If you ever liked visiting Cicely, Alaska (that remote, quirky locale for the 1990s series ?Northern Exposure?) you should feel right at home with ?Men in Trees,? a new hourlong ABC comedy set in Alaska?s similarly mythical Elmo.

It is there that relationship expert and best-selling author Marin Frist lands for a backwoods lecture, discovering en route that back home in Manhattan, where she practiced what she preached, her fiance has been messing around.

What should Marin do? Impulsively she decides to stick around in Elmo, where she can mend her broken heart and, however belatedly, maybe wise up about men. Goodness knows there are lots of them to study: Elmo may be tiny, but the men-to-women ratio is 10-to-1. And most of these guys seem hearty and chivalrous, if often roughhewn.

Exactly what Marin will do for a living (the jobs of bar maid and prostitute have already been claimed) is another question. But Marin is determined to find her place, and her way, in this alternate reality. Is she out of her tree?

Anne Heche stars, with James Tupper among the roster of supporting players, on this charming romance. It previews Tuesday at 10 p.m. EDT, then settles into its regular time slot Friday at 9 p.m.

Other shows to look out for:

? Until he was nearly 30, he made a living as a comic named Jack Roy, then called a halt to show biz for a normal family life. But after a decade in paint-and-siding sales, the man born Jacob Cohen returned to comedy, this time with the name that everybody came to respect: Rodney Dangerfield. Now the king of the self-bashing one-liners is saluted on ?Legends: Rodney Dangerfield,? premiering 9 p.m. Sunday on Comedy Central. Best known for his catch phrase ?I don?t get no respect,? Dangerfield is remembered with clips from his concerts and appearances on ?The Ed Sullivan Show,? as well as tributes from a lineup of Dangerfield?s comedy cohorts including Roseanne Barr, Robert Klein, Bill Maher, Ann Meara, Bill Murray, Chris Rock, Ray Romano, Jerry Seinfeld, Jerry Stiller, and many more. Produced by Dangerfield?s daughter, Melanie Roy-Friedman, the special is a cavalcade of laughs at his expense, which is just the way he liked it. He died three years ago at 82, but, as every Dangerfield fan well knows: ?When I was born I was so ugly, the doctor slapped my mother.? This programme is an apt reminder that, as long as self-doubt remains part of the human condition, Dangerfield will serve as hilarious relief.

? More laughs on Sunday: After nearly a decade, ?Russell Simmons? Def Comedy Jam? returns to HBO with nine new half-hours hosted by comic actor Mike Epps.

Ahead on this series (which originally aired from 1992 to ?97) are veterans including D.L. Hughley, Bill Bellamy, Mark Curry, Adele Givens and Earthquake. Newcomers include Katt Williams, Tony Roberts, Vince Morris, Esau and Leslie. On this week?s premiere outing (at 11 p.m.): Tony Rock, Sommore and Capone.

? To a country known for dictatorship and war came Africa?s largest exercise in democracy. In July, the Democratic Republic of Congo held its first free election in 45 years. PBS? ?Wide Angle? watches as Congo?s voters cast their ballots in an election that could mark a major step toward recovery after decades of civil war that crippled the economy and left more than four million people dead.

?Democracy in the Rough? focuses on Kasai, the heart of Congo?s diamond industry, where unemployment hovers around 80 percent, and inquires what the election means to ordinary Congolese like Jean ?McCoy? Kajanda, a would-be accountant who spends his days knee-deep in a muddy river bed, sifting the soil for diamonds ? and most days turning up nothing.

At the other end of the spectrum sit men like Alphonse Kasanji, a wealthy diamond merchant, and Dominique Kanku, the acting governor of Kasai Oriental province, whose super-sized Chevrolet Suburban looms large in a country that has barely 300 miles of paved roads.

Little wonder many voters wonder if this election will bring real change. ?Democracy in the Rough? ? the season finale of ?Wide Angle? ? premieres 9 p.m. Tuesday.

? A special ?Avatar: The Last Airbender? airs 8 p.m. Friday on Nickelodeon. A cartoon series in the anime style, it centres on Aang, a fun-loving 12-year-old who must forgo a normal life to master his latent powers over the four elements, especially the hostile Fire Nation, which threatens to enslave the Water, Earth and Air Nations.

On Friday?s one-hour adventure, ?Secret of the Fire Nation,? Aang and his friends are prevented from taking the easy route to the city of Ba Sing Se while escorting a family of refugees.