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. 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.

Arts & Entertainment Home Video released the first season on DVD a couple of years ago, but not under the show’s original name. One of the big changes the series went through as it went into its second season was dropping the title “These Friends of Mine”, and re-naming it simply, “Ellen.” That was the name that was being used to market the first season set.

Having only seen the show much later in its original run, I never had the chance to catch this first season. Sitting through it for the first time, I could see all the problems they had finding the right chemistry between the actors. Many of the episodes are still quite funny, but not as funny as the series would become later on. Of course, there was no mention in the series of DeGeneres’ sexual preferences, as matter of fact many of the episodes dealt with dating the opposite sex. It wasn’t until the fourth season that hints began to drop as to where the show was heading, in terms of “Ellen” coming out.

And speaking of Ellen coming out, the fourth season included the two part "Puppy Episode", where she finally realizes she is indeed… a lesbian. This is sometimes considered to be a landmark in television history because it was the first time that a leading prime time character was gay. Plus she was played by an openly gay actor. Personally, I think too much was made of it at the time. And as a matter of fact, I felt it worked against the series. While it still continued to be funny, the fact that Ellen was gay became a big issue in too many of the episodes that came after. Add to that her real-life relationship at the time with Anne "I am an alien" Heche, and the whole thing kind of exploded into a media circus. Fortunately, even though the series only lasted one more season, Ellen was able to bounce back and is now an Emmy Award winning talk show host. (I say fortunately because she is truly a gifted comic.)

A&E is releasing the fifth and final season which includes all 22 episodes, but like the earlier sets, almost no extra features. The only extra on this new release is a set of outtakes and that's it. I really am curious to know where she has been during the production of these DVDs. Her commentary or at least an interview would have been great, but she is still nowhere to be found.

This fifth season, while still relatively funny thanks to DeGeneres' hilarious demeanor, just doesn’t capture the humor that made it so good during it earlier seasons. Too much emphasis is made about the fact that she is gay so the jokes don’t fly as fast, free and diverse as they used to. The two part finale is kind of surreal though with all manner of Hollywood's elite toasting Ellen's… uhh… bravery.

Episodes:
Social Climber
Guys or Dolls
Roommates
Just Coffee
Gay Yellow Pages
Public Display of Affection
G.I. Ellen
Like a Virgin
All Ellen, All the Time
Emma
Break Up
The Funeral
Womyn Fest
It's a Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay World!
Escape from L.A.
Neighbors
Ellen in Focus
Vows
Hospital
When Ellen Talks, People Listen
Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute, Part 1
Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute, Part 2

Starring: Ellen DeGeneres, Jeremy Piven, Joely Fisher, David Anthony Higgins, Clea Lewis
Extras: Outtakes
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: Arts & Entertainment
Release Date: 11/28/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Ellen: Season 5 a C+.