It's that time of year again, when the networks start putting together their fall lineups and on-the-bubble shows start finding out how much their fans truly care. And in this post-Jericho world, fans show they care by bombarding network offices with stuff. A quick Google search on your favorite endangered show will lead you to online petitions to sign and pleas to mail peanuts or plastic footballs or your firstborn child to various network executives to show your support.

But for every Jericho -- no, wait, scratch that. There really is no other Jericho. When a show gets canceled, that's it. There is no life after death in the TV world (except in the case of Buffy Summers, who was quite literally resurrected on UPN). It's probably best to just accept the sad news and wait for the next show to come along and capture your heart.

Or you can choose to be proactive and work to save a show before it's too late. You can start with ABC's Men in Trees.

In case you don't know (and the show's terrible ratings suggest that a lot of you don't), Men in Trees follows Marin Frist (played by the formerly crazy Anne Heche), a NYC relationship expert who relocates to the fictional town of Elmo, Alaska after getting dumped. Once settled in, she begins falling for Jack, the ruggedly handsome wildlife expert. She also finds herself dispensing romantic advice to everyone in town, including married bar owners Ben and Theresa, reformed call girl/single mom/EMT Sarah (who is now dating the local pastor), and sweet lovebirds Annie and Patrick, who first bonded over their mutual love of Marin's books. Marin also receives frequent visits from her best friend and literary agent, Jane, who finds love with another Elmo native, "Plow Guy" Sam. The show has gone through as many storylines as it has time changes in its first two seasons, but you can catch up with full episodes on ABC.com.

I'd bet good money that the sentence "It's Sex and the City meets Northern Exposure!" was used when creator Jenny Bicks (a former SATC scribe) pitched the show. Elmo has more quirky side-characters (wait until you meet barfly Buzz and his mail order bride) than a Charles Dickens novel, and you could easily imagine the New York-era Marin hanging out with Carrie Bradshaw, bonding over cosmos and man trouble. But unlike this season's SATC knockoffs, Men in Trees distinguishes itself by removing Marin from fashionable Manhattan. One of the show's best assets is the Alaska setting, and nature plays a significant role in many of the storylines. This show is about an intelligent, funny, good-hearted woman who's left the rat race to find her true place in the world. I just wish more viewers would join her there.

Men in Trees airs Wednesday nights at 10 on ABC. Please check it out. Or at least send a sapling to the president of ABC.

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