Anne Heche in Men in Trees by Jack Rowand/ABC
8 pm/ETWife Swap (5.64 mil) edged out Big Brother (5.57 mil) to claim third behind AI and Deal. Top Model matched the premiere's 3.86 mil.9 pmLeading out of Idol at 9:30, Back to You matched Wednesday's series-best 12.3 mil. Supernanny (8.36 mil) surged to nip Law & Order: CI (8.34 mil). A Girlicious repeat did 2.02 mil, which is actually a bit better than Monday's fresh airing.10 pmMen in Trees (finally... ) returned to an audience of 5.66 mil, placing far behind Law & Order (11.45 mil) and a CSI: NY repeat (eight mil). Still, Trees did a mil better than the most recent Cashmere Mafia and was more or less on par with its last fresh ep.
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Question: Is ABC ever going to just leave Men in Trees in one reliable time slot so I can actually watch it? And what are the chances of it returning for a third season?
Answer: I'd say the answer to the first question will directly affect the answer to the second. In the meantime, don't forget: Trees returns tonight at 10 pm/ET! Tell a friend! Actually, tell six!
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Question: What do you think about Warner Bros. stepping up to reclaim Men in Trees and airing it on the CW? I know MIT is a bit pricier than most CW fare, but at least on the CW, the show would be respected and would give that net a much-needed one-hour hit. ABC treats MIT worse than a redheaded stepchild. Could this happen, or is MIT just too expensive a show for the CW to air?
Answer: First off, before we start shopping it around, let's see how the show does when it finally returns this week (Wednesday at 10 pm/ET) after another long hiatus. There's no doubt that Men in Trees has been sorely abused by ABC — imagine keeping it off the air during the darkest days of the strike, while giving key prime-time berths to utter rot like October Road and Cashmere Mafia. But to your point, I'm thinking demographics, not economics (though also a factor), explain why Men in Trees probably wouldn't thrive in the CW's environment of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill and Pussycat Dolls. I'm not sayin ...
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ABC’s Hottest Smooch SessionsIn honor of the all the love in the air on this fine Valentine’s Day, ABC found it fitting to whip up a little montage of some of the sexiest kissing scenes (and sometimes a tad more) to get everyone in the spirit. And don’t worry, they've covered almost every show they have, complete with the Sawyer-Kate cage hook-up and the infamous Gizzy romp in the sheets. This video can be summed up best as face-sucking at its finest. Watch it now! | More online videosHas Valentine's Day Become a Secular Orgy?Contrary to popular belief, Valentine’s Day wasn’t created for the sole purpose of making single people cry. Daily Show correspondent, Nate Corddry delved into the world of chocolate thongs, greeting cards and lingerie to figure out how February 14th has gone from a day of revering the martyrdom of St. Valentine, to displays of sexual perversion. Best Break-Up…Ever!Normally you would think that breaking up with someone on V-Day i...
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Emily Bergl and Derek Richardson by Sergei Bachlakov/ABC
Searching for true love? Forget Paris. Hop a plane to Elmo, Alaska Squamish, British Columbia and ask for directions to the Men in Trees set.Emily Bergl and Derek Richardson — who play adorable (and in-love) misfits Annie and Patrick on ABC's criminally neglected romantic dramedy — have become the latest Trees couple to find love off screen, multiple sources confirm to me exclusively. "They started dating last year," whispers a Trees insider. "They’re happy and in love." This is the second instance of life imitating art on Tree's tucked-away Canadian set. During the show's first season, a then-spoken-for Anne Heche fell for her married leading man, James Tupper. The pair have since left their respective spouses and remain very much an item. I don’t know about you guys, but there's something about all of these Trees duos coupling up in real life that warms my cold heart. Now, if only ABC would show MIT half as much love as the actors have shown each other, maybe ...
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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
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Question: Have you heard about the action that Men in Trees fans are taking? We've been rather frustrated with the way ABC has chosen to handle this wonderful show — putting it on for a few episodes and then taking it off for months — that we've decided to donate money to treesforlife.org. For every $1 we donate, a tree is planted that will help feed the poor in impoverished countries. We are doing this in Men in Trees' honor. Once all the trees are donated, the certificates will be presented to Stephen McPherson at ABC. Could you help us get the word out about this campaign?
Answer: What are you waiting for, Ausholes, a personalized invitation?! Get busy plantin'!
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Question: Riddle me this, oh great Ausiello. Why, if there are many episodes of Men in Trees left, does ABC refuse to air them? With the TV landscape looking more and more barren, can't they at least throw us a little bone?
Answer: Your bone was delivered via press release a few weeks ago, and it looked a little something like this: Men in Trees will take over Cashmere Mafia's Wednesday at 10 pm/ET time slot beginning Feb. 27. Best-case scenario, ABC keeps the show there until May 7, which is when its current 11-episode surplus will have been depleted. But considering ABC's track record with MIT — 234 time slots in two years! — I'm not holding my breath.
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Question: Does one of the ABC executives absolutely hate Men in Trees? Last year they took it off with five episodes not aired and now they took it off in December without warning. According to the website, new episodes are not supposed to air until the end of February. I thought with the five carry-over episodes that Men in Trees was one of the few series with almost a full season of shows. I rarely see any promotion for it. Even shows like Supernanny and Wife Swap have gotten more promotion than Men in Trees has.
Answer: It does look like the network has given up on this show, doesn't it? (If they don't cure Patrick's amnesia soon, I'm tempted to follow suit, though I still enjoy the show.) ABC's current midseason schedule shows Men in Trees taking over for the unspeakable Cashmere Mafia on Wednesdays at 10 pm/ET starting February 27. The good news, such as it is: This moves Men in Trees off of Fridays, where it was dying. The show's momentum from the first season may have been
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Question: Men in Trees scoop, please! Will it be returning to Friday nights or will it get a better slot now that other shows are running out of episodes?
Answer: As ABC buried revealed in its midseason press release last week, MIT is moving to Wednesdays at 10 pm beginning Feb. 27. But now I'm hearing that that may not be set in stone. Stay tuned….
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