We are getting a little upset ...

• Feb 4, 2008 03:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Question: We are getting a little upset with ABC, which keeps scheduling and then canceling Men in Trees. There are many programs on this network that are more inane than Trees (a show that is somewhat similar to Northern Exposure, which was quite successful a while back). There are very few good adult comedies (if that's the correct characterization) left that we can enjoy. When will the network get its act together with a consistent schedule?
Answer: It's been a while since I've aired this complaint, which still generates a lot of mail and seems timely again in the wake of ABC leaving duds like Cashmere Mafia and October Road on the air week after week to diminishing returns. All the while ABC is sitting on a cache of 11 Men in Trees episodes, which aren't scheduled to begin airing until Feb. 27. I understand that ABC is trying to preserve some fresh product to get us through the last months of what's left of this ragtag season, but how much worse could Men in Trees do than these losers? (And why, when it returns, put it on Wednesdays, when it could air on Mondays with an eventual Dancing with the Stars lead-in?) I guarantee this wouldn't be happening if Men in Trees were an ABC Studios (as opposed to Warner Bros.) production. Same reason probably applies as to why CBS has been so mum about the future of Moonlight, which is also from Warner Bros. and not an in-house (in that case, CBS/Paramount) production.