(S01E10) Good news! Men in Trees performed well in its new 10 pm slot last night. It retained 51% of Grey's Anatomy's audience. That is an improvement over the show in the former slot, Six Degrees, which only held onto 38% of Grey's audience.

This whole episode was about Marin's discovery that she belongs in Alaska, and not in New York City. While I think we all knew that Marin wasn't going to stay in NYC, I still found her journey captivating/sweet. There were a lot of signs that NYC wasn't the right place for her: the broken showerhead, the loud parties, all the people. I liked how she kept apologizing to people she bumped into on the street. The dove was obviously a metaphor for Marin's predicament: the city has caused her to lose her way. She came to the conclusion that Alaska was the right place for her without having to be told anything by Jack, a small gesture on the part of the writers that helps strengthen Marin's character. When this series began, I liked Marin but now I like her even more. She has become less girly (although the list comparing Elmo to NYC was super girly) and more of an independent person.

I'm hoping that Men in Trees finally gets the attention it deserves when it premieres in its new time slot tonight, following the number one show on television, Grey's Anatomy. Up until now, ABC hasn't given much love to Men in Trees. The network stuck the show on Fridays at nine with only reruns as a lead-in-- originally, Ugly Betty was the lead-in but it was moved to Thursdays. The dramedy stars Anne Heche, a tough choice for a lead actor because of her strange past in the gossip magazines. But, the show not only survived on Friday nights, it did well enough for ABC to order an entire season.

Here's why I like Men in Trees: it makes me happy. But, I wouldn't call it cheesy. It's about Marin Frist, a relationship coach whose own relationship falls to pieces as she's on a book tour in Alaska. She ends up staying in the small town of Elmo, where she's studying men and also learning more about herself. Anne Heche is surprisingly wonderful in the role of Marin, a character who is not flawless but learns from her mistakes. She's not a fumbling, ditzy blonde. And I adore the supporting characters, who are all very complex and not at all stereotypical of a small town.

(S01E09) First of all, let's all give ABC three cheers for finally giving Men in Trees a decent time slot. Actually, it's a pretty terrific time slot-- directly after Grey's Anatomy, which had more than 13 million viewers last week. That's the highest rated show on television right now and it's going to be a lead-in for Men in Trees. Spectacular! ABC has also picked up a full season of Men in Trees. It's funny, really. ABC originally scheduled Ugly Betty and Men in Trees for Friday nights and now they're both on the biggest night of television.

(S01E08) This episode took a dramatic turn about halfway through. Initially, I was a little leery of the unusual turn of events but I think it worked because the writers eased us into the drama. The first half of the show alternated between goofy and dramatic and then it was just all drama up through the ending.

It used to be that getting a full season order was the best news a new show could get, but nowadays I think shows are just as happy to get a few additional episodes OK'd.

Four new shows have been given the green light for more scripts. Three of them are on ABC: The Nine, Men In Trees, and Help Me, Help You, and one NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (yeee-hah). Of course, this is no guarantee that the shows will be awarded with a full season, but it's certainly a sign of hope (and also cool to see the networks actually getting behind shows that are quality but are struggling).

For those keeping score, the shows that have gotten a full season already are Heroes, Jericho, Shark, Brothers & Sisters, and Ugly Betty.

Interesting piece in Slate today, on all of the TV shows on ABC that writer Troy Patterson calls a "nauseating lineup of yuppie dramas."

Which shows is he talking about? You can probably guess: Men In Trees, Brothers & Sisters, What About Brian, and Six Degrees. I think that Patterson's whole viewpoint can be summed up with this paragraph:

These shows share a view of the human mind modeled on Dr. Phil's and an aesthetic sense shamelessly cribbed from a Pottery Barn catalog. When you watch them, you're mostly watching people feel bad over beverages. Despite it's pseudo-literary ambitions, the genre's got a certain soap-operatic streak, and the soap's an orange-lavender bath wash.

Ouch.

(S01E07) The writers switched things up a bit this week and I was happy for it. Instead of tension between Ben and Teresa, it was between Sara and Teresa. And, Marin had her sister to contend with, rather than anything Alaska-related. Even Patrick and Annie had a different storyline this week, in which Annie took a back seat.

Does anybody believe that Buzz is Patrick's father? How is that even possible? How many people did Patrick's mother sleep with? He's a 26-year old man who believes his father is still alive, even though the man obviously died in a plane crash in the Alaska bush before Patrick was born. I pretty much guessed what Patrick's mother was hiding from him, which she said could make things better or worse. I'm almost positive that he's still pissed off at his mother for lying to him about who his father is, so that's a storyline that could stretch for a few episodes and make for some bonding between Annie and his mom (although, I like how the mom treats Annie poorly- it makes for some good comedy).

(S01E05) Geez Louise, there sure was a lot of sex in that episode. A lot. Elmo was suffering from a late fall heat wave... double entendre is intended. Basically, everyone is hot and horny. Except the raccoon.

So... the big news is that Jack and Marin hooked up. A lot. In fact, their first tryst happened within the first 15 minutes of the show. So much for the sexual tension, but I think that's a good thing. I guess the writers have a good grasp on how that little storyline was going to get old soon. Although, sleeping together could just add another layer to the sexual tension between Marin and Jack. Only time will tell.

(S01E04) Did anyone else's TiVo not record Men in Trees? For absolutely no reason whatsoever, my TiVo decided not to record it. Nothing else was scheduled, but apparently it wasn't in the mood. All this is a fancy way of saying that I missed the first eight minutes.

I tuned in during a bar scene where Marin was mourning the cancellation of her third book and the townsfolk were mourning some guy named Franklin. So, the whole Lost & Found storyline was lost on me (heh heh). So was the Jack/son storyline.

(S01E03) Whoops. I missed the second episode of Men in Trees. I was out of town last weekend and didn't realize the pilot wasn't also playing on Friday (there was an early premiere of it last Tuesday). Anyway, the recap surprised me so we'll see if I can play catch-up. Of course, this is the one show that is neither streaming on ABC.com nor is it available in iTunes. Grrrr.

My only question is... where did all the snow go?

(S01E01) First of all, get Northern Exposure out of your head right now. This is not the same show. In fact, it's not really like anything else that's currently on television and that alone makes Men in Trees refreshing. The drama is low-key, the comedy is sweet and sometimes cute, and the characters seem to have depth. In fact, the characters are the best part of this show. We barely meet most of them in the pilot but we get the idea that they're not just small town simpletons, rather they're educated men and women with complicated pasts that no doubt include heartache and sacrifice. And Anne Heche is delightful, with the perfect balance of independence and fumbling fish out of water.

ABC is giving Men in Trees a little help by giving it a Tuesday night premiere slot right after the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars on September 12th. This has got to be good news for the show, which is unfairly placed in the Friday night lineup on ABC. Men in Trees, starring Anne Heche as a fish-out-of-water in an Alaskan town populated with men, was originally scheduled to premiere on Friday, Sept. 22nd. Instead, ABC will air the pilot on the 12th and then again in its regular time slot at 9 p.m. on the 15th. Not sure what prompted the change... perhaps it was my glowing review??

5. Men in Trees I would have written this show off immediately if I hadn't been assigned to preview the pilot. A city girl ends up stranded in rural Alaska? Sounds like Northern Exposure, doesn't it? I suppose it is similar, but maybe that's why I think it's so good. I enjoyed the Anne Heche character and the supporting cast has closets full of skeletons. Plus.... gorgeous scenery!

ABC certainly doesn't seem to be making the same mistakes as it did early this century when it relied on only one show (Who Wants to be a Millionaire) to carry its entire programming schedule. In other words, it's not counting on the successes of Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy to carry the the whole network. So, only does it have a full slate of new series to try out on the public, but it is also experimenting with a few concepts that haven't been seen in awhile.

One of these is a new anthology series named Masters of Science Fiction. Created by IDT Entertainment, the same people who gave us Showtime's Masters of Horror, the six episode series will feature adaptations of stories from acclaimed science fiction writers such as Harlan Ellison, Robert Heinlein and Robert Sheckley. Each episode will be introduced by physicist, author, and recurring actor on The Simpsons Stephen Hawking.

A number of actors from current and new ABC series will be cast in this anthology. This includes Anne Heche from the upcoming series Men in Trees, Terry O'Quinn from Lost, and Desperate Housewives' James Denton. Also appearing will be Sam Waterson (Law & Order), Elisabeth Rohm (Angel), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), and Macolm McDowell.

Now that NBC and CBS have us all excited about its fall season, it's time to move along to the screener DVDs we've been receiving from ABC. While we're not allowed to technically "review" each new show, we can give you a short preview with our initial thoughts.

For ABC, we're covering: The Knights of Prosperity (formerly Let's Rob...), Help Me Help You, The Nine, Big Day, Notes from the Underbelly, Six Degrees, Ugly Betty, and Men in Trees. (We'll do a Part 2 of the ABC previews once we receive the remaining shows.)