Canada has always been a place where TV shows have been produced and quite a few have had an impact in America. Everything from SCTV to X-Files, Great White North has been provided plenty of shows where minor actors have to make sure they don’t say, “aboot” and ruin the illusion that they are American. Haven and Rookie Blue are two shows that are produced across the border and have found homes on American TV. Haven airs on SyFy while Rookie Blue was a summer series on ABC.
Haven: Season Five, Vol. 1 brings us back to the coastal town of Haven, Maine (played by Nova Scotia). What makes this place so unique? Well it was created by Stephen King in The Colorado Kid. FBI Special Agent Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) must investigate numerous supernatural things happening in the coastal town. This is the third time in recorded history this has happened. This season starts with the after effects of Audrey being taken over by the evil Mara. She’s no longer the kind agent. Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) and Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour) are not sure how to deal with this level of weirdness. Over the course of the 13 episodes, the true cause of the Troubles emerge. Can identitifying the cause really find a cure? What does William Shatner have to do with all this? In case you’re curious, William Shatner was born in Montreal. He’s as Canadian as the true identity of Haven. Currently the second half of Season Five is airing on SyFy. It’s the last season of the show.
Rookie Blue: Season Five, Volume One is one of the rare successes on American television since it’s a show made in Canada that doesn’t fake being American. These are the tales of the youthful police officers that work the streets of Toronto. Hard to call them rookies since they’ve been out of the police academy longer than a Kardashian marriage. The new folks are learning that something get easier, but there’s always fresh extreme cases around the corner. “Blink” has Officer Andy McNally (Missy Peregrym) and Officer Dov Epstein (Gregory Smith) take a night off for dinner out. But before the waitress can ask if they want desert, the joint gets robbed by goofballs. “All By Her Selfie” has the concept of the rookie return to the show. There is a new rookie that’s the kid of the Police Commissioner. Duncan Moore (Matt Murray) turns out to be trouble for 15 Division as he screws up and messes with Andy. “Everlasting” has a car-bomber bring the boom to the land of the Maple Leafs. Once again none of the 11 episodes features the police officers assigned to a Stanley Cup parade. That’s the problem with being in Toronto. Perhaps because of the metric system, this Season Five, Volume One contains what was aired as season five. The upcoming volume two contains what aired as Season Six which is also the final batch of episodes.
It is an odd coincidence that both shows had their fifth season doubled in length yet cut in half to extend the final until a year later.
The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic on both shows. Haven does look better since it is a 1080p transfer on the Blu-ray. Audio is English 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Dolby Digital on Haven. Rookie Blue features a soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 & 2.0. Both sound fine although Rookie Blue does have Canadian talking. English subtitles on both.
Audio Commentaries are included on each episodes. The speakers vary.
Inside Haven (47:01) are behind the scenes for each of the 13 episode.
Haven Origins: Witches Are Born (7:29) features the townsfolk wanting to kill the witch and her baby.
Haven Origins: Native Breaks Free (7:07) is an execution scene.
e one presents Haven: Season 5, Vol. 1. Starring: Emily Rose, Eric Balfour, Adam Copeland, Lucas Bryant. Boxset Contents: 13 Episodes on 4 Blu-rays. Released: September 8, 2015
Life Is Not a Fairytale (6:22) has the creators discuss how this season is when the new cops ask if they are living the dream. Charlotte Sullivan discusses how her character has changed a lot since the first season.
Webisodes (30:44) are little scenes that might have been clipped from the actual show. They mostly focus on talks between the officers.
e one presents Rookie Blue: Season 5, Vol. 1. Starring: Missy Peregrym, Gregory Smith, Ben Bass. Boxset Contents: 11 Episodes on 4 DVDs. Released: August 18, 2015
