I am headed to Alaska in a few weeks, so I've been doing my usual vacation pre-production (packing lists, itineraries, reservations, maps & guidebooks). Don't laugh; in my experience, the more prepared you are in advance, the more relaxed you'll be when the time comes. Anyway, I've been thinking about the Alaska that I know...from TV shows and in movies, of course.

I watched the first season of Men in Trees, but as much as I enjoy the show, I just can't get past Anne Heche. Her fair-weather days with Ellen and current relationship with her Men in Trees co-star totally affect my opinion of her as an actress. Regardless, the series features Alaska quite prominently, and the fictional small town of Elmo is almost a character itself. I never watched Northern Exposure regularly, but I'm certainly familiar with pseudo-city Cicely, Alaska as well.

There have been many movies that take place in Alaska, but I've only seen a handful. And looking at this list...none were that successful or memorable.

30 Days of Night (2007)
Will be released in October 2007. No thanks: it's a vampire movie, and it stars Josh Hartnett. 

Alaska (1996)
Stars a very young Thora Birch (American Beauty) and Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men)

Alaska: Spirit of the Wild (1997)
An Oscar-nominated documentary short film.

Balto (1995)
Animated movie voiced by Kevin Bacon, Bob Hoskins, Bridget Fonda...and Phil Collins.

The Edge (1997)
An unbelievably bad film, considering the screenwriter (David Mamet) and cast (Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin). Wait, I take that back. The female lead was supermodel Elle McPherson.

The Gold Rush (1925)
Written, directed and starring Charlie Chaplin.

Grizzly Man (2005)
Controversial documentary from writer/director Warner Herzog; the bear activists in the film died after being attacked by a bear while living in Alaska.

Insomnia (2002)
Psychological thriller starring Oscar winners Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. Director Chris Nolan's follow-up to Memento. Underrated. Add it to your Netflix queue.

Limbo (1999)
From writer/director John Sayles. Starring Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn and Kris Kristofferson.

Mystery, Alaska (1999)
Entertaining hockey comedy written by TV producer/writer David E. Kelley (Boston Legal, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Chicago Hope). Great cast, including Russell Crowe, Hank Azaria and Burt Reynolds.

Never Cry Wolf (1983)
Disney film about government researcher who bonds with wolves. Starring Charles Martin Smith and Brian Dennehy.

Runaway Train (1985)
Random but true facts about this film: Jon Voight received a nomination for Best Actor, and Eric Roberts was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Really? Wow.

Salmonberries (1991)
A very slow but beautifully filmed movie notable only for the lead performance by kd lang.

The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Ok, so the family only moves there briefly. But even in the seemingly archaic style of The Simpsons animation, Alaska looked appealing and fun.

Snow Dogs (2002)
Oh Cuba Gooding Jr. You won the Oscar for Jerry Maguire and stole the show in As Good as It Gets. How do you explain Chill Factor? Rat Race? Boat Trip? As for this one...at least the sled dogs are cute. I mean, they have to share the screen with Thong Song master Sisqo and Michael Bolton. So there's that.

White Fang (1991)
Disney's take on Jack London's classic. Starring a young Ethan Hawke.