Ellen (TV series)

This article is about the 1994–1998 ABC sitcom. For the 2001–2002 CBS sitcom, see The Ellen Show. For the talk show airing since 2003, see The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Ellen
Ellen season 2 intertitle
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Neal Marlens Carol Black David Rosenthal
Starring	Ellen DeGeneres David Anthony Higgins Clea Lewis Joely Fisher (Seasons 2–5) Jeremy Piven (Seasons 3–5) Arye Gross (Seasons 1–3) Holly Fulger (Season 1) Maggie Wheeler (Season 1)
Opening theme	"So Called Friend" by Texas
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	109 (List of episodes)
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	Approximately 22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	March 29, 1994 – July 22, 1998

Ellen (originally titled These Friends of Mine for season one) is a U.S. television sitcom that ran on the ABC network from March 29, 1994 to July 22, 1998, producing 109 episodes.

The theme song, "So Called Friend" is by Scottish band Texas. A running gag was that each episode had a distinct opening credits sequence, resulting from Ellen's ongoing search for the perfect opening credits.

The title role of Ellen Morgan, played by stand-up comedian Ellen DeGeneres, was a neurotic bookstore owner in her thirties. The series centered on Ellen's dealing with her quirky friends, her family and the problems of daily life.

Episodes

Main article: List of Ellen episodes

The Puppy Episode

Main article: 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 had come out earlier that year 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 "I'm gay!" – only to realize that she had turned right into the intercom 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.

The episode was ranked #35 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.

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. However, after the initial coming out frenzy, the show's ratings declined and ABC began feeling the pain of an organized backlash from religious conservative groups regarding the "gay content" being exhibited. The final episodes of Ellen were criticized for focusing too much on gay issues, a criticism begun in anti-gay circles but which spread to the mainstream media. Eventually, even some members of the gay 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. ABC pulled the show from the air in May 1998 after five seasons.

Cast

Main cast

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

• Ellen DeGeneres as Ellen Morgan: Ellen Inez Morgan is the main character of the sitcom. In season one, Ellen works in a Los Angeles bookstore called "Buy the Book." In the second season, she purchases the bookstore from her boss and becomes its owner. Throughout season four, hints were made to her sexuality and near the end of season 4 in "The Puppy Episode," Ellen announced she was a lesbian. For the first one and a half seasons, Ellen lived in an apartment with roommate Adam. She lived alone after Adam moved out and then with her cousin Spence. Towards the end of season four, she bought her own house. Ellen's personality was likable and cheerful, but also somewhat clumsy and awkward, and with a persistent need to be liked. Her trademark behavior (and the main object of her comedy) was that she would digress in a rambling and babbling fashion, especially when nervous or embarrassed. An example of both her clumsiness and her need to please is found in the episode where she had Martha Stewart over for a dinner party and Ellen became highly stressed trying to organize the perfect dinner.
• Joely Fisher as Paige Clark: Appearing in seasons two through five, Paige is Ellen's somewhat neurotic, vain and promiscuous best friend who works for a movie studio. Paige planned to tie the knot with her boyfriend Matt, but dumped him at the altar after beginning an affair with Ellen's cousin Spence. When Ellen comes out of the closet, Paige has the hardest time dealing with it (even harder than Ellen's parents). In the fifth season, Paige finally comes to terms with it.
• Holly Fulger as Holly: Appearing only in the first season, including the two delayed episodes that aired during season three, Holly is Ellen's friend. Shy and self-conscious, she tries to avoid any trouble and is desperate to get along with the people around her. She actually would love to be in the center of attention, though she doesn't dare to overcome her shyness. Although her surname was never spoken or seen in the show it is actually revealed to be Jamison.
• Arye Gross as Adam Green: Appearing in seasons one to three, Adam is Ellen's roommate and they have been friends since college. A photographer, he is completely unsuccessful with women and is frequently dumped. In the middle of the third season, Adam moves to England to work as a photographer for The Sun Times, but upon his departure, he reveals that he was harboring a crush on Ellen. She in turn lies that she has one for him too, but he finds out the truth and that creates tension between the two of them until shortly before he leaves
• David Anthony Higgins as Joe Farrell: Appearing in all five seasons, Joe is a dour, sarcastic Canadian who works as the barista at the coffee shop inside Ellen's bookstore. His personal life is rarely explored, and he instead appears usually for comic relief in scenes in Ellen's workplace.
• Clea Lewis as Audrey Penney: Audrey is Ellen's squeaky-voiced and exceedingly perky neighbor and later co-worker, seen usually in the color pink and whose catchphrase was the enthusiastic greeting "Hi, Ellen!". Ellen has something of a love–hate relationship with Audrey, often annoyed at her overly upbeat demeanor. But after Ellen comes out, Audrey is extremely supportive (and excited, saying that she thinks "it's SUPER!"), and she throws herself into the LGBT culture, ironically with more reverence than Ellen did. In season one, Ellen refers to Audrey's husband, but he never appears and Audrey later dates several people, including Adam and Ron Palillo, who played himself over several episodes. It is revealed that she comes from a very well-off family, though she rejected her inheritance so that she could continue being an assistant at the bookstore. In her initial appearance in the first season she was not shown wearing pink and displayed less of the hyper and energetic personality the character eventually became in later seasons, she was much more of a negative character and blunt much to Ellen's chagrin although both of Audrey's personalities proved to be much of an annoyance to Ellen nonetheless.
• Jeremy Piven as Spence Kovak: Ellen's cousin from New York, he joined the cast in the third season. His arrival into Ellen's life coincides with the aftermath of a Los Angeles earthquake. Spence was training as a doctor, but was fired from his job and continued to be negative and hard on himself. He would later train as a lawyer. He and Paige had a love-hate relationship that started as constant fighting but later they became lovers although the relationship eventually ended.
• Maggie Wheeler as Anita Warrell: Ellen's friend and main character in the show's first season. Although she was one of regular characters, much of her personality and past was never revealed, and she was under utilized in much of the episodes she appeared in. She was mentioned by the Holly character to be much more attactive than her but, unlike Holly, most of her romantic relationships were never shown onscreen although mentioned.

Recurring cast

• Steven Gilborn as Harold Morgan: Ellen's father. He is often somewhat clueless about what is going on around him. At one point, he and Ellen's mother Lois announce that they want to divorce, much to Ellen's dismay. They later reconcile.
• Alice Hirson as Lois Ellington Morgan: Ellen's mother, Lois spends much of her time nosing and interfering in Ellen's life. Before Ellen comes out of the closet, Lois is obsessed with finding Ellen a husband. At one point, she wants to divorce her husband, but they later reconcile.
• Lisa Darr as Laurie Manning: Ellen's girlfriend. Laurie appears in eight episodes in the fifth and final season of Ellen. She and her daughter Holly (Kayla Murphy) become an increasingly important part of Ellen's life.
• Bruce Campbell as Ed Billik: Ed appeared in season four only as the new manager of Ellen's bookstore. He was a strict business type who frequently butted heads with Ellen over their management styles.
• Patrick Bristow as Peter Barnes: Ellen's gay best friend. He was a charity worker in the second season and a recurring role until the end of the series.
• Jack Plotnick as Barrett: Paige's assistant in season three. He was the love interest for Peter throughout the show.

Broadcast history

Ratings

Season		Episodes	Season Premiere	Season Finale	Ranking	Viewers (in millions)
1	1993–94	13	March 29, 1994	August 30, 1994	N/A	N/A
2	1994–95	24	September 21, 1994	May 17, 1995	#13	14.7
3	1995–96	25	September 13, 1995	May 21, 1996	#39	10.6
4	1996–97	25	September 18, 1996	May 25, 1997	#30	10.6
5	1997–98	22	September 24, 1997	July 22, 1998	#42	12.4

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.

Reruns

Reruns of the show first started airing on Lifetime in the fall of 1998, and stopped in 2001. Starting October 4, 2003, during DeGeneres's surge in popularity through her role in Finding Nemo and her new daytime talk show, Lifetime began airing reruns again, on 1AM-2AM ET Sunday mornings, starting with the second season. Before long, it went into the 1:30AM-2AM ET time slot Monday-Friday. The reruns stopped two episodes into the controversial final season. Oxygen then picked up the entire series to air starting October 4, 2004, daily at midnight and noon ET. As of June 18, 2007, the show continues to air 8AM-11AM ET Monday mornings in the US. Reruns of the show in the UK were until recently on ABC1 until the channel closed in September 2007. These were shown only on weekend mornings, along with other Touchstone Pictures productions. No other UK channels are currently airing the show.

In Australia episodes air on 111 HITS weekdays in a daytime timeslot. New Zealand is currently airing double episode reruns on TVNZ TV2 every Monday night.

In Canada, it is currently being aired by TVtropolis.

Awards

American Comedy Awards, USA Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1999 Nominated American Comedy Award Funniest Female Performer in a TV Series (Leading Role) Network, Cable or Syndication Ellen DeGeneres

1996 Nominated American Comedy Award Funniest Female Performer in a TV Series (Leading Role) Network, Cable or Syndication Ellen DeGeneres

BMI Film & TV Awards Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1995 Won BMI TV Music Award W.G. Snuffy Walden

1994 Won BMI TV Music Award W.G. Snuffy Walden

Casting Society of America, USA Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1998 Won Artios Best Casting for TV, Comedy Episodic Tammara Billik

1997 Nominated Artios Best Casting for TV, Comedy Episodic Tammara Billik

1995 Nominated Artios Best Casting for TV, Comedy Episodic Tammara Billik Justine Jacoby

Directors Guild of America, USA Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1998 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series' Gil Junger For the Puppy episode.

Emmy Awards Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1998 Won Emmy Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Emma Thompson (ABC). For playing "Herself". For episode "Emma". Nominated Emmy Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Ellen DeGeneres (ABC). Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Lawrence Broch (ABC). For episode "Emma".

1997 Won Emmy Outstanding Editing for a Series - Multi-Camera Production Kris Trexler (editor) (ABC). For "The Puppy Episode". Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Ellen DeGeneres (story) Mark Driscoll (teleplay) Dava Savel (teleplay) Tracy Newman (teleplay) Jonathan Stark (teleplay) (ABC). For "The Puppy Episode". Nominated Emmy Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Gil Junger (director) (ABC). For "The Puppy Episode". Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Laura Dern (ABC). For playing "Susan Richmond". For "The Puppy Episode". Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Ellen DeGeneres (ABC).

1996 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Ellen DeGeneres (ABC).

1995 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Ellen DeGeneres (ABC).

GLAAD Media Awards Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1999 Nominated GLAAD Media Award Outstanding TV Comedy Series

1998 Won GLAAD Media Award Outstanding TV Comedy Series

1997 Nominated GLAAD Media Award Outstanding TV Comedy Series

Golden Globes, USA Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1998 Nominated Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV Joely Fisher Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical Ellen DeGeneres

1996 Nominated Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical Ellen DeGeneres

1995 Nominated Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical Ellen DeGeneres

Peabody Awards Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1998 Won Peabody Award (ABC, The Black/Marlens Company and Touchstone Television (associate) ). For episode "The Puppy Episode".

Satellite Awards Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1999 Won Golden Satellite Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical Ellen DeGeneres Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical

1998 Nominated Golden Satellite Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical Ellen DeGeneres

Screen Actors Guild Awards Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1998 Nominated Actor Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Ellen DeGeneres

1997 Nominated Actor Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Ellen DeGeneres

1995 Nominated Actor Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Ellen DeGeneres

TV Land Awards Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 2007 Nominated TV Land Award TV Moment That Became Headline News Ellen DeGeneres For coming out as a lesbian in "The Puppy Episode".

Viewers for Quality Television Awards Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1998 Nominated Q Award Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series Ellen DeGeneres

Writers Guild of America, USA Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1999 Nominated WGA Award (TV) Episodic Comedy Lawrence Broch For episode "Emma".

1998 Nominated WGA Award (TV) Episodic Comedy Mark Driscoll Dava Savel Tracy Newman Jonathan Stark Ellen DeGeneres (story) For the Puppy episode.

Young Artist Awards Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s) 1998 Nominated Young Artist Award Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series - Guest Starring Young Actress Cara Rose

1996 Nominated Young Artist Award Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten - Television Brittany Ashton Holmes

DVD releases

Ellen The Complete Fourth Season DVD Cover Art

A&E Home Video has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release date
Season One	13	September 28, 2004
Season Two	24	February 22, 2005
Season Three	25	February 28, 2006
Season Four	25	September 26, 2006
Season Five	22	November 28, 2006

External links

• Ellen at TV.com
• Ellen at the Internet Movie Database
• "Out?", an October 1996 Entertainment Weekly cover story about rumors surrounding the show's fourth season.
• TV Review: Ellen, an October 1997 Entertainment Weekly article discussing the fifth season of Ellen and ABC's additional of parental-advisory warnings to some episodes.
• The Ellen Cyclopedia, list of guest stars/episodes