Ellen (1994–1998)

Ellen Morgan a lesbian former book store owner deals with life through comedy and extensive rambling.

Creators:

Carol Black, Neal Marlens, David S. Rosenthal

Stars:

Ellen DeGeneres, David Anthony Higgins, Joely Fisher

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 10 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Ellen DeGeneres	...	Ellen Morgan (109 episodes, 1994-1998)
David Anthony Higgins	...	Joe Farrell (102 episodes, 1994-1998)
Joely Fisher	...	Paige Clark (96 episodes, 1994-1998)
Clea Lewis	...	Audrey Penney (80 episodes, 1994-1998)
Jeremy Piven	...	Spence Kovak (72 episodes, 1995-1998)

Storyline

Ellen Morgan is a neurotic, 30-something, bookstore employee who tries to get by life in dealing with her various friends whom include the outgoing redhead Paige, insecure photographer Adam, her unsure-of-himself cousin Spence, coffee shop guy Joe Farrell, the critical and obnoxious Audrey, and most challenging of all, Ellen also has to condent being around her annoying and overbearing parents Lois and Harold.

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Plot Keywords:

lesbian | bookstore | photographer | gay | lesbianism | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 March 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

These Friends of Mine

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Black-Marlens Company, Touchstone Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (109 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many episodes opened with Ellen DeGeneres introducing a performer who was playing the theme song that week while she held up a sign with the name of the show. Acts such as Sharleen Spiteri from the band Texas and ZZ Top played the theme song.

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Quotes

Margaret: Ellen, Ellen, where are you?
Ellen: [walks out of a coat closet] Here, I was in the closet.
Margaret: It's big isn't it?
Ellen: Yeah, but I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time in there, entertaining or anything.

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Connections

Referenced in Blonde Poison: The Making of 'Basic Instinct' (2001)

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Soundtracks

"The Ballad of Joxer the Mighty"
Song and Score Composed by Joseph LoDuca

User Reviews

way ahead of its time

"Ellen" started out as a pleasant comedy made watchable by the funny and talented Ellen DeGeneres. It ended up a groundbreaking show with tons of humor and probably the best finale in TV history.

The first season of "Ellen," as stated above, was cute. The show was reworked so that in the second season, Ellen had a new group of friends, all of whom could hold their own with her (Joley Fisher, David Anthony Higgins, Jeremy Piven, and Clea Lewis' role was expanded). The show became much funnier and snappier. And in the fourth season, Ellen "came out" to a therapist (Oprah Winfrey) and admitted that the man she had fallen for was named Susan.

The hate mail was unbelievable -- even Winfrey received a ton of hate mail and was verbally attacked on her TV show for even appearing on this pivotal episode. There were also boycotts by groups including, as often mentioned on the show's jokes, the Baptists.

The network didn't laugh and canceled the show. When you think about series such as "Will & Grace," and "Modern Family" on the networks, and all the gay characters on shows like "Six Feet Under" on cable - wow, a lot of doors were opened by Ellen Morgan coming out.

Ellen DeGeneres is a unique talent, with deadpan delivery and a habit of talking nervously and trailing off mid-sentence which is very, very funny. She also has a decent knack for physical comedy. Surrounding herself with a great cast, well-developed characters and scriptwriters, the show was delightful.

In the finale, Ellen Morgan is interviewed as a living legend, and her life is shown going back to the 1920s and takes her up to the "big reveal" on her sitcom - which isn't what you think it's going to be. Hilarious, and so well done.

I don't know what kind of person Ellen is, except that she's an animal lover and has family support -- but everything she does, including her talk show, has an aura of warmth and high spirits. "Ellen" the sitcom was no exception, and if you didn't watch it when it was on the air, check it out. It's still very fresh.