Here are some tidbits of information that I've learned relating to Ellen...
November 29, 1999
A Very Long Overdue Update......
Well I hope everyone around the world is doing well...I have been very busy for the past while now with school and work and haven't been able to update the site with any news but finally there are some good news worthy of reporting for all you fans of Ellen out there....
First of all, it has been announced that Ellen will be returning to her own TV sitcom in the fall of 2000! CBS has announced that Ellen will be starring in an upcoming but unnamed new show for the 2000-2001 season. This is great news for fans of Ellen everywhere! I can't wait to see her on the small screen again. As a side note, CBS said that it is likely that Ellen will be playing a character "that is not a lesbian". Hahahahhahahhahaa.....:)
Ellen stars in a recent movie that has just been released on home video. "Goodbye Lover" is a story of affairs, jealousy and murder in Los Angeles. Ellen plays a hard boiled detective investigating mysterious murders surrounding Patricia Arquette. Check it out today at your local video store. It's released by Warner Home Video.
Ellen and Anne Heche have been spotted dining around town here in Toronto! I believe that Anne is here filming a new movie.
For those of you who watched the HBO Drama "If These Walls Could Talk", there will be a sequel called "If These Walls Could Talk 2". It will be directed by Anne Heche, and Ellen will be one of the stars. The first "Walls" dealt with the abortion issue through three different decades; now the sequel will recount stories of the Lesbian experience throughout the past 40 years. Ellen and Sharon Stone!!!! will apparently play girlfriends in this movie. Michelle Williams (from Dawson's Creek) and Chloe Sevigny will also star.
September 14, 1998 If you missed it, ABC aired the two unaired episodes of "Ellen" on July 15 and 22, 1998. They were titled "Vows" and "When Ellen Talks, People Listen" respectively. Reruns of all five seasons of "Ellen" will be showing daily on the Lifetime network for those of you lucky enough to get it in the United States. Unfortunately, myself and other Canadian fans of Elly will not be able to see these. Maybe if we had one of those huge satellite dishes, we'd get it, maybe? Well, I can' t really afford that. Anyways, in other news...
Emma Thompson won an Emmy Award for her role on the "Ellen" episode entitled "Emma". Congratulations!
Ellen DeGeneres also appeared on the show as a presenter. She did a very funny routine for her presentation. Ellen was also nominated for best Actress in a Comedy but lost out to the ever-reliable (and safe) Helen Hunt.
Anne Heche was in a few movies over this past season : "Wag The Dog" (highly recommended by myself), "Six Days, Seven Nights" and "Return To Paradise". She will be appearing in Gus Van Sant's remake of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" this December. Anne will be playing the role originated by Janet Leigh. Will she not be able to take showers after the movie like Janet as well?
Ellen wrote a small article in the current issue of "Teen People", with Usher on the cover.
Hmmm, what else? I won't be updating this web page as much as before for reasons that are quite obvious, but I hope everyone around the world still finds it useful, particularly in those areas where Ellen is still airing in its earlier seasons. I will try to also keep it updated with brief news on Ellen and Anne. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. My e-mail address is at the bottom of this page.
May 14, 1998 : Well, as you all probably know by now, ABC has cancelled "Ellen". This move was expected by everyone, including Ellen herself. Hundreds of Thousands of letters to ABC didn't make any impression on them. Last night was the series finale of "Ellen".
March 11, 1998 : Hi everybody! I've been too busy to redesign the site in the past while, but more important matters have arrived.
As you all probably know by now, "Ellen" is in serious danger of being not renewed for next season (to put it more bluntly, CANCELLED). We have to stop this from happening! Please write letters, e-mail, fax or call the contacts I have listed on the main page of this site. Let the ABC network suits know that there are millions of fans who watch the Ellen show, and that they should keep it for another season! We can't live without our weekly fix of Elly!
At a recent taping of her show, Ellen made it known that she believes ABC will decide not to renew her show next season. She is very sad about this. She said she feels the possible abrupt ending of the show will leave it and fans without a sense of "closure" to the series.
In anticipation of the possible cancellation, a one-hour episode has been written for the season finale. It will show how all the characters in "Ellen" met and became friends. Many guest stars are slated to appear, including: Helen Hunt, Kathy Najimy, Julianna Margulies, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tim Conway, Woody Harrelson, Cindy Crawford, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. ABC is calling this a "special episode", not a series finale.
GLAAD spokesperson Chastity Bono found herself the center of attention when remarks she made regarding the "Ellen" series were taken out of context and splashed around various publications. Stories were circulating quoting her as saying that the show was "too gay".
Tabloid rumors told of Anne and Ellen attending a dinner party where one of the guests went into labor. Apparently, Ellen and Anne ended up assisting with the emergency delivery of the child...
Ellen and Anne have moved into a new house together in Los Angeles...
January 17, 1998 : Happy New Year, everyone! It's been a while since I've updated the site, but I'm going to start a new "beautification" project on it, while time permits...well, on with the news...
Ellen DeGeneres was named "Entertainer of the Year" in Entertainment Weekly's year end double issue. Congratulations Ellen! You deserve it
In Mr. Blackwell's annual "Worst Dressed" list, Ellen placed number two. Spice Girls were number one. I've never really placed any sort of trust in his judgements, especially this year since I like what Ellen and The Spice Girls wear. Has anyone seen what Mr. Blackwell wears? On the other hand, Anne Heche was named by him as a "Fabulous Fashion Independent".
ABC has announced that "Ellen" will be pulled off the air for six weeks starting in March to "test out new programs" in the same timeslot. AAAGH! NOT AGAIN! Obviously, ABC hasn't learned from last year's horrific "Arsenio" experiment, which tanked faster than you can finish reading this sentence. "Arsenio" fared terribly in that timeslot, and millions of Ellen viewers had to be incovenienced with the schedule shift of the show to an earlier day and time. I hope ABC comes to their senses and keeps "Ellen" right where it is. Email ABC to tell them your disappointment!
It is still up in the air whether "Ellen" will be renewed for next season. It is reported that Ellen and the rest of the gang are willing and wanting to continue for another year, but ABC is being the fence-sitter again. Ellen wants fans and viewers to e-mail ABC or write to the network expressing their wish that the show be renewed for another season. Get your pens out, everybody!
Ellen will be appearing in a new movie to be directed by Ron Howard...Meanwhile, Anne Heche is one of the stars in the current critical hit "Wag The Dog". She is also featured in the current issue of US magazine, with Rosie O'Donnell on the cover. Also featured in the magazine is David Arquette, one of my fave actors.
November 12, 1997 : Sorry about the slowness of updates! I've been swamped with schoolwork and working at my job! Last week, I had to work 42 hours, plus my extra 25 hours at school, not including studio time for projects! Anyways, everything's updated up to today.
The Fall Sweeps are coming, and some very special guest stars are going to be on Ellen! It appears that on an upcoming episode, Ellen will work for Emma Thompson, playing herself. Emma will "out" herself on the show (in character only, not in real life!). Ellen's good friend Sean Penn will also appear, giving us a BIG surprise, says the promo. He will likely out himself on the show too. Of course, Sean and Emma are not gay in real life. Sean is still married to Robin, and Emma is seeing the guy who produced Sense and Sensibility. I think his name is Greg.
Ellen is continuing to get the parental advisory and TV-14 rating on US television screens. In Canada, it only rates a TV-PG.
October 23, 1997 : This week's episode of Ellen has been pre-empted with a rerun of the series premiere of "Dharma and Greg". It is said that ABC didn't want to "waste a new episode of Ellen" against the Baseball game championships...
Ellen was praised by US Vice-President Al Gore in a recent speech. While talking to the Hollywood Radio and Television Society, Gore championed "Ellen", saying "when the character Ellen came out, millions of Americans were forced to look at sexual orientation in a more open light." This comment was denounced by conservatives and the religious right, and applauded by gays, lesbians and many others. President Clinton also agreed with VP Gore's comments.
During the original broadcast of the episode "Roommates" three weeks ago, ABC preceeded the show with a warning, saying "Due to adult content parental discretion is advised." The episode was also given a TV-14 rating. The only content in the whole show that could be possibly deemed "adult" was a joke kiss between Ellen and her best friend Paige. No other episode of Ellen has been given this rating and warning. Ellen DeGeneres was understandably unhappy with this, saying the only reason behind the warning was because she is gay. There does seem to be a double standard taking place. The only other ABC program given the TV-14 rating was NYPD Blue. A recent episode of that show featured numerous shootings and dead bodies, as well as eight shots of Jimmy Smits' bare buttocks. Because of complaints against the double standard from Ellen and numerous others, ABC has removed the warning from future episodes.
Ellen is going to have a girlfriend, and they're going to the bedroom! Upcoming episodes of Ellen will feature her new girlfriend, who will be played by Lisa Darr, who also plays Abby's lover on NYPD Blue. One episode will show Ellen and her friend heading off to the bedroom for presumably, sex. This is definitely miles ahead of the "baby steps" that ABC president Jamie Tarses said the show would be going through. The episodes will be aired during the November sweeps.
Ellen's ratings are excellent this season. At the beginning of the month, it was in 14th place in the overall Nielsen ratings, and 8th place with the 18-29 demographic. It also is consistently beating out the other shows in its timeslot, like Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel.
September 20, 1997 : The new 5th season of Ellen will be premiering this Wednesday, September 24, 1997. According to the summary, Ellen will find herself attracted again to her old flame, Dan, the pizza delivery guy.
September 15, 1997 : The results from the Prime-Time Emmy Awards are in: "Ellen" won an Emmy for best writing in a Comedy series. Ellen DeGeneres dedicated the award to gay and lesbian teens. Ellen lost to Helen Hunt in the Best Actress in a Comedy Series category, though Helen cheered Ellen for her work this past season...
July 27, 1997 :Mid-summer update: This is the last update from me until the end of August, as I'm going on vacation for a month
Ellen will be coming back in the fall, and there will be a few changes to the show .(No, not the cast! It's still the same) It seems that Buy The Book is gone for the new season. Does this mean that Ed will be gone, too? Ellen's character will also be making "baby steps" towards dating other women, so this will be quite interesting. I also heard there's supposed to be more of a focus on making good comedy, with Ellen getting into a lot of Lucy-like escapades. Hmmm...
Ellen's been nominated for three Emmy Awards! She got one for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for the "Puppy Episode", one for her role as herself in the "Ellen, or Isn't She?" episode of The Larry Sanders Show, plus one for hosting the Grammy Awards. Congratulations, Ellen! We're all hoping you win!
Rumour has it that Ellen has sold one of her houses (let's hope it's not the one she showed to the world...It's too nice to sell!) and is looking for a new one with Anne Heche somewhere in San Francisco...
And on another note, that super famous person who was supposed to come out and make Ellen seem like small potatoes hasn't materialized yet. I wonder why? Or does the kid from "Who's the Boss?" count as the "long running TV star and icon to millions"? Liz and Ted, are your sources correct?
June 16, 1997 : Sorry for the delay in updates. I've been quite busy, but things are getting back to normal...Anyways, on with the news!
Ellen has been renewed for a fifth season on ABC. The network was pleased with the show's performance for the last three episodes and it apparently is enough of a money maker for them to keep on. At last count, Ellen will stay in its current time slot of 9:30pm Wednesdays, and there are no planned cast changes. This is good news. The show will be consistent for two seasons in a row! Competing against Ellen in the same timeslot will be "Working", a new sitcom starring that kid from "The Wonder Years", Ben Savage
Oprah Winfrey has publicly made an announcement that she is not lesbian and will not be coming out of the closet. Apparently blind items from columnist Liz Smith and Ted Casablanca suggesting a "long-running TV star and icon to millions" was "contemplating" coming out sparked rumours that this person was Oprah. Oprah's appearance on Ellen's coming out episode seem to have fueled the fire. Now that Oprah's ruled herself out, we are still left wondering: Whose coming out of the closet will make Ellen's revelation seem like "small potatoes"? Hmmm....Various names being floated around have been: David Letterman, Ed O'Neill, a person with the initials K.S., Carol Burnett and Rosie O'Donnell. Of course this is all speculation and gossip. Whether any of it is true remains to be seen...
Ellen and her girlfriend Anne Heche have been spotted giving PDA's [public displays of affection] all over the place...most notably at the White House, where they were invited along with many others, and at the Rockenwagner restaurant in Santa Monica.
Rumours that Ellen and Anne's relationship has ended are untrue. Arthur Imperato, Ellen's manager, recently made a statement that the two are still together and very much in love.
May 7, 1997 : Wow! It's been a week now since THE episode! I'm just coming down off my "Ellen" high... I trust that everyone tuned in to watch the show? If not, try to get a videotape of it because it was one of the funniest Ellen episodes in a long time. I thought everything was handled very gracefully and in very good taste. The show even managed to poke fun at itself and the whole media circus surrounding it! I do have some questions though...
- What was going on with the character of Barrett? He only showed up for a brief moment when Ellen was about to tell her friends that she's a lesbian. After that, he was gone! And why didn't he have any lines? He just sat there on the couch! Was Jack Plotnick [he plays Barrett] not feeling well or something?
- Is it just me or was there something cut out during the scene with Oprah? There's a part when Oprah asks Ellen if this is the first time she felt attracted towards a woman, and then for not reason there's a huge round of laughter! What's up with that? Was someone high when they were editing the show together, or was something cut out by the network?
The ratings are in! "The Puppy Episode" was the MOST watched TV show in America last week. Nielsen ratings show that it beat out all the other shows running in the timeslot, with a 26.5 rating and 37 share. Early estimates before the show aired predicted it would be a 17 rating and 28 share! Well, that shows all the naysayers!
April 21, 1997 : Just a few updates...First off, if you can catch it in time, Entertainment Tonight will be airing the semi-notorious Olivia Cruise Lines ad which ABC did not want to air nationally. It will be shown tonight (Monday, April 21) at 7:00pm or whenever ET is regularly aired in your area.
Ellen's interview with Diane Sawyer will NOT air on PrimeTime Live on the 23rd as I previously reported. It has been moved to the 20/20 show on Friday the 25th, 10pm Eastern.
More cameo appearances have been announced on the anticipated episode. One is Jenny Shimizu, the famed model for Calvin Klein. You've probably seen her in those CK one ads. She's also in the movie "Foxfire", based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates. The other is Jorja Fox, who plays the character of Maggie Doyleon the hit series, ER.
Something else to look forward to is the return of Jack Plotnick on next week's show. Jack, as most of you know, plays the character of "Barrett", who is Peter's partner. Barrett hasn't been seen since the episode "Kiss My Bum", if I'm not mistaken. [Unless he was on "Hello, Dalai", which is the only show I've missed]
It has been confirmed that "The Puppy Episode" will be airing complete in its one-hour form. The start time of the show seems to have been pushed up by half an hour. Instead of starting at 9:30pm, it will now start at 9:00pm. Another show to watch out for is Prime Time Live which will air immediately after Ellen. It will feature an interview with Ellen's parents, and their reactions on Ellen coming out.
April 10, 1997 : Well, she done did it! Ellen DeGeneres had come out of the closet! Confirming what people have been speculating for years, Ellen D said that she is a lesbian in an exclusive interview with Time magazine. She is on the front cover, looking very happy, and the cover says, "Yep, I'm Gay". There is also a major article in Newsweek magazine on the same subject, though it is much shorter than Time's feature. Copies of both magazines have been selling out quite quickly, well at least over here in Toronto...Ellen is doing the whole media thing for the very special upcoming episode. In addition to the shows previously reported in the last update [see below], Ellen will also appear on 20/20 on April 25 at 10pm. Two new pages have been added to the pages: an articles page and a link page. I hope to add the pictures soon.
March 24, 1997 : Sorry for the delay in updates! I've been very busy at work and school. So, it has been finally confirmed! Ellen Morgan WILL be coming out. The episodes have finished taping and will air on Wednesday, April 30 at 9:30pm Eastern. It is supposed to be a special one-hour episode, though I heard rumours that ABC is thinking of spreading it out over two weeks. I really hope they don't! Confirmed is Laura Dern as the woman Ellen finds herself attracted to, and Oprah Winfrey as Ellen's therapist. Also appearing will be the Melissa Etheridge, kd lang as a singing waitress, Ellen D's real mom as an airport patron, Demi Moore, Gina Gershon (from the movie 'Bound', Billy Bob Thornton (from 'Sling Blade'), and country singing star Dwight Yoakam. The last four are supposed to be in a dream sequence that Ellen has about a supermarket having lesbians on sale! Plus, Ellen DeGeneres, kd lang, Melissa Etheridge and others are supposed to be on Oprah's show airing earlier that day. Obviously, they will be discussing the episode. Oprah announced this just last week while showing a clip from the anticipated episode. On April 23, Ellen DeGeneres will be appearing on ABC's Prime Time Live with Diane Sawyer. It is expected that she will publicly come out on the show. Many people are planning "Coming out with Ellen" parties around the states and Canada. Only a month to go before the show! Lastly, I've added a Guestbook to my Ellen page. Please visit it and write your comments!
P.S. The Articles are coming. I'm just busy typing the text into the computer, as I don't have a scanner. I've also decided to put all the Ellen pics I have on the pages. I'm thinking of separating them by episode. Or should I just put them all together. What do you all think?
February 24, 1997 :Set your VCR's! There will be a new episode of Ellen on Wednesday, February 26 called "Secrets and Ellen" plus at the same time, Ellen DeGeneres will be hosting the Grammy awards live at 8:00pm! A double dose of Ellen heading our way! Remember, Ellen will be moving to 8:30pm Tuesdays at the beginning of March! Ellen was recently nominated for a American Comedy Award for best guest appearance in a comedy
February 18, 1997: Various sources have reported that the long anticipated coming out episode of Ellen will be aired on April 30. This is providing ABC approves the show script from the writers. Oprah Winfrey is supposed to be the special guest, playing Ellen's therapist, and it will likely be a one hour special. Laura Dern may be playing the woman that Ellen falls in love with. Rumour has it that Ellen DeGeneres will also be making some sort of announcement to compliment the one being made by her character on the show...
January 25, 1997: FLASH! Ellen is not being taken off the air! ABC has just done an about-face and have decided to keep Ellen on the air in March and April! YAY! Unfortunately, Ellen will be moving yet again, to a different time slot. This time, the show will be sandwiched in between Roseanne and Home Improvement, which means the 8:30 pm timeslot. I hope that this will not cause the ratings to change. Last time I heard, Ellen had gained an audience because of the move to 9:30 pm Wednesdays. Please note that this change will not happen until AFTER the February sweeps. Hopefully, it will change back to Wednesdays after April.
ANOTHER FLASH! Ellen has gotten into hot water over some of its humour in this Wednesday's episode, "Makin' Whoopie". During some of the sections, the character of Joe, who's supposed to be Canadian, make Newfie jokes[about people living in Newfoundland--If you're Canadian, you'll understand!] which are performed by Audrey's comic boyfriend. Unfortunately, some audience members in Newfoundland did not enjoy this humour too much and complained to their local affiliates. Touchstone Television has apologized to those who found parts of this weeks episode to be in bad taste. I'll be posting up the article about this on the web page soon!
In March, Ellen DeGeneres is set to present an award to kd lang...
January 14, 1997 : Jamie Tarses of ABC has announced that after the February sweeps, Ellen and NYPD Blue will be taken off the air for about seven weeks. This is for "fine tuning" of the shows and also to test out some new programs, including a new sitcom with Arsenio Hall. Ellen will return back to the schedule sometime in late April, just in time for the all important May sweeps. There are reports that an episode dealing with Ellen Morgan's coming is definitely in the works. Whether it will air or not remains to be seen. It was reported that Ellen DeGeneres was very unhappy about this decision, especially since she was not informed by the network, but rather found out through the grapevine. At a recent taping of the show, Ellen sings a song called "I'm Tired of Being Afraid". Three takes were taken and on the third, Ellen improvised "Oh, by the way, I'm gay/And it's OK" to wild cheers from the audience. Reports of "Ellen" being cancelled seem to be unfounded, as the show is coming back for the sweeps. I'm very disappointed with ABC's decision to pull Ellen in March and April. Register your disagreement, too! E-mail ABC with your support for Ellen! Don't forget...The Grammy Awards are soon approaching!
December 19, '96 : Happy Holidays everyone! I've heard rumours that Ellen Morgan could possibly be coming out sometime in February; The latest issues of US and Curve have pictures of Ellen DeGeneres on the cover; Did you know that the hilarious comedy CD "Taste This" by Ellen DeGeneres can be a delightful present for your family and friends? Why not compliment it with "My Point...And I Do Have One" by Ellen DeGeneres. It's one of the funniest books I've read and is available now in hardcover and paperback [Was that a blatant plug or what? ;) ] Season's Greetings!
Thursday, November 28, '96 :Forget about me starting up a mailing list for Ellen! After all this time, I have finally found a list for the show! I just subscribed to it, and I'm eagerly anticipating what's to come... Just send an e-mail to listserv@dartmouth.edu with the message sub ellen yournamehere. Then just follow the instructions that you are e-mailed!
November 20:I'm interested in possibly starting up a e-mail mailing list for Ellen. Of course, I still have to figure out whether it is possible for me to do it or not...Is anyone interested? E-mail me if you are!
ITS CONFIRMED! ABC is revamping their Wednesday night schedule. Effective December 4, 1996, Ellen will be airing at 9:30pm Wednesdays. Grace Under Fire will now be at 8:00, Townies stays at 8:30, and Drew Carey is now at 9:00. It is quite likely that the rumored storyline will now be able to take place as suggested earlier this season. Congratulations, ABC! You made a great decision.
Ellen will be hosting the upcoming 39th Annual Grammy Awards! Congratulations, Ellen! It's your second year in a row.
There is a new attraction at Epcot Center featuring Ellen! It's called "Ellen's Energy Crisis", and features Bill Nye the Science Guy! If anyone has been to this exhibit already, e-mail me! I'd love to find out what it's about.
Ellen has released her new CD: "Taste This". It's one whole hour of Ellen's standup routine recorded live in concert! It also features a screensaver for PC and Mac computers. When properly installed, it has Ellen's head bouncing around plus some audio clips. So far, I've only got Ellen's head moving extremely slowly, without any audio. The programs says that my video driver is "out of date"! If it's so out of date, then why does it show full motion video perfectly fine? The screensaver graphics aren't anywhere near that intensive! Still, it's quite cute. Buy it and see how Ellen's face looks when she hits the side of your screen! If anyone gets theirs to work, e-mail me with the details....
The latest news: ABC is contemplating a shakeup of the Wednesday night schedule! Under the proposed changes, Ellen will move back to its original time slot of 9:30pm. This will remove Ellen from its main competition in the 8:00 timeslot: The Nanny. It will also allow Ellen to pursue "more adult storylines" since it will be in the later time slot. If this goes through, then it is likely that ABC will go ahead with the rumoured storyline of Ellen deciding to come out.
Personally, I think that ABC should go ahead and move Ellen back to 9:30. That's the time the show was on when it was first aired, and it should have stayed that way. Ellen has always been a show geared more towards adults, not young children. ABC used to show stuff like "Full House" on their 8:00 slots! If Ellen is moved back to 9:30, then they can safely pursue the "coming out" storyline without having right wing conservative types freaking out. And it seems like Ellen will be going ahead with it. She's been testing the waters for reaction on her many appearances. Even Jeremy Piven is teasing the public about it. When asked by David Letterman whether Ellen would be coming out, he said, "Actually, I'll be coming out as Bi......onic!" Well, I guess we'll find out in the weeks to come. In the meantime, back to our regularly scheduled programming....
