Here's the full text of this week's feature story on the Syfy series premiering tonight ...
Acclaimed
novelist Stephen King is known for stories set in his native
The latest
adaptation of his work is indeed set in
On Friday,
July 9, Syfy debuts "Haven," a new one-hour drama loosely based on a 2005 King
novella called "The Colorado Kid," which dealt with the mystery of a body found
on a small island off the coast of
In the TV
show, Emily Rose (above, "John From Cincinnati," "
Before
long, she discovers the town is a refuge for people with supernatural abilities
- and it may hold a clue to the orphaned Audrey's own mysterious past.
Lucas
Bryant (center, in photo below) stars as local police officer Nathan Wuornos, who becomes Audrey's
investigative partner; and Eric Balfour (at left in photo below) as charming local Duke Crocker.
A few years
ago, longtime pals and writing partners Jim Dunn and Sam Ernst were handed "The
Colorado Kid" by producers Shawn Piller, Lloyd Segan and Scott Shepherd, whose
previous credits include the long-running
The
original story is long on mystery but short on answers.
"With 'The
Colorado Kid,'" says Dunn, "Stephen King set up a template for a place and a
few characters in the novella. King really doesn't touch on the supernatural
much, and everyone agreed that we needed to bring the supernatural element (to
the TV adaptation), which is largely what Sam and I brought.
"It's one
of the reasons we held our breath when we sent our stuff to Stephen King,
because we were adding a major element to what he had put in place in the
novella."
Recalls
Ernst, "We sparked to the novella and came up with a bunch of ideas, and over
time eventually sent them all to Stephen King in a big document of everything
we wanted to do. Then we held our breath.
"He sent us
an email back that said, 'Sounds like a blast.' That's a quote. We finally let
go of our held breath and started writing."
"As we
speak," says Rose, calling in from the "Haven" set, "I am standing under a blue
rain tent in front of a propane heater, because I'm just so cold."
But the
blond-haired, blue-eyed Rose is thrilled to not just be playing someone's girlfriend
or
wife, but a tough career woman.
"I was just
really excited to be able to play an FBI agent," she says. "It's great to be
able to play a real serious role, a cool, sassy, smart, independent, funny but
really deep character. It's such a treat when it comes along - especially when
they're written really well also."
King is
known for creating complex characters, and it looks like Ernst and Dunn have
done the same for Audrey.
"The detail
about her that I absolutely love," Rose says, "is the fact that she's an
orphan. She's been thrown around from place to place until she was 18. Now
she's an FBI agent. By nature, she's definitely driven and aiming to be a good
investigator, partially, I'm sure, because she can't figure out that mystery of
herself.
"She's
running along on her hamster wheel, with her little driven self and nature, and
all of a sudden, somebody stops that wheel. (In Haven), she is thrown out of it
for a second, because there's a clue that just lands right in her fact that
says, 'You might be connected to this place.'
"For the
first time in her life, she resonates with that and has to stop her life for a
minute. I think how she's adjusting to Haven is, sometimes when people don't
want to deal with things, they wind up digging right back into their work. I
think Haven offers a lot of that, because there are so many mysteries and
things that are happening around this quirky area that she has to look into.
"But she
still does have that constant panging of, 'Am I connected here? Was my family
from here? Was my mother from here?' There are all these looming identity
questions that she has to face and deal with."
All of this
also raises the question of just how Audrey wound up investigating in a place
that may be linked to her past.
"But is it
bad?" says Rose. "Is it people in the FBI or the town of
Loved it want more......How many shows are there? Loved Red Rose and can't wait for more of SK
First episode was great. I hope they can keep it up for several seasons.
I coudln't agree more...
Great show. love it. now have my sister hooked on it. thanks
Awesome show!. My husband likes it as well. Thank God!
This coming week will be the best one YET!!!!!!!!
Love SK. Always have. Disappointed when they mess with his books making the movie. Love this show and the concept. However, having a hard time with the actress playing Audrey. Every week I expect her acting to improve. Seems like she's trying too hard and comes across phony. Everyone else is doing a great job.
Watch the show each week and love it! Always something new that surprises you about the people and the town . It also makes me want to go visit.
Watched the first 7 epis on my DVR. GREAT show! Agent Parker is a wonderful & strong & engaging female lead and Eric Balfour actually doesn't seem creepy on this show; just a bad boy with (maybe) a heart of gold. Det Wornos is ok & I'm glad their making it clean he & Parker aren't going to get together. Great show. Syfy is becoming one of my fav networks to watch again. They're up there with TNT (The Closer) & USA (Psych & Burn Notice)
I love the show never miss it.
Really enjoy Haven. I usually watch it later in the week on Comcast's On Demand because I tend to fall asleep after 10 pm! Keep up the good work. The more unusual programs stand a better chance of a second or third season on cable.
i LOVE THIS SHOW, i HAVE ONLY MISSED EPISODE 8, I WAS OUT OF TOWN., I HOPE IT IS ON FOR A LONG TIME, SOME OF THE SYFY SHOWS ARE KIND OF STUPID, . I DO HOPE NATHAN AND HIS DAD REPAIR THEIR RELATIONSHIP THOUGH. O AND WHY DID THEY HAVE TO WRITE THE DR. OUT OF THE SCRIPT/ I REALLY LIKED HER, AND JESSE TOO. O WELL JUST KEEP WATCHING!
what happen to the Oct. 1 episode of Haven? it was shown in tv guide, but didn't air.
This series is one of the best I have ever seen. Emily Rose is completely engaging, and the rest of the characters in Haven are being fleshed out more and more in true Stephen King fashion. King is one of the best character creators in the history of literature, and the writers for the show are spot on and doing his name justice. I don't know how long this series will run, but it is a true highlight of my week, learning more about each character and being introduced to new ones. Kudos to the entire team on a fantastic job.
Yes, I really like this show so I would like to know what happened it hasn't been on the last 2 fridays?
The first season has ended, but it has been renewed for a second season.
I Love watching Haven, its the best tv series out there and i can't wait for the new season to begin tonite on the SyFy channel. I love Stephen King to his books always kept me on the edge of my seat and so did his movies including The Stand (4 part mini-series). Right know they are showing a marathon of Haven from last season's episodes. I ave never missed an episode and never will either.
I am absolutely obsessed with Haven :) I've always wanted to visit a beautiful town like this. Even though a program like Haven is not exactly designed to zen it's viewers, I find myself slipping into a surprisingly comfortable "zoned-out" state when watching the gorgeous locations where the show is filmed. I would love to visit this town someday, sans the supernatural anomalies!
You mean Rose Red?
Keep in mind the Reviews, as opposed to Comments, stress that "Haven" is loosely based on a Stephen King novella. It isn't going to keep to the original closely. I'm glad the comments on this site are so positive. There is an alternative web site where you would think "Haven" is the most terrible series ever written! I'm very glad it is back. I may even buy it on DVD (assuming it's out there) which I never do.
I grew tired of the formulistic way every episode seemed to end last season. Bushels of mayhem and death, the guilty person is eventually found, and they are just an innocent cursed by the "troubles" so they are let go. If it weren't for my daughter liking the show I would have given up on it. The new season started out much more interesting, but it seems to have fallen back to the old formula. It is sad when the back story is more interesting than the episode, and the scenery is more interesting than both. This could be a good series if the writers didn't fall back on simplistic stories.
This show has it all. "Haven" is well written and really draws the audience in each week. The characters are so incredible and they make all the pieces to the puzzle fit in this show. I would love to see many more seasons of "Haven".
This is the best sy-fy show ever. Can hardly wait to see what comes next.
Haven looks absolutely gorgeous in HD and just keeps getting better! I (like man, many others) am a big fan of Stephen King and love seeing the adaptations of his work. This one is one of my favorites so far and as a subscriber and employee of DISH Network I must say I wouldn’t want to watch a show like this without HD. Fortunately DISH offers HD free with their America’s Top packages. I can’t wait to see more of this promising series.
i like the show so does my wife to be. wish i had the book wish for more haven thanks
I've got to say that this is one show that I can't wait for every week. It does draw you in with the mystery of Audrey and Crocker. I was also a big fan of The Dead Zone. I can't wait for Haven to grow!