7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
This series follows the shrewd and confident FBI agent Audrey Parker who has a lost past, when she arrives at the small town of Haven, Maine on a routine case. Before long, her natural curiosity lands her in the epicenter of activity in this curious enclave, which turns out to be a longtime refuge for people that are affected by a range of supernatural afflictions. As the townspeople's dormant abilities begin to express themselves, Audrey helps keep these forces at bay while discovering the many secrets of Haven - including one surrounding her own surprising connections to this extraordinary place.
Starring: Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, Eric Balfour, Richard Donat, John DunsworthSupernatural | 100% |
Mystery | 26% |
Horror | 16% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There’s a fine line that needs to be walked with series that have supernatural elements and a complicated mythology.
Fans of The X Files or
Lost can attest to the fact that often long running series tend to tip precariously toward either
incomprehensibility or, perhaps even worse, mediocrity as they attempt to further their inner folklore while at the same
time delivering episodic television fare. There are probably still people who tuned into every episode of the two iconic
series listed above who are to this day confused by certain elements, while also remaining frustrated that so much was
left unexplained. In fact, that’s one of the salient problems shows like those two and Haven face, namely
stringing the audience along with tantalizing little hints of what’s really going on while never ultimately spilling
the beans, which would probably mean a quick demise for the series. Haven shares something else with
The X Files in particular, namely a tendency to try to artfully blend continued mythologizing with a “freak of the
week”
approach that has Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) running around trying to solve the latest “trouble” to hit the apparently
scenic little town of Haven. The series may have reached its veritable tipping point, however, as this third season,
while still interesting, is starting to show the fraying seams of putting on the same “cloak of invisibility” (with regard to
actual honest to goodness answers) while also feeling stale, at least at times, with regard to the endless array of
weirdly powered residents. Part of this may simply be due to the fact that Haven is based on a Stephen King
novel entitled The Colorado Kid which itself was an exercise in frustration, as the central mystery in the book
was never really “solved” in a traditional sense. But the television adaptation’s decision to posit a lead character with a
bizarre past (one might almost want to say pasts) and a town full of mutants puts a whole carnival like
sideshow surrounding the central enigma of who (or what) The Colorado Kid is and how Audrey is connected to what
happened to him decades previously.
For those who want a quick brush up of some of what's gone on so far in the Haven saga, here are links to our
reviews of the previous two seasons:
Haven: The
Complete First Season Blu-ray review
Haven: The
Complete Second Season Blu-ray review
Haven: The Complete Third Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Entertainment One with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. As with the first two seasons, this third season has a generally very nice looking high definition presentation, though there are a couple of issues the crop up with fair regularity this season. The first is some minor stability issues with regard to some of the aerial establishing shots. The second issue is related to inconsistent contrast that leaves some interior scenes looking slightly washed out. Also as with previous seasons, some of the CGI is decidedly soft looking. On the whole, though, this is another generally well detailed season that offers a clear, precise image. I personally would have liked some of the colors to have been more robust at times, but that desaturation adds to the somewhat bleak storyline this season exploits.
Haven's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix makes an incremental but noticeable uptick in both surround activity as well as some nicely robust LFE this season. While the bulk of the series still tends to be dialogue scenes that play almost exclusively in the front channels, there are occasional uses of discrete channelizatio that are quite effective. When Audrey is being held captive in a basement lair and another hostage calls to her from an adjoining room, there's a quite realistic sense of aural space. The series has some nicely done ambient environmental effects, as usual, but this season has a couple of plot developments that allow for much more fulsome use of low frequencies. These include such devices as a UFO in an early episode and, later, a barrage of meteors that are raining down on Haven. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is very wide.
- Stay with Gabrielle Stanton and Matt McGuinness
- Over My Head with Gabrielle Stanton and Matt McGuinness
- Sarah with Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman
- Last Goodbyes with Brian Millikin and Shernold Edwards
- Reunion with Gabrielle Stanton and Brian Millikin
- Thanks for the Memories with Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn
Haven does some very commendable things this season, including filling in some long lingering questions about Audrey's past (and future), while also detailing more information about The Colorado Kid. But those pluses are at least partially offset by what seems to be the series' continuing reliance on some (by this point) pretty tired and repetitive elements that fans of the series may simply have had enough of. Those who have stuck with the story for the first two seasons may well want to check out this season, but my hunch is unless the writers really shake things up in the fourth season, more than just a magical barn is going to be disappearing around Haven. This Blu-ray does offer generally very good video and great audio.
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