(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.Anne Heche plays Marin Frist, a relationship coach and best-selling author. We first meet her in New York, where she's on top of the world with the paperback release of her second book and her wedding on the way. That bliss lasts for exactly five minutes until she's on a plane to Alaska and discovers she accidentally grabbed her fiance's laptop computer-- with explicit photos of him and her friend, Kiki, on it. The lady next to her sees her discovery and orders Marin a whiskey, "straight up."
Marin arrives in Elmo, Alaska, a fishing town, to discover there's no cell service and a whole bunch of single men. Her host is hyperactive Patrick Bachelor, who quotes Marin's books back to her. She confirms her fiance is cheating via cell phone and heads to the Chieftain, a bar that will undoubtedly become a centerpiece in this series. We also discover why this show is called Men in Trees, it's based on a sign on the street where men are literally high in a tree doing some trim work.
It's in the bar where we meet the local flavor, which make this show so sweet. I love the way the writers stayed away from small town cliches. They gave the supporting characters depth. Many of them had lived elsewhere or had broken hearts. For the most part, they seem to be educated men. The bartender is a wine afficionado who is nursing a broken heart, the pilot is still angry about racist policies with the airlines in the 1950s that sent him packing for Alaska, Patrick is an eager young kid who books Marin in a men-only help session, and Jack is the game warden who is hiding a love for someone named Lynn. Of course, the characters don't get her big city ways - with her spinning classes and soy lattes - and she doesn't get their small town ways with bear spray and raccoons (the bear spray scene was my fave). And the female characters are enchanting- a hooker and a bar maid who both seem awfully exotic for this small fishing town.
Throughout the episode, Marin slowly stops reciting her cheesy psycho-babble and starts listening to people. In the end, Marin decides to stay in Alaska where she is going to write a book about men.
Great Line: "The odds are good. But the goods are odd," female bartender.
Grest Scene: When Patrick hands Marin the bear spray and she sprays it all over herself, thinking it's repellent. Nope, Marin. You're supposed to spray the attacking bear in the eyes with it.
Next week: Marin sleeps with Jack's brother and gets chased by a raccoon.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
9-13-2006 @ 8:15AM
James said...
The only reason I watched was because it was on after Dancing.... Was surprised how much I enjoyed it and will watch it again. Would have a better chance of survival if they moved it to a better night than friday.
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9-13-2006 @ 8:47AM
erroneous_nick said...
I didn't watch it and I have to admit it was mainly because of preconceived notions. I don't care for Anne Heche, it does seem like Northern Exposure on the surface, and I think more than anything the title did it in for me. The title "Men In Trees" gives one the impression that the males would be, as you put it, small town simpletons.
I'm glad to hear I'm wrong about the show, still don't care for Heche.
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9-13-2006 @ 9:38AM
paula said...
I really enjoyed this last night, but in the back of my mind I kept thinking, "I'm going to like this show, start looking forward to it, get emotionally involved in it, but then the network's going to cancel it abruptly and jerk it out of the line up. So I better not like it too much." Obviously, this has been the case too many times lately. Dang! This is too much like dating! I want to know that a show'll be around long enough for me to invest some of myself into!
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9-13-2006 @ 9:59AM
Peggy said...
Loved It! Just went on an Alaskan Cruise, was in Kichenkan(sp) so looked familiar, beautiful country! Great story line, Hope it stays on the air!
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9-13-2006 @ 10:50AM
MrsEldubya said...
I was so pleasantly surprised that I liked this show. I'm not a big Anne Heche fan but I figured I would test it out since there really wasn't anything else on at 10 pm last night I wanted to see. Now I'm upset to see Jerry on this because that might mean he dies on ER, I hope it's just rehab in case he can come back. :)
The show is good and charming. It is a nice change of pace but like paula above... I don't want to get sucked in only to have the networks yank it off the air. So people, watch this show!
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9-13-2006 @ 12:45PM
CastingGod said...
I like many others watched this show as there was nothing else on worth watching. Surprise I actually liked this show. Wasn't a big Heche fan so, I figured I get thru this and not come back. Well, I've added it to my TIVO lineup. Casting was great, finally John Amos in a good role. Liked the story liked the whole concept. Since, I didn't watch "Northern Exposure" I can't make a comparison.Will definetly watch again. I like that everyone looks real and not Hollywood real
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9-13-2006 @ 1:50PM
Vance said...
Okay. I was totally wrong and surprised by Men in Trees and probably enjoyed it more as my guilty pleasure than I did Dancing with the Stars (which seemed to lack the Stacy/Drew sparks from last season). I still thought it was contrived (but then again, what in 24 isn't and we still enjoy that) but there was something really enjoyable about it all and refreshing in some way after the overglut of vanished/justice/standoff/csi etc etc shows.
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9-13-2006 @ 2:19PM
Thomas said...
When will people learn that you need to password your computer account?
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9-13-2006 @ 2:34PM
SamMalone said...
Anyone else think it was odd that every woman in this rough-around-the-edges Alaskan town wear makeup?
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9-13-2006 @ 2:47PM
pardner said...
Sorry, but as an Alaska resident I have to say that this show was simply dreadful.
Where to start? Okay, there is no town like this in Alaska. Anywhere. What the heck do all those men actually do? 10 men to each woman? Try 100 in this town. Are they...logging? Fishing? Hanging out?
Most of the best lines and jokes about Alaska are lifted directly from various comedy bits around Anchorage. These are some very old and tired jokes.
I hate the wise old native stuff. It is just painful to watch.
Can't find cigarettes in an Alaska village? Please.
Yes, fall in the water, which forces you to get naked with the handsome biologist. "The only way we can survive is to cuddle, naked inside this sleeping bag." I'll have to remember that line.
No cell phone service? Yeah right. I get cell phone service on the North Slope. No town that big in the state doesn't get cell phone service.
Look, this show is obviously written by someone who took a cruise up here, watched a couple of shows (Whale Fat Follies most likely), read a book, and thinks they know all about Alaska. I understand artistic license, but much of what was written came off as just...lazy.
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9-13-2006 @ 4:55PM
Northern Belle said...
As an Alaskan, I'm afraid I must agree with my fellow denizen, pardner, on most of his points, although I wouldn't call it "dreadful" but rather "formulaic" and "contrived."
HOWEVER,
the writing and character development were enjoyable enough to warrant watching another couple of episodes. I'll give it a chance to sort itself out before giving up on it.
Oh, by the way, I live in Southcentral Alaska (the Matanuska-Susitna Valley to be precise) and cell phone coverage here can be quite spotty at times. Although I'm not familiar with the situation in Southeast Alaska (i.e., the panhandle), it woudn't surprise me a bit it there were areas of poor coverage. In fact, take a look at GCI's and Cellular One's coverage map here: http://www.gci.com/forhome/cellular/gsmmaps.htm and here: https://www.celloneusa.com/ECellPortal/ECell.portal?_nfpb=true&portlet_shoppingcart2_2_actionOverride=%2Fportlets%2Fshoppingcart2%2FdisplayCoverageMap&_windowLabel=portlet_shoppingcart2_2&portlet_shoppingcart2_2showWhichLink=local&portlet_shoppingcart2_2planType=5002&portlet_shoppingcart2_2showWhichMap=national&portlet_shoppingcart2_2showLocal=true&_pageLabel=ECell_PlansAndFeatures_PlansAndCoverage
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9-13-2006 @ 10:51PM
imdennycrane said...
Really enjoyed this...I recorded it just as a whim but I'm glad I did. That's a whole lotta men in one town..I can't imagine it times ten!
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9-14-2006 @ 9:08AM
Jeff Goebel said...
I chuckled when I read the Alaskan objections... like Doctors don't hate medical shows, and cops don't hate CSI shows. TV is seldom like real life.. it's like we think real life is. I live in Canada, and I didn't think DUE SOUTH gave us a good rep either.
I didn't want to like Anne on principle... but I added the show to my PVR lineup and look forward to seeing where it goes.
By the way, there are LOTS of places in Canada where it's a 20-1 MF ratio. I find it hard to believe Alaska isn't like that too.
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9-15-2006 @ 6:43PM
Linda Barn said...
It was silly. It was quirky. It was "Northern Exposuresque". Nobody got killed. It was not "Law and Order nor CSI. It was just fun. We need a little of this sometimes even if inaccurate in its depiction of Alaskans.
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9-15-2006 @ 11:25PM
cdmc said...
I watched the pilot because of the Dancing With The Stars lead-in. I was surprised and caught off-guard that I liked the show.
Witty dialogue... characters with depth... fresh concept and premise. The last characteristic is its strongest. I am getting tired of all these cops-and-lawyers shows on TV.
"Men in Trees" is a great way to start the TV season. Kudos to ABC!
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9-16-2006 @ 1:49AM
Matthew said...
Very feel-good. This looks like a show that I can love (even though, I generally don't like shows that are about nothing but romance, you got to be able to have episodes about other things. Northern Exposure had great romance but that wasn't the premise of the show).
But I'm afraid that this will probably get cancelled. The Pilot ratings weren't good (in terms of dropoff from Dancing). Hopefully the regular night will make it do better. My fear is that the show doesn't have a strong enough premise to pull people into watching. the only way they will like it is if they happen to flip and see how great it is. Maybe we'll get lucky though; it seems like a cheap show to make (no major stars, no special effects), so ratings don't have to be out of this world for it to stay on the air.
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9-16-2006 @ 12:43PM
Victoria Clark said...
I loved this show! Yes, it's reminescent of "Northern Exposure" but that's good. Great cast, well-written, funny, touching, quirky...perfect escape for a Friday night. Keep it on the air...it's the first show I've enjoyed in a really long time. If the scenery and charming characters don't "grab you", you have no heart.
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9-17-2006 @ 1:49PM
Robin Silna said...
MY NEW FAVORITE SHOW. I WANT SONGLIST. MUSIC IS FABULOUS!
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9-17-2006 @ 10:21PM
Dale Creed said...
I taped the shows by accident, but really enjoyed them while I was watching the tape. I forget that Ann Heche was once in a homosexual relationship when I see her on TV. I am male and like her much better with the longer hair like she has in that show. I also loved her on Everwood. Hated to see her go. This show has a lot of witty jabs at each of the characters. They feel like home. I hope the show doesn't get canceled. I want everyone to like the show as much as I do. Anne Heche has magic in her eyes.
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9-17-2006 @ 11:44PM
Michelle said...
Watched and was pleasantly surprised to be completely taken in by the refreshing new twist to ABC's Friday night TV...Great choice! Thought the actors were terrific...especially Jack's brother, Ian...what a hottie!! I could feel the chemistry between him and Anne coming through the TV! Hope to see him a lot more!!
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