"Ellen" (1994) TV series 1994-1998

Creators:

Carol Black
Neal Marlens
David S. Rosenthal

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

30 March 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Lesbian | Photographer | Bookstore | Sitcom | Coming Out

Awards:

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

Cast

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)

Also Known As:

These Friends of Mine (USA) (first season title)

Runtime:

USA:30 min (109 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Black-Marlens Company

Trivia:

After the 2000 "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997) episode "New Moon Rising," in which regular character Willow comes out as a lesbian and chooses to stay with her girlfriend Tara, aired, a group of internet board posters sent "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon an engraved toaster to thank him for the storyline. This was a reference to the "coming-out" episode of "Ellen" (1994), (a show on which longtime Buffy writer Jane Espenson had also worked) in which there had been a running joke about the GLBT movement awarding every newly out person a toaster for "joining."

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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-06-24)" (2008)

Pretty Good

This was a pretty good show. Kind of like an updated I Love Lucy. It wasn't one of the best, but I can say that it's four year run, and was funny in a Just Shoot Me kind of way. The show started mediocre in it's first season. The second season was probably it's best, and the third was almost as good. The last season wasn't very good only because they sacrificed humor for the sake of sending their message, but I think ABC should've let Ellen on for another season to see if it shaped back up into a funny show, although, if it had stayed on and continued to not be funny, it may have lost a lot of it's supporters. It's amazing what this show was able what this show was able to do, and Will & Grace, which is one of the best shows on the air now, would obviously never even exist if it wasn't for it.