TV: Men in Trees

Anne Heche stars as "relationship coach" Marin Frist, who's in Alaska on a publicity tour for her new book about the secrets to dating success. This is pretty unlikely to begin with -- I doubt that many publishers send their authors all the way to Alaska to do readings -- but even more so because Marin's been sent not to Anchorage or Juneau, but to the little town of Elmo.

Elmo is a town populated mainly by men -- Theresa, the waitress at the local bar (Sarah Strange), says "it's like a ten to one ratio" -- and Marin is at first frustrated to be there, but begins to see this as an opportunity. What better way to understand men (and get material for her next book) than to live among them? And so, by the end of the pilot, Marin has decided to stay in Elmo for a while.

Elmo offers quite an assortment of men to study. There's Ben, the urbane bartender (Abraham Benrubi); Buzz, the town pilot (John Amos); Patrick, the naive young innkeeper/radio host (Derek Richardson); and Jack, the hunky wildlife ranger (James Tupper) who seems destined to be Marin's principal love interest.

There are a few women on hand, of course. Annie (Emily Bergl) is Marin's biggest fan, who's followed her to Elmo to console her after her breakup, and finds herself falling for Patrick; Sara (Suleka Mathew) is the town prostitute; and Marin's editor, Jane (Seana Kofoed), will pop in from time to time (often by phone, I imagine) with advice.

If you're already thinking Northern Exposure, you're right -- big-city type living in a small Alaska town, populated with eccentrics (and both towns with people's names, Cicely and Elmo) -- and the show occasionally strains a little too hard for its quirkiness. There's also a lot of Sex and the City (one of the Men in Trees creators was a writer for that show), right down to Heche's episode-closing monologue/life lesson.

The cast is very likable, and the writing above average. My biggest qualm after the first episode is the casting of Anne Heche, who is a good actress, but not one who naturally projects vulnerability or empathy. Marin's opening scene, a lecture to an audience of fans, doesn't play quite right because Heche doesn't come across as very warm or comforting; she's a brittle onscreen presence, and it will be interesting to see if she can find the softer edges this character is going to need.