Product Description: Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 04/29/2008 Run time: 300 minutes Rating: Nr
Amazon.com: 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
Oh Ellen... ^ I remember this show being a lot funnier than it is. I think Ellen Degeneres is the funniest person on the planet, but this sitcom has only moments of her "funnyness." This show reminds me SO MUCH of Three's Company, where the entire "dilemma" in each episode can be resolved by one character simply telling the truth. It actually gets annoying sometimes. There's only one John Ritter, so that kind of comedy doesn't bother me when I'm watching Joyce DeWitt and John Ritter. But it just didn't seem to work here. Just my opinion. For what it is though, it is funny and entertaining. Would I have bought it knowing what I know now? No. Again, just my opinion. :)
Nothing compares to her humor ^ This sitcom is hilarious. Since it's the first season, obviously the first couple of episodes work out the kinks and eventually the sitcom starts to find itself (which is why i gave it a less that perfect review). By the last few episodes i had quite a few laughing out loud moments. The comedy can sometimes be a little 90's, but that's the show. So all in all, glad i bought it. I wish they showed more bloopers :-)
Funny, but lacking. ^ 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".
Weak beginning to a good show ^ 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.
Ellen season 1 Hilarious! ^ 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.
Anything Goes Trivia
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