Step aside Showtime, Syfy is already serving up their take on Stephen King’s “Under the Dome.”
It just seems perfectly fitting that the Syfy series already on air based on a Stephen King story, Haven, would tackle yet another one of his tall tales, but that is exactly what is happening in their special holiday episode, “Silent Night.”
A stand-alone holiday episode, “Silent Night” doesn’t waste any time getting into the weird and wonderful holiday spirit. Though Nathan (Lucas Bryant) and Audrey (Emily Rose) sit at an outdoor café in short sleeve shirts in the opening scene of the episode, everyone around them is dressing the town in Christmas cheer. Audrey is presumed a Grinch for thinking it is too soon for such festivities, but then the choral chords of the titular holiday classic chime out, and it is apparent there is something much more troubling going on here. The entire town of Haven truly believes Christmas eve comes in July. And what’s worse, the town is shrinking by the minute.
A trouble that made you think it was the holidays in the summer would be welcome for us, even if not for Audrey, who never really had any happiness to celebrate (or anyone to do so with) in her foster homes. But each time the tune rings out, someone disappears, and everyone left has no memory of said person ever existing at all. Everyone except for Audrey, of course.
Things start out slowly, with one or two people disappearing at a time, but it escalates until the town’s population dwindles down to a fraction of its former self. Naturally, Audrey turns to Dave (John Dunsworth) and Vince (Richard Donat) for help, and together they realize that the last time someone claimed people were disappearing, he was presumed crazy and those people never resurfaced. So Audrey, Nathan, and a Santa Claus-clad Duke (Eric Balfour) set out to find the only guy they think may be a link to what’s happening now, who just happens to be a descendant of the man who claimed it decades earlier. That’s where the dome comes in. Because you see, as they try to make their way out of Haven, they realize they can’t; something completely clear is trapping them. As if they were within a snowglobe-- you know, minus the actual summertime snow.
“Silent Night” is such a clever and fun and somewhat unexpected take on Christmas, it is a must see for anyone who isn’t into the traditional holiday fare. It’s kind of like the reverse It’s A Wonderful Life; what if everyone else did not exist? And in the spirit of the holidays, we’ll even forgive the little jab the show takes at blogging. Especially because of the fun moment under the mistletoe!
Haven may have its own unique take on this time of year, but its moral is just as pure as any of the others: the importance of family, no matter what shape or combination it comes in, at Christmastime or any time.
Haven’s Christmas episode, “Silent Night” will air on Syfy on December 6th 2011.
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