Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780767066150
Format: Anamorphic
ISBN: 0767066154
Label: A&E HOME VIDEO
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: A&E HOME VIDEO
MPN: D71408D
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: A&E HOME VIDEO
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2004-09-28
Running Time: 299
Studio: A&E HOME VIDEO
Theatrical Release Date: 1994-03-30

Cast/Crew: Ellen DeGeneres Description: The first TV vehicle for the many talents of comedienne Ellen DeGeneres came in the form of the half-hourly sitcom ELLEN. The show lasted for four years, and firmly established DeGeneres in the hearts and minds of the American public. Ellen played a bookstore employee who regularly has to deal with her irritating parents, her best friends Paige (Joely Fisher) and Adam (Arye Gross), and a variety of other colorful characters. This release contains the entire first season of the show, with all 11 episodes offering a wonderfully comedic look at the world. Release Notes: DVD Features: Region (unknown) Keep Case Full Frame - 1.33 Additional Release Material: Audio Commentary 1. Holly Fulger 2. Arye Gross Biographies 1. Cast Interactive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Access
The first television season of Ellen was actually called These Friends of Mine, and while the series sought to define itself through various tones and shades of comedy, the best episodes captured a middle ground between Seinfeld and Friends. Ellen DeGeneres is both a brilliant centerpiece and generous ensemble player, constantly finding fresh ways to mine laughs from her ever-rambling, guilt-ridden, and perpetually dissatisfied heroine. As Ellen Morgan, bookstore employee and platonic roommate of semi-loser Adam (Arye Gross), DeGeneres finds plenty of opportunity to explore humiliation. In the pilot episode, Ellen's unhappiness with her bad photo on a driver's license prompts an obsessive (and unsuccessful) quest to beautify her ID. "The Promotion" finds Ellen and her posse (besides Gross, costars in these first 13 programs include Maggie Wheeler and Holly Fulger) trying to figure out how to bribe Ellen's boss into giving her a job boost, a futile adventure that ends (don't ask how) in a bad way at the Mexican border.

Among the best episodes is the Seinfeld-ian "The Mugging," starring Mariska Hargitay as a gorgeous woman mugged on her way to Adam and Ellen's front door. A cowardly Adam saw the crime and not only fails to help, he won't admit being an eyewitness lest he lose his shot at romancing the victim. Along those same black-comedy lines, "The Anchor" finds Ellen neurotically pursuing a friendship with a woman she can't stand, simply because the latter heard Ellen speaking badly of her. The 13 shows in this set are presented out of season one's chronological order, but that makes little difference to the best material here. --Tom Keogh

Customer Rating:
Summary: Funny, but lacking.
Comment: I grew up watching "Ellen" back in the 1990's when it was still a hit show, then ratings crumbled once she came "out of the closet". After buying the DVD of Seasons 1 and watching all of the episodes, it just didn't seem as funny or enjoyable as I had remembered it being. Don't get me wrong, Ellen is a hoot, but something seemed lacking. Maybe the show got funnier as it progressed over the years. Season 1 is a 3 out of 5 stars for me. It's definitely not one of the modern classic sitcoms I have on DVD that I can watch over and over again, like "Will & Grace", "The Golden Girls", or "Roseanne".

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Weak beginning to a good show
Comment: Ellen DeGeneres is undeniably one of the funniest comedians out there. And the Ellen show did develop into a really good show in its third and fourth seasons. But Season One has not aged well. It has all the classic weaknesses of an ensemble cast that has not really clicked yet. It looks and feels like the weakest of late 70s/early 80s sitcoms. Unless you are an obsessive collector who feels the need to have complete sets, you can skip this one.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Ellen season 1 Hilarious!
Comment: Ellen, as usual, is hilarious. Who cares if season 1 is far removed from the rest of the seasons. It doesn't make it any less funny. Highly recommended. This season is gut busting laugh-out-loud hilarious.

jimmy

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Spoiled by bad laugh track
Comment: I don't think I've ever said this about a show, but what spoils this for me is an extremely bad laugh track. Not the way you think though, where there are giant guffaws over the slightest things...no, the thing here is it's so badly mis-timed. It's like whoever was responsible for this had no sense of humor or timing. Great jokes get nothing, mediocre jokes get big laughs. It's very strange.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Buy
Comment: Ellen- Season One does not have as many episodes as the other seasons so I went through them pretty fast. I like this season, but I missed the character, Spencer, who does not come in until the 3rd season. Of course, every episode is funny. Ellen is soooo witty and down-to-earth, you can't help but identify with her issues. I had a ton of laughs and am now watching the next season of the show. Ellen is one of the funniest people I've ever watched!!!

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