Is the Television Show Men in Trees, the New Northern Exposure?

We all know how networks like to copy the style, the plot and, hopefully, the success of shows on other networks. To understand this, all a viewer has to do is look at reality shows and all their subsequent spin-offs. The same holds true of television dramas and sitcoms. After the success of Friends, the viewer was hardly surprised to see copy cat shows such as The Class bursting forth onto our television screens. As viewers, we like copies of television shows we have loved and lost.

That's not to say we don't appreciate the so-called original show that breaks out of the cloning frenzy. The problem is...does a truly original show exist? Or is the original version just old enough that the new generation of viewers doesn't remember it? Many people hold to the idea that there are no new stories to be told. All the plot lines, the characters and situations have all existed since Mankind first started telling stories. Only the way in which the story is told is new. To see how true these statements are, just watch television.

Recently, the new ABC show, Men in Trees, has been proclaimed a new and original show. But is it really? Men in Trees is a wonderful program, garnering many faithful viewers. I love the setup, the situations and, especially the characters. But I'm old enough that Men in Trees reminds me of another program.

From July, 1990 to July, 1995, I was entranced with a show on CBS called Northern Exposure. In this highly rated program, a doctor graduates from medical school. However, the premise of the show was that the state of Alaska paid for his education. In return, he promised to hang up his shingle to practice medicine in one of their cities. Of course, he didn't end up in Anchorage or any other big city. Instead, he ended up in the small town of Cicely.

The similarities between Men in Trees and Northern Exposure don't stop there. Both have the outsider coming into a small Alaskan town by way of New York. Although Trees' fish-out-of-water is a female writer and not a male doctor, both characters are out of their element and, at first, yearn to return to their big city life.