You'll be hearing a lot of references to this new series on SyFy, that it is based on the Stephen King crime novella, The Colorado Kid. However, the only connection to the non-supernatural mystery King wrote, and the teleplay of Haven, comes into play as a sub-plot to the series. How we get to that point is later in the premiere episode of Haven, and will serve as the motivation for the lead character, FBI Agent Audrey Powers.

During her investigation of the murder, she enlists the aid of the town's local police detective, Nathan Wournos. Nathan is the son of Haven's Police Chief, or rather appears to be (aka The Colorado Kid), and has a very strange affliction ... he cannot feel any sort of physical pain. He can be injured, as evidentiary to his regular visits to the hospital, but he simply has lost the sense of pain.

As the investigation continues, she meets a pair of eccentric brothers who run the local newspaper, the Haven Herald. Dave and Vince Teagues have been reporting for news for the community of Haven for decades, and recognised Audrey from the moment she entered town (aka The Colorado Kid). It seems there was a picture taken from the 27-year old mystery of a woman that bears a rather striking resemblance to Audrey. And it is this mystery that keeps Agent Powers sticking around the ole town of Haven. You see, Audrey was an orphan herself, and might find answers to her own origins from within Haven's history.

Lastly, Agent Powers meets Duke, a shady sea-merchant and Nathan's childhood nemesis.

• Agent Audrey Parker, FBI - Emily Rose (Ghost Whisperer, Jericho, John from Cincinnati)
• Agent Howard, Audrey's boss - Maurice Dean Wint (Quinn from the scifi cult classic film CUBE, ReGenesis tv series, Nothing, RoboCop: Prime Directives, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, The New Outer Limits, Earth: Final Conflict, FX: The Series, Forever Knight, TekWar series and films, The Swordsman, Friday the 13th: The Series, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future)
• Nathan Wournos, Haven Detective - Lucas Bryant (Dollhouse, Odyssey 5)
• Chief Wournos, Haven's Chief of Police and Nathan's dad - Nicholas Campbell (here's some interesting trivia for ya: played Deputy Frank Dodd in the 1983 film Stephen King's The Dead Zone AND for those old enough to remember the ultra cool guy AKA The Hitchhiker tv series, Da Vinci's Inquest, The Eleventh Hour, Code Name: Eternity, The New Outer Limits, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, The Hunger tv series, F/X: The Series, Highlander tv series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, The Hidden Room, Naked Lunch, Beyond Reality tv series, Day of Resurrection, Dave Cronenberg's The Brood, H.G. Wells' The Shape of Thing to Come, The Spy Who Loved Me, Space:1999, The Omen)
• Dave Teagues, Editor of The Haven Herald - John Dunsworth (Stuck, Lexx: The Dark Zone Stories)
• Vince Teagues, Dave's brother and co-editor - Richard Donat (Lexx and Lexx: The Dark Zone Stories, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, Seeing Things tv series)
• Duke Crocker, local misfit - Eric Balfour (Calvin from the fantasy series Veritas: The Quest, Do Not Disturb, Dinoshark, Cell 213, Valemont tv series, Rise of the Gargoyles, ABC's version of Life on Mars, Fear Itself, Horsemen, The Spirit, Hell Ride, 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Chronicle tv series, Freakylinks, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Series)

I won't spoil you with the details of the remainder of the premiere episode of Haven, but after watching it you will begin to see the underlying mysteries and various paranormal abilities that begin to surface. All-in-all, the series appears well-written, with interesting characters and solid chemistry between the primaries. Hmmm, will Audrey fall for the quiet, painless cop or the charming badboy?

Haven premieres on the SyFy Channel, July 9th, 2010, and airs Friday nights following Eureka ... oddly enough, another strange town of folks with extraordinary abilities. For more on this new show, visit the SyFy website:

http://www.syfy.com/haven

Eureka versus Haven ... discuss ...