User reviews

When this show first came out, I thought that it was going to be dumb and full of cliché and i did not think that it was going to last very long. I thought that it would be canceled after the first episode, but I was wrong. I found myself watching the pilot because there was nothing good on TV. Then, I found myself watching it the second week and so on. I found myself relating to these various characters. It became one of the few shows on television that I made it a point to watch. I was hoping that ABC would try there best not to cancel this promising show. ABC gave them a chance by putting the show right after Grey's Anatomy (show I personally love).

The characters are quirky and lovable after you watch just one episode you will be a fan. I was not particular a Helen Heche fan, but I became one after watching this show. The guy that plays Jack is sexy, sensitive and seems to get Marin (Heche). I just hope that the writers don't drag their love affair.

I really like this show but i was disappointed this week with the Jack, Lynn and Marin situation...i thought the scenes with Celia were great..that should be ongoing because she is a little too miserable...i was disgusted with Jack's role in this particular episode...i stay up to watch it and i just got disappointed...kinda sad he would play two women but i think the way the writer had Marin and Lynn handle themselves was a great piece of work...very nice to see something written that doesn't have women degrading themselves by getting hysterical or extreme to the point of fighting over men..excellent...Patrick and Annie back together was great...should be interesting what will happen with Ben

Am very afraid that my new favorite show is going to be canceled by ABC because of the less than great ratings this is getting. If you haven't tuned in yet...please do! This is an intelligent show that has multidimensional characters who are not only real but smart, funny...I could go on and on. The chemistry betwn Anne Heche (Marin) and James Tupper (Jack) is so electric, you can almost feel the hum radiating from your TV. I have been using my DVR to catch this show so I can re-watch...ABC doesn't post the replay on this one online...but should!

Check out this charming, sexy, smart show that lots of folks are calling Sex and the City meets Nothern Exposure. The similarities are obviously there due to the setting and writer/creator, but the characters are much more likable and realistic. The Jack/Marin interactions are great, watching them find how they fit together is a treat...as well as the young/new love story of the adorable Patrick and sweet Annie. These two stories are just the tip of the iceberg.

I find myself grinning through every entire episode...and they aren't predictable/canned comedy episodes. There are twists and turns and realism that makes you feel like you're getting to know these "people."

Give this show a chance on it's new night Thursdays after Grey's Anatomy on ABC. We NEED to get the word-of-mouth movement going to get the ratings up on this one so ABC will pick up more seasons to come. I'm telling everyone I know to watch...tune in this week and get addicted too.

Marin (Anne Heche) is an author of books dealing with relationships. She is quite successful. However, her own fiancé cheats on her and turns her life upside-down. Taking a speaking job in Alaska, she believes she has landed in dullsville and drinks a bit too much before her big moment. The men in the town, outnumbering the women by a large margin, are less than impressed with Marin's advice. Through a series of circumstances, Marin becomes stranded in the small city. Wonder of wonders, she begins to like the change of venue. There is a handsome rescue worker, a congenial inn manager, a nice lady next door, a cute raccoon who takes a shine to her, etc. Could it be that a NY denizen can make a transition into life in the rough and tumble 49th state? Even with out spinning classes, hair dryers, and the like? This is a nice little series. Heche looks beautiful and makes Marin a very attractive damsel in distress. The rest of the cast, though unknown, is a delight. The Alaskan scenery is beyond lovely and adds much to the enjoyment of the story. Although the pace of the opening episodes was quite rapid, in order to get the story and characters off the ground, one hopes that it will settle down into a comfortable rhythm. All those who like humor, romance, and a storyline about fish out of water will like this series. It has a sweet and sarcastic edge that is very appealing.

The first episode was good, but (of course) reminded me of Northern Exposure. I've never been to Alaska, but I imagine its not too different from north Finland or Sweden or Switzerland, where I have lived, and therefore seriously cold. That's not very realistically shown in the program.

Anne Heche fits the part very well, Sarah Strange (who I've only seen before in ReGenesis) is excellent as an actor (and very good looking), and the rest of the cast are really good. I was doubtful about how appealing the series would be, mainly because I could never get interested in 'sex & the city', the big thing Jenny Bicks wrote before (well, sometimes when Kim C was particularly outrageous), but the writing was OK. I don't think I'm likely to get all of the series DVDs like for Northern Exposure, maybe not any, but I will watch more of the series with interest.

I love this show. I can't get enough of it. It was great humor and it doesn't drag things out over multiple seasons. It is a show many can relate too. It is my most anticipated show every week. Rerun or not. The characters Jack and Marin have great realistic chemistry. The other relationships that have developed fit all molds. I believe there is at least one relationship that someone can relate to. That is what the show is about right...relationships. The location for filming is absolutely breath taking. There is a true appreciation for the beauty of being in the wilderness. It is a captivating show altogether. My husband does not like what he calls chick flicks or shows but it has become a weekly show for us to watch together.

Marin Frist (Anne Heche) is a relationship guru on her book tour. She is shocked by fiancé's cheating. She decides to hide away in Alaska. Of course, she falls for local Jack Slattery (James Tupper).

The title refers to the fact that there are many more men than women in Alaska. This is the run of the mill successful-girl-who-can't-keep-a-guy sitcom and they added a dash of Northern Exposure. Anne Heche works quite well here. She's always had good comic timing. James Tupper is supposed to be the leading man. I never found him to have much of a spark. Although I guess Anne liked him enough to stay with him in real life.

Here's a prime example of how Hollywood likes to rehash something from the past and make it into a blander, cleaner, more accessible version of something that was brilliant, and then wonder why the ratings aren't there.

It's obvious that "Men in Trees" is a Xerox copy of "Northern Exposure." And like most Xerox copies, you end up missing all of the details that made the original worth replicating. (Remember "It's Like...You Know" which was ABC's Xerox of Seinfeld? ) For those who watched Northern Exposure, it was an amazing program... dealt with very intricate themes. "Men In Trees" has the Northern Exposure play-book down pat, complete with bush pilots, local friendly tavern, radio show, quirky citizens, and transplanted New Yorker. Even the Alaskan town name "Elmo" suggests a flip side to Northern Exposure's "Cicely."

The problem here, is not that they stole from Northern Exposure. Look at how many variations of the same doctor or lawyer programs there are. No, the writers forgot to steal all of the GOOD elements of Northern Exposure. NEX's characters were a vast assortment of oddballs in all shapes and sizes, including age groups. With the exception of the exceptional old guy John Amos, everyone else looks like sexy 30 something's that jumped out of a Eddie Bauer catalog. And what good is featuring a radio program without all of the detailed philosophy? And where's the edgy, quirky music? Also note that NEX's Dr. Joel hated being stuck in Alaska, whereas Heche's character lives there by choice. So much dramatic tension is lost from simple plot devices that were ignored.

In summary, simply snagging the surface elements of great programs does not a television show make. You can still wind up with a decent show, but you'll lose all of the magic from the original.

For those who love the program, and will hate my review of it... I ask that you subscribe to Netflix or Blockbuster and rent Northern Exposure. You'll be glad you did, especially if "Men In Trees" is one step from cancellation. You may not like what I have written, but for many of us, NEX still holds a special place in our hearts. (If NBC aired a television show called "Mashed Potatoes" about two guys nicknamed "Bazooka Joe" and "Sonar" members of the wacky staff of an army hospital during the Gulf War, you'd be upset too.)

Hi, I just wanted to say that MIT is my favorite new show! I agree with previous posters who commented on the chemistry between Jack & Marin. It's so amazing! Especially knowing they're a real life couple! That just makes it more exciting! I hope ABC won't cancel this show! I'd be so upset! It's so funny & romantic. I love the fact that it take place in Alaska, where there are 10 men for every woman! There are some really great lines in this show. Makes you think! I love the music as well! I just love everything about it! The men are gorgeous, & the women are beautiful & funny! I'm really into all of the story lines, but I'm especially hoping Jack & Marin get back together real soon! & I hope Jack puts Marin's name on his arm next! Lisa in CT

On one Thursday evening at 10:00pm, my local west coast ABC affiliate aired the pilot episode of "Northern Exposure". The ABC Network usually airs "Men In Trees" in that time slot but the program was preempted for a live sporting event.

Despite both shows are set in Alaska and filmed on location in the Pacific Northwest (Exposure in Washington state, Trees in Vancouver, BC), re-watching "Northern Exposure" (as well as few episodes of "Sex and the City") reminds me how disappointed I am with the poorly conceived hybrid "Men in Trees".

Anne Heche can be a good actress with the right material. Unfortunately her role as a writer who ends up in a small town in Alaska grates on my nerves. Perhaps because I feel that Heche is miscast, I am not convinced of her "fish-out-of-water" character.

I also cannot help but feel that the supporting cast fits the typical quirky stereotypes. The hot-looking local, the kindly bar owner, the bush pilot, the local police officers, the dim but well-intentioned radio DJ, etc.

The only stereotype that may have been broken was teddy bear and veteran "ER" actor Abraham Benrubi as the local bartender in love with two different women. Considering that one of the executive producers is filmmaker James Mangold, (his movies "Heavy" and "Cop Land" had lead characters who were large men) then I am not surprised why Benrubi was cast in a non-typical role.

Nonetheless, I can see why there are a lot of dedicated viewers who love "Men in Trees". It fits the quirky niche for television audiences. I wished the show could find its own voice instead of borrowing ideas from better shows.

I love the show Men in Trees. It is funny, dramatic, thought provoking, touching, and a little different. Men in Trees helps fill the gap left by Sex in the City but Men in Trees is even more realistic to everyday people. I hope now that it has moved to Thursday night more people will be exposed to this fantastic show. I love how it has the big city girl and her sensibilities in the small town Alaska setting. It is great to get the view point of "real men" as well. Sex in the City was great but I don't run into "metrosexuals" all the time and it is nice to see guys that I would meet on a day to day basis. Men could not relate to Sex in the City but they will be able to relate to Men in Trees and women will love getting the view points of real men. You should watch the show at least three times and you will fall in LOVE with it.

One of my favorite shows is Men in Trees. I used to watch Northern Exposure, but love this show even more. It's sometimes hard for me to *believe* that it's supposed to be taking place in Alaska, cuz they don't always wear a coat or jacket and I like to think that it's really cold in Alaska, so that really needs to be addressed. But I love the characters of Marin, Jack, and Cash (especially Cash) (smile). The others are an essential part of the cast and have their own particular quirkiness that adds to the storyline. I like the combination of animals w/the storyline - adds to more of the reality of the theme and of being in Alaska. The fact that there really is a Chieftain, tho' possibly not the same inside is nice, too.

There is a lot of love and support that the fans give to this show and this is amazing, given that people are watching from all over, not just the United States and Canada. There are a variety of topics on the ABC MIT message board, whereby people are replying back and forth and you can even post your own.

In addition to the great fans on this message board, they've also put action together to buy food trees (Plant it Forward) to further their commitment. You can find a link on the message board to find out more information on that.

Plus on behalf of the fans, I created a fan site which has lots of info, a guest book, and LOTS of pictures on it of the cast. I even somehow or other managed to put a song up on one of the pages.. now that was fun! You can find this fan site at: http://sydney1106.tripod.com/ and so I hope you will visit and sign the guest book, too!

I really do hope that ABC renews this show not only for the 2008-2009 season, but for however many episodes Jenny Bicks and her team can write! Thank you for letting me post a comment.

I just love this show! In Australia it started in our summer season of 2006/2007 as a 'filler-in' in the 7.30pm slot for a few weeks, then almost disappeared into the 10.30pm slot without warning. At the end of summer it totally disappeared, and has returned for this summer and I have been watching it and still loving every minute.

The characters are all wonderfully portrayed and the story lines keep me waiting for more. I also thought of the similarities between MIT and Northern Exposure, but decided to take this show and watch it on its own merit.

I will be devastated if this show is axed!! It is bad enough that I may have to wait until next summer to see more episodes. I hope MIT's rating do well in America, so that it will not be cancelled, and I can see the show again next summer in Australia!

Just what we need a show trying to push old stereotype that women and men are DIFFERENT (aka. from other planets). Are they trying to set back the women's movement a decade? This show is so anti-feminist!

This show is insulting and revolting with its weak pathetic man-hungry desperate women chasing after MACHO mountain men!

And the false old fashioned stereotypes it keeps trying to push are so tired and awful. All women are obsessed with fashion & shoes (especially expensive designer heels...even in the wilderness).... they really want a macho (read: DOMINANT) man....they're obsessed with making babies etc. Or men that hate the arts, drink nothing but beer, wear only flannel and are crude/afraid to hug and tell each other constantly to "man up".

In an episode that must've come straight from the 50's - there was actually an episode that revolved around how men "should be men" and financially provide for a relationship. I mean seriously the idea that a man has to provide all the money... that's still a dramatic plot??

Another episode decided to explore the "differences" between men & women - and they seemed to think we'd find it so strange and funny if women did "men's" work (but failed at it & need to be rescued) and men (gasp!) used moisturizer (and got mocked for it). This episode had Marin the girle girl "behaving like a man" - in which she hung out at the bar and learned to watch sports and even have a 1-night stand. Of course she's then shown as emotionally unable to stick to her plan and obsessively checks her phone for a call despite the rational conversation of the night before.

Though I hate the main character, I like some of the side characters so I keep trying to watch it every once in a while and I'm just constantly disappointed by the show's perpetuation of gender role myths and stereotypes!

Seriously, join the rest of us in this century. Most women I know love our sensitive, metrosexual and/ or feminist men who are comfortable just being themselves - not clinging to outdated gender roles! Women and men are more similar than they are different - try embracing that concept instead of setting up alienating binaries.

p.s. I do like that they included a positive portrayal of a prostitute. (though of course she had to give it up). I gave the show a star just for that!

Men in Trees is the my favorite show on television, hands down. The stories are fun, the characters are compelling and different, and though many people like to call them "quirky," they seem to me to be the most realistic mix of real people on television. Not everyone is some plastic cut-out or Hollywood beautiful person...this cast's appearance is as unique and real as their attitudes and the Elmoian obstacles they overcome every week. Yes, I am a true fan and feel it's my duty to not only continue to spread the word about how great Elmo and it's inhabitants are, but how great it's viewers are as well. The most loyal of us are known as TreeHuggers and we have begun a really great campaign to save the show that we love. It's currently on a "hiatus" until it returns at the end of February. At first, we had just hoped to persuade the network to stop pulling it off the air and swapping time slots more than Marin changed shoes! But now, a very real and heartfelt campaign has started that will not only save the show, but will also feed the hungry as well. If you are a fan, if you're not a fan and just a philanthropist, whoever you are, if you are reading this post, do yourself a favor and check out the Men in Trees message board over at abc.com and see what you can do to save this great show while giving to a great cause. I guarantee it will make your day a little brighter, and you'll find out what it really means to be an Elmoian. Not many shows encourage you to become a better person. Men in Trees does every week. Every TreeHugger knows this, and now you can too. Please do yourself a favor and check out the Men in Trees message board at abc.com and look for the subject titled "Plant it Forward." Then be sure to tune in to Men in Trees Wednesday nights at 10pm starting Feb. 27th. Become a TreeHugger before it's too late!

This show is awesome and we have been enjoying it thoroughly. Set in Alaska, I don't agree with the homosexual content on tonight's show. I feel that you are pushing too hard to bring New York to Alaska. Its one thing to have a New Yorker struggling in the Alaska wild, but to try to turn the Alaska town into New York? This is a nice show about dainty women and true Alaska Men and to bring a same sex couple into the mix is throwing the balance way off. Alaska should be Portrayed as a man and New York as the woman. I think the first 9 shows have the perfect balance with what you all are doing. Can't we have a nice show without the imbalance of nature.

It is not a coincident that Sex and the City's creators had a hand in making Men in Trees. It's chosen Elmo, Alaska. I have always loved Anne Heche even though she has her own problems but she always has proved to be a good trooper. I love Cynthia Stevenson and thinks she's not being used enough. John Amos is great as Buzz. I also like Abraham Benrubi remember him from his days on ER. The cast is mostly masculine since the show is called Men in Trees and set in small town Alaska. You can't help but love Alaska if you have been there. Men in Trees is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia and it's surroundings. I think the writing could be better and work more on Marin's personal discoveries. Just because a woman is alone is not the end of the world, it only appears to be thanks to society's dictation that women should not be alone and mated with a man right away or a partner. I think the show is a lot better than Sex and the City and Northern Exposure where a neurotic New Yorker is left behind. Marin loves Elmo for most of the right reasons maybe it's the nature and the less complicated life behind in New York City. New York City is not all that's cracked up too be. Maybe New York's over-rated.

MIT is a clever and wonderfully well written show that triggers a great amount of emotion in the viewer. Here is a show that is creative and hosts a great cast in which each and every character is well thought out and lovable. MIT's fans are absolutely in love with this show, they are loyal and prove it through their posts on ABC/MIT. Unfortunately ABC does not do the show justice and does not advertise it appropriately. ABC has also taken the show off the air for many months at a time "to give other shows a chance" and made MIT fans extremely upset. Just recently after the show coming back on air, ABC chooses not to run the show consistently again. The episodes are ALREADY TAPED and ready to go (this is well known fact among MIT fans and we are waiting) So what is the problem? We are left hanging once again and very frustrated. One can really connect with this show it is truly a gem amongst the drivel in t.v. land. I love each and every character and look forward to watching each week. I have not missed a single episode despite the network giving the fans the run around with not airing MIT consistently. I think it is high time all of us MIT fans were to fight back and win.

I am dismayed to find that we are about to watch the Last Ever Men In Trees - because some shiny seat in a TV company decided the figures don't stack up. Well they did this to Due South, twice in fact, and it rose from the dead to become a classic and this could go the same way.

Men in Trees is pure joy to watch, it's light, sad, funny and poignant all at the same time. all the people drive you nuts one week or another but that's just like real life. I am so sorry to think that this delight of a series is going to end. what will we do without chief Celia? Ma Mai? Annie? Jerome? and... and ... and..

The best criteria for a good comedy series is whether it treats its minor characters with respect - and this does. They are all real, three dimensional figures and when the central characters get a bit tedious, they are there to soothe and entertain.

Otherwise I guess it's onto the DVD.

i watched this show because there was absolutely nothing else watchable. this show taught me that, once again, all some American TV producers think people need to make a show watchable is boppy music, dime-store philosophy, rampant sexual undertones, every cliché imaginable, sadly predictable 'story' lines and stereotypical characters. unfortunately, for me (and most discriminating viewers) content needs to be evident, also. i stayed with it for the first 5 episodes and hate myself for doing so. that it is a poorly disguised rip-off of northern exposure is almost forgivable, but the parallels are not.

My favorite show on television is Men in Trees. Well, recently, I went to their website because I had noticed that my Tivo had stopped recording the show. No new ones, no repeats, zilch! Well it turns out that ABC has taken this great show off of the air (some are saying it's because of the strike, while others believe that it's just another move for this sophomore show and it's constant time slot changes) with new shows to resume on Feb. 27th at yet another new time slot, Wednesdays at 10pm.

I decided to go to their website at ABC.COM to get the scoop, and there was no scoop to be had. Just a bunch of confused fans chatting about the things they could do to make sure that the network, who they truly believe is trying to kill the sweetest show on TV, keeps their beloved show on the air. Some of the action they are taking is impressive. They have resolved to write letters, send rocks to the network (a plot line only a TreeHugger would love and get) and make some noise about saving Men in Trees.

So, I am doing my part. As suggested by a fellow Fanne and Treehugger, I am writing this blog to let everyone and anyone who is interested in reading this that there are millions of fans of this show and we will not sit idly by while ABC ruins it's chances of survival. If you are reading this and you are a fan of the show, check out the Men in Trees message board and follow the link entitled "Action We're Taking For Love of MIT" and find out what you can do to save the trees! If you haven't seen the show, go to that site and watch an episode, then take action (because I know one episode won't be enough.) Every bit of of everyone's effort will be helpful! Let's so show the networks and the advertisers that we want a real show, and not yet another reality show ripoff that will bore US to death and save THEM money! We work hard! After a day at the office, another shift in the rat race, don't you deserve to come home and unwind with a real program you love? Of course you do. Trust, if you give it chance, I guarantee that you'll love Men in Trees!

I am a huge fan of Northern Exposure. Men In Trees is a complete knock-off of Northern Exposure. There's the city-folk from New York stuck in a remote backwoods town (Marin Frist / Joel Fleishman). She immediately doesn't hit it off with a local (Jack Slattery / Maggie O'Connell). The town only has one pilot who is not often available. Ther is only one radio show. And the entire show is about quirky people with sincere and odd relationships. Too many parallels. Just like Northern Exposure except one obvious demographic has been altered in each character. I'm bored. Give me something new to think about.

On the upside, the writing is pretty good. But if this was a school project, it would certainly have earned the stamp of plagiarism.

Perhaps people who love this show were sheltered from the dedicated creativity and hard labors of Joshua Brand and John Falsey.