Ellen (TV series)

Last updated

Ellen
EllenTVlogo.svg
Also known asThese Friends of Mine (season 1)
Created by
Starring
Theme music composer
Opening theme"So Called Friend", performed by Texas (seasons 3–5)
Composer W. G. Snuffy Walden
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes109 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Ellen DeGeneres
  • Tracy Newman
  • Jonathan Stark
  • David S. Rosenthal
  • Mark Grossan
  • Richard Day
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseMarch 29, 1994 (1994-03-29) 
July 22, 1998 (1998-07-22) [1]
Related
The Ellen Show (2001–2002)

Ellen is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from March 29, 1994, to July 22, 1998, consisting of 109 episodes. Ellen DeGeneres stars as the title character of Ellen Morgan, a neurotic bookstore owner in her thirties. The title of the series was These Friends of Mine for the first season, but it was subsequently changed to avoid confusion with the NBC series Friends , which premiered in September 1994.

Contents

The series centered on Ellen's dealing with her quirky friends, her family, and the problems of daily life, set in Los Angeles. The series was one of the first in the US with a main character to come out as gay, which DeGeneres' character did in the 1997 episode "The Puppy Episode", which aired shortly after DeGeneres publicly revealed that she was gay in real life. This event received a great deal of media exposure, ignited controversy, and prompted ABC to place a parental advisory at the beginning of each episode.

The series' theme song (used in season 3 onwards) is a version of "So Called Friend" by Scottish band Texas with altered lyrics. A running gag during the third and fourth seasons was that each episode had a distinct/different opening credits sequence (often with singing and dancing and featuring popular celebrities as guest stars), resulting from Ellen's ongoing search for the perfect opening credits.

Cast and characters

Overview

CharacterPortrayed byAppearances
1 2 3 4 5
Ellen Morgan Ellen DeGeneres Main
Joe Farrell David Anthony Higgins Recurring Main
Paige Clarke Joely Fisher Does not appearMain
Audrey Penney Clea Lewis Guest RecurringMain
Spence Kovak Jeremy Piven Does not appearMain
Adam Green Arye Gross Main Does not appear
Holly Jamison Holly Fulger MainDoes not appear
Anita Warwell Maggie Wheeler MainDoes not appear

Main

Note: Between seasons one and two, there was not only a title change from These Friends of Mine to Ellen, but two main characters disappeared without explanation.

Recurring

Notable guest stars

Broadcast history

Ratings

Season Episodes Season PremiereSeason FinaleRankingViewers
(in millions)
1 1993–94 13 [a] March 29, 1994August 30, 1994N/A [2] N/A [2]
2 1994–95 24September 21, 1994May 17, 1995#13[ citation needed ]21.05[ citation needed ]
3 1995–96 25September 13, 1995May 21, 1996#39[ citation needed ]16.59[ citation needed ]
4 1996–97 25 [a] September 18, 1996May 13, 1997#30[ citation needed ]16.79[ citation needed ]
5 1997–98 22September 24, 1997July 22, 1998#42 [3] 12.4 [3]
[a] Two episodes that aired in Season 3, "The Tape" and "The Mugging", were filmed at the same time as Season 1 and are included in the Season 1 DVD box set as "bonus episodes", and are not included in the Season 3 DVD release.[ citation needed ][ clarification needed ]

Episodes

"The Puppy Episode"

In 1997, Ellen made television history when the title character came out as a lesbian in the famous "Puppy Episode" (DeGeneres herself came out concurrent with the episode on The Oprah Winfrey Show and in Time ). To ensure a memorable moment, the coming out scene was made into a gag where, at an airport, Ellen turns and tells Laura Dern's character "I'm gay!" – only to realize that she had turned right into the public address microphone, announcing her sexuality to the entire terminal. Ellen DeGeneres's mother Betty can briefly be seen as one of the people in the terminal with a shocked reaction to the announcement. [4]

The episode was ranked No. 46 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. [5]

The revelation ignited a storm of controversy, prompting ABC to place a parental advisory at the beginning of each episode.

Ellen was successful enough in its early seasons to warrant annual renewal, due largely to DeGeneres's perceived appeal and comic ability, but only with Ellen's coming out did the show make its way into the wide public consciousness and hit a critical plateau. After the initial coming out frenzy, however, the show's ratings declined, and ABC began feeling the pain of a backlash regarding the "gay content" being exhibited. The final episodes of Ellen were criticized for focusing too much on gay issues. [6] Eventually, even some members of the LGBT community, including Chaz Bono (who at the time was the media director for GLAAD), began to criticize the show's serious new tone as well. [7] ABC cancelled the show in May 1998 after five seasons.

Viva Las Vegas

The episode "Secrets & Ellen" is part of a crossover with Grace Under Fire , Coach , and The Drew Carey Show set in Las Vegas. It features Brett Butler as Grace Kelly and Drew Carey as himself.

Awards

Home media

A&E Home Video has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1. These DVDs do not have captioning or subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired.

DVD NameEp #Release date
Season One13September 28, 2004
Season Two24February 22, 2005
Season Three25February 28, 2006
Season Four25September 26, 2006
Season Five22November 28, 2006

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References

  1. "BBC – Comedy Guide – Ellen". Archived from the original on January 8, 2005.
  2. 1 2 Moore, Frazier (July 8, 1994). "NEWSMAGAZINES CROWD INTO TOP OF RATINGS". Sun Sentinel . p. 4E. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "The Final Countdown". Entertainment Weekly . No. 434. May 29, 1998. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  4. Lowry, Brian (March 3, 1997). "Risks and Benefits Seen for an Out-of-the-Closet 'Ellen'". LA Times. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  5. "Special Collectors' Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide (June 28 – July 4). 1997.
  6. "Ellen in Jump The Shark". Archived from the original on October 10, 2007.
  7. "Planet Out". Archived from the original on April 11, 2008.