Tag Archives: Haven

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Comments and queries for the week of Dec. 19

It’s getting to the end of the year, Canadian TV viewers, and we marked that milestone by asking you to choose your Top 3 Favourite Canadian TV Shows of 2014. At the time of this story publishing, over 15,000 votes had been cast for a wide range of programs. Here’s what some of you said about the projects you picked.

Too many top good shows to choose from. I love the crossover stars of Lost Girl and The Listener and Murdoch Mysteries but couldn’t put them all in the Top 3 because Haven is my top choice.–Marcia

Where’s BACKROAD BOUNTY with Marty and Bam Bam???? !!!–Ellen

I love Heartland, It Is the best show I have ever seen.–Sue

Bitten and Heartland!!! Two of the best TV and book series ever! I’m dying to see the new seasons of both coming in early 2015, ahhhhh can’t wait! Love Lost Girl so much too and so sad that this will be their final season but they’ve had a great run and will be missed. :)–Brie

It’s hard to include every series, but the Knowledge Network’s doc series, Emergency Room kicked some butt out here on the west coast.–Dave

Meanwhile, the deep analysis has begun with the return of Lost Girl.

Demeter causing people to scream in horror kind of very easily gels if you ask me. She’s the goddess of the harvest, not the hearth (that’s her sister Hestia) and when Persephone was first taken from her she went on a rampage and held the entire earth hostage by blighting it until even Zeus bowed down, paid tribute and returned her daughter for half the year, according to the Homeric Hymns. (There was also an incident of trying to replace the other Olympian gods and her daughter by making mortal babies immortal, but she failed and just started chucking them on the ground instead.)–Fudgy

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or head to @tv_eh.

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Review: Haven closes out explosive midseason finale

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When one door closes on Haven, at least one more if blown wide open. And true to form, Thursday’s midseason finale, “Chosen,” did just that, shutting down the Mara/Audrey storyline while jumping off in a somewhat new direction.

Directed by Shawn Piller, “Chosen” picked up from last week’s story with a rapid-fire delivery of some key facts: Charlotte is 1,100 years old and is Mara’s mother. Mara, who is 600, became super-bad after being split from Audrey and doesn’t realize what a truly evil girl she’s been. Also? The mysterious aether is from the void between the two worlds and Charlotte and Mara belong in that other world. As a die-hard Haven fan, even I had to chuckle at the main storyline after I’d typed it. Only in this genre can stuff like that happen and no one bats an eye.

Anyway, Charlotte wanted to meet up with Mara and–with help from Audrey–perhaps the two could show Mara the err of her ways. And, if things worked out like Charlotte hoped, Mara and Audrey would become one again and the Troubles would stop. After all, Mara had said she turned off Duke’s leaking Troubles. (Raise your hand if you loved that exploding husband off the top of the episode. “I told you not to touch anything!” Good old Duke.)

Speaking of, the lanky lad was once again the odd man out in the situation, leaking black eye goo while seeing the gal he’d grown to have feelings for disappear. Now there is just Audrey, and Nathan has his love back. Duke, meanwhile, lost Mara and is in a very bad way. By episode’s end we’d learned that not only had Mara not turned him off like she’d told Charlotte, but he was exploding Trouble leeches out of his eyes. Now, instead of just a few people having them, it looks like every Havenite is going to be Troubled.

Like I said, only on Haven.

Notes and quotes

  • “I’m about eleven-hundred in your years. Mara is six-hundred. Ish.”–Charlotte
  • Turns out Dwight is into super-old chicks
  • “Lady, I know problems and store-bought Kahlua is not a problem.”–Duke
  • “I have to go to The Great Gull to pick up a body. With a sponge.”–Gloria
  • Dave and Vince’s realization that the Croatoan massacre may have happened around Haven is an interesting twist, but there is still lots to cover in that storyline.

Haven returns in 2015 on Showcase.

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Comments and queries for the week of Dec. 5

This week our readers sound off on Duke and Mara on Haven, the latest instalment of Strange Empire and the roller coaster relationships on Saving Hope.

It sickens me that Duke and Mara did it. I am probably one of the biggest Duniffer lovers around, and he did betray their relationship. I don’t trust her, either. He is in for probably a sick and sad surprise. I love Gloria’s quote, “its like she was a real-life Mrs. Potato-Head.” She is usually pretty funny–love her!–Haven Momma

A very well-written and concise review [of Strange Empire], Diane. I appreciate that the show invites different takes from different angles and my own review of the latest episode focused specifically on the owner-work relations … if interested, here is the link.–Chad

This season [of Saving Hope] has been a roller coaster so far, but I’m enjoying it. I can’t make up my mind which couple I like best. It’s hard to re-watch the first season and a half, or the first two episodes of this season, and not root for Charlie and Alex. But as this season goes on I think I’m leaning more toward Charlie and Dawn. Shanks and Nolden have really good chemistry and I think the two characters really know and understand each other. Joel seems to really know the post-accident Alex as well; wish we had seen the aftermath of their hooking up from last episode. Enjoying the medical and ghost storylines too.–Hallie

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com

 

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Review: Edge and Christian’s Haven reunion upstaged by Mommy issues

Once again, I must tip my hat to Shawn Piller and the rest of the folks at Haven. Why? Because my assumptions about Duke and Mara–and a bunch of other things–were all wrong. Thursday’s newest episode “Chemistry,” one week before the season finale, revealed conclusions to a couple of stories while blowing the door wide open on one other. Let’s break it down, shall we?

Dwight and McHugh
A lot was made of the fact former WWE tag team champs Edge and Christian would reunite on Haven (me included), so I was a tad disappointed their meeting was A) short, and B) talk about girls. I know McHugh will be back with more to do next year, so I’m holding out hope he’ll do more than just dry glasses and sip beer. Also, McHugh successfully dethroned Nathan as the man with the lowest and most gravelly voice in Haven.

Duke and Mara
The controversial decision to have them sleep together ended up being what I had suspected was the case all along: Mara used sex to play Duke. Mara and William’s end-game was always to create a weapon of some sort, and now it appears she has one in Duke. Crying black tears (is it aether?) and able to absorb and pass along Troubles? Yeah, Duke just morphed into something equally cool and scary. What he does with these new powers will be very interesting. Will he punish Mara for what she did to him, or will he embrace the awesome powers he has been given? (How neat is it when Duke’s eyes turn grey?)

Charlotte and Dwight
It was super-cute to see Haven’s second most serious cop get jiggy with the town’s newest visitor. After alleviating some stress he was a lot more relaxed and–shocker–even joked with his cot-mate.

Charlotte’s real identity
After realizing she wasn’t from the CDC, Vince wondered if Charlotte was CIA, black ops or even a military contractor. Turns out he was wrong: she is Audrey/Mara’s mother. The repercussions of this reveal is stunning, the most significant of which is that Dwight slept with Audrey’s mother. Let that sit in your mind for a minute or two. Story-wise, it appears Charlotte (if that is even her real name) is intent on nothing but the best forAudrey and wants to take Mara down. Was it Charlotte who put Mara in the barn in the first place? Hopefully we’ll find out the answer to that, and more, next week.

Notes and quotes

  • “What did you think we were going to do? Have brunch? Do crosswords in bed?”–Duke
  • “You have an angry energy, and I like that in bed.”–Mara
  • “You’ve got the heart of a figure skating judge.”–Dwight

Haven airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on Showcase.

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Review: Duke and Mara do the dirty deed in Haven

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Well, Duke and Mara finally did it. Literally. The pair took the shipping mantle of “Dara” by consummating their relationship on a moth-eaten rug at the fishing cabin. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. To say I was surprised is just plain wrong. I give grudging props to the Haven writers’ room for coming up with a unique way to get Duke and Mara into bed–an expelled Trouble threatened to bake them unless it could be broken by him connecting with someone–but I call foul on the relationship.

As several readers have pointed out, it wasn’t that long ago that Jennifer and Duke were a much-loved item and the woman who killed her was the same gal he just got carnal with. I have a problem with that. Now Duke may end up regretting what just happened, but I don’t think so. After all, this is the same guy who pined for Audrey and now he’s got her. Well, a version of her at least. Haven certainly has a creative way of solving the love triangle.

“Reflections” also got into a battle for the aether, with Duke wanting it prior to his horizontal bop and Nathan and Dwight trying to stop him from taking it. Now a fourth person has entered the fray, a mysterious ball cap wearing dude sporting a Guard tattoo. Since Kirk is the only new character to grab any kind of airtime, I’m pretty sure it’s him.

Meanwhile, the Dwight/Charlotte relationship is starting to smoulder. He invited her out for dinner again but the pair had to call it off after the aether went missing and the latest Trouble–tied to low self-esteem–took up their time. Charlotte may not be from the CDC, but she’s not in a rush to reveal Haven’s secrets either. As a matter of fact, she’s grown more fond of the quirkiness in town, joining forces to stop that latest Trouble and further suppose that the Troubles are science-based rather than supernatural as everyone has assumed. Now that Nathan has stolen a strand of hair from her brush, perhaps we’ll find out just what Charlotte is up to and if it will affect her relationship with Dwight.

Notes and quotes

  • “You are the realest person I know. More real than me most days.”–Nathan
  • “It’s like she was a life-sized Mrs. Potatohead.”–Gloria, after a woman literally fell to pieces
  • “Would you step aside? My popsicles are melting.”–Mara
  • “I like pretty toes.”–Mara

Haven airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on Showcase.

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