They rage against each other, just like Andie rages against judgmental yuppies in “16 Candles.” They try to defeat each other, just like Gary and Wyatt try to defeat their unpopularity and lack of girls in “Weird Science.” They battle, just like Alexis and Krystle battle from “Dynasty” battle in living rooms, in art studios, in bedrooms, on hillsides, in lily ponds….

Be sure to catch The Asylum’s “MEGA PYTHON VS. GATOROID” when it hits the SyFy channel in 2011!
-Press Release

Hessberg Medical Center specializes in the treatment of patients suffering from cancer, and Mr. Rand was a well-liked nurse who worked at the hospital. Parker and Nathan show up on the scene in the midst of a friendly conversation regarding the date Mr. Wournos had the night before with one Jess Minion. He’s trying to avoid Parker’s questions like the plague, and is saved only by the officer on the scene who updates them on the deceased Mr. Rand. The partners are told that the killer left no weapon behind, and didn’t have the decency to leave any evidence either. Parker notices that Rand was stabbed through his hospital ID, as well as being stabbed through the heart, leading her to believe that the killer was trying to make a point that he wanted one and all to see. So off they go to Hessberg to see if Bill Rand had any problems with angry co-workers or disgruntled patients. Take note: Miss Jess Minion also works at Hessberg, as a grief counselor to family members who lost loved ones to cancer. Mmm hmm.

Mrs. Wilson, the director of The Hessberg Medical Center, speaks of Bill Rand in glowing terms, and can’t think of any reason why anyone would want to hurt him. Nathan, not convinced she’s telling the whole truth, pushes the director further, and she admits to the embarrassing-– to the hospital at least–fact that family members of the deceased think their loved ones died prematurely at the hands of some mythical “Dark Man;” a shadowy figure they all claim to have seen around the hospital. Parker and Nathan aren’t buying “The Dark Man” story just yet, and decide to sit in on one of Jess’ grief sessions to see if any of these surviving family members may be responsible for the “premature” demise of Bill Rand. In the session most speak only about their loved ones, but one participant, a man named Thornton Aarons, regrets being a miserable and angry husband to his late wife and wishes she could be married to the man he is now. After the session the group corners Parker and Nathan to tell them that they are convinced that it was this “Dark Man” who killed their family members. However, when each one is questioned separately, they all describe this shadow as looking distinctly different, putting into question any of their claims.

While spending a quiet night at home, hospital director Mrs. Wilson and her husband are excitedly planning a trip to Paris. When Mr. Wilson goes to order dinner, our lovely director is left alone to ponder all of the French fun she will have. However, any hopes of a romantic getaway is cut short-–literally–by your friend and mine “The Dark Man, when he shows up and pierces Wilson right through the heart as she sits happily perusing travel magazines on her living room couch. Once again there is no weapon to speak of, and what is even more mystifying to Parker and Nathan is the angle to which Mrs. Wilson was stabbed. With a weapon long enough to puncture the couch then go straight through the victim, there was no way any person could fit in the small area behind the couch wielding such a long instrument. It’s startin’ to look to Parker and Nathan like “The Dark Man” just might be the real deal.

Checking the Haven Obituaries, Parker and Nathan find out that 27 patients have died in the last 3 months at Hessberg, and 12 of the obits say the deceased died “before” their time. Parker and Nathan consider a theory that patients are being killed for some reason, and maybe someone is killing the staff to get revenge. Parker wants to exhume the bodies to find out if all of the dead actually did die from cancer. Heading back to the office, Parker realizes that it’s going to be another late night. However, Nathan has a date with Miss Minion, a date he is surprisingly all too eager to postpone to work late with Audrey. When Parker asks him why, Nathan–who genuinely likes Jess–confesses that it’s his first time with a woman since he became “the man who feels nothing,” and he means “no thing,” including the touch of another human being. He’s afraid he won’t be able to complete the transaction if the opportunity arises with Miss Minion. Parker convinces Nathan to go on the date and tell Jess the truth; she offers to work late all by herself.

While working late, Parker is visited by two of the grieving family members, angry that she is exhuming their dead loved ones. One of the angry visitors is Thornton Aarons, the recovering angry husband who still seems to have a problem with said anger. Even when Parker explains the reasons why she’s going to such extremes, Thornton still doesn’t like it, but his friend is more forgiving and convinces Thornton that they should leave and give the police a chance. Later in the evening, Parker is paid a visit by the Teague brothers who are in an artsy mood, and want to take her picture as part of their side art project. Flattered, she agrees, but the session is interrupted by you know who, out to rid the world of Miss Audrey Parker. Dave Teague begins to take photos of “The Dark Man” and the deadly shadow flinches with each flash, but the flashing camera doesn’t stop “The Dark Man” from trying to kill them all. Audrey and the boys turn off the lights hoping that without light the shadow will cease to be. The theory works, and they manage to shut off most of the lights, but they back themselves into a corner before they are able to extinguish the final fixture in the room. With the shadow still lurking in the police station, Parker is forced to call Nathan, who’s on a date with Jess mind you, and who is once again in the familiar position of rescuing Agent Parker. Nathan arrives and shoots out the final light and “The Dark Man” vanishes. Now that they’ve seen “The Dark Man” up close and personal, Parker and Nathan understand why each person described the figure so differently, it’s because shadows change shape depending on the light they’re in. Now the question is why did it come after Parker?

The next day, Coroner Eleanor visits Parker and Nathan with the results of the autopsies on the exhumed patients. Seems the patients did die from cancer, however, the tox-screens show that the levels of the chemotherapy side affect drugs normally used were too low or nonexistent. This means the patients weren’t being treated with conventional chemotherapy, which could lead to their “premature” death. A-ha! Then Nathan discovers that both Rand and Wilson had large amounts of cash deposited into their accounts over the last few months. Turns out the two humanitarians–she says sarcastically–were stealing the chemo drugs and selling them for their own profit, then some shadowy form of justice, heaped vengeance upon their heads. But who and what killed them, and if it was this “Dark Man,” how are Nathan and Parker going to stop a shadow from enacting further revenge?

On that same day, Jess pays a visit to Thornton for a private counseling session. While at his home she sees that he still has the chemotherapy medication that was prescribed to his late wife. Jess notices the prescription bottles are full, so she asks Thornton why his wife didn’t take any of the medication. He explains that they were for the side affects of the chemo, but she never had any side affects so she never took the medicine. Say it with me now, Hmm. Jess takes the medication without Thornton’s knowledge and calls Nathan to tell him she has proof that the patients who died at Hessberg weren’t getting the proper treatment, and this may have led to their untimely deaths. Worried about her well being, Nathan tells Jess to stay home until he gets there.

When Thornton finds out that Jess took the medication, he is very upset and calls one of his friends from the group and tells what Jess has done. After Thornton’s call, Jess is attacked by “The Dark Man.” Say it with me again, Hmm. When Nathan arrives he finds Jess sprawled on the kitchen floor, but fortunately she survives the attack. Nathan thinks that someone knew Jess took the medication, then sent “The Dark Man” after her. He sees that the name on the prescription label is that of one Sara Beth Aarons, the late wife of Thornton Aarons. But how is Thornton involved, and how can he manipulate a force like a shadow? More importantly, how do Nathan and Parker stop “The Dark Man” before someone else dies?

Later, Nathan visits Jess at her home to see how she’s doing. Physically she’s recovered, but the attack left a lasting effect on her, so much so that she decides to leave Haven and go back to her native Canada–to stay. The troubles are too much for Jess to handle, and she believes that these troubles have a way of finding Nathan. “I wish I were stronger,” she says as she leaves, and Nathan watches her drive out of his life.

While tying up some lose ends from “The Dark Man” case, Parker notices that Nathan is more gloomy than usual, and she asks him what’s going on. He tells her that Jess has left town and she’s not coming back. This news seems to upset Parker almost as much as it does Nathan, and she lets him know that he has a friend in her. Then in a move uncharacteristic for the Agent, she gives Nathan a soft peck on the cheek; and for the first time since he lost the ability to feel anything, Nathan Wournos actually felt the touch of another human being. Nathan felt the kiss planted on him by one Audrey Parker. Say it with me one more time now, Hmm.

Wow! The twist at the end of this episode was sudden and unexpected, and its impact overshadowed everything that preceded it. I think there was always a feeling that Audrey had a connection of some kind to Haven, but now we see she has some kind of bond with Nathan as well. This development, as exciting as it is, could go bad if the writers try to do some kind of mundane love relationship between Nathan and Parker that could kill the uniqueness of the show, and give us the typical “will they or won’t they” drama that has been done a million times before. Or, “Haven” can continue on its current course of unpredictable storylines and unconventional relationships between the town’s residents, and between Nathan and Parker. I am hoping for the latter. I’ve come to care about these characters in the short time “Haven” has been on the air, and as each layer of the town and its residents gets peeled back every week, I hunger more and more for the tidbits that are slowly fed to me. They sure have me hooked.

A dejected Wallace decides to drink away his sorrows, and when galley girl Vicky brings him some beer, she is stunned that Mr. Banker suddenly begins to bend in ways the human body wasn’t meant to bend. Vicky watches as some invisible force breaks both legs clean through the femur, and this same entity also afflicts one of the man’s arms with an identical fracture. A hard thing to accomplish, says Coroner Eleanor, yet there she is with Parker and Nathan looking at the still alive, but unconscious Wallace suffering from those very injuries. While surveying the injured man, Parker finds a black powdery substance on each of the injuries that she sends to the lab for analysis.

Parker talks to Captain Richards, the owner of “The Endeavor,” and Richards says he can’t imagine what could’ve happened to the banker, considering the boat never left the docks. Nathan speaks with the investors, who plead ignorance when asked if they saw what happened to Wallace. They claim that they left the financier in the good hands of the boats crew. Parker and Nathan have a sit down with “The Endeavor’s” crew which consists of galley girl Vicky, her father Alec, and her fiancé Jimmy. Vicky is understandably distraught, while Alec is indifferent to the whole incident, but makes it known that he opposes the idea of Vicky working on the boat, and opposes the idea of Jimmy altogether. Watching Jimmy, you can just see the anger seething underneath, and he makes it clear the disdain he has for the rich investors who he was working for that day. When Jimmy is unable to contain his bitter rhetoric, Alec angrily sends him off to batten down the hatches or do whatever it is that deck hands do. When asked if he or Jimmy saw anything, Alec says he and the boy were on the other side of the boat when Wallace went crunch-crunch. It is then that Parker notices the look on Vicky’s face change, what was once a look of fear and distress was now the look of someone who knew something they didn’t want anyone else to know. Hmm…

Nathan is once again the skeptic, which is bizarre considering the town he lives in, and is surprised by Parker’s willingness to believe that the Wallace crunch was the work of something out of the ordinary instead of just a bizarre boating accident. Nathan is also skeptical about the next step Parker wants to take in the investigation, she wants to visit the shady Duke Crocker at “The Grey Gull”; guess the hope of reconciliation between the two men is gone since Duke survived his near-death experience. Parker wants to ask Duke, who spent a good deal of his life “working” on a boat, if he had any idea how Wallace could have been broken the way he was while “The Endeavor” was still at the docks. Duke, master of many things, however, hasn’t a clue how the man could’ve been injured.

While enjoying this special time at Duke’s (nudge nudge), Nathan gets a call from dispatch saying that he and Parker are needed right away at another eerie crime scene. They arrive at “Tradewinds Real Estate” to find shady real estate broker Joe Santamaro sliced through and through as if he were a large loaf of bread; needless to say Mr. Santamaro did not survive this incident. Under the realtor’s desk, Parker finds that same black powdery substance that she found on the broken body of slimy banker Wallace. To top it all off, Alec, father of galley girl Vicky, was the only witness to Joe Santamaro’s piece-ful demise-–get it, “piece-ful” because he was found in… oh never mind.

Common denominator in the case so far: slimy banker and shady realtor, not exactly pillars of society. Did deck hand Alec have a beef with the two men and want them to die in very painful ways? Parker thinks so, and believes Alec is some kind of telekinetic freak who gets angry and sheers bones through and through, and can also slice a man like a side of beef. So Parker sets out to make him mad enough to want her sliced like my man Joe, but that fails and she’s back at square one. That is until lab results come back saying that the black substance found at both crime scenes is some very special willow and graphite sketching charcoal. Remember the A-ha video?

They head to Mary’s Art Supplies in town to ask Mary if she has any idea who might’ve purchased some of the charcoal found at each of the crime scenes. Mary’s records show that brooding fiancé Jimmy was the last customer to have made such a purchase. Nathan and Parker now think Jimmy may be the one with the freakish abilities instead of Alec, and they believe he may be trying to set-up his beloved father-in-law to be, who has no love for him at all. In order to feel safe when confronting Jimmy with their theory, the team utilizes Miss “I’m not a witch” Minion–who is a crack shot–and on friendly terms with the duo since she was cleared of killing people with dead stuffed animals; but that’s another story. Minion positions herself in a place where she can shoot and tranquilize Jimmy if he decides to use his “gifts” on Nathan and Parker in the same way they believe he used them on Wallace and Joe Santamaro. Parker tries to get Jimmy to explode the way she tried with Alec; once again failing, but she gets something else she didn’t expect. As she and Nathan wait for Jimmy’s response to her taunts, they watch as his mouth, eyes and ears disappear behind a strange skin-like substance that doesn’t kill him, but leaves him a deaf and blind mute.

It seems as if the weight of this case is taking its toll on Agent Parker. Visibly upset by what happened to Jimmy she takes him to the home of Coroner Eleanor, fearing what might happen to him if he’s taken to a hospital. Eleanor is the one person besides Nathan that Parker appears to trust, and the agent confesses to the doctor her doubts and fears about the case, and whether or not she should even stay in Haven. Parker asks the doctor if she believes this case is all a part of those mysterious “troubles” that are plaguing Haven again, and Eleanor thinks they are, but even she isn’t quite sure why they are back. The coroner has become a sort of mother figure to the orphaned Parker, and she challenges the agent’s assertion as to whether she really wants to leave the town. Eleanor’s calm and sarcastic demeanor is good for the resolute Audrey Parker, who decides she wants to defeat this new mystery and stay in Haven.

The visit with Eleanor doesn’t only give Parker the emotional boost she needs; it also gives her another clue to the case. Looks like Miss Vicky is not only galley girl extraordinaire, she is also an art teacher–insert warning bells here. Parker and Nathan visit Vicky at her art school, where she is anything but helpful. She is visibly shaken and asks the officers if they are there in regards to her father, but when Parker asks if she and Alec need help, she stiffens and gives Parker and Nathan the old heave-ho.

Now thinking Vicky may be the freak, the partners head to her home, in hopes of finding information there that she was unwilling to give in person. The two come across a building behind Vicky’s house where the windows are covered with blankets; now, you’re just asking for folks to be nosy when you cover your windows with blankets. They begin to enter the small structure, and find the lock that was on the door had been cut off, and once inside they see that the building houses Vicky’s art studio. The studio was ransacked and it looks like the intruder had taken some of the teacher’s artwork… once again, hmm. Surveying the rubble, Parker finds a handsome drawing of Mr. Nathan Wournos hanging on the wall, and when Audrey merely taps it with her finger, poor Nathan goes flying across the room as if he’d been shot from a cannon. Good thing he can’t feel any pain. At least now they kneo the how, but they have to figure out the why.

They visit banker man Wallace at the hospital thinking that Vicky may have been the one to have caused his injuries, and initially the banker is not very forthcoming. Finally the slimeball admits that he had no quarrels with Vicky, but he did owe Captain Richards, owner of the Endeavor, three hundred grand, and that Joe Santamoro might have been on Richard’s bad side from a real estate deal that went south. So how is Vicky involved?

Parker puts out an APB for the petite art teacher, as she and Nathan hurry to find Vicky before someone else is folded like a human wallet. The hunt is also on for the devious Captain Richards, who conveniently forgot to tell Parker about his dealings with the victims.

Parker once said there are two Havens, “one under the surface and another one under that,” and she may be right. Havenites are seeing a frequency in strange events that are all pointing in the direction of the dreaded “troubles.” In “Sketchy” we begin to see fractures in the usually tough exteriors of Parker and Nathan as the bizarre cases keep piling up on them. It is interesting to see Eleanor’s relationship with Parker grow closer, and I predict that Miss Eleanor just might be an integral part of Parker’s past; just a prediction. One surprising point in the episode was seeing the usually “me first” Duke come to the rescue of Nathan and Parker saving them–and in turn the whole town–by doing something uncharacteristically selfless; showing one and all that his heart may not be two sizes too small.

My two favorite eccentric newspaper editors, Vince and Dave Teagues, out fishing off the shores of Haven, are in the midst of a heated competition of “who can cast the line further,” when Vince -the winner- gets the lure caught on a small abandoned boat floating untethered off the harbor. This is Haven and you never know what you’re going to find in a deserted boat, so of course the brothers reel the boat towards them and find inside the vessel a cage full of rotten lobsters, and tucked safely under a blanket, the wrinkled dead body of what looks like a very old man with a peculiar tattoo on his left arm. No biggie, remember we’re in Haven, but if this was just your garden variety old man dying in a boat, why would he be tucked carefully under the tarp? Just sayin’. Things like this just happen in Haven.

Nathan and Parker come on the scene and meet with Beatrice Mitchell, the Harbor Master, to see if she can identify the body or the boat. Nathan, who knows Beatrice fairly well, is surprised when she shows up with a newborn baby considering there were no signs of a pregnancy. She explains that the baby boy is newly adopted, but why did she keep it so hush hush? Seems unrelated? Maybe, but remember this is Haven and even events that appear insignificant can be very important; once again, just sayin’. Even so, new mommy Beatrice is no help in identifying the body or the boat.

Parker notices the distinct tattoo on the octogenarian “John Doe,” and thinks maybe the tattoo artist who created the design can tell them the identity behind the body. Nathan goes back to the office to make some calls to tattoo parlors, while Parker decides to go down to “The Grey Gull” and ask the locals if they recognize the unfortunate soul. “The Grey Gull” was once the “Second Chance Bistro” owned by brothers Bill and Jeff McShaw. The bistro is now the legitimate, cough cough, business of Duke Crocker -one time smuggler- given a second chance by his good friend Bill, who had enough of restaurants and Haven after Jeff died. No one at “The Gull” is even interested in what Parker has to say, so Duke in a somewhat heroic gesture steps in and promises free drinks for a month to the patron who can give Agent Parker the information she needs. Even with Duke’s generous offer, no one comes forward with any information that could help lead to the identity of the dead body. Parker then asks the bartender if she recognizes the man in the photo, but the bartender is also at a loss as to who the man is. While visually canvassing the crowd, Parker notices a couple making out like teenagers in the corner of the bar. The barkeep informs Parker that the man is a local named Joe Campbell, and the woman is a tourist, Joe’s favorite kind of date–here today and gone tomorrow.

Striking out at getting an ID on the dead guy, Parker once again runs into restauranteur Duke. Duke is worried that Agent Parker woks too hard–yeah right–-and out of the kindness of his heart-–gag me–Duke offers to cook Parker a nice, healthy, delicious meal if she promises to quit working just one night to enjoy it. Parker is surprised, but sort of takes him up on it, believing that a guy whom she says “never held a real job in his life,” would surely break the date before he had to deliver. Duke however, thinks that workaholic Audrey Parker will be the one cancelling. Guess we’ll have to wait and see, as Parker is off to find the killer. Big hint as to who calls off this date.

Nathan checks around town, but no tattoo artist claims they designed the image on “John Doe’s” arm. There was one tattoo parlor that Nathan didn’t check–who knew such a small town had so many tattoo establishments–so he and Parker go together to question the owner. The owner of this last shop recognized the design as one he created, but says he didn’t put the tattoo on an old man. He tells Nathan and Parker that because of the way skin ages, tattoos look different when someone with mature skin gets one than it does with someone younger, and based on the way the tat looked in the photo, the dead man had to have gotten the adornment when he was much younger. This leaves Nathan and Parker with an illogical possibility, that the “John Doe” received the tattoo decades earlier, but long before the artist created the design. Not so illogical in a place like Haven, Maine.

Meanwhile, the coroner backs up the tattoo artist when she tells Parker and Nathan that the dead man didn’t get the tattoo when he was older, in fact the body wasn’t that of an old man at all. According to coroner Eleanor the man was only in his thirties but died of–get this–old age, and that the progression of this extreme aging took only one week; it can make you crazy if you let it. While Agent Parker and Nathan are in the middle of talking with the coroner, an old man stumbles onto the tennis court where the three are, collapses and dies at the doctor’s feet. After checking his ID, Parker says the old dead man is really young man Joe Campbell, the tourist magnet Parker saw swapping spit Friday night at “The Grey Gull.” Later coroner’s results show that Campbell died from the same extreme aging process that killed “John Doe.”

Good news though, as Parker and Nathan finally get a lead on the person who purchased the equipment on the dead poacher’s boat. It directs them to a man named James Wordell, friend of the dead “John Doe.” Wordell ID’s the body as that of his friend and poaching buddy, Phil Reiser. Wordell said Reiser began getting sick after he had a romantic night with a tourist who, surprise surprise, looked just like the woman who was last seen with Joe Campbell before he died. So he did what most friends would do when another friend begins to age rapidly and looks like they may die, he places Reiser under a tarp on the boat they stole, leaves him in the harbor, and then vanishes. Great friend. While investigating Wordell, Parker realizes it’s Friday, her date night with Duke. Parker has to cancel, of course –you’d have to be silly to think otherwise– and a disappointed Duke decides to share his meal with the very same tourist who was with the now old and dead Phil Reiser and Joe Campbell.

When Duke awakens the next morning, stiff and feeling not like himself, the beautiful tourist is ‘el gono,’ but strangely enough Duke sees Harbor Master Beatrice and an older Black woman leaving the area where he spent the night with the missing tourist. I told you no detail is too insignificant. This doesn’t look good, and it isn’t as Duke begins to age rapidly just like the other two men before him, and even Nathan, who don’t forget hates Duke, feels empathy for the man who was once his friend. Now he and Parker must find a way to reverse Duke’s aging process before he ends up like Campbell and Reiser. Stay tuned to out if the tourist is a victim or a perpetrator, and also how Miss Harbor Master herself is connected to the whole affair.

Moral of the story: careful who you decide to spend your intimate moments with, they may suck the very life out of you. My favorite part was the potential softening towards Duke by Nathan when his old nemesis lay dying in his arms. Maybe if Duke lives this can be a new beginning for them, and also answer some questions about why the two had a falling out to begin with. No sane person could possibly guess the reason behind young men dropping dead having aged at least 50 years, but “Haven” has a knack of explaining the inexplicable in ways that have you saying to yourself, “Okay, I can buy that.”

Episode 6: “Fur”

Me thinks it’s time to move, or at least carry a big gun. Once again strange happenings are underway in Haven, Maine, and this time it involves killer animals turning the tables, as the hunted become the hunters. On a peaceful night at the Haven Hunt Club, T.R. Holt is minding his own business getting into his car to go home. He notices a huge hole in his back window, and just as he begins to curse his luck, it gets worse when he’s attacked and killed by a wolf hiding in the back seat. So the wolf not only killed T.R., but broke into the car to do it, yeah I think it’s time to move. This is strange even for Haven.

“Loving” father Chief Wournos is on the scene because one of his friends, T.R. Holt has been killed, while another, Brad Donnelly is a suspect. Rumor has it that Holt and Donnelly had a huge fight the night of Holt’s death, revolving around Donnelly’s young beautiful wife. Of course Chief Wournos thinks its all bunk, and wants to form a hunting party to find the wolf that killed his friend. At the request of Parker and Nathan, he’ll wait 24 hours to allow the team some time to investigate the death, and if they find nothing in that time period the hunt will go on. Nathan and Parker talk to Donnellly who claims he loved T.R. like a brother, however Landon Taylor, the local dry cleaner, when on a hunting trip with the two brother-like individuals was almost killed when Donnelly shot at T.R., and the bullet ricochetd off of a tree, nearly hitting Landon. I guess that’s brotherly love if you’re Cain and Able.

But when Donnelly also ends up dead, the victim of another evil calculating wolf who laid in wait in the man’s own garage, a reluctant Nathan, who doesn’t believe wolves kill in such a way, and a curious Parker have to consider a new theory. They speak to Donnelly’s widow to find out what the arguing was about, she tells them T.R. and Brad weren’t fighting over her, but with animal rights activist Jess Minion. Minion, who’s only been in town for a year after inheriting her grandmother’s 90 acre farm, had often quarreled with the two dead guys about their evil hunting ways. The widow Donnelly also tells Nathan and Parker that this Minion woman put a witch mark on their back fence that was supposed to be some sort of hex that tells the animals things about people. The very same mark was found outside the hunting club where T.R. Holt was killed. We have a new suspect and her name is Minion.

So guess where Nathan and Parker head to next? You guessed it, the Minion compound to ask the lady some questions. She isn’t surprised to see them there and is very upfront about the fact that the dead T.R. hated her because she wouldn’t let the club hunt on her land, but insists that she had nothing to do with his death, and she seems genuinely unaware of Donnelly’s demise. Minion says she is no witch, but has an insight into Nathan that is borderline spooky–to me at least–but Nathan is nonplused, even engaging in some flirtin’ with this Minion woman. Hmm…

With the 24 hour moratorium up, Chief Wournos organizes his hunt to find the killer wolf. During the search, The Chief, Nathan, Parker, and surprise club member Dave Teagues are attacked by a wild moose, or so they think. After shooting the beast to smithereens, they find that the moose that attacked them was no real moose at all, but a moose carcass stuffed with rags and sand. Hmm… A stuffed moose attacked them, now how could that be? It’s Haven, that’s how it could be. Nathan and Parker head back to the hunt club for answers, and if violent stuffed moose aren’t enough, they find in the trophy room a stuffed wolf with-–gasp–blood on its teeth. Definitely time to move. Instead they call coroner Eleanor who opens up the stuffed wolf to find rags and sand inside just like in the moose, but she also finds a human finger, a finger she suspects belongs to the late great T.R. Holt. I’d be packing right now.

Parker notices a plaque in the room stating that Chief Wournos killed a moose two years prior, and the stuffed wolf with the blood on his teeth was killed by T.R. Holt, another wolf in the room was killed by Brad Donnelly. Parker believes that the animals are somehow coming to life and killing the people who killed them. Not a stretch for Haven. She also finds a tag on one of the wolves, “C.L.-6,” and she notices that all of the stuffed animals have similar tags. Attention from the tag is diverted, however, when Nathan notices an empty stand that once held a huge brown bear, and finds out that the lovable Dave Teagues was the lucky hunter who shot it. Nathan and Parker rush to his home to try and stop him from becoming the latest victim and they show up just before the bear can do any harm to the Teague brothers. Dave explains that the “C.L.-6” tag is a code that the taxidermist uses. This particular tag meant the wolf was the sixth one stuffed by Mr. Dry Cleaner, almost killed by Cain and Able, Landon Taylor. New suspect! Nathan and Parker track Landon down at his place of business, and find out he isn’t the person they thought he was. Now Parker and Nathan have to figure out if he is somehow able to make dead things alive again, and stop him before another dead beast kills again.

You have got to watch this episode just to see the twist in regards to the dry cleaner Landon Taylor, to say it is a surprise really doesn’t do it justice. Suspending reality is a must when watching any “Haven” episode, but in this one not only is it necessary, it is oh so worth it.

Q: You’ve got some pretty heavy makeup and prosthetics on in the show. And I just wondered if you could talk about the process of I guess getting into that look and how was it to work with that?

Eric Balfour: Yes. You know, it was actually really crazy. Even in prepping for it we were so under the gun because we were in the middle of shooting another episode.

And it came down to just even at the beginning they had to fly me from where we shoot the show in Halifax on a redeye to Toronto at like – it was 11 o’clock at night. And I flew in and I had a few hours sleep and then I went to the visual effects artist’s studio and they started doing the face mold and cast.

And, it’s that weird process where you have to, you know, they put a bunch of plaster on your face and alginate. And you sit there with a little straw coming out of your mouth and trying not to get claustrophobic. And so we had to do it really, really quickly.

But they had a few days to prep and then they showed up on set with these different prosthetic pieces.

And, we’ve been talking about it for a few days before about how the aging would take place and the different stages of ages I would go through the first one being a light prosthetic and mostly just makeup use. That would age me about 20 or 30 years.

And then from there you go to about 75 or 80 years old and then to about 95 and then all the way up to, you know, well we hope to about 100 years old because Duke’s going to live a long time or so we thought.

But it was a pretty intense process. I mean it was about four or five hours every day in the makeup chair.

But to be honest it was so helpful once you started getting into the prosthetic because we had talked about the different physical attributes that come along with the way that your body can, you know, degenerate over time and the physical abilities you lose and the joint dexterity and your voice changes.

And but the minute we started putting on the prosthetics it makes that whole process so much easier. It was crazy.

It was a little scary at times because you’re looking at yourself going is this really what I’m going to look like in 30 years, 40 years?

But in some ways it was interesting because some of it was very correct. You could see wow, that’s what my face is going to do.

Given the nature of that it’s not, you know, reality. And it is still an artistic, you know, conception of what you look like.

It was interesting to see even the makeup artists themselves, the visual artists, they’d look and go oh you know what? Now having spent a little more time looking at the way you use your face these two wrinkles won’t really happen to you, but you’re going to get a wrinkle here not there. And so it was really fun to play with that.

And then we went through a long conversation about facial hair. Because there was this sort of – a question of well okay so if you’re aging really quickly would the hair continue to grow at the same rate and if you didn’t shave it would you have it?

So as you probably have seen in some of the pictures I have at one point this really sort of long goatee, this wispy long Fu Manchu goatee because we just – we decided to play on the idea that well if you’ve got facial hair and he doesn’t cut it would just keep growing.

And then eventually, you know, as you got really old you would just start to lose your ability to grow hair and that would all fall away.

But it was intense. I mean I had to show up hours before everybody on set and sit in the makeup chair and try to keep myself awake all day. And then it’d take about an hour and a half after everyone left at the end of the day to get it all off.

And we did like three or four straight days of that. And it was intense but those guys were amazing. And it was just – it’s so much fun to like – to be perfectly honest, I haven’t gotten a lot of opportunities to dive into that sort of heavy a character development as far as totally taking on a different character.

And although it was a character I play it’s at an age that I’ve never played or at a physicality that I’ve never played.

So it was really fun as an actor to get to really put on a character, you know, not just a maybe a little bit of an accent but to really – you know, my favorite actors growing up were guys like, you know, Gary Oldman and Daniel Day Louis and Sean Penn and guys who really were magical, Meryl Streep, were incredible actors at creating completely different chameleon characters.

And Gary Oldman being really one of my biggest inspirations because he, no matter how big he takes a character and how out there it seems it’s always so realistic.

It’s always so believable in some ways. And I’m just – I’m fascinated by the work that he does and it’s always something that I wanted to do.

So even getting that opportunity even if it’s only for a few days was really special to me.

Q: Since Duke gets aged possibly to death or at least to the age of 100 and there’s obviously going to be circumstances we don’t know about that make this come about, does this affect Duke and his personality and his relationships with Audrey and Nathan going forward?

Eric Balfour: Well this event is going to have an enormous effect on the character and on the show and Duke’s role in it. I don’t want to give it away so you’ll have to tune in when it airs, see what happens. But there is beyond what happens simply to Duke there is a – something else that happens that whether Duke lives or dies completely affects his legacy and his life. And it was pretty shocking when we read it and it’s pretty cool to see what’s going to happen.

But, you know, I think Duke is – has been so much fun for me to play because he is rooted in an ideology that is very unique.

And he is a guy who doesn’t take no for an answer, who doesn’t believe that rules exist, and has always managed to survive by looking out for number one and looking out for himself.

So this really put some perspective I think in his character. And, you know, it’s an interesting thing. I remember when we were doing 6 Feet Under it was something we always talked about.

In dealing with death you face life. And there’s been great characters throughout history.

And I remember watching Dead Man Walking. And it was really interesting to watch that movie and realize that Shawn Penn’s character in that film, the only way that he could really find salvation for his soul was to die. You know, that was the only thing that was going to make him take responsibility for his life. So it’s very interesting to use those type of themes for me to create to what was going to happen to the character in this episode.

Q: How important is the online community to the show’s success and why is it important for you to interact with your fans online?

Eric Balfour: You know, I have to say I am so overwhelmed and honored in a way and taken aback by the response that we’ve gotten on Twitter and Facebook and all of these social networking sites.

And I think, you know, there – it’s such a big question and there’s a lot to say about it so I’ll try to keep it concise.

But the fact of the matter is that this generation with the ability to move and transpose information and connect to each other is nothing like we’ve ever seen in history.

And the ability to put ideas and thoughts and movements and causes out into the world and spread that information has been amazing.

And so anybody who doesn’t take advantage of what new media is and what social networking is as a tool to connect the world is really a fool.

And the simple fact that, you know, in some ways someone could argue that, you know, it demystifies the artist in some ways because it puts them in direct contact with their fans. But the fact of the matter is that this is an artistic medium that we work in.

And the ability to hear and to acknowledge how the fans are feeling about it has been amazing.

And some ways I’m still very novice at it and really sort of doing my best to keep up to the curve.

But I can’t tell you, you know, just the simple ability to know that if somebody is enjoying what I’m doing on the show or is a fan of mine and the ability to thank them as, you know, as simply as via a Twitter message, it’s amazing to see how that can change the way someone’s day or week or month or year is going to put a smile on their face and to acknowledge that person that basically is the reason that I’ve been able to continue having a career.

You know, the truth is I – I’ve been lucky that I’ve continued to work as an actor but I am not the prettiest boy on the block and I’m certainly not the most talented actor.

So the fact that people who do appreciate what I do get out there and say that and spread that word and tell people about it has been, you know, a huge part of why I get to keep going to work every day. It’s why I have a roof over my head. And I’m just really grateful and lucky that I get to be an artist as a job.

And the fans who enjoy that are what make it possible. So I can’t tell you how much it makes me happy to acknowledge them and communicate with them.

And I mean even today, you know, I’ve been on Twitter and even just doing a fun little contest we basically, you know, came up with an idea that we would – whoever could get the most re-tweets all of their tweets telling people to watch the show this Friday I was going to make a little video message thanking them personally and post it up on Twitter.

And we’re going to decide at the beginning of next week who actually won and check the actual number of re-tweets that that person got from their message.

It just makes it fun and it makes us all connected. And it makes us a community. And it makes us like, you know, it’s fun being us against the world, you know, in some ways. It’s a tough business and to have the help and support of the fans is just amazing.

Q: Can you tell us kind of how you came to work on Haven, the auditioning process and everything?

Eric Balfour: It was actually a pretty fun story. One of the executive producers, Shawn Pillar is one of my oldest best friends.

And we had actually gotten on the phone one day to talk about something else completely. And he’s sort of out of nowhere went oh my God, oh my God, Balfour you should be playing Duke. I’m like who’s Duke?

He’s like oh my God I’m doing this new TV show for SyFy. And it’s like based on the Stephen King novel. And Duke is like this rogue character in the show and he’s like a modern-day Hans Solo and his boat is his millennium falcon.

I’m like oh my God that sounds amazing. Yes he’s like a modern-day pirate. I’m like well dude let’s make this happen. How do we – what do we need to do?

He’s like all right, I’m going to get on the phone with casting and your agents. And it became this minute of like a standoff because I’d gotten an offer that same week to do a pilot for another network.

And so my agents and managers who are amazingly talented and, you know, kick butt working for me were like well, you know, you have this other offer. And if they want you bad enough they should make you an offer.

And then obviously the network SyFy, you know, they wanted to see who was going to be playing this role and they wanted to see me in the character and they wanted to see something.

And there was this standoff where we couldn’t exactly figure out how to get everyone in line. And so me and Shawn because we were friends were like screw it. Let’s not tell anybody. I’ll come into the office. We’ll make a secret tape me during one of the audition scenes and we’ll send it to network.

Well the casting director who’s a really, you know, just awesome professional guy was like wait, wait, wait, wait. I cannot allow this to happen. I can’t like have you guys secretly doing this. I’ll get in so much trouble with your agents and that’s not cool.

And we’re like right okay. Well I’m going to go to Shawn’s office to have lunch in quotes. And I don’t know, we just may happen to talk about that. Was there a camera there? I had no idea?

So we actually kind of secretly made the tape together and then they sent it off to the network on their own and that was able to get them to be convinced that I should play the role.

And the next thing, you know, you knew the network got what they needed and my agents got the offer they wanted. And technically I don’t think I ever auditioned. And it just all magically happened.

But it really is, what’s the word I’m looking for? I guess it’s really a kind of a kudos to them that, you know, I don’t believe in nepotism. I don’t think that will garnish a career.

And the fact that me and Shawn were friends didn’t guarantee me anything. But what it did do was allow us to work outside of the box a little and make this happen.

It wasn’t going to happen without me auditioning, and without the network seeing what I could bring to the role.

But at the same time it did allow us to (mock) it in a way where we could, you know, make everybody happy.

And, you know, there’s a lot of politics in this industry. And, you know, like I said, me and Shawn being friends didn’t guarantee me anything.

But I do strongly believe — and this is for anybody who’s thinking about wanting to be an actor or work in this industry, just becoming friends with somebody isn’t going to make you a career.

Trying to become a friend of someone famous or, you know, someone important won’t guarantee you anything.

But building true relationships with people and being sincere and, you know, really, you know, learning to allow people to know who you are and to build sincere relationships, people want to work with people they like. And that’s true in any industry. It doesn’t guarantee anything.

But I really do believe that, you know, the relationships I’ve built and the people I’ve worked with and the friendships I’ve maintained do pay off.

You know, and it’s a fine line between I guess this sort of cliché of networking and just genuinely being yourself and building true relationships with people you respect.

Because if you’re going to spend months and months with somebody you want to do it with somebody you like. You know, and no, that’s not going to – that’s not enough to get you a job but it does factor in when you’re going – if all these stars align and that person is – has the right skill set for the role and you like that person and you want to fight for them, it definitely hedges your bets.

Q: What does filming in Lunenburg give the series, do you think?

Eric Balfour: Well filming out here in Nova Scotia and Lunenburg and Chester and Hubbards in these amazing little towns we film in I think beyond the visual attributes that they give us, you know, they are very rich emotional locations. They also allow us as the actors to not have to pretend.

You know, when – in these little towns that we’ve been filming in they have this very cerebral tone to them and they’re very visceral. You can feel them.

And I think I’ve said it before that they carry and emotionality with them. So it’s always a strange thing. And it’s the magic of making movies and television shows, you know, and they – and you hear them building these elaborate sets for a Pirates of the Caribbean or for some movie where they build these futuristic sets. It’s all about creating the most reality for the actors in those worlds.

And so getting the film in a place like this where everything is tangible and real and the docks and the boats and the houses and the water and the forestry around this, it really allows you to just sort of soak in the environment and feel like you’re really a part of it and to feel like you really are in this town that we’ve created, Haven.

So as difficult it is being away from home and away from friends and family and picking up your life for months at a time, the benefits that go with that definitely outweigh the negatives.

Q: In the last episode Duke was given the lease to the restaurant. Are we going to see that play out for the rest of the season? Are we going to see him actually working on the straight and narrow or is he going to be pulled in some bad boy ways still?

Eric Balfour: Well I can say this, given what happens in the next episode Duke’s fate is certainly unknown. But if he was to survive, I can guarantee you that Duke will never be on the straight and narrow. It’s just not in his DNA.

He is a modern day outlaw for sure. And I don’t think, you know, you’ll never see Duke if he makes it out of this, he’ll never be a 9:00 to 5:00 guy.

And, you know, the restaurant which I doubt Duke would keep it as a restaurant. I think he’s more of a bar man.

But I think it only allows Duke another outlet for what he inherently already likes to do. And, you know, I think what’s interesting about Duke is that I’m sure he could do lots of other things and he could probably make money doing any number of things but he’s chosen to live his life as an outlaw and not only out of necessity but he likes it, you know, he likes the lifestyle.

So no, I don’t think you’ll ever see Duke be – have a regular 9:00 to 5:00 job ever.

Q: I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts of comparing your experiences making Haven with some of your other experiences and particularly your experiences on the show 24 because the two characters are so vastly different.
Eric Balfour: They are different. You know, it’s been an interesting process. Specifically 24 was such a fine, fine well oiled machine. And I came onto that show really from the first season to the last season I did as in some ways as a guest.

You know, Keifer is an amazing actor and amazing Captain on that ship. And it, you know, they’re – in every different project you take on a different dynamic on the team, sort of like a basketball team. You know, some guys are role players, some guys are the captain of the team.

And in some ways this experience has been unique to me because in some ways I have had fortunately a lot of experience being on TV shows and being part of a group of people who are creating something.

So this experience, the producers and writers have been so gracious and really being open to my thoughts and opinions and valuing what I bring to the table. And it’s been an amazing experience in that way to feel like I’m really part of the creative team.

I mean I can’t say enough about how talented they are and the character that they’ve created for me because the response to the character’s been amazing and overwhelming.

So it’s definitely been unique in that sense to have my voice heard and to have it appreciated and valued. It’s been wonderful.

Every show is different. What I think has made this really I guess sweet in some ways, you know, as an actor your only power is to say no.

You know, you can turn down a role but that’s really the only power you have. And so when you walk into a series you’re not the writer, you’re not the director, you’re not the producers, you’re not the network who decides what time or where it goes on the air.

So in one sense, you know, I’ve been very lucky that I’ve continued to work as an actor and blessed that I’ve have a job to go to most of the time.

But I’ve been on a lot of shows that, you know, for whatever reason were short-lived. And in some cases you take the blame for that. And it’s an odd thing because you’re sort of going wait, I didn’t write it. I didn’t direct it. I didn’t edit it. I didn’t decide what time to put it on the air or what show to put it up against.

And in any case you put your heart and soul into your work as an artist you have no choice. And so it’s very difficult when you watch a show that you love and care about not last.

And it’s such a strange thing when week to week, you know, you’re working on a show and you’re giving it everything you have and you get the ratings numbers the following, you know, Monday or whatever it happens after the show airs.

And sometimes you watch those ratings decline. And there’s a little bit of heartbreak the goes with that, not a little bit, but a lot of heartbreak because it’s like watching a loved one die.

But it has been absolutely amazing to see in this case that we’ve held our numbers. And even last week we had our numbers go up and climb and we gain new viewers.

And to see the possibility at least still that this could actually make it to the next echelon and to actually continue into another season and to have a life, it’s pretty amazing.

And I guess all of those other experiences have made me really grateful for this because I have been on the other end of that and seen a show prematurely or maybe not prematurely pass away.

And so to have something take on its own life and so to start to actually grow and take on its own momentum is even more sweet.

I really do believe that the journey that I’ve gone on has made me appreciate the successes that I have had now.

Q: Your character on the show is kind of a wild child. I wondered what is the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done in real life?
Eric Balfour: Oh wow, well I have been very, very lucky that I’ve gotten to go on lots of adventures in my life. And I have a group of friends that are thrill seekers just like me. So there’s been a lot of adventures.

But I can think back one of the most recent adventures I got to go on was a couple years ago me and about ten or 12 of my best friends, we took a boat trip to Maldives. And we lived on a boat for about 2-1/2 weeks. And we traveled from little island to little island looking for amazing surf spots.

And we lived on this boat and we went through storms and we traveled through, you know, these amazing countries. And that was a really fun adventure and I still look back at that.

And actually as a kind of fun little tidbit, inside of what is now Duke’s restaurant or bar if you pay attention to some scenes you can see up on the ceiling there is some posters that they’ve printed up of me surfing. And those pictures were actually taken on that trip to the Maldives.

Q: That’s great. Actually that sounds like perfect background for your character too — something he might have done.

Eric Balfour: Yes absolutely. It’s been one of the funnest parts about playing Duke is that I’ve been able to pool so many of my own experiences.

And in that regard I mean they’re definitely things that are different about me and Duke but there are similarities that I definitely feel between me and Duke as far as our sense of adventure and our sense of, you know, curiosity.

And so being able to use my life experiences and my travels around the world has definitely helped.

Q: Haven appears on SyFy and yet it’s Earth-based science fiction. Do you like science fiction? Do you consider this to be a science fiction show?
Eric Balfour: It’s an interesting question. And to be perfectly frank I don’t know if I have the answer to that in some ways.

It’s sort of like when somebody asks me about a musical genre. You know, well is this rock or is this alternative or is it, you know, emo, or is it punk or is it – you know, I don’t know if I could say that I think this is a science fiction show because I don’t know if I know exactly what that means.

But the term science fiction can cover a really broad span of genres in some ways. But I do believe that in my opinion science fiction is anything that falls under things outside of our known reality.

And whether it be Earth-based science fiction or futuristic science-fiction or otherworldly science fiction or supernatural science fiction, I’m fascinated by all of them.

Am I a fan of science fiction in and of itself? I’m a fan of good film and television. I’m a fan of things that are interesting and smart.

And so some of my favorite, you know, films have fallen under that genre. I don’t know that I would say I search it out purely because something is science fiction but, you know, star Wars is an amazing movie at science fiction.

The Exorcist is – maybe that’s horror, science fiction. I mean it’s certainly not science fiction as you think of it. But it’s an incredible film.

And you think of the movie I have coming out in November Skyline, I mean that is, you know, sort of classic Sci-Fi genre filmmaking. And I loved making it and I love being a part of it.

So yes, I am a fan of Sci-Fi but I don’t search it out purely because something is science fiction. I just like – I like things that are good and fun and smart.

Q: With a hit science fiction show comes Sci-Fi conventions. Do you enjoy that sort of environment or are you looking forward to possibly doing some promotional work in that vein?

Eric Balfour: Well, you know, this year was my first experience really getting to dive into that. And I got to go to Comic-Con for the first time ever in my life. And I got to do a panel for the film I have coming out Skyline.

And then I was really fortunate enough to get to introduce that week’s episode of Haven in front of a live audience that I watched it with.

But it was an amazing experience. It was so much fun. I mean walking down the streets in San Diego downtown and just every freak in the world was out. And, you know, I’m a big fan of letting your freak flag fly.

So to get to be a part of it and hang out with all those people there is a sincerity with Sci-Fi fans. And there is a lack of pretension I guess you could say.

And they’re just fun to be around. And some of them – the really fun ones are the ones who dive into the mythology or dive into the reality of what, you know, you always hear about the people who have, you know, written books about what the actual Starship Enterprise’s different levels look like and what the engine room looks like and how, you know, people who’ve – have translated Vulcan into a dictionary.

It’s like it’s just so much fun because they’re so sincere about their love for it and they’re so sincere about their passion for it it’s hard not to have it be contagious.

So I would be happy to be a part of that anytime if I’m so fortunate and people wanted me there I guess because it’s just fun. You get to be – this is – all of this what we do in some ways reverts back to all of our childhood fantasies and make-believe and fantasy and adventure. And so getting to be an adult and live a little bit in that world is just really fun.

Q: My question is this upcoming episode, has that been your favorite to film so far? And if not which episode was?

Eric Balfour: Well the episode coming up was definitely the most challenging and most satisfying for me as an actor because I got to sort of spread my wings and really got to work hard and it was challenging, and whenever you’re faced with a challenge that’s exciting. Whenever you’re a little afraid of something is exciting because you’re taking on a big undertaking. And so in that regard yes, it was absolutely one of my favorite episodes.

To be honest every episode that we do next in some ways is becoming the favorite episode because of the way that the chemistry is starting to grow between me and Emily and Lucas.

I can see it every day. I’m starting to see it more and more. And I was actually thinking about it on set yesterday.

There’s a looseness and a fun and a sense of play that’s starting to happen between the three of us and a sense of camaraderie.

And I’m starting to feel it in-between takes and when we’re hanging out, you know, waiting for set ups.

And so in some ways each episode that we do gets more and more enjoyable because all of a sudden now you’re not working with these people that you don’t really know or have just met or maybe knew a little bit.

Now you’re starting to work with friends, you’re starting to play with friends. So it’s a tough question. It’s a really good question. But as an actor this week’s episode was really exciting for me and I was really grateful to the writers that they wrote it for me.

But as far as just being a favorite episode to work on, you know, they’re only getting better and better.

I mean I’m – we’re seeing it every week that the writers are really starting to understand what they want to say with the show and with the characters and the entire – I mean our crew on set, I really got to say that the people that we’ve been working up here with in Nova Scotia have been amazing.

And you’re starting to see a synergy between what the writers write and what the cameraman, our director of photography (Eric), who’s amazing, the crew and the AD departments and the props departments and the set department and everybody down the line is really starting to understand what Haven is. And it’s pretty cool to see.

I can’t wait for season two, three, four, and five if we’re lucky enough to get there because it’s only getting better.

Q: What would you say are the main similarities and differences between you and Duke?

Eric Balfour: I think the main similarities between me and Duke — and I’ve thought lots about this — are two things. One neither of us like to take no for an answer.

Two we do not like rules. I don’t like rules in my own life and Duke definitely doesn’t like rules.

And in some ways it’s got me into a lot of trouble in my life and in other ways it’s opened up the world to always – and I remember as a kid I used to get in trouble for it in school because I always asked why for everything. I wanted to know why.

And I remember in school as a kid I remember it offended some teachers because they thought I was being adversarial or contradictory.

But it really came from a sense of I didn’t want to ever take anything on face value. And that was something that was instilled by my grandfather and my family.

And the, you know, the world is a difficult place. And the only way to really see how you want to live it and to form your own opinions is to question things and to ask why.

And I tell that to kids all the time, you know, don’t take anything on face value, you know. If you don’t understand it or you want to know why ask. And so that to me is really the biggest similarity between me and Duke.

I think the biggest difference between me and Duke is that, you know, I grew up with a really, really strong sense of family and community. And nothing ever superseded my love for my friends and my family and taking care of them.

Duke is different. You know, there’s a lot I think to be learned still about Duke. And there’s a lot that we don’t know about his past.

But he grew up having to take care of himself. And I can relate to that in some ways because I started at a very young age working and providing for myself and having to take care of myself.

But I was fortunate that I had, you know, people around me who I could turn to if I needed even when I was on my own.

But Duke I think really has cocooned himself to not depend on anybody and not to trust anyone. So I think those – that’s the biggest difference between us.

Q: I’ve noticed with a lot of the fans and even more so than what’s going on in Haven, a lot of people are speculating on the relationship between Duke and Nathan. Will we see more of this revealed over the course of this first season or is that going to remain one of the town’s mysteries?

Eric Balfour: Well obviously we’ll have to see if Duke makes it out of this episode first. But, you know, I know the writers have hinted at a long history between Nathan and Duke. And it’s been hinted in the episodes that have aired even.

But I honestly, you know, I don’t know exactly when those things are going to be revealed and how quickly.

I think it’s like any good sauce, you know, you have to let it simmer for a while. And I honestly don’t know. I think there is definitely things to be revealed that will be revealed but I don’t know when.

“Haven,” which premiered July 9th, is based on the Stephen King novel “The Colorado Kid” and stars Emily Rose as FBI agent Audrey Parker. On the surface she’s your typical workaholic, emotionless female agent sent to Haven, Maine to retrieve a federal prisoner who escaped lock up, but there is more to her than the standard female cop stereotypes. There’s also more to “Haven” than first meets the eye. Initially it looks like the poor man’s “Fringe,” but as I watched I could see that this was no low-budget Fringe-alike show. To my surprise, “Haven” was more of a character study, which is a common attribute of most of King’s novels, than a sci-fi drama. Right from the start it skillfully blended the quirkiness of the town and the locals with the “outsider” FBI agent who fit in more than she was willing to admit.

Episode One: “Welcome to Haven”

Strange things happen in Haven, Maine, and on one particular night as Jonas Lester chases someone unseen through the dark forresty cliffs above Haven’s beautiful beaches, at gunpoint mind you, curiously strong winds suddenly lift him into the air and catapults him off the cliff to his death below. Things like this just happen in Haven. Jonas Lester had returned to his childhood home of Haven after escaping from Federal prison, and Agent Parker is sent there by her boss, Agent Howard, with the express purpose of returning Jonas to his government provided 6×8 foot home. Strange events engulf Parker as soon as she hits the outskirts of the town. As the road opens up and tries to swallow her and her car in one huge gulp, the agent quickly jerks the wheel to avoid being asphalt dinner, but unfortunately winds up precariously dangling over the edge of a cliff. Luckily Haven police officer Nathan Wournos, played by Canadian actor Lucas Bryant, just happens to be passing by on his way to the beach and the crime scene that coincidentally contains the body of the very much wanted yet very dead Jonas Lester. Nathan rescues the distressed FBI agent before her car goes over the edge. Welcome to Haven, Agent Parker.

Parker goes along with Nathan since his crime scene is now hers, and she immediately notices queer things about the scene. Like Lester’s body not looking as if it had just accidentally fallen from the cliff, but there weren’t any signs of a struggle either. To Agent Parker, this is weird, and she thinks that his death is a homicide of some kind. Unfortunately the uptight police chief and father of Nathan, played by fellow Canadian Nicholas Campbell, thinks that the worthless Lester’s death is not only a blessing to Haven, but also an accident and discourages any further investigating. Parker, not so easily dissuaded, goes against the wishes of the chief, and with Nathan in tow, they check the cliffs above the beach for any clues that might lead to the answers behind Lester’s death. What they find is a scene that looks as if a tornado had hit it, but there were no reports of any strange weather in the area on the night of Lester’s death. Hmm…

The weather continues to plague the Nathan/Parker investigation; there’s fog that appears out of the blue and is so thick no one can see their hand in front of their face, sudden gusts of wind followed by lightening strikes that knock Agent Parker off of her feet, and hurricane like winds that come on instantly and threaten to blow the whole town of Haven into the ocean. All of these weather events take place when Parker and Nathan are getting close to solving Lester’s death. To top all that off, Nathan’s childhood friend and now nemesis, smuggler Duke Crocker- played by Eric Balfour- is a suspect in the Lester murder. The fun never ends.

Parker and Nathan discover that Jonas Lester returned to his childhood home because he was partners with someone trying to dupe an unsuspecting business owner out of their inheritance. However the genius Jonas gets picked up on a parole violation before the plan is enacted and is sent back to jail. He breaks out and returns to make sure his partner doesn’t take his share of the loot. Parker and Nathan must find out if the person who was Jonas’ mark is also the person who can manipulate the weather enough to send people careening over the sides of a cliffs, and stop them before others perish.

Intertwined in all this craziness is the mystery surrounding a woman that may be the biological mother of Agent Parker. An orphan who never knew either of her parents, Parker meets Haven’s two eccentric newspaper editors, Vince and Dave Teagues who show her a picture from a 27 year old article about the case of a “John Doe” dubbed by the press “The Colorado Kid,” because the body was found in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. The woman in the picture is the spitting image of Audrey Parker, but no one seems to know who she is or what her involvement is, including Chief Wournos who was a young officer assigned to the case.

Intrigued by the picture of her look-alike, Parker calls her boss Agent Howard requesting to take some “me” time away from the FBI, in hopes of finding out if the woman in the paper is her mother. While speaking to her boss, the camera slowly moves up from the beach where the unsuspecting Parker is standing, to the cliffs above her, where we see Howard watching Parker down below. After ending the conversation with Parker, boss man makes a call to some unknown person letting them know that Audrey Parker is staying in town and he hopes she can help them with their problem. Now that leaves us asking ourselves, who is this Howard working with/for? And why was Audrey Parker really sent to Haven in the first place? Ooh, the plot thickens.

“Haven” opens strongly with this first episode; the quirkiness of the town and those that inhabit it make for an engaging hour. Immediately it’s easy to see that Parker’s quest to find her mother will be an anchor for the series, but it will be interesting to see if the “who’s my mother” storyline can remain interesting without becoming a hindrance to the show on a whole.

Episode Two: “Butterflies”

It is pretty obvious from the opening scene that Reverend Ed Driscoll does not like Otis, the owner of a bar called The Rust Bucket. The control freak Driscoll is not pleased that his grown daughter is working at such a place of ill repute, he tells Otis just that and the two get into a heated argument. The next morning as Havenites are out for their morning constitutionals, they watch as a huge metal ball, whose home was once part of a sculpture located on the grounds of Reverend Driscoll’s church atop Green street, rolls down the hill, escorted by butterflies of course, and heads directly towards The Rust Bucket, demolishing it and only it in its wake.

Agent Parker is hanging around Haven on “vacation,” hoping to find information on the unknown woman who may be her mother, when Nathan, on his way to The Rust Bucket runs into the agent. Parker, who’s supposed to be on “vacation” mind you, tags along, as his partner of sorts. From the start, Driscoll looks like the force behind the mega balls decent into the bar, and Parker discovers that Nathan and Reverend Driscoll have a healthy dislike for one another that goes way back, which makes questioning the pastor quite difficult as he refuses to discuss what went on at “The Bucket” the night before. While Driscoll is giving Parker and Nathan the verbal dodge, his daughter Hannah shows up with her foster son Bobby, whose parents were killed in a car accident the year before. She also won’t discuss what happened, and Bobby seems afraid to even look Nathan in the eyes. Hmm…

Afterward Parker heads to her hotel room to freshen up and is greeted by a beautiful butterfly that innocently flutters into her room and lands on the bed. As she sits dialing Nathan, the blanket on the bed begins to unravel, wrapping itself around Parker and enfolding the agent in a quilty cocoon. She is able to call out to Nathan on the phone for help before the final wrap, and once again he comes to the rescue. Things like this just happen in Haven.

During the questioning of Driscoll, Parker noticed that he collected butterflies and leaps to the notion that Driscoll is somehow manipulating the insects into wreaking havoc; quite plausible in a town like Haven, but Nathan is not convinced. However, he agrees to question Driscoll again, but the man angrily admonishes the two interlopers and in the middle of his diatribe, a butterfly lands on Driscoll’s shoulder and craziness ensues. Pastor Driscoll is dragged by some unseen force that takes him directly in the path of a driverless vehicle, nearly killing him. Believe now Nathan? However this is a bummer for the team, because now their only suspect is no longer a suspect.  Then who is the culprit and why did they target The Rust Bucket and Father Driscoll? These are questions that Parker and Nathan have to find the answer to before someone else became the victim of the butterfly attacks. “The troubles are back, like it or not,” was the cryptic message Driscoll’s spit out at Nathan after his near death experience, and from the look on Nathan’s face, he seems to think they’re back as well.

Meanwhile, Parker convinces Chief Wournos to let her take a look at some old files from the “Colorado Kid” case. He reluctantly agrees, but when he brings her the old dusty box from the 1983 case, it is completely empty. It’s beginning to look like someone doesn’t want this case dredged up again. Parker, feeling as if she’s at a dead end, finds a melancholy Nathan sitting in reflective silence out near the shore; quietly he begins to tell her a bit about “the troubles.” They began in February 1983, he told her, the same year of the murder, the same year he found out that pain was no problem for him, and the same year her mother may have been in Haven. Nathan thinks the “troubles” are back, and this time he fears they won’t go away.

Episode 2 isn’t as strong as its predecessor, but it didn’t make me want to give up on the town of Haven. The story wasn’t as gripping as that of the pilot, I mean it’s hard to get all worked up about butterflies, and the special effects used to cocoon Agent Parker looks as if they were done back in the early ’90s. However, the introduction of the mysterious “troubles” that cursed Haven almost 30 years ago and seems to have returned is an interesting plot line that made even this less thrilling second episode worth watching.

Episode Three: “Harmony”

Seems like a psychiatric hospital in Haven is redundant considering most of the residents are a bit on the nutty end of strange, yet there is one. The morning at the hospital begins as normal, then without warning two of the patients who have been catatonic for years are suddenly and remarkably sane- sane for Haven anyway- while the head doctor has just as suddenly gone nuts. Things like this just happen in Haven.

When Nathan and Parker arrive they are surprised to find- I don’t know why anything surprises them at this point- nonetheless, they are surprised to find the doctor who’s supposed to be in charge of the hospital freakishly strong and absolutely nuts, damaging the facility and throwing orderlies around like rag dolls. When the situation is finally under control, and I use that word lightly, and after a head count, Nathan and Parker are told that three patients are missing: the two male catatonics, and one female, Lily, who’s a grand-mal obsessive compulsive.

The two male patients are returned to the hospital and both are still fairly cogent, but Lily is still missing. Mr. Sparey, one of the catatonics, begins talking with Parker about the flower stand he used to own before he went bonkers. Suddenly he stops and begins to stare at her, and then he rattles off the names of three flowers, “daisies, snapdragons and orchids.” Right after Sparey’s strange recollection, he and the other male patient quickly slip back into their catatonic states, and the doctor is returned to his previous state. As if by magic the sane/insane spell is reversed, and Parker is at a loss of what to make of the sudden floral outburst from the now unreachable Mr. Sparey.

Things get a little hairy when Nathan, after searching for and finding the missing obsessive Lily, is also caught up in the “I was sane now I’m not” syndrome. In order to keep him safe until it wears off, which seems to happen in a matter of hours, Parker enlists the help of his one time friend but now foe Duke to watch Nathan until she can find the missing woman who may also have returned to her previous mental state, and who may be the key in discovering how these strange switcharoos are happening.

As if locating escaped mental patients and keeping a now insane Nathan safe isn’t enough, Agent Parker is once again steered in the direction of the unsolved “Colorado Kid” case and her doppelganger, when the flower stand owner again in a period of clarity remembers selling flowers to a woman years before. When Parker asks him who this woman was, he once again rattles off, “Daisies, snapdragon, orchids.” Then he says, “I remember flowers, not names.” Parker wonders if this woman is the very same one in the 27 year old article, and presses the patient to try and recall her name. After thinking further it hits him, “Lucy, I believe it was Lucy.” Now Parker had a name to go along with the face, and her first real clue in regards to the woman who may be her mother. Not only that, she has a new job offer to consider from Mr. Negative himself, Chief Wournos. With all that to muddle over Parker is visited by the recalcitrant Duke who, after seeing Nathan in his insane state, wants to know if the troubles are back. Parker believes they are, and anyone watching would have to agree.

A very strong episode that makes up for the lackluster second installment, it may have helped that it was very light on the special effects. The writers so far are doing a great job of linking each crazy case investigated by Nathan and Parker to the mystery surrounding the 27 year old “Colorado Kid” murder and the woman who could be Parker’s mother. We are in the dark about what these “troubles” may be and how they may be linked to the three decades old murder, but it’s the kind of darkness I like.

Episode Four: “Consumed”

It’s a beautiful sunny day in Haven, Maine, and Agent Parker is taking advantage of it as she strolls through the farmer’s market enjoying all the sights, sounds and tastes that the merchants has to offer. But it wouldn’t be a day in Haven without some bizarre event overshadowing the occasion, and this day is no different. Things start to ride off the rails when an irate chef begins yelling at an apple merchant accusing him of selling rotten apples. Parker tries to step in and help when she notices his apples, apples that were perfectly fine just seconds before, had in the blink of an eye turned into crates full of black rotten apple mush; and to make the strange even stranger, other merchants began noticing their products spoiling right in front of their eyes as well. Without rhyme or reason, certain stands were hit by the decay while others weren’t. Go figure; things like this just happen in Haven.

Parker and Nathan interview the farmers who were hit by the “great rot,” and are taken aback at how selective the destruction was. One plot out of a whole orchard, one hen house, one box of corn out of a dozen; and the lab results didn’t clear up the mystery when tests showed that acid was found in all the rotten food. Huh?

There is a common thread between all of the vendors affected by the decomposed foods. Seems they all supply goods to Bill and Jeff McShaw, brothers who own a restaurant called “The Second Chance Bistro,” and old friends of Nathan the cop and Duke Crocker the smuggler. Jeff, an arrogant head chef, moves back to Haven to help little brother Bill re-open the eatery with a fancy cuisine that Bill just can’t provide, a fact that Jeff continually reminds his baby brother of. It doesn’t help matters that Jeff thinks he’s too good for the small hamlet, something he also frequently reminds his brother of. This makes for a very tense Bill McShaw who only wants the restaurant that was once owned by his parents to be successful. Parker and Nathan suspect someone is out to hurt the restaurant and ruin Jeff’s reputation, and all signs point to John Robert, king of the “Lobster Pups”, and a man very interested in buying the bistro from the brothers.

On the night of the grand re-opening, Parker and Nathan decide to attend in the hopes of catching the “food rot” culprit, but as soon as the patrons take their first bite, the food begins to decay and customers begin to get sick. Parker and Nathan are at their wits end. Sitting at a table not too far from them is the “Lobster man” himself John Robert who is looking less like a suspect and more like a patient after eating the decomposing salmon. Angry and blaming every one else, Jeff runs off like a little girl and tells Bill he’s going back to New York where this kind of kookiness doesn’t happen. However, Jeff ends up dead, and Parker and Nathan have to find out if the killer of Jeff is the same perpetrator who’s been ruining the bistro’s food supply, and stop them before someone else dies.

Whew! Four episodic wild rides that I thoroughly enjoyed. The final installment of the quartet was as wonderfully weird as the previous three. I’ve never read the book “The Colorado Kid,” but I’ve read many Stephen King novels, and just like in those tomes, I had an immediate connection to these characters. Emily Rose does a great job of being a tough hard working officer without losing her femininity or her compassion for the people caught up in the crazy events she investigates. Lucas Bryant, manages to pull off the handsome distant, “I hate my father” role without it coming off as clichéd. There is so much more depth to these characters than meets the eye, Nathan and Parker could easily be one dimensional dime a dozen police officers seen a million times in a million different shows, but that would do a disservice to any story associated with Stephen King . I’m looking forward to seeing how they lay out the mysteries involving Haven and its residents. For now I’ll just enjoy being reeled in each and every week.

“Haven” provided a respite for me on a day when I really needed one, and now it has me hooked in its quirky clutches.

Q: So tell us a little bit about how this came about and what made the crossover appealing for both of you.

Allison Scagliotti: Neil, do you want to start or shall I?

Neil Grayston: I – say you – you go ahead. Yes, you do the start because you’re the one who introduced yourself to me at Comic-Con.

Allison Scagliotti: That’s true, all right. I believe that the nugget of the crossover idea began when Neil and I met at last year’s Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2009. I watched the Eureka panel moderated by Josh Gates, which was hilarious. Then, at the Syfy party I marched up to Neil and I said, “Neil, let’s be friends.” And he said, “Okay, it sounds good.” We were inseparable from that moment on and we had this immediate dorky chemistry where we were finishing each other’s sentences and, you know, delivering punch lines at the same time. Our…

Neil Grayston: Yes, that was weird that first time when we just made the same joke and we stopped, and we’re like we just made that joke at the same time. And…

Allison Scagliotti: Yes.

Neil Grayston: …we just made the same movements for that joke, too. That’s weird.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, we have the same sense of humor. We did on the set, too. And it really, you know, our chemistry played so well in life that I think our respective showrunners and, you know, the good people over at Syfy realized what a commodity it can be to blend these shows. But I think one really believes existing in the same universe and so here we are Claudia and Fargo at the center of this awesome crossover event.

Neil Grayston: One year later.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes.

Q: So, I mean, let me ask you, you know, the two of you, I’m not sure, you know, as far as your characters go, I’m not sure what the original intent was. But both Claudia and Fargo have really sort of grown and become very, you know, not just essential parts of the whole cast puzzle, but, you know, very popular with the fans. So just if the two of you could tell us a little bit about how you feel about the growth of your characters now over the past couple of seasons.

Neil Grayston: Sure. Well, I guess I’ll start on this one. For me it’s just one of those awesome things where I was actually only contracted to be in seven episodes a season. I was really a tertiary character in Eureka. And they just sort of kept on chucking me in to the point where, you know, now I’m all episodes, my character is running Global Dynamics and it’s just – it’s a nice thing to work hard and try to do the best job you can and have that noticed and have them continue to, you know, employ me. It’s awesome.

Allison Scagliotti: And on my side of things, I mean, similarly when I joined the cast in Season 1, I came in late, I showed up in Episode 4. And really by brute force Claudia was an outsider who sort of fought her way in and had to figure out where she fit within this group but has become such an integral part of the family that, you know, she’s sort of everyone’s little sister, little nerdy sister.

And that really mirrors, I feel, my evolution as an actress out and about trying to belong to something, finding her way onto this show and developing such a second family with this, you know, amazing cast and crew. So I’ve been really lucky to play a girl who’s very close to myself.

Q: Can you tell us, without going into the spoilers, but can you give us kind of the set up for this crossover within the plots of the show? Like what – why are the two characters going to the other town?

Allison Scagliotti: Yes. Neil, do you want me to start with Warehouse and then you can describe Eureka?

Neil Grayston: Yes, sure.

Allison Scagliotti: So Fargo comes to the Warehouse to update our computer system. Little does he know that much like all of the artifacts, the Warehouse has an organic human element that it’s not as simple to upgrade as just a new plug-in. So the Warehouse fights back because we discover that an important component of the computer system is half of a man’s brain.

So we have Renee Auberjonois from Deep Space Nine guesting as a Warehouse agent whose brain was compromised. And we – Claudia and Fargo connect in the Warehouse and put their heads together to sort of save the day and avoid the (severe) Eureka (gack) out to kill them.

And Neil really – and I got to tell you, I’m going to gush a little bit, I – because I watched the episode twice now. Neil hits it out of the park. I’m so glad that he’s so featured in this episode because he’s really fantastic in it. And I predict that this episode is going to be a fan favorite.

Neil Grayston: Aw.

Allison Scagliotti: And it’s true.

Neil Grayston: Well, thank you.

Allison Scagliotti: You’re my favorite.

Neil Grayston: I’m all scratching my elbow over here. Yes. The Eureka one is basically I guess, you know, Fargo obviously has a little bit of a crush on Claudia and starts – I guess he starts making the purple goo that the Warehouse uses for the artifacts and sort of synthesizes it. Because the Warehouse already has a purple goo making machine, right?

Allison Scagliotti: Yes. There is a (gurie) that pumps the goo throughout the Warehouse, but it has to be manufactured somewhere.

Neil Grayston: Okay, yes. So Fargo decides to start making a version of that in Eureka and invites Claudia over to come pick up a batch and then science happens and mystery happens and Claudia helps save the day and solves some puzzles that are happening and explosions happen and sparks and stuff and it’s a really fun episode.

Allison Scagliotti: Sparks and explosions and more kissing, I might add.

Neil Grayston: Yes, yes, a lot more, ha ha.

Q: So I guess Nolan Gerard Funk should be looking for a new job, is that what we’re saying here?

Allison Scagliotti: No, Nolan continues his (arc) on the show, but he’s got some competition…

Kenn Gold: Okay.

Allison Scagliotti: …that I will say.

Q: That’s good to hear. My next question, I just wanted to ask I know you guys and we all just got back from Comic-Con here and I wanted to hear what were your antics? What was the Syfy party like? Did you guys do anything, I guess, unusual or to be noticed at this year’s event?

Allison Scagliotti: Oh my God. I barely remember Comic-Con that’s how slammed it was with responsibilities.

Neil Grayston: Yes, it’s like 48 hours blended into three almost…

Allison Scagliotti: Yes.

Neil Grayston: That’s what it feels like to me, like, it was just sort of got off the train and then all of a sudden I was in a plane going to Vancouver. I don’t know about you guys.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, it very much felt the same way for me. We got to moderate each other’s panels this year.

Neil Grayston: Which was awesome.

Allison Scagliotti: It was. We sat on the train from…

Neil Grayston: And terrifying.

Allison Scagliotti: …yes, we sat on the train from LA to San Diego together going over our notes, like, feverishly. Not even concerned with how we would sound on our own panels, but it’s a totally different animal to stand up in front of a room full of 2000 people and keep someone else’s panel moving and keep it light, keep it funny and make sure all of the information is covered. But Neil did an amazing job and. Very much like the Warehouse crossover before the Eureka crossover, I got to watch Neil hit it out of the park, which took all of my anxiety away. You’re my crutch, Neil.

Neil Grayston: Oh, all right. Whoo. No, but you did a great job too. I mean, it was awesome. And it was like sort of two different little beasts, but when you walked out and did the thing where it was like what up Comic-Con or something like that and it was all rock starry, it was like, yes, way to go. There you go. You got it in the bag.

Allison Scagliotti: It was fun. It was nerve racking but a blast.

Q: My question is what – for each of you, what were the challenges of playing the same character yet on a different show and in a different, you know, working environment actually?

Neil Grayston: I didn’t find it to be that difficult myself. I mean, I know the entire cast from Warehouse or, well, most of them. I know the top four. And I knew the director and the second unit director who happens to be the supervising producer as well because they both directed an episode of Eureka, so it was just like going over to my extended family’s house for dinner kind of thing.

Neil Grayston: Yes, it was one of the most comfortable sets I’ve ever actually been on, which was radical.

Allison Scagliotti: And we loved having you. Yes, it was very much like packing a bag with all, your character’s attributes in it and bringing it over to, you know, your family on the other side of the country. The shows have unique tones, like Eureka is grounded in science and Warehouse is more sort of the unexplained, the supernatural, but I think it’s plausible that there are, you know, two top secret government institutions in different parts of the country that are, you know, somewhat connected.

Everyone over on Eureka was super supportive of me staying true to Claudia’s sort of snarkiness. So, yes, I’ll go with Neil’s metaphor, visiting relatives on the opposite side – the opposite coast.

Q: Excellent. And as a follow up to that, as far as the way each of your characters, you know, talk and act, was there any deferring to you guys to do that or was that all still pretty heavily scripted?

Allison Scagliotti: Go ahead, Neil.

Neil Grayston: I’m – I mean, I’m sorry, what was – yes, I mean, it was scripted, but we got to just sort of – both of the episodes I think were written so well that it was just that everything felt natural, I suppose. Is that an answer?

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, it is. Yes. We were allowed to play. Like I know on Warehouse we get to adlib a lot and Jack Kenny our showrunner is there to support. And, yes, I mean, I felt very, supported over in Eureka. If I had an idea for something that was more Claudia that was more of a callback to Warehouse, they were all for it. Matt Hastings is very cool like that.

Neil Grayston: I got to say, too, I really enjoy Jack Kenny, the showrunner for Warehouse. Sometimes he would just appear and say like, “Hey guys, I got jokes, who wants some jokes, anyone want some jokes?”

Allison Scagliotti: Yes.

Neil Grayston: And then he would just like have like funny lines for you. We were like, yes, yes, I want your jokes. Totally. I’m your little doggie. I want your joke treats. Yes, that was a really fun thing.

Q: It seems like there are some bugs that kind of come into your lives in the Warehouse. If you both can comment on working on those kind of special effects?

Neil Grayston: Oh, the robot spiders.

Neil Grayston: Yes. That was – that – that’s the source of – the only time I saw Saul Rubinek crack up completely during a take and not be able to do one was when one of them is attacking Eddie. And it was actually – when we were filming it it was a green – neon green Styrofoam football that he was holding and it just sort of popped in. One of the crew members just sort of threw it at Eddie in the thing and then Saul completely lost it. It was probably one of the funniest moments I’ve seen.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, that was the moment when I realized that Eddie is the best schmactor among us. Schmacting is the term that we use when we’re acting with a lot of green screen and reacting to things that aren’t there, so it’s like acting schmacting. Yes, Eddie excels at it because he likes to play pretend.

What did we have to do on Eureka? We had to visualize trees and airplanes that weren’t there and we – basically any time we’re working with a lot of effects, you just have to return to the sort of imagination that, you know, you used as a kid. Suspend your disbelief on elementary levels.

Neil Grayston: Yes, it’s sort of like get your (scared belief on).

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, you did. Yes, yes, yes. Oh, now you’re scared. Now you’re shocked.

Neil Grayston: Yes, or now you’re amazed.

Allison Scagliotti: I like to call it extreme acting.

Neil Grayston: Yes.

Neil Grayston: There was also that point where the – in Warehouse where the robot spiders went on the attack and we kind of had the events were mixed up so everything flew at us at the same time, that was kind of fun.

Allison Scagliotti: That’s right, yes. Yes, the cues were messed up and we got a cue for a fire and a net and to run all at once. It was just kind of like – it was like a Laurel and Hardy bit. But I feel every time we hang out it’s kind of like a Laurel and Hardy bit.

Neil Grayson: Yes, pretty much. Something ridiculous always happens. It’s good times.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes. Yes.

Q: I have a question for each of you. First of all, Neil, during the Warehouse episode does Fargo get to geek out with any of the artifacts and does he try to steal any?

Neil Grayston: Well, he tries to play with one. I think it’s Jimi Hendrix’s guitar. But he’s very quickly told to not touch anything, which is a good idea because, you know, Fargo touching things, buttons, everything, bad idea.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, at one point you do touch the wrong button and get electrocuted.

Neil Grayston: Oh yes, that is true. I forgot about that. Yes, of course. That’s what Fargo does.

Q: And, Allison, you – Claudia has kind of a bad reputation for being accident prone, what with, you know, acts of Claudia not being covered by insurance and all.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes.

Q: Does that carry over onto Eureka at all?

Allison Scagliotti: As a matter of fact I was on my best behavior in Eureka and I sort of lended my sort of energy tracking skills out in the field. When things started to go awry, luckily it was not Claudia’s fault. It was beyond anyone’s control.

Neil Grayston: But you do step on something that you shouldn’t step on.

Allison Scagliotti: Oh, that’s right. There’s that little – oh, field of explosives thing.

Neil Grayston: Yes.

Q: And then I have a follow-up. In addition to your obviously awesome roles now, you’ve both got some good guest shots and I’m wondering if there are any shows either of you would love to guest on and if there’s any chance of the surprisingly cool wonder twins making it back to Smallville.

Allison Scagliotti: Oh, Neil, you go while I think of where I want to guess right now.

Neil Grayston: Oh, curses. I was like, oh, there’s a wonder twins reference. That’s completely about you. Geez. It’s so hard, I mean, there’s so many good shows on TV right now. I’m a big fan of True Blood, but then obviously there’s like other shows like Community and Modern Family that would be great to do because I love comedy. Wow. Open up that field and there’s a lot. Even Syfy just has so many good shows that I’d be like, yes, sure I’ll go on SGU, that would be awesome. Like I don’t know, just, yes. Name a good show, I want to be on it.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, there are a lot of good shows. Yes, I’m just starting to watch Mad Men. I would love to do that just to do like a period of piece. But, yes, Community is a favorite. We should go on Community together as like Greendale graduates.

Neil Grayston: Totally.

Q: Oh, that would be awesome.

Allison Scagliotti: Wouldn’t it? Okay, a pitch. Let’s start that Hack/Slash movement now.

Neil Grayston: Yes, there we go.

Allison Scagliotti: I don’t know about the wonder twins coming back. They certainly left it open and I would love to do it again. As of yet I have not been approached, but, you know, never say never.

Q: I have a question for each of you. I’ll start off with ladies first, Allison. Can you talk about your experience doing that Destination Truth episode last season?

Allison Scagliotti: With pleasure. I like to say that Destination Truth was like summer camp on steroids because it was so vastly different from doing a scripted show. They are so authentic out there. It’s really roughing it, but I had a blast.

It was five days in Northern Chile in December, it was like 80 degrees outside every day and we were really – we were tripping around abandoned mining towns in the middle of the night looking for ghosts. It was super spooky and super fun. I’d love to go back to Destination Truth and do something possibly involving water, but I don’t want to dig myself a hole too soon.

But Josh Gates is a really funny guy. I actually hope that we get to have him on Warehouse at some point because he’s a…

Neil Grayston: It would be awesome.

Allison Scagliotti: …(comrade heart) I think. Yes, right.

Neil Grayston: Yes. It would be great.

Allison Scagliotti: Neil supports this idea.

Neil Grayston: Right, I would love to meet some Gates, man. He’s a cool guy.

Allison Scagliotti: He is.

Q: Yes. It would be something to have the two of you go in the field with him. That could be a good crossover too.

Neil Grayston: Yes.

Allison Scagliotti: Ooh, even better.

Neil Grayston: Rad.

Allison Scagliotti: Come on, Neil. Go to The North Face, buy some cargo pants, let’s go.

Neil Grayston: Oh right. I think I have some shorts that look like that, so there we go. Safari time.

Allison Scagliotti: Good.

Kevin Bachelder: And then a little one – a fun one for you, Neil. Thinking ahead we now have heard that Felicia Day is going to be joining Eureka come the second half of the season, so I’m curious if you’ve started to work the writers to see if maybe there can be a, you know, Fargo, Felicia character hook up.

Neil Grayston: Yes. I see, I don’t really know exactly what her character is coming in to do. I know it has something to do with Wil Wheaton coming back as well. But all I’ve heard is that there’s a possible love triangle in the works. I can only assume it just involves me because, I don’t know, I can only assume.

Allison Scagliotti: Because Fargo is a player.

Neil Grayston: Yes, you know. He’s got all his business suits now, he’s got to do something and look fancy with them. But, no, like thinking of that I actually – I only met Felicia the night of the Syfy party and she’s so nice. She’s a super nice person. We only chatted for about 20 minutes or so but it was like all right, this is going to be fun, you’re going to be on our show and Will Wheaton is going to come on and this is going to be like a nerd heaven kind of thing over here, so I’m very excited for that.

Q: Allison, I wanted to know what was it like working with Lindsay Wagner.

Allison Scagliotti: Ooh, oh my God. Working with Lindsay was a dream not only because she’s a sci-fi legend but because she’s really a fantastic actress. I felt really lucky. I didn’t have a lot to do with her in her first appearance, but she comes back for the second episode of the show later in the season and what we have together is so meaty. It was kind of an actress’s dream to work with a veteran of the industry, not just a veteran of the genre. She’s a wonderful person and a really incredible actress and I had a lot of fun with her.

Q: Yes, it must have been surreal having the real bionic woman there.

Allison Scagliotti: Really.

Q: And, Neil, how did – how will the crossover episodes help both shows, do you think?

Neil Grayston: Oh, I think it’s – yes, I think maybe for the people who never sort of connected with the other show, I’m going to say, like for our respective things, it might sort of help people to start watching the other one as well. I think just, too, having them in the same universe opens up so many different possibilities for a bunch of awesome fun times. So I’m actually – I’m really excited to – that we, you know, went ahead and blended the universes and now there’s two shows that are definitely in the same universe that can share a lot of things if need be.

Allison Scagliotti: Definitely.

Q: So will this continue or is this just a one-off?

Neil Grayston: So far it’s just been the one-off, but I certainly hope it continues because, yes, I’d love to work with all of the Warehouse people again and I don’t know, Scags, would you enjoy working with the Eurekans again?

Allison Scagliotti: And how. I think the idea is each show wants to steal the other. I – Jack would love to have – all of us would love to have Neil ditch Eureka and come play with us on a regular basis. And (Jamie) has said he wants to steal me from Jack. (But we’re too)…

Neil Grayston: And, yes, (Amy) also said she wants to steal you, I think. I think everyone has said they just want to kidnap you and put you on our show, which that sounds kind of scary, the kidnapping thing, (a little crazy).

Allison Scagliotti: Aw. It does. It’s just a little crazy, but it’s cool. I trust you guys. Yes, I mean, it’s – even if we don’t crossover again, we – we’re to the point where we can be referential to each other’s shows.

Neil Grayston: True.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes. (We get to play off of the family).

Neil Grayston: I actually want to get a Fargo bubblehead on the – in the Warehouse just to keep him somewhere.

Allison Scagliotti: Oh we so have to have, like, a special shot for that.

Neil Grayston: Yes, just like in the background, someone can point it out and be like, hey, look (that’s a nice head). I think that would be rad.

Allison Scagliotti: Oh next year when we shoot Claudia’s room, hello.

Neil Grayston: Sweet. Awesome.

Q: Without a doubt both of you are fan favorites and you’re both – you’ve both mentioned your own and off screen chemistry. Do you guys think the crossover could be a spinoff series in the making for Syfy?

Neil Grayston: That would be so rad.

Allison Scagliotti: Could you imagine? Where would we shoot it? Like…

Neil Grayston: Brazil.

Allison Scagliotti: Because Warehouse shoots in Toronto and Eureka shoots in Vancouver, would we end up in, like, Regina Saskatchewan or like (in California).

Neil Grayston: Oh. Oh, I kind of hope not.

Allison Scagliotti: (I think) it’s somewhere in the middle…

Neil Grayston: I don’t mean to disparage the prairies but yes.

Allison Scagliotti: (We) don’t know.

Neil Grayston: I’d say we just go somewhere completely out, so let’s get – in Europe. Let’s do it in Europe somewhere.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes.

Neil Grayston: In Spain.

Q: We want to know if we’re going to see any Warehouse 13 artifacts in Eureka and how many Eureka artifacts will we come across in Warehouse 13. Can you comment on that at all?

Allison Scagliotti: Well, I bring some tracking devices over to Eureka when I’m there picking up the purple goo. And that’s another, you know, little Warehouse feature, I guess, the purple goo that we use to protect the artifacts is manufactured there. And then, Neil, you bring some (gack) over to the Warehouse, don’t you?

Neil Grayston: Yes, yes. I’ve got like a little – a couple suitcases of stuff, I think that got, you know, my little – my – the robot eggs I’m going to call them and the laser. But, you know, my little Eureka stuff.

Q: Are there any other sci-fi shows that you’d like to do a crossover with? Maybe like a three-way crossover or something.

Neil Grayston: Ooh.

Allison Scagliotti: Ooh, a three way.

Neil Grayston: Oh.

Allison Scagliotti: It seems like Haven probably exists within the same universe. Do you think there’s someone in Haven we need to snag, bag and tag, Neil?

Neil Grayston: Oh, yes, definitely. That’s – it’s – yes, very much. I mean, it seems a bit darker than our shows, but so it’s probably definitely still in the same universe. I mean, of course…

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, but that’s why they need us. They need us to…

Neil Grayston: Yes.

Allison Scagliotti: …you know, like, tumble in with our comedy act and like…

Neil Grayston: Yes.

Allison Scagliotti: You know, (torch) things up a bit.

Neil Grayston: A little bit of wacky.

Allison Scagliotti: (Unintelligible).

Neil Grayston: I think in like – unfortunately I don’t think it would really work, but an SGU crossover would be pretty rad because, you know, we can hang with Mr. Blue and Elyse and everyone. It would be like oh, all right, we know a bunch of people here too.

Allison Scagliotti: It’s so funny how we’ve all sort of become friends with each other on all of the different sci-fi shows. So it’s true, we are a little sci-fi commune.

Neil Grayston: Like a nerd gang.

Allison Scagliotti: We are a nerd gang.

Q: Is there like a dream guest star that each of you would like to appear on an episode of your show?

Neil Grayston: I would totally like Bruce Campbell to be on our show.

Allison Scagliotti: I want Betty White.

Neil Grayston: Ooh, that’s a good one.

Allison Scagliotti: Because I’m obsessed with Betty White.

Q: Well, my question is – it’s kind of directed towards both of you regarding guest stars on both of your shows. Like, Allison, and – are you a big Firefly fan? And, Neil, what was it like to work with Wil Wheaton? Like did you both kind of like geek out at some point?

Neil Grayston: Yes, do you want to go first, Scags?

Allison Scagliotti: I – sure. You know what, I – if I do mention that since I’m more of Artie’s counterpart and that guest stars occur much more with the Pete and Myka characters, I don’t usually get to spend a lot of time with them, so Sean and Jewel from Firefly were great. I’ve never actually seen Firefly, guilty confession, but I did get to geek out over…

Neil Grayston: Ooh.

Allison Scagliotti: I know. I’m sorry. But I did geek out over Renee Auberjonois in 13.1 and I geeked out over Lindsay, working with Lindsay Wagner in episode eleven, which will air in September.

Neil Grayston: Yes, well, the thing about Wil is he was like my favorite character in Star Trek The Next Generation, which I used to watch all of the time as a kid because it was just, you know, you identify with him. I was a little boy and he was a young man so he was closest in age to me and I just always thought that (it wasn’t a crush) or was it just rad.

And then meeting Wil, he’s such a nice guy. He’s super down to earth and he’s just really cool, so it was kind of like all right, I really, really enjoy you. And then to know that he’s going to be doing a multi-episodic arc is just fantastic because he’s just a really nice guy. I consider him quite a good friend, so now I’m just going to get to work and hang out with him some more. It’s really fantastic.

Neil Grayston: Yeah, It is a really good job.

Allison Scagliotti: I do have a nerds dream job. Which is convenient because we’re both nerds.

Neil Grayston: Yes.

Q: Well, my follow-up question is kind of along the real life geeky kind of arena. How geeky are you guys in real life?

Allison Scagliotti: Neil, do you want to start that or shall I?

Neil Grayston: Oh, I for one wish I was as good at math and science as my character is because I’m pretty horrible at it, but I had no idea that people were getting disinterested in it. Because I know so many engineers and, you know, I’m just going to say scientists but that might just be the people that I know or something. But, yes, wow, that’s kind of a drag.

Allison Scagliotti: It is, yes. For me, I’m not at all inclined towards the mathematics or the sciences. I’ve always been an artsy girl. But for me it’s really, really a joy to play a smart female character. Because I’m sure you’re no stranger to the talk that there’s kind of a surplus of your standard giggling wide-eyed girl who flips her blonde hair behind her shoulder and pouts her lips and anyone can kind of do that, but I don’t think there’s anything inspiring about a character like that. It’s not rewarding to play her, and it’s not rewarding to see that sort of exalted on screen.

So getting to play a girl with a specific skill set like Claudia, the payoff – the ultimate payoff for me is when moms reach out to me on Twitter and say that their young daughters are obsessed with Claudia and want to dress up like her for Halloween and, you know, are aspiring to be geeks and have, you know, have special – have these interests that aren’t dictated by what other people at school are telling them is cool.

Or, you know, that they’re not reading magazines that come from a real place, that come from listening to themselves and listening to what they like. So for me it’s very rewarding to play a role model actually.

Q: Excellent. I’m a fan of both shows, so I’m really looking forward to the crossover. Allison, with the crossover, Claudia’s getting a little more responsibility and you’ve mentioned already you’re working with Lindsay Wagner. It seems like Claudia is also getting field operative training. I’m just wondering with her role expanding this way in the series, how do you approach that and are there any challenges that come from that that you haven’t encountered previously on the show?

Allison Scagliotti: You know, portraying Claudia’s increasing responsibility is really just what you’re seeing is my – me coping with becoming a series regular for the first time and sort of navigating what it means to be, you know, the fourth leg of a table. And supporting something with three other people and needing to be a unique sort of member of a team. I’m really – I’m bringing the truth of what it’s like to be nervous on the job. It’s all the honest Allison nerves that you’re going to see.

Q: Cool. Neil, you’ve mentioned already about Fargo’s being the boss at Global Dynamic and it’s been interesting watching that arc unfold, but I think it’s even more important that it’s in an – in a Eureka where everything is different. I think it was Henry who said something to the effect of everything is different yet strangely the same. Now how does that present challenges for you? And just out of curiosity, how does Fargo find the time to get away from running Global Dynamics to go to Warehouse 13?

Neil Grayston: Yes, that is a good question. I guess he just – he is told to go to Warehouse 13. There are powers above him even at Global Dynamics. But no the thing it’s really fun. It sort of opened up a lot of things this season being old bumbling Fargo who is now thrust into running GD and trying to pretend to be this sort of power hungry kind of jerk face. And it’s fun sort of playing the public and private Fargos and, you know, the difference between that.

I mean, there’s always little glimmers of when there’s a lot of people around Fargo is one way. But then with the sort of time traveling six his insecurities come out and his, you know, what is this job stuff, is allowed to come out and it’s been really fun to play that.

And also just play Fargo as a character who actually is semi-competent sometimes. Because I think last season it was getting a little bit away from that and kind of verging into the ridiculous where he was just a completely, like, there was a point where I was like why would anybody do this? Why would he do this? The town is going to blow up and he’s worried about, you know, this small little thing. So it’s really fun to actually have him grow as a character and feel a bit more human this season.

Q: I was wondering if you think your current incarnation of Fargo might meet the diabolical version that must of existed in the new timeline? Are any plans for that coming up?

Neil Grayston: I don’t know. I think what we’ve done with the time line, I don’t think there’s any sort of alternate us characters. I think we just sort of like replaced them and stepped into their shoes. But I certainly would love to have say a scene where, yes, maybe there’s some video or something like that, some recording of the previous Fargo maybe giving a speech, maybe, you know, chastising some people, but it would be super fun to play jerk face Fargo. So I’m hoping that maybe we get something out of that.

Q: Well, if the timeline is reversed, what direction would you like to see Fargo go in after that?

Neil Grayston: You know, I like him on this track. I like sort of being able to still be kind of goofy and fun, but I also really like him having responsibilities and actually stepping up to the plate and being able to achieve things once in a while.

Allison Scagliotti: And I would like Fargo to start dressing like the hipster that Neil is.

Neil Grayston: I’ll just bring them my closet over to the show.

Allison Scagliotti: Skinny pants and skinny ties for Fargo.

Neil Grayston: Yes, skinny pants with skinny ties, yes. Suits are weird for me. I feel very odd in them. They seem so billowy.

Allison Scagliotti: They are very billowy.

Neil Grayston: Yes, I’m a skinny dude and that’s a lot of fabric for me to be wearing.

Q: Allison, would you ever be interested in playing an evil version of Claudia on Warehouse 13?

Allison Scagliotti: Yes. Oh my God. I – you have no idea how much I want to get my Starbuck on and go rogue in Season 3. I am lobbying for a punk rock episode, and Myka got to parade around in a super hero suit, and I want, you know, leather pants and arm band and rock – I want to rock out on stage.

But yes, I think that we’ve seen Claudia become part of the family and we’ve seen that become jeopardized. We saw her get emotional when she was framed and she got her cute on this season. It’s time. It’s time for Claudia to disobey somebody and sort of go to the dark side for a little while.

Neil Grayston: Have you ever actually worn leather pants?

Allison Scagliotti: No, I’ve not actually worn leather pants, Neil, but I have a feeling that it will be awesome. I will work out a lot before I do it.

Neil Grayston: Oh sweet. No, I was just going to say that they’re really hot. They’re kind of uncomfortable.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, yes, they are sweaty. Copious amounts of butt soup occur in leather pants.

Neil Grayston: Yes, yes, so, you know, get your talcum powder on.

Q: I wanted to ask you both just kind of what it’s like being a part of the Syfy family. And by family I mean, you know, we talk to a lot of actors from a lot of different shows and different networks and you guys all seem to kind of know each other, at least know the shows and there seems like there’s a dynamic there may be in Syfy that I don’t see in other places. But I wondered if you guys see that and just what it’s like being part of that family.

Allison Scagliotti: Well, I got to say we’re all extremely lucky to work for one of the coolest channels out there. You know, we’ve got people in charge who are committed to making great shows. And I think that that shows in their readiness to make a crossover happen between Warehouse and Eureka by paying attention to the real life chemistry that happened between myself and Neil. So it starts up there at the top with cool people running the show.

And then within our individual shows, we’ve both got amazing people in our respective writers rooms, great showrunners. It’s a bit of a love fest, but we’re – I think that’s why our shows have been so successful in their own right is because when everyone likes working together, when everyone enjoys what they’re doing, there is joy that shines through in the content that I think is infectious to the audience.

Neil Grayston: Yes. I couldn’t have said it better.

Q: Okay. Now as my follow-up here, we – we’ve kind of talked about the possibility of future crossovers and crossing over with different shows, but I just wanted to ask the two of you what is your gut feeling? Does this kind of open the floodgates at Syfy for a, you know, a more in-depth crossover between these two shows and I guess crossing into Haven and Sanctuary and the other shows out there?

Neil Grayston: I kind of hope so. I really like the idea of having, you know, it’s almost like making the network a – like a comic book company sort of thing. It’s like, are we DC, are we Marvel or something like that, like, having those everyone exists in a similar universe I think is – there is just so many possibilities and it’s just kind of awesome. You get to work with all of my friends and stuff like that and sort of really make these characters that we have sort of live in a true universe rather than just like its own little bottle.

Allison Scagliotti: That’s a great idea. I just started like brainstorming about how if we had our own little Justice League if we would call it the nerd gang and who would be in it. Like it would definitely be you and me.

Neil Grayston: Of course.

Allison Scagliotti: And then David Blue would be in it and probably Colin Ferguson and Saul Rubinek.

Neil Grayston: Yes, absolutely.

Allison Scagliotti: Whatever, all of the cast for all the Syfy shows, we’re all in. We’re all in the nerd gang.

Neil Grayston: Yes, everyone can come in. Everyone can join.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, come on in, the water’s fine.

Neil Grayston: We’ll be the leaders though, right. We’ll lead it. You know, just because.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes.

Q: I wanted to ask since Claudia just got that advice from Artie and she’s sort of a romantic newbie with Todd in last week’s episode, I was wondering how is this Fargo/Claudia romance going to happen and what’s going to happen to Todd.

Allison Scagliotti: Okay. So, yes, there’s a love triangle. Claudia’s got a wondering eye in this episode, but you can’t fight the feeling, I mean, when the sparks are there, the sparks are there, you know what I’m saying. So, I mean…

Neil Grayston: I mean we’re kind of trapped in the Warehouse.

Allison Scagliotti: We are trapped in the Warehouse, but you’ll see. The end of – at the end of 13.1 Claudia gets a bit of a landslide happening in her world. That’s not the right word. What’s the word that I’m looking for? She’s…

Neil Grayston: I’m totally at a loss for it, but I know what you mean.

Allison Scagliotti: You know what I mean? Like she’s – she – she’s hit by a sort of tidal wave of emotional conflict.

Neil Grayston: Earth quakiness.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes. Which motivates actually Claudia leaving the Warehouse to go to Eureka for a couple days, like she just needs to get away, so you’ll see.

Q Do you guys think that either one of them, your characters, would give up their jobs for love?

Allison Scagliotti: I don’t think Claudia would. I think Claudia is too emotionally guarded having spent 12 years trying to bring her brother back from an inter-dimensional space. And I’ve also – I’m speaking like from my own point of view, you got to work while the working is good, you know. At this point Claudia’s real love is tech and being part of a family, so I don’t think we’ll see Claudia making any grand gestures for true love any time soon. Neil.

Neil Grayston: Yes, I think Fargo is probably more – he’s got a bit more of a predilection towards doing something like that. But he’s also, you know, he – that would have to be someone very insanely special who loves Fargo a lot who Fargo loves more than science, but and if any of the two characters were to give up their job for love, it would probably be Fargo, I think.

Q: Now in previous seasons actors from your respective shows have played different parts on the other shows, I was just wondering if there’s any kind of sly double takes or any tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement of that in these crossover episodes.

Neil Grayston: There originally was a scene in the Eureka one because there was a – Saul was talking to Colin, was it not, on…

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, that’s right.

Neil Grayston: …or Colin…

Allison Scagliotti: There was supposed to be a Farnsworth scene between the characters Sheriff Carter and Artie, but the episode was running long so it was cut. So there’s actually no mention of it.

Allison Scagliotti: But I – we’re – what we’re talking about is actually having an episode in the future where – and this kind of like blows everything in Eureka wide open is that Carl Carlson was actually Artie Neilson and when it looked like he was eaten up by the artifact, he actually just went in there to retrieve it.

Neil Grayston: That would be awesome.

Allison Scagliotti: (But yeah), he didn’t die, he just wound up back in the warehouse.

Neil Grayston: Oh well, that guy pulled a fast one.

Allison Scagliotti: He did.

Q: If each of your characters were let’s say fired from your job and banned from, you know, Global Dynamics or the Warehouse, what do you think they would do if they couldn’t do what they’re doing?

Neil Grayston: I think Fargo would try to get a job at the Warehouse.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes. And Claudia – if Claudia were exiled from the Warehouse, she’d get by just fine. She’d fill her time with something very illegal. She’d probably become a bit of a Elizabeth Salander type character like living off the grid, hacking professionally for cash and doing investigations because that’s what she’s good at and she likes digging up information about people.

Q: For Allison first, now that most of the shooting, if not all, is done for this season for you, are there any special memories or episodes or scenes that you’d kind of say you – we should really be looking for?

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, a few. First of all, tomorrow night Neil and I battling robot spiders with light sabers in the Warehouse and then kissing. I mean, that scene really has everything. I’m trying to (be)…

Neil Grayston: Yes.

Allison Scagliotti: …I think it’s really like the ultimate geek out scene. And then…

Neil Grayston: Yes, I think that’s the most epic scene I’ve ever filmed.

Allison Scagliotti: Yes, that was full of epic. And then for me a few episodes down the road — I don’t want to spoil anything and it is kind of full of spoilers — but I have a sort of face-off with another character. It’s very important. It’s a bit of a – actually I call it the Mexican standoff scene because I’ve got a (tezler) and he’s got a gun.

Q: And then, Neil, a question for you. I’m very curious, you know, on a personal level what it was like, maybe you can share some thoughts on when you found out that you were going to become the head of Global Dynamics.

Neil Grayston: That was a thing where they sort of – I went down in December I guess it was, I went down to LA and I popped into the writers room because I’d never actually been in. And they told me everything like with the time change and all of that and then when they said that I was going to be the head of Global Dynamics I was sort of like I did like a pause kind of thing and sort of looked and was like are you serious? And then of course I did a happy dance and was really excited because there’s so many possibilities for that.

And then when I heard that it wasn’t just, you know, reverting, you know, in like one or two episodes, it was actually going to last for a while, it was like all right, this is – I’m getting stuff to do. This is awesome. So I’m very, very excited to do it and having a blast playing this weird version of Fargo who actually can do stuff.

Q: Okay, my last question is kind of – it might be a little bit of a doozy for Allison. I don’t know if you can say any of this, but can you shed some light on the mysterious Regents of the Warehouse and the (scene that becomes the) time The Right Eye of Horus.

Allison Scagliotti: Ah, well, I can’t say a lot about the Regents without spoiling what happens to one of them this season. Whew. What I will say is they’re, you know, the great thing about the Regents is they’re not what you would expect. They’re not, you know, a tri – you know, a tribunal around an internal plane. They’re populated by real people. Your standard working people – working class individuals who really should decide what becomes of these artifacts.

In that, you know, and in that sort of mindset all of the power is not given to the government. It’s really – there are a lot of checks and balances involved in the Warehouse so there is – Mrs. Frederick who we thought was the end all, be all superior has superiors of her own and they are – their word is sort of – it’s gospel. It’s the gospel of the Warehouse if you will.

James Callis (Battlestar Galactica’s Dr. Gaius Baltar) joins the show this season as physicist “Dr. Grant,” a former resident of the town whose very unexpected return is cause for great concern and the reasons as to when and why he originally left Eureka are shrouded in mystery and secrecy. His presence is also the source of considerable friction for Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) considering Grant’s romantic interest in Allison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield).

Eureka seems like any other cozy, Pacific Northwest town, but is actually a secret community of geniuses assembled by the government to conduct top-secret research. What they’ve unwittingly created is a place where anything imaginable can happen… and does. The series stars Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Joe Morton, Erica Cerra, Neil Grayston, Niall Matter, new cast member James Callis, and features Jordan Hinson.

Eureka – “Founder’s Day” Sneak Peek Clip