The first two episodes of "Men in Trees" were pleasant enough; I always liked "Northern Exposure." Ellen Degeneres' former girlfriend is cutely hetero as a "dating coach" guru who suddenly realizes she's full of bullshit. She finds herself in the town of Elmo, Alaska, with a goodly supply of mildly quirky characters and one hunky lust object. I might have kept watching this show if it didn't land in its regular Friday slot in competition with the start of the new "Doctor Who" series on SciFi.

For want of anything better to watch, Hubby and I settled into the CBS Monday night line-up that started with "The Class" went to something I don't remember followed by Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer being depressing in "Two and A Half Men" and then concluded with a show with Seinfeld's friend girl. I didn't make it all the way to 10pm because I was lulled into a senseless stupor and went to bed.

Next Monday, I get to check out "Heroes" and force myself to stay awake for the return of "What About Brian." W.A.B. was supposed to be a between-season filler but it caught my attention and generated web forums of devotees. I can't honestly identify why this show hooked me. It's basically a soap opera about a group of freinds but the characters made me care about what happens to them. So I'll tune in to see if Brian gets the gorgeous doctor and betrays his childhood friend.

Tuesday nights are looking very good: "Eureka" is on SciFi followed by "Boston Legal" on ABC.

"Eureka" has got the quirky town/eccentric characters formula down pat and the theme music stays in my head for days. The spin lies in the fact that instead of being stupid bumpkins, the townfolk are brilliant scientists who invent stupid stuff.

"Boston Legal" continues to be outstanding. I mean, it's a laugh-out-loud show about decidedly messed-up, perverted people. In the midst of the hilarity it drives home a couple of messages a week that promote the dreaded Hollywood liberal agenda.

Tonight, I'm anticipating "Jericho." Yes, indeed, what happens to a small town when the rest of the country is blown up by A-bombs? I really want to see what the townfolk do when they run out of toilet paper and toothpaste. The pilot episode was surely already written by Rod Sterling but I'll give them a chance to do something different with it. <not holding my breath>

Thursday night, I'll be watching "Ugly Betty" and "Grey's Anatomy." The former looks interesting and the later will hopefully answer the question, "Who will she choose? The hot but married doctor or the yummy and available vet?" I'm guessing she's a doormat and will go for the doctor.

So what have you been watching? What shows are you determined to watch?