I thought it would be kind of fun and interesting to spew my two cents about the upcoming fall lineup this television season. If I have the opportunity to watch each season premier, I will post what I think about it. I must admit that I'm no TV critic. My preferences and tastes are about as varied as the weather, but I am pretty good at picking the one's that will last. I have to kind of expand on that . . . I know what I like. I can usually pick what will last. My first review is Men in Trees.
The pilot aired last night ( 9/12/2006 ) and here's what I thought ...
The basic premise of the show is this: Anne Heche plays a young, successful woman ( Marin ) who is a relationship coach. She's at the peak of her fame and booking speaking engagements, book signings, and later we find she will be on Oprah. Lastly, she is going to be married. Her next engagement is in a small town in Alaska where we find the ratio of men to women is something like 10:1.
On the surface it may be easy to assume, "Oh! Another Northern Exposure!!" Sorry to burst your bubble. It's no Northern Exposure. There are still the "big city girl meets Alaska cliches" but it doesn't seem to rely on these too much. After finding that her fiance is cheating on her ( She mistakenly takes his laptop with her on the plane ). After opening it she looks at a photo slideshow. First there's a picture of her, another of her, then . . . one of another woman, and lastly one of the other woman and her fiance smooching it up ) and confirming it over the phone, she decides to visit the one ( and only ) bar in town - The Chieftain thanks to the advice of her host ( Derek Richardson ). This bar will most likely serve as the center point of the life in the series. In the bar, while getting lit on vodka shots, she meets a few of the other characters. A bartender ( Abraham Benrubi ), a waitress ( Sarah Strange ), a pilot ( John Amos ), and a game warden ( James Tupper ) who we are led to believe there may be future love interests.
Cutting to the chase . . . Marin decides to stay in Alaska where she will write a new book about men. I must admit that it's pretty nice to Anne Heche again. She's a little eccentric and all - at least off screen - but she's still a good looking woman and I usually like the characters she plays. I couldn't overlook the fact that she's looking awfully skinny. Won't the producers let you have a couple cheeseburgers every now and then? For the most part, I like a lot of the characters. Her host, Patrick, is a very likeable guy who has obviously read her books. He is quite enamored with her and quotes passages from her books throughout the show.
In comparison to Northern Exposure, the characters aren't as quirky. They have the depth of regular people who have chosen to do something else in life in the face of adversity. For example, the one and only pilot in town chose to move to Alaska when affirmative action ruined his career as an airline pilot.
I really don't know what else to say. I can't say I was totally blown away. Furthermore, I'm probably not in the target audience. At first my expectations were along the Northern Exposure lines, but as the show got rolling it felt more like Sex in the City meets the Alaskan Tundra - with the sex being replaced by sexual tension and cliche-esque humor. The bottom line . . .I give it 3 out of 5 stars. Most of the stars for strong characters. I really don't see this series taking off. Mostly because I'm not sure what kind of story is going to be pulled out of the premise. So, Marin, a relationship coach recovering from a failed relationship and self-banished to Alaska is going to write a book about men? What will the next episodes be like? Will Marin become the problem solver? Is she going to find herself? Find someone else? I'm not convinced this show will take off. This has nothing to do with the fact that it is slated for Friday nights. I'm just not confident that it will provide a compelling storyline that will leave me anxious to tune in for the next episode.
On the surface it may be easy to assume, "Oh! Another Northern Exposure!!" Sorry to burst your bubble. It's no Northern Exposure. There are still the "big city girl meets Alaska cliches" but it doesn't seem to rely on these too much. After finding that her fiance is cheating on her ( She mistakenly takes his laptop with her on the plane ). After opening it she looks at a photo slideshow. First there's a picture of her, another of her, then . . . one of another woman, and lastly one of the other woman and her fiance smooching it up ) and confirming it over the phone, she decides to visit the one ( and only ) bar in town - The Chieftain thanks to the advice of her host ( Derek Richardson ). This bar will most likely serve as the center point of the life in the series. In the bar, while getting lit on vodka shots, she meets a few of the other characters. A bartender ( Abraham Benrubi ), a waitress ( Sarah Strange ), a pilot ( John Amos ), and a game warden ( James Tupper ) who we are led to believe there may be future love interests.
Cutting to the chase . . . Marin decides to stay in Alaska where she will write a new book about men. I must admit that it's pretty nice to Anne Heche again. She's a little eccentric and all - at least off screen - but she's still a good looking woman and I usually like the characters she plays. I couldn't overlook the fact that she's looking awfully skinny. Won't the producers let you have a couple cheeseburgers every now and then? For the most part, I like a lot of the characters. Her host, Patrick, is a very likeable guy who has obviously read her books. He is quite enamored with her and quotes passages from her books throughout the show.
In comparison to Northern Exposure, the characters aren't as quirky. They have the depth of regular people who have chosen to do something else in life in the face of adversity. For example, the one and only pilot in town chose to move to Alaska when affirmative action ruined his career as an airline pilot.
I really don't know what else to say. I can't say I was totally blown away. Furthermore, I'm probably not in the target audience. At first my expectations were along the Northern Exposure lines, but as the show got rolling it felt more like Sex in the City meets the Alaskan Tundra - with the sex being replaced by sexual tension and cliche-esque humor. The bottom line . . .I give it 3 out of 5 stars. Most of the stars for strong characters. I really don't see this series taking off. Mostly because I'm not sure what kind of story is going to be pulled out of the premise. So, Marin, a relationship coach recovering from a failed relationship and self-banished to Alaska is going to write a book about men? What will the next episodes be like? Will Marin become the problem solver? Is she going to find herself? Find someone else? I'm not convinced this show will take off. This has nothing to do with the fact that it is slated for Friday nights. I'm just not confident that it will provide a compelling storyline that will leave me anxious to tune in for the next episode.
