Release Date: September 3, 2013
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 572 minutes

Based on Stephen King’s “The Colorado Kid,” HAVEN follows FBI agent Audrey Parker (Rose), who has taken up residence in the small town of Haven, Maine, a longtime refuge for people with an eclectic range of supernatural abilities. Now a detective in the Haven police department, Audrey finds herself inexplicably linked to the mysteries of this extraordinary seaside village. Season three of Haven picks up immediately following the events of the gripping season two finale with Audrey (Emily Rose) having been brutally kidnapped; Nathan (Lucas Bryant) warned against pursuing a romantic relationship with Audrey; and Duke (Eric Balfour) seemingly engaged in a fight to the death with Nathan after he discovers his family lineage is to kill Haven citizens with troubles. Episodes include “301”, “Stay,” “The Farmer”, “Over My Head”, “Double Jeopardy”, and the season three cliffhanger finale, “Thanks for the Memories.”

There are some shows that I intend to watch regularly and don’t until a few seasons in at which point I just go for it and dive in without catching up on the previous seasons but I clue myself in with spoilers until I do. Haven is one of the shows. I watched the first few episodes of the series when it first premiered. I’ve seen a Christmas episode and a handful of episodes at random points throughout its run. Even have Haven in my Netflix queue (it’s been there for quite some time now). But it wasn’t until the opportunity to review the third season came about that I decided to sit down and seriously watch the show. From season three. I really enjoyed the ride and can’t wait to go back to watch more!

In every episode of Haven I’ve seen before this, there was always something inexplainable missing from the characters for me and the show appeared more episodic than serialized. Which is why I wasn’t in a rush to regularly watch the show. And then I saw the episode, “Sarah.” And I was won over. Yes, I actually really enjoyed the episodes, “Magic Hour” parts one and two before this but for the very first time, I found myself really caring for and rooting for the characters in “Sarah.” Yes, I’m a sucker for time travel episodes but that aside, the main characters were not only fighting for the town but for themselves in a way they hadn’t before and it completely won me over. I loved “Sarah.” Loved.

The second half of season three is significantly more intriguing and entertaining and altogether stronger than the first half. The stakes are raised and character arcs take shape. My bread and butter. Plus, Laura Vandervoort (V, Smallville) guest stars among others. What a season. Great acting. Great stories. Even better stories as the season goes on. Exciting twists and cliffhangers. What an exciting season. What a thrilling finale. If you have yet to watch Haven, let me tell you it is worth watching. Don’t waste anymore time. Read The Colorado Kid by Stephen King and catch up on the show it’s based on. Jump in and make Haven your Friday night television treat. Whatever you want to do. Come to Maine and enjoy the ride.

Bonus Features:

*Exclusive 16-Page Comic Book Haven: After the Storm

*Commentary – Six commentaries are featured on the DVD. The commentaries for “Stay” and “Over My Head” are conducted by executive producers, Gabrielle Stanton & Matt McGuinness. If you’re a big fan of these episodes, check these commentaries out. The commentary for my favorite episode of the season, “Sarah” is conducted by writers, Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman. I remember thinking, “If there’s no commentary for “Sarah,” I’ll be so disappointed.” But there is! The best part? Of course Back to the Future is mentioned but viewers get to hear the original letter Duke sent from 1955! There’s lots to love about the commentary, so definitely listen.

The commentary for “Last Goodbyes” is conducted by writers, Brian Millikin and Shernold Edwards. Another stellar episode that fans are sure to want to hear the writers discuss. Flashbacks were a challenge to sell to the rest of the crew but it was well worth the fight. Talk about a grand payoff. More fun facts are shared throughout the commentary which makes this another one worth listening as well! Same goes for the commentaries for “Reunion,” conducted by writers, Gabrielle Stanton and Brian Millikin and “Thanks for the Memories,” conducted by show creators, Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn. Basically, watch all of the commentaries. The latter especially satisfying hearing the creators talk about the finale, how far the series as a whole has come, and how everything comes together before the final product. Well worth your time.

*Season 4 Teaser

*Season 3 Trailers (International Promo, New Season Trailer, Home Entertainment Trailer)

*Blooper Reel (5 minutes)

*Behind-the-Scenes Reel (4 minutes) – I love this reel. Behind the scenes footage shown with a lovely score in the background and no other noise aside from the final moments of the reel. Beautiful.

*Deleted/Alternate Scenes (10 minutes) – There are a dozen deleted and alternate scenes from episodes 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, and 11, half of which I would not have minded seeing in the final cuts of certain episodes. Worth watching.

*Escape to Haven Webisode Series (15 minutes) – Eight webisodes of Escape to Haven are featured on the DVD. In the web series, Jordan (Kate Kelton) is on a mission to recruit troubles to Haven and “help” them through a PSA (with footage of the series intertwined). Only Dwight (Adam Copeland) interrupts her PSA for his own warning to troubles and more backstory for us! Jordan appears in the first three webisodes alone and Dwight interrupts her fourth message, at which point he takes over the final four webisodes. Love the backstory here. Don’t skip this feature.

*Cast Interviews (25 minutes) – There are three interview segments, the first including Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, and Eric Balfour (13 minutes), the second featuring Iaian Glen (5 minutes), and the third including Nolan North and Emily Rose (7 minutes). Each actor is interviewed individually in the first two segments and Rose interviews North in the final segment. The cast talks about their favorite moments on the show as well as the cast and crew band, among other things. While this is not a must see feature, the interviews are more heartfelt than other cast interviews I’ve watched from other TV shows so it’s worth watching for that alone. Watch if you have the time.

*Haven Panel from New York Comic Con (51 minutes) – If you were unable to attend the Haven panel at NYCC or did and want to look back at the panel after all has been said and done, this is the feature for you. Don’t think it’s dated because season three has already aired. It’s still very informative and fun to watch. Of course I was more interested in what the writers had to say but the cast banter was fun too. The panel is 37 minutes while the Q&A (doesn’t show the fans, the camera stays locked on the stage) is 14 minutes and just as engrossing as the panel. Rose, Bryant, and Balfour also mention that “Sarah” was one of their favorite episodes to shoot in the entire series which was exciting to hear since that’s my favorite episode this season.

Appearing on the Panel:
Moderator, Tiffany Vogt
Co-creators and Exeuctive Producers, Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn
Consulting Producer, Charles Ardai
Writers, Shernold Edwards and Brian Millikin
Cast Members, Adam Copeland, Eric Balfour, Lucas Bryant, Emily Rose

*The Haunting Truth About Haven: A Documentary (42 minutes) – This documentary (shot during seasons two and three) follows the cast and crew of Haven on and off set/location in Nova Scotia as we see what many of them like to do on their time in between shooting and what else they’re doing while working that we don’t typically see. Meetings galore. And for the record, these meetings are exciting. As a writer anyway, I love seeing the writers in action. I could watch them in meetings all day! Better than looking at Jason Priestley as long as I did. I love Priestley but my goodness. He was only in four episodes in season two, directed one episode in season two and one episode in season three and he’s all over this documentary. In fact, I think the only season three coverage in this documentary is of the episode he directed. More Priestley in this doc than Emily Rose and the main cast. Odd. Not from a marketing standpoint, obviously but c’mon. Really? That just doesn’t sit well with me. Anyway, the time we did get to see the cast was exciting. Hear Emily Rose sing, see Kate Kelton draw, watch the crew resolve filming challenges, and more. This was documentary was a great accent to the Behind-the-Scenes Reel and worth watching even though Priestley hijacks the whole thing.

Own Haven The Complete Third Season on Blu-ray and DVD today. Watch Haven Fridays at 10/9c only on Syfy.