ABC is giving viewers two chances to "get with the program" this week. The program is the n... 'Men in Trees' debuts to

The program is the new "Men in Trees," the "Sex and the City" meets "Northern Exposure" series starring Anne Heche as a famous thirtysomething self-help author and professed expert on dating whose man trouble leads her to a new life in Alaska.

The network is delivering a special preview of the pilot episode at 9 tonight, following the two-hour season premiere of "Dancing with the Stars" on affiliates including local WEAR-TV3. The series will premiere in its regular time slot Friday at 8 p.m., following a 7 p.m. encore of the pilot episode that night.

I'm not sure if this should be looked as giving viewers two chances to get with the program or as giving the program two chances of getting with viewers. Either way, after the first episode is aired twice this week and the second episode once, it should be clear whether the network has a hit.

In the opener, New York best-selling writer Marin Frist (Heche) is feeling sure of herself in the man department when she advises a crowd that finding the right man -- "a good man," as she terms it -- isn't such a difficult thing.

"You just have to watch out for the signs," she says. "You wouldn't drive with a blindfold on, but for some reason, women continue to date with one."

She finds herself learning new lessons about life and love after she transplants herself to a quirky little town called Elmo, Alaska (where the "Northern Exposure" element of the show kicks in), where she had gone for a relationship conference. Having found out she doesn't know nearly as much about men as she thought, she figures Elmo will be the perfect place to learn -- as the ratio of men to women is something in the neighborhood of 10 to one.

Oh, the third season for "Dancing with the Stars" starts at 7. Each week, the celebrity and professional dance pairs will perform live choreographed Latin and traditional ballroom dance routines to popular live music. The show's expert panel of judges will return to weigh in on the pairs' performances.

The viewing public also gets to weigh in, by phoning in or voting online for favorite performers. The scores are combined and the outcome will be announced during a results show the night after each week's performance show.

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