Haven: The Complete First Season

Inspired by the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid, this Syfy-aired original series mixes X-Files/Fringe supernatural drama with an insular Twin Peaks–type town setting (with the Nova Scotia coast standing in for King's beloved Maine) populated by odd characters full of shadowy secrets. Emily Rose is cast as tough and talented young FBI agent Audrey Parker, whose mysterious past is tangled up in the community's bizarre legacy. Parker takes a short leave from the bureau to join the local Haven PD (bringing the ranks up to three) and help investigate the freak-show happenings in the community: men aging to death in hours, stuffed animals coming back to life for revenge, spontaneous earthquakes and fires, and the like. Despite the subject matter, Haven takes a fairly conventional approach to telling unconventional quasi-horror stories, but the series improves as Parker settles in (Lucas Bryant and Eric Balfour costar as potential romantic interests) and her legacy comes to light. Closing with a solid cliffhanger twist that sets the stage for the second season, Haven arrives on DVD and Blu-ray with all 13 episodes from the 2010 first season, and extras including episode audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, cast interviews, and short video blog pieces. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)