Ellen

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.

America's indisputable Queen of Comedy, Ellen DeGeneres, returns for another high-spirited season of ELLEN, the Emmy Award®-winning ABC sitcom that skyrocketed her into the pop-culture stratosphere! ELLEN stars DeGeneres as Los Angeles bookstore owner Ellen Morgan, a good-humored bachelorette whose loose-lipped outbursts often land her in outrageous situations. With her best friends Adam (Arye Gross), Paige (Joely Fisher), and wacky co-worker Joe (David Anthony Higgins) along for the ride, Ellen flirts with her dentist under the spell of laughing gas, masquerades as an exercise trainer, becomes a contestant on American Gladiators, and dates a whole parade of Mr. Wrongs! Featuring all 24 episodes from its critically acclaimed second season, ELLEN: THE COMPLETE SEASON TWO boasts show-stopping cameos by Bob Saget, Harry Shearer, Mary-Kate Olsen, Seinfeld's Patrick Warburton, Sister Act's Kathy Najimy, and the voice of Connie Stevens! DVD Features: Commentary with Joely Fisher and David Anthony Higgins on the episodes "Mrs. Koger" and "The Trainer"; Cast Biographies; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection