How "Haven" Stacks Up Against Other Stephen King TV Adaptations

Stephen King has intrigued (and terrified) the world for more than 30 years with short stories and novels that have made it to both the big and small screen. One of his more recent adaptations for television is the "Haven" series that is produced by the SYFY network and airs every Friday at 10 p.m. "Haven" is based on King's novel, "The Colorado Kid"(2005). This series is imaginative and brilliant, mixed with intrigue, suspense and humor. Paranormal events abound but are not so bold as to seem absolutely impossible. Those who have not read "The Colorado Kid" are likely to want to read it after watching an episode or two and as long as the producers and/directors keep things rolling as they have so far. If so, "Haven" will be one of the better King stories adapted for television in the last few years.

FBI Agent Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) enters the town of Haven, Maine, to solve a murder. It does not take Agent Parker long to figure out that there is a good deal more to Haven than meets the eye. Every answer discovered leads to more unanswered questions and the man she comes to town looking for ends up dead. Agent Parker, who was adopted, is confronted with her own past when the local newspaper editor and reporter show her an old newspaper photo showing a young woman who looks eerily like her, sporting the headline "Who Killed The Colorado Kid?" Parker has to put her curiosity and suspicions aside to deal with the matter at hand but is haunted by the woman in the photo. Will Agent Parker stick around so she can find out who this woman is?

The first resident of Haven who encounters Agent Parker is Detective Nathan Wournos (Lucas Bryant) who happens upon Agent Parker after she swerves her car and lands on the edge of a cliff. There is a bit of humorous verbal snipes before the detective helps her out of the car before it goes over the cliff. The humor continues off and on as the laid back local and the confident FBI Agent immediately get thrown together to solve another murder. It seems to lend a bit of curiosity as to whether Nathan will have an interest in Audrey that goes beyond solving crimes.

The third in this trifecta of winning characters is the charming and sly Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour). Duke lives on his boat and appears to be a jack of all trades, a handyman to any who need something fixed. Although Crocker seems as free spirited as they come, if you look a little deeper you may be able to see just a bit of darkness lying beneath the surface.

The first episode of "Haven" gave us the beginning of an underlying mystery that only seems to grow with every episode. Other characters make repeat appearances, for instance the Chief of Police (Detective Wournos' father) and the two gentlemen from the local newspaper, but the series does not clutter the show with a mountain of characters that you have to understand and get to know. It is brilliant to keep the major characters to a minimum for this series. Each of the three cast members have an specific role in the suspicious goings on in Haven but the answers to the questions raised are not easily forthcoming, biting the audience the curiosity bug. There is forever a bigger question just under the surface of everything that happens and at times you can not tell which is plot and which is sub plot. Troubles have, unfortunately, returned to Haven and it will take all three to sort it all out.

Ÿ "Haven" compared to "The Langoliers" - Better or Worse?

Better. "The Langoliers" had variants of believability, but then you get the giant "pac-man" eating machines that not only ate buildings, people and landscapes but also everything ... leaving nothingness, no ground, nothing. Realistically a blind person would have some kind of sense enhancement, that kind of thing happens all the time, and it is also not a stretch for someone to have a mental breakdown that is caused by parents and environment over a period of years, but this too was not enough to distract the audience from the seriously unrealistic giant eating machines and the nothingness they left behind. I, like many others have a difficult time trying to get really interested in something too far from the realm of possibility. While "The Langoliers" did hold some realism to sub-plots, I found it so incredulous that it did not hold my interest, nor would I consider reading the book it was adapted from.

Ÿ "Haven compared to "The Tommyknockers" - Better or Worse?

Better. "The Tommyknockers" was another adaptation that I could not take a serious interest in. Mental illness as in the character killing her husband when the man on television told her to was realistic enough, but I could not stay interested no matter how much I liked Jimmy or Marge. It does not make sense that an extraterrestrial with greater technology than the human race would need humans to recruit help or to take care of their concerns. If you are going to do an alien flick ...well some of us just didn't get into it. Once again, this adaptation held little interest for me and I would not consider reading the book.

Ÿ "Haven" compared to "Rose Red" - Better or Worse?

Better. While "Rose Red" was put together well, the idea of people disappearing into the house was too far-fetched. It is not difficult to believe that the house was possessed or haunted, but it is a bit much to believe the house would somehow absorb anyone. "Rose Red" held my attention but was a very intense series without much to lighten it up while "Haven" offers a more complete spectrum, including humor. Even though the series was interesting, there is no sense that I have to read the book it was based on because there are no burning questions for me to answer as there is with the book "Haven" is adapted from.

Ÿ "Haven" compared to "The Dead Zone" - Better or Worse?

Better. "The Dead Zone" actually did have a worthwhile plot but between the script and other factors, it could be a moviegoers nightmare. It started on a quirky note and for the most part just kept going. Unlike the chemistry between the characters of "Haven," the characters of "The Dead Zone" did not click, and therefore, the film seemed choppy to a degree. There may be a small chance that I would read the book, if available, but I would not go out of my way for a copy.

Part of the imaginative group that is responsible for the creation of "Haven" include Scott Shepherd and Shawn Piller. The pilot of "Haven" was written by Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn who double as executive producers on the series, all four of which also had a role in bringing "The Dead Zone" to the big screen.

A wonderful review of the novel, "The Colorado Kid," can be found at the Associated Content website.

Saul Relative puts perspective into his review that does not give away any secrets but leaves an everlasting interest that will make any reader want to get their hands on a copy of "The Colorado Kid."

A complete listing of all Stephen King's written works can be found in the library at his official website.