loosely based on Stephen King’s The Colorado Kid, and loose is a bit of an understatement. This series should have been merely described as “inspired” by King’s work, and left it at that. So what’s different? Well instead of having the bulk of the series based around the engaging and endearing newspaper staff made up of funny old editors and a young intern in a small town, Syfy has swapped the intern for a hard-nosed FBI agent and demoted the lovely staff to a status similar to that of the Lone Gunmen from The X-Files.” Read more.
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In the news: More Haven reviews, interviews

smallFrom Joel Rubinoff of the Guelph Mercury Record:

  • Elmira native finds haven on new TV series
    “When Elmira native Lucas Bryant got word he landed a starring role in the cable series Haven (10 p.m. Monday on Showcase) — a quirky cross between Twin Peaks and The X-Files with a creative dose of Moonlighting — it was a much-needed vote of confidence after an 18-month dry spell.” Read more.

From Christina Radish of Collider:

  • Emily Rose Interview HAVEN
    “During an interview to promote the TV show, star Emily Rose talked about what attracted her to the role, how much she enjoys playing a strong female, what it’s like to shoot in Nova Scotia and the appeal of a world created by Stephen King.” Read more.

From Daniel Fienberg of HitFix:

  • TV Review: Syfy’s ‘Haven’
    “If, for example, your character is a spunky and determined young FBI agent who works so much she never has time to take a vacation? That character shouldn’t be introduced asleep and then complaining about her workload and lack of social life. Because no matter where the story goes from there, no matter how often you try showing me that you have a character who never leaves the job behind, who never stops asking questions, who refuses to quit until she’s finished her task, what I remember is the character comfortably, placidly, restfully asleep.” Read more.

From RJ Carter of The Trades:

  • Haven a “Damn Fine Pie” Shy of Twin Peaks?
    “At first blush, it looks as though Haven might fall into the old “freak of the week” plot trap that bogged down the first few seasons of Smallville. But the creative team, most of whom worked together on The Dead Zone, have a larger story in mind as they tap Stephen King’s The Colorado Kid for series potential.” Read more.
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In the news: Haven reviews and interviews

small(Note: Haven premieres in the US Syfy channel tonight, but on Canada’s Showcase on Monday):

From Rob Salem of the Toronto Star:

  • A little slice of Haven
    “‘I’m pretty excited about this,’ he enthuses over lunch in a converted local curling rink, ‘because we put our eggs in the basket of character and look and feel. I mean, on Dead Zone we did a lot of cutting-edge visual effects, but we can’t compete with the budget of Lost, and we can’t compete with Fringe…'” Read more.

From Chris Lackner of Canwest News Service:

  • Haven’s unsolved mysteries
    “That is one of the central premises of Haven – which writer Sean Pillar describes as “Northern Exposure meets The Dead Zone meets Fringe/X-Files.” As the series unfolds, we learn of “The Troubles”, a vague time in the past when the townspeople’s supernatural abilities ran amok. For some reason, those afflictions are returning.” Read more.
  • Emily Rose finds her TV Haven
    “On first impression, Emily Rose doesn’t look like an FBI agent. Her warm smile and wide grey-blue eyes are disarming; her fair skin, petite frame and wavy blond hair reminiscent of Reese Witherspoon, the classic American girl next door.” Read more.

From Neal Justin of the Minneapolis Star:

  • Will Haven be TV’s next great show?
    “But Dunn and Ernst are finally discovering that second dreams can come true — even if it takes a decade. Their series Haven, based on a Stephen King novel, debuts Sunday on Showcase with an ironclad guarantee of 13 episodes and an embedded fan base that will flock to anything with King’s imprint on it. The break came just in time.” Read more.

From Mike Hale of the New York Times:

  • Charming Village, Check; Quirky Residents, You Bet
    “If you think that sounds an awful lot like the premise of Syfy’s existing series Eureka — normal but dogged outsider polices abnormal but well-meaning residents of scenic hamlet — then you probably have what it takes to be a basic-cable programming executive. Bonus points if you note the more distant but still visible similarities to Syfy’s Warehouse 13.” Read more.

From Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Herald:

  • A safe ‘Haven’ for shallow characters
    “Haven is a bad thing, a third-rate summer series that starts happening to TV audiences tonight at 10 after the season premiere of the superior Eureka.’ It’s loosely based on a Stephen King novel called The Colorado Kid,’ but don’t let that mislead you into thinking Carrie or Misery or The Shining. This is the TV equivalent of a $3 Halloween mask.” Read more.

From Mark A. Perigard of the Boston Herald:

  • ‘Haven’ takes page from ‘X-Files’
    “Imagine an entire town filled with X-Files cases. Agents Mulder and Scully sure would have saved on gas. Welcome to Haven – a town in Maine whose inhabitants seem to possess paranormal abilities and a place that might hold the key to the past for one FBI agent who believes, she truly does.” Read more.

From Brian Ford Sullivan of the Futon Critic:

From Michael Hinman of Rabid Doll:

  • Preview: ‘Haven’ Has Potential, But Flaws Exist
    “Because this is work based on King, the characters are introduced to us almost as if we’ve met them before, which is the beauty of his writing. Wuornos seems to be a detective only because his father is the police chief, and really didn’t take it too seriously until Parker shows up. Crocker is more of a free spirit, who doesn’t seem to care what people think of him, but still has a big heart in getting to do what’s right.” Read more.
  • ‘Haven’ Producers Want Stephen King Cameo
    “We’re hoping for that actually,” Executive Producer Sam Ernst told reporters during a recent press conference that included Rabid Doll. “I know that King has been in, he has seen the pilot, he’s been involved in everything. And believe me, please say we would love to have Steve King come in.” Read more.

From Brian Truitt of USA Weekend:

From IGN:

  • Haven: “Welcome to Haven” Review
    “Syfy is looking to step up its original programming this summer with Haven, an ambitious new supernatural drama that is certainly a worth a look as far as summer series go, but ultimately fails to distinguish itself as an engrossing thriller.” Read more.

From Fanbolt:

  • Interview: Lucas Bryant and Emily Rose of ‘Haven’
    “We had the recent pleasure of speaking to the stars of SyFy’s ‘Haven’, Lucas Bryant and Emily Rose, as well as series creators Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn. The group talked about the challenges of adapting a Stephen King book to the screen, the mystery of the show, and injecting humor into the script.” Read more.
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The reborn TV, eh? podcast with Global’s new lineup

Welcome to TV, eh? Podcast: The Next Generation

Listen here or subscribe via iTunes or with any other program via the TV, Eh? feed

In this episode, co-host Anthony Marco and I, Diane Wild, re-launch the podcast with an hour-long discussion on Global’s new Canadian lineup, including Rookie Blue, Haven and Shattered; their new reality channel, what I learned from the Banff TV Festival, and ramblings on what we’re watching these days.

In future weeks, look for feature interviews with actors, writers, and producers, as well as discussion on the other networks’ upcoming lineups.

What would you like to hear more of? Let us know in the comments!

Show notes – Episode 1

Your hosts

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