Ellen - The Complete Season 2
A&E Video (1995)
TV Shows
In Collection
#1613
0*
Seen ItNo
733961717129
  6.1
552 mins USA/English
DVD  Region 1   NR (Not Rated)
Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Morgan
Joely Fisher Paige Clark
Steven Gilborn
Arye Gross
David Anthony Higgins Joe Farrell
Alice Hirson
Clea Lewis Audrey Penney
Jeremy Piven Spence Kovak
Maggie Wheeler
Holly Fulger
Director Robby Benson
Tom Cherones
John Tracy (II)
Gil Junger
Producer Gil Junger
Dan Cohen
Writer Dan Cohen
Richard Day
Cinematography Richard Brown
Thomas Marshall
Musician W.G. Snuffy Walden

Ellen: The Complete Season Two is a little less populous than season 1 (there's a net loss of one cast member). But in every important respect the 1990s ABC sitcom starring Ellen DeGeneres as bookstore owner and adorable neurotic Ellen Morgan carries on the show's familiar charm and intelligence. Fans will surely notice the unmentioned departure of Ellen's buddies Holly (Holly Fulger) and Anita (Maggie Wheeler), as well as the out-of-nowhere appearance of new best gal pal Paige (Joely Fisher). But Arye Gross provides strong continuity as returning second banana and platonic friend Adam, the underachieving photographer who moves out of Ellen's apartment in season 2's eighth episode ("Adam's Birthday"), yet never seems to be gone afterward.

For the most part, season 2's scripts, like season 1's, are both urbane (in the Friends mold) and classic-TV silly (in the I Love Lucy tradition). The season premiere, "The Dentist," has some great moments for the series' highlight reel when Ellen's attraction to a dentist gets out of hand after inhaling laughing gas. "So Funny" finds Ellen jealous over Adam's friend Theresa's quick wit, while "Mrs. Koger" has a timeless plot in which our heroine chews out a crusty and unpleasant old neighbor, only to discover the latter died moments afterward. (Ellen's penchant for babbling is particularly funny during a post-mortem conversation with a cop.) The Lucy influence is especially strong in "Ballet Class" (Ellen gets a little too ambitious) and "The Spa" (a massage turns brutally slapstick). Despite these strong storylines, at least half of every episode is concerned with light subplots, such as Adam's near-flirtatious efforts to reach out to Ellen's employee Joe (David Anthony Higgins) when he realizes he has no guy friends. No matter what's going on, DeGeneres finds a way to endear herself every scene. --Tom Keogh

Episodes
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    9/21/1994  1.  The Dentist
Paige refers Ellen to a handsome dentist and Ellen hopes the professional visit might lead to a personal relationship. However, her serious flirtations have unexpected results when a few whiffs of laughing gas unleash her primal instincts. Meanwhile, Adam can't seem to decide whether he wants to date a woman or not.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Mark Driscoll 
Guest starring:  Andrea Parker, Blaire Baron, Harley Venton, Martha Thompson, Brian McGovern, Alicia Anne, Robert Gant
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    9/28/1994  2.  Saint Ellen
When Ellen learns that the show-biz party she crashed was for charity, she tries to make amends by going on a volunteering binge.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Mark Driscoll 
Guest starring:  Jane Carr, Murray Rubenstein, Kymberly Newberry, Lisa Inouye, Kathleen McMartin, Steven Houska, Darla Haun, Leonard Kelly-Young, John McCafferty
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    10/5/1994  3.  The Thirty-Minute Man
Ellen flips for a customer whose visits to the bookstore spice up her life, but her rising hopes for romance fall flat when she learns he's a pizza delivery man who savors his work.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Suzanne Martin 
Guest starring:  William Ragsdale, Jerry Panacoli, Christine Romeo
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    10/12/1994  4.  The Note
Stumbling upon evidence that someone in her reading group dislikes her, a downcast Ellen stoops to spying in order to root out and win over the malcontent.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  David S. Rosenthal 
Guest starring:  Kenneth Kimmins, Andrea Leithe, Helen Siff, Chad Einbinder, Paul Marin, Gene Poe, David Richardson
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    10/19/1994  5.  The Fix-Up
When Ellen's blind date, whom she remembers as a childhood weirdo, turns out to be a perfectly normal guy, she's eager to pursue the relationship, but a series of complications convinces him that she's the one who's strange.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Richard Day 
Guest starring:  Bradley Whitford, Jim Jackson, Stephen James Carver, Garret Davis
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    10/26/1994  6.  So Funny
Ellen feels threatened by Adam's visiting friend, Theresa, whose humor rivals her own. But when Ellen sees her own jealousy drive her comic competitor away, she literally flies to make amends.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Maria Semple 
Guest starring:  Kathy Najimy, Larry Poindexter, Mary Otis, Milt Tarver
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    11/9/1994  7.  The Toast
When Ellen hosts the wedding rehearsal dinner for her brother and his bride-to-be, she unintentionally causes their breakup.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Suzanne Martin 
Guest starring:  Matt Letscher, Scott LaRose, Mark L. Taylor, Gill Baker, J. Patrick McCormack, Ryan Holihan, Nicki Vannice, Rebecca Staab
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    11/16/1994  8.  Adam's Birthday
Convinced that Ellen is limiting his potential, Adam moves out, leaving Ellen with limitless possibilities as to what to do with his vacant room.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Maria Semple 
Guest starring:  Bill Calvert, Karen Maruyama, Brian Cousins, Patience Cleveland, Patrick Cranshaw, Billye Ree Wallace, Chris Douridas, Jaime Hubbard
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    11/23/1994  9.  The Trainer
To help Paige appease her demanding movie-producer boss, Ellen pretends to be his exercise trainer. But when the boss offers Ellen a development job, Paige has a fit.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Holly Hester 
Guest starring:  Harry Shearer
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    11/30/1994  10.  Mrs. Koger
Ellen speaks her mind to her cranky old neighbor who then dies. Meanwhile, she hires a pushy new bookstore manager with a history of mental problems.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Richard Day 
Guest starring:  Nick Bakay, Nita Talbot, Marianne Muellerleile, Matt McKenzie, Damian London, Crystal Carson
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    12/7/1994  11.  Ellen's New Friend
Ellen tries to make a new friend without offending Audrey, the person who introduced them. Meanwhile, Adam inherits historical family letters.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Mark Driscoll 
Guest starring:  Angela Dohrmann, Andrew Shaifer
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    12/14/1994  12.  The Christmas Show
Ellen's holidays are bittersweet, thanks to an acerbic new employee and a sugarcoated suitor. Meanwhile, Paige agonizes over what to get her overly sensitive mother for Christmas.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Suzanne Martin 
Guest starring:  Kate Hodge, Eric Lutes, Christian Meoli, David Sederholm, Lisa Harrison, Pat Lentz, Jeffrey Alan Chandler, Mark McCracken, Laurel Green, Zachary Eginton, Terry Ray, Annie O'Donnell, Gail Shapiro, David Alan Graf, Eric Saiet
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    1/4/1995  13.  Ellen's Improvement
Ellen goes on a scholastic kick to expand her cultural horizons, and impresses an attractive college professor along the way. Meanwhile, unlikely lovebirds Joe and Stephanie move in together--at the bookstore.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Tracy Newman  / Jonathan Stark 
Guest starring:  Bob Saget, Mary-Kate Olsen, Kate Hodge, Gregory Paul Martin, Donna Marie Moore, Peter Kim, Kim Kim, Jerome Vered, Alex Trebek, Ashley Olsen
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    1/11/1995  14.  The Apartment Hunt
Ellen is determined to help Audrey find an apartment, as far away from hers as possible. Meanwhile, Paige dates an alternate juror for a high-profile Hollywood trial and Adam tries to catch a newspaper thief.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Mark Driscoll 
Guest starring:  Kate Hodge, Ken Olandt, Ralph P. Martin, Marcia Mitzman-Gaven, Joey Slotnick
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    1/25/1995  15.  The Spa
Paige persuades Ellen to relieve stress at a health spa, but the rigorous regime creates tension between them. Meanwhile, Adam tries to broaden his circle of friends, starting with Joe.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Suzanne Martin 
Guest starring:  Patrick Warburton, Molly Cheek, Felicity Waterman, Kimberly Russell, Joel Beeson
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    2/8/1995  16.  Ballet Class
Determined to fulfill a childhood dream, Ellen takes ballet lessons and sets her sights on dancing the lead in her class recital.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Richard Day 
Guest starring:  Spencer Rochefort, Scott Fowler, Elaine Hendrix
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    2/15/1995  17.  Guns 'N Ellen
After her apartment is robbed, Ellen goes on a safety spree, but her obsession with security makes her a model of insecurity.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Tracy Newman  / Jonathan Stark 
Guest starring:  Eric Allan Kramer, Jamie Marsh, David DeLuise
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    2/22/1995  18.  The Sleep Clinic
When Ellen starts losing sleep over her erotic dreams about Adam, she goes into therapy. However, Audrey is having fantasies about Adam also, vowing to make them reality.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Mark Driscoll 
Guest starring:  Paxton Whitehead, Christina Dawson
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    3/1/1995  19.  Gladiators
Ellen reluctantly becomes a contestant on American Gladiators, then becomes fighting mad when her female combatant, Ice, ruins her budding romance with gladiator Nitro.
Director:  David Trainer  Writer:  Richard Day 
Guest starring:  Dan Clark, Lori Fetrick, Jackie Mari Roberts, Mike Adamle, Earl Brown
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    3/22/1995  20.  $5,000
Ellen feels like an angel when she donates her tax refund to charity, but she has a devil of a time recouping the cash when Uncle Sam demands it back.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Tracy Newman  / Jonathan Stark 
Guest starring:  Dann Florek, Brittany Ashton Holmes
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    3/29/1995  21.  Three Strikes
Ellen joins an animal rights group, gets thrown in jail and winds up in the custody of her parents.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Pamela Eells  / Sally Lapiduss 
Guest starring:  Kate Benton, Roger Eschbacher, Clyde Kusatsu
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    5/3/1995  22.  The Therapy Episode
Ellen feels guilty about lying to her mother, but when her therapist prescribes a dose of total honesty, the truth proves to be more than the family bargained for.
Director:  Tom Cherones  / Holly Hester  Writer:  Mark Driscoll  / Holly Hester 
Guest starring:  Paxton Whitehead, Michael White, Marceline Hugot
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    5/10/1995  23.  Thirty Kilo Man (1)
Ellen rekindles her romance with ex-boyfriend Dan, who returns from Rome with a brilliant new career. However, Ellen soon discovers that his venture involves a shady substance.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Suzanne Martin 
Guest starring:  William Ragsdale, Patrick Warburton, Dean Fortunato, Jerry Penacoli
    Seen it: Yes   30 mins    5/17/1995  24.  Thirty Kilo Man (2)
Ellen's relationship with Dan heats up, Adam caves in to Audrey's burning desire, and Paige feels left out in the cold.
Director:  Tom Cherones  Writer:  Maria Semple 
Guest starring:  William Ragsdale, Patrick Warburton, Scotch Ellis Loring, Dean Fortunado
Edition Details
Series Ellen
Distributor A&E Home Video
Release Date 2/22/2005
Packaging Keep Case
Screen Ratio Fullscreen (4:3)
Audio Tracks Dolby Digital Stereo [English]
Layers Single Side, Single Layer
No. of Disks/Tapes 3

Features
Disc 01 Commentary with Joely Fisher and David Anthony Higgins on the Episodes "The Trainer" and "Mrs. Koger"
Cast Biographies
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection