Back when I was younger I used to hit the Comedy Clubs in Dallas almost every weekend. It was more fun than a restaurant and not as sleazy as a bar. Over the years I got to see a lot of up-and-coming comics, most of which never really made it past the club stage. Occasionally however, I would catch one that later went on to fame and fortune. One New Year’s Eve, I happened into the Comedy Corner for a double bill. The headliner was Bob Saget, who is much… much funnier on stage than he ever was on “America’s Funniest Videos.” Opening for him was a comedienne I had seen a couple of times on TV by the name of Ellen DeGeneres. At the time she was just beginning to make a name for herself, and let me tell you she deserved every stand-up comedy award she ever won. She was hysterical. Being that I saw her in a comedy club, I had the opportunity to talk to her for a little bit after the show and found her to be extremely open, friendly and just as funny offstage as she was on.

And not a hint of the bombs she was to drop on America’s audiences years later. Her humor was (and actually still is) pretty clean, which these days really makes it hard for a comic to successful.

About ten years ago, DeGeneres got the opportunity to head up her own TV series called “These Friends of Mine.” It was kind of a cross between “Friends” and every other sitcom that ever made it on air. The first season was a rocky one, with all manner of cast changes, and in some cases, character changes. But the show somehow survived that tumultuous freshman season and stayed on for a total of five seasons. When she 'outed' herself on the series (and to the world), audiences began to drop off and the show was cancelled.

Three years later, DeGeneres tried her hand at the sitcom world again, this time with "The Ellen Show." Here, she starred as Ellen Richmond, a woman who returns from the big city to the comforts of home town living after her dot.com business goes belly up. She moves in with her mother (Cloris Leachman) and gets a job as a guidance counselor at her old school. Here she has to face her old principal (Martin Mull) and her ex-boyfriend (Jim Gaffigan), who now teaches at the school. In this series, Ellen is still a lesbian, but it isn't as politically charged as it felt during a part of the course of her earlier series. There are a few laughs to be gotten from her 'preference', but it does not become the focal point.

Unfortunately, the series lasted a couple of months and only handful of the 18 episodes that were filmed actually aired. In some ways, I guess it might have been the best thing for DeGeneres though, as she went on to try her hand at hosting a daytime talk show. In a move that ends up a death knell for most actors in the decline of their career, Degeneres instead rocketed to stardom and her talk show is still a hit three years after its debut.

Fans of DeGeneres can shout out a cheer however, as this month Sony is releasing a DVD set of all 18 episodes of "Ellen." I missed it during its initial run, but found that I enjoyed this series just as much as I did her previous show. It was a very light comedy and one that might have succeeded if given a longer run. One of the best things about the series though wasn't DeGeneres… exactly. It was seeing Dakota Fanning playing her as a small child in school.

This DVD set doesn't offer up any special features, a major nitpick, but the series itself is worth seeing.

Episodes:
Pilot
Walden Pond
Chain Reaction
Vanity Hair
The Move
Muskrat Love
Joe
Cathy's Taffy
Missing the Bus
Alive and Kicking
Ellen's First Christmess
A Bird in the Hand
Just the Duck
Ell on Wheels
One for the Roadshow
Gathering Moss
A Matter of Principal
Where the Sun Doesn't Shine

Starring: Ellen DeGeneres, Clrosi Leachman, Martin Mull, Jim Gaffigan
Extras: None
Specifications: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 7/25/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating:
Website

We'll give The Ellen Show: Complete Series a B.