We all remember how shocked we were when Anne Heche guest-starred on Everwood and managed to be sexy and winning and not at all annoying or crazy. Apparently, producer Jenny Bicks remembered too, and cast Heche as the lead in her new series Men In Trees, a kind of distaff Northern Exposure if, instead of a doctor, what a remote Alaska town really needed was a "relationship coach." And even given the somewhat far-fetched premise, Heche still managed to spend the show's first season being sexy and winning and to have sparky chemistry with James Tupper, who plays Jack the fish-and-game biologist (something we saw few of in Bicks's series, Sex & The City). Turns out that wasn't all for the cameras, either, as Heche left her husband for Tupper midseason -- not that any of us really blamed her; Tupper is hot, and the erstwhile Mr. Heche is named "Coley Laffoon." No-brainer, really. But to return to Heche's fictional life: Men In Trees is not for everyone -- what with its quirky townies, its limited potential for hookups (in Elmo, Alaska, the dudes outnumber the ladies like 50 to 1), and its preponderance of flannel -- but as Friday-night girlfests go, it makes a perfectly good accompaniment to your pedicure and box of white wine. -- Wing Chun
The Nine
The fall of 2006 was the season of the serialized drama, and none had more buzz going for it than The Nine. High-concept premise: Nine strangers were taken hostage during a bank robbery. They all made it out alive, but something MYSTERIOUS happened while they were inside. And the show began right after the hostage crisis ended, doling out tidbits about the mystery week by week. Sounds kind of like Lost, minus the supernatural element, right? What could go wrong? The performances by TV veterans like Scott Wolf, Kim Raver, and Tim Daly were good, but the problem was that the information was given out too slowly, and also people were tired of the eight million serialized dramas the networks put on the schedule. The show slowly faded into the woodwork, only to be revived for a few burn-off weeks in the summer, then unceremoniously killed off again. You can watch the rest of the season on ABC's website, if you want. It's all just kind of sad. -- Kim
The OC
By The TWoP Staff
We all remember how shocked we were when Anne Heche guest-starred on Everwood and managed to be sexy and winning and not at all annoying or crazy. Apparently, producer Jenny Bicks remembered too, and cast Heche as the lead in her new series Men In Trees, a kind of distaff Northern Exposure if, instead of a doctor, what a remote Alaska town really needed was a "relationship coach." And even given the somewhat far-fetched premise, Heche still managed to spend the show's first season being sexy and winning and to have sparky chemistry with James Tupper, who plays Jack the fish-and-game biologist (something we saw few of in Bicks's series, Sex & The City). Turns out that wasn't all for the cameras, either, as Heche left her husband for Tupper midseason -- not that any of us really blamed her; Tupper is hot, and the erstwhile Mr. Heche is named "Coley Laffoon." No-brainer, really. But to return to Heche's fictional life: Men In Trees is not for everyone -- what with its quirky townies, its limited potential for hookups (in Elmo, Alaska, the dudes outnumber the ladies like 50 to 1), and its preponderance of flannel -- but as Friday-night girlfests go, it makes a perfectly good accompaniment to your pedicure and box of white wine. -- Wing Chun
The Nine
The fall of 2006 was the season of the serialized drama, and none had more buzz going for it than The Nine. High-concept premise: Nine strangers were taken hostage during a bank robbery. They all made it out alive, but something MYSTERIOUS happened while they were inside. And the show began right after the hostage crisis ended, doling out tidbits about the mystery week by week. Sounds kind of like Lost, minus the supernatural element, right? What could go wrong? The performances by TV veterans like Scott Wolf, Kim Raver, and Tim Daly were good, but the problem was that the information was given out too slowly, and also people were tired of the eight million serialized dramas the networks put on the schedule. The show slowly faded into the woodwork, only to be revived for a few burn-off weeks in the summer, then unceremoniously killed off again. You can watch the rest of the season on ABC's website, if you want. It's all just kind of sad. -- Kim
The OC