Men in Trees

It seems as if the cancellation of their show Men in Trees has forced Anne Heche and costar/sweetheart James Tupper to put their charming, well-appointed Vancouver home on the market. Since the show is no longer being shot in gorgeous British Columbia, the couple must cut their losses and head back to Los Angeles.

And what a loss! This house has great bones and gorgeous woodwork, and while it's big, it's not ostentatious. Sitting on nearly an acre of land, the home's grounds include old growth forests, a pond, and a waterfall. Sounds perfect to me. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom house is selling for $2.45 million.

To see photos and hear more about the home, read more

While most of us decided "gifting" a pet was a no-no back when it happened on October Road, seems like other shows still get into the pet-as-present idea. On last night's episode of Men in Trees, Jack offered up some cutie pie pups to Marin which provided quite a bit of distraction to her life – I think above Code Red should be Code New Puppy! While I don't think it was the wisest choice, and definitely doesn't model the best decision making, I have to remind myself that it's TV, not reality. And adoro dogs like these keep viewers tuning in!

Photos Courtesy of ABC

Granted, this news has probably been a long time in coming, but it's still a bummer: Men in Trees has been officially canceled after two years of life in Elmo, AK.

Of course, that's two years of airing on three different nights in numerous different time slots, with two long breaks — one when its first season came to an early end, another when ABC decided to save episodes of the show rather than air them during the writers' strike — in between. Not the easiest way to get a following, that's for sure.

It was bad news when Lifetime decided not to pick up the show when ABC offered it, but the show still had its promoters at the network — not to mention a dedicated (if relatively small) fan base that had organized a campaign to buy trees for developing countries. And coupled with the news that ABC didn't plan on premiering as many new series as normal in the Fall, it seemed like the show had a chance.

The one bright spot is that Trees did prepare an ending that could serve as a series finale; that last episode will air sometime this Summer, after the show returns May 28. In the meantime, what do you think about the decision? Did Trees deserve to be saved? Would you have wanted it to return for a third season even if it meant it would be shuffled all around ABC's schedule again?

Photo copyright 2008 ABC, Inc.

These days, it seems like the first move for a network series that's in danger of being canceled is to find a cable network or other partner that's willing to take it on. See: Law & Order: Criminal Intent moving to USA from NBC last year, or Friday Night Lights trying to get a deal with DirecTV to bring it back.

So I guess it's no surprise that ABC wanted to shop its low-rated Men in Trees and October Road to another network. It's not even surprising that they chose Lifetime, which is also owned by Disney. But what's a little shocking is that Lifetime said no.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, network executives reviewed the tapes of both shows but decided to pass on picking them up, leaving the shows in limbo. The paper reported that Men in Trees still has support at ABC proper (not that it's obvious from the way the show's been treated there) and could return for a third season on the network — but it sounds like this was the final nail in the coffin for October Road.

Both shows have been ratings duds this year: October Road's most recent episodes got just 4.7 million viewers, and Wednesday night's Men in Trees pulled in 5.8 million people. But they both have fervent fans, and there must be something to like about them for ABC to want to save them at all. So, fans, this is your chance: Why do Road and Trees deserve to come back? Sound off below.

Photos copyright 2008 ABC, Inc.

Remember when ABC had a show called Men in Trees? You can be forgiven if you don't recall. The show has been shuffled around and treated more strangely than most, moving from Fridays to Thursdays and back again, being pulled before the end of its first season, and then finally resurfacing in October — only to leave again in December, despite having plenty of episodes to get through the writers' strike.

The show finally returns tonight at 10 p.m., and ABC has promised it 11 episodes back-to-back in the same slot. That's par for the course for any other show, but for Men in Trees, it's extraordinary. The show's audience is small (about comparable to Friday Night Lights), but they're devoted: They've organized a campaign to buy trees for developing countries in honor of the show, with hopes that the efforts will be recognized by ABC and help get the show a third season.

If you're not a regular viewer — or if you are but this latest break has taken you out of the rhythm of the show — here's a great guide to where all of the Elmo couples stand right now. Meanwhile, to check out a preview for tonight's episode, just read more

Although sometimes I can't decide whether or not I actually like the ABC series Men In Trees, I can tell you that I've always been a fan of main character Marin's charmingly rumpled cabin. It's so homey, and the fact that she's often found hibernating under a woolen blanket or stretched out in front of a roaring fire only reinforces this notion.

To find out how to get Marin's hibernation-worthy cabin's look, just read more

• USA Today has the first photo from Mike Meyers' next comedy The Love Guru.
• David Chase talks — sort of — to the Associated Press about the finale of The Sopranos.
• Juno writer Diablo Cody has yet another project in the works: a supernatural comedy titled Jennifer's Body that will star Megan Fox, writes Hollywood Reporter.
• In a super-slow week for album sales, Bruce Springsteen topped the charts again, Billboard reports.
• The Futon Critic has a slew of ABC scheduling updates: Men in Trees is moving to 8 p.m., October Road is coming back in November, and Dance War starts in January.
• The Zac Efron movie 17 just got a lot cooler with the addition of Leslie Mann (Knocked Up) to the cast, as ComingSoon reports.
• Champion tennis player Maria Sharapova is pitching a drama about female tennis players to the CW, Variety reports. Hey, anyone else remember Phenom?
• According to ComingSoon, Billy Bob Thornton will join Shia LaBeouf in the thriller Eagle Eye.
• Zap2it has introductions for the new cast of The Amazing Race.
• Billy Ray Cyrus has landed himself a movie role in the family drama Flying By, writes Hollywood Reporter.

ABC kicks off its new Friday night lineup tonight with the premiere of a new show, "Women's Murder Club," and the return of an old favorite, "Men in Trees."

It pains me to recommend a show that airs at the same time as my beloved "Friday Night Lights," but "Women's Murder Club" is a pretty solid show. It's based on a series of books by James Patterson, and it centers on a sassy crew of women in various law enforcement roles solving crimes in San Francisco. It's not something I'd watch on a weekly basis, but the cast is appealing, the mystery in the pilot episode was reasonably compelling, and it has a built-in stable of stories to draw from. I'd still pick "FNL," but if that's not your speed (and you haven't been sucked — har har — into vampire show "Moonlight"), this one might be worth a look.

"Men in Trees" got some very strange treatment from ABC last year: It started on Friday nights and struggled, moved to the plum post-"Grey's Anatomy" time slot, grew an audience, got early renewal for a second season — and then disappeared from the air completely in favor of "October Road." The show had actually completed several episodes beyond the ones that aired, so fans will be treated to an extra-long season this year. The season premiere won't be one of those extra episodes, though; it will be an all-new one designed to get viewers back into the flow of life in Elmo, Alaska.

Will you be watching any of this Friday night fare? To check out a preview for "Women's Murder Club" and the official "Men in Trees" music video, just read more

Here's a piece of news that will make all the "Men in Trees" fans in North America wish you lived somewhere else: According to showrunner Jenny Bicks, the five episodes of the show's first season that ABC decided not to air until fall will be broadcast in some international markets as early as this week. The rest of us will have to wait until late September or early October to see what the folks in Elmo, Alaska, are up to.

But before you North American fans get too upset, here's some other news from Bicks to tide you over:

• Reruns of the show will start airing June 28. ABC plans to show virtually all of the first season, minus an episode here or there.
• The show has hired David Rosenthal, the writer who ran this year's final season of "Gilmore Girls." I suppose your opinion on that will vary depending on how you felt about this season of "Gilmore Girls."

I didn't watch "Men in Trees" in its first season, though I admit you all gave me some convincing reasons to check it out. Maybe I'll give it a shot once the reruns start.

Photo copyright 2007 ABC, Inc.

The networks have yet to reveal which of this season's TV shows will be canned, but they're starting to announce the ones that are coming back for sure next year.

Fox said today that "Prison Break," which wraps up its second season April 2, will get a third. Not to be outdone, ABC released its own list of shows that will be back, including newcomers "Ugly Betty," "Men in Trees," and "Brothers & Sisters" along with no-brainers "Grey's Anatomy," "Lost," "Desperate Housewives," and "Dancing with the Stars." Also sure to return: "Boston Legal," "The Bachelor," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," and "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

Those shows join Fox's "House and "Bones," ABC's other reality shows, and NBC's "Heroes," "My Name is Earl," "The Office," and "Law & Order: SVU" on next year's schedule. Of course, the fates of lot of shows — "Six Degrees," "What about Brian," "Friday Night Lights,", "Studio 60" — are still up in the air. The networks will announce their full lineups of new and returning shows in May.

Photos copyright Fox and ABC