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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Haven-Complete Third Season (2011)

Haven-Complete Third Season (2011)

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Released 15-May-2013

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Crime Main Menu Audio & Animation
Featurette-Making Of-Multiple
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2011
Running Time 533
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Multi Disc Set (4)
Cast & Crew
Start Up Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Tim Southam
Rachel Talalay
Studio
Distributor
Entertainment One
Entertainment One
Starring Emily Rose
Lucas Bryant
Eric Balfour
Jason Priestly
WWE Superstar Edge
Case ?
RPI ? Music Shawn Pierce


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     This science fiction television series has now reached its third season and its second to be released by Hopscotch Entertainment.

The premise here is that a small seaside town in Maine called Haven is a refuge for people who are afflicted with some form of supernatural power, referred to in the show as 'The Troubles'. Usually they don't set out to use their power intentionally but it is triggered by some event in their lives. This supernatural power will generally result in some major event like triggering the seven plagues of Egypt to strike the town or electrical charges to hit the local baseball field or people to start dying of mysterious illnesses. These occurrences are then investigated by the local Police Chief, Nathan Wournos (Lucas Bryant) and his partner, ex-FBI agent Audrey Parker (Emily Rose). Both Nathan and Audrey also have afflictions, with Nathan not being able to feel touch or pain and Audrey having a mysterious link to the history of the town, which she is trying to unravel across the episodes. The other major character is a local smuggler and bar owner, Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour) who grew up with Nathan and is trying to unravel the history of his own family and how they may have been affected by 'The Troubles'.

     This thirteen episode season starts with Audrey having been kidnapped at the end of the previous season. The main overarching storyline in this season is the approaching time of 'The Hunter' which is expected to have a significant impact on Audrey. The series follows the normal format for this show which is one major incident each week that the team must investigate but also following the overarching story lines. The thirteen episodes plus extra are spread over four discs.

     The series originates from the US Syfy network but is filmed in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is inspired by a Stephen King novel, The Colorado Kid, however is not really completely based on it. In fact, that book did not have a supernatural element to it which has been added by the writers with the involvement and blessing of King. This is a well written show which combines interesting weekly stories with ongoing characters that have slowly revealing back stories. This makes for a very watchable series. The scenery in Nova Scotia is also a good element of the show as it has a very different look to most US shows. This show has a nice lightness of touch, with some dark humour combined with light creepiness which provides a good combination of elements. The theme tune and music by Shawn Pierce also adds to the atmosphere. The cast are competent without setting the world on fire. This season is probably a step back in quality from previous seasons, especially the first episode which to me, at least, seemed to break some of the rules established in previous seasons. Also, the introduction of yet another detective from outside, Tommy Bowen seems tacked on.

     Certainly worth a look for fans of this series.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The video quality is very good.

     The series is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was reasonably clear and sharp throughout. Shadow detail was quite good.

     The colour is very good highlighting the beauty of Nova Scotia. Occasionally it is quite vivid but not in an over the top way. There was some mild chroma noise at times.

     From an artefacts perspective there is some edge enhancement, some occasional mild grain, some minor aliasing and motion blur during fast movement..

     There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired which were clear and easy to read but a little small.

    There is no obvious layer change during the episodes.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is good.

     These discs contain an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 plus an alternate track in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo.

     Dialogue was generally easy to understand throughout although the subtitles were useful.

     The music sounds good and is a significant element in the aural landscape.

     The surround speakers were used for atmosphere and some mild directional effects.

    The subwoofer mostly provided music support.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     Only one extra, but it is a good one.

Menu

     The menu featured music and motion.

Disc 4

The Haunting Truth about Haven (40:31)

     Finally, someone taking a different approach to a making of featurette. This one is amusing and the cast and crew start off by talking about the boring questions they don't plan to answer and giving some insights into their own lives and how they live and work around the show. There is also stuff about some of the logistical problems they face, the process of writing and shooting, stunts etc., to ensure there is some actual content. Well worth a look.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    Season 3 of this show is due for release in Region 1 in September, so local is the go for now.

Summary

    The not quite so good third series of a supernatural cop show set in Maine.

    The video quality is good.

    The audio quality is good.

    One quality extra.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Review Equipment
DVDSONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output
DisplaySharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationMarantz SR5005
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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