Ellen's Least Favorite New Show
ABC's "Men In Trees" has a lot working against it right away. It is clearly an affected "fish out of water" tale, all about a Relationship Author who sits on her bed with a laptop and writes prose based on her experiences with love. It's no surprise that one of the writers from HBO's "Sex And The City" is involved in this program. This New York Fish finds herself in Alaska and after discovering her fiance cheated, discovers she knows nothing about Men at all.
The quirky town of Elmo (Must we reference PBS's "Sesame Street" here?) is the setting for the action. Where CBS's "Northern Exposure" had a Moose as the iconic animal that roamed the town, here, we're given a raccoon that seemingly has a particular interest in the protagonist, Marin Frist, played by Anne Heche.
And the town is populated with sensitive, kind, handsome, and accomplished hunks, a fraternity of fantastic fellows. So, there's nothing wrong with that. There is eye candy all over the place, and even the extras might be worth hitting the slo-mo on certain occasions.
The problem I've had with the first episodes is that I can see the machinery that's making the plot go, and it's a little obvious. I see the elements taken from "SATC," and it seems a little sketchy at times.
Now, I know the series has been picked up for 13 episodes, but let's face it... ABC doesn't have that much faith in it, since it's airing on Friday at 9pm, one of the biggest burial grounds for series since Saturday Night. I'm willing to give the show a chance because it does have some likeable qualities, but they need to get away from stereotypical stuff to make it worth watching.
"Men In Trees" gets an early C+.
The quirky town of Elmo (Must we reference PBS's "Sesame Street" here?) is the setting for the action. Where CBS's "Northern Exposure" had a Moose as the iconic animal that roamed the town, here, we're given a raccoon that seemingly has a particular interest in the protagonist, Marin Frist, played by Anne Heche.
And the town is populated with sensitive, kind, handsome, and accomplished hunks, a fraternity of fantastic fellows. So, there's nothing wrong with that. There is eye candy all over the place, and even the extras might be worth hitting the slo-mo on certain occasions.
The problem I've had with the first episodes is that I can see the machinery that's making the plot go, and it's a little obvious. I see the elements taken from "SATC," and it seems a little sketchy at times.
Now, I know the series has been picked up for 13 episodes, but let's face it... ABC doesn't have that much faith in it, since it's airing on Friday at 9pm, one of the biggest burial grounds for series since Saturday Night. I'm willing to give the show a chance because it does have some likeable qualities, but they need to get away from stereotypical stuff to make it worth watching.
"Men In Trees" gets an early C+.