Today in TV history

[NYadgal]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 11:43am

In 1997, Ellen (Ellen DeGeneres) came out to her therapist (guest star Oprah Winfrey) in this ground-breaking episode of ABC sitcom “Ellen.”

Uncredited cameos included Melissa Etheridge, Jorja Fox, Gina Gershon, k.d. lang, Demi Moore, Billy Bob Thornton and Dwight Yoakam.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 11:58am

And if I remember correctly, there was a warning before the episode saying parental guidance was suggested.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 12:07pm

Oh my word!  I remember having a bunch of ladies over to watch and then heading down to Henrietta Hudson's to celebrate!  Thanks for the memory!!!

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 12:12pm

I'd forgotten about Oprah! But I've always remembered the scene with Laura Dern and the microphone.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 12:25pm

An astounding 36 million people watched that "coming out" episode. JC Penny's, along with a number of other corporations, subsequently pulled their advertising. The show was canceled less than one year later. A lot has changed since 1997. 

[SNAFU]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 12:31pm

A year or two later he hosted SNL. The audience was only 3/4s full. The backlash took awhile to wear off.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 12:44pm

I don't mean to take away from the importance of this thread, but I do believe in pointing out credit where credit is due.

March 1, 1994 - The Roseanne show did an episode called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" where Mariel Hemingway played a lesbian who actually kissed Roseanne on the lips.

Roseanne's show overall was funnier than Ellen, more realistic and in tune with the national mood than Ellen and ran for three more seasons after this episode aired.

And while Roseanne was not a lesbian, I think this episode paved the way for Ellen to feel comfortable to do her episode.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 1:18pm

I remember watching that Ellen episode with my parents.  I don't think we were even regular viewers of her show, but it seemed like everyone was tuning in.  I remember a classmate got suspended for writing about the episode in her creative writing class. She also wrote some fictional pieces about her [wholesome, very blonde, Mormon] teacher having gruesome late term abortions in the high school gym, so it might have been the cumiliative effect of her writing that got her in trouble.  Ah, goths. Anyway, where was I...?

 

Yes, Goth, I think it's a fair point to acknowledge how well Roseanne dealt with LGBT characters.  Not just Mariel Hemingway, but Sandra Bernhard and, of course, Martin Mull. And she, very smartly, wasn't afraid to show how a more nuanced and realistic portrayal of what it was like to come out in the 90s - warts and all.  Honestly, before it jumped the shark in its last two seasons, Roseanne was easily one of the best sitcoms of all time.    

Updated On: 4/30/15 at 01:18 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 1:28pm

I think ROSEANNE is still the greatest sitcom of all time. 

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 1:54pm

"Honestly, before it jumped the shark in its last two seasons, Roseanne was easily one of the best sitcoms of all time."

It really was one of the top in that it showed middle class life as it really existed, not in the "pearls while vacuuming" sort of way. Roseanne was a genius to show piles of laundry heaped on the living room sofa and the kids screaming at each other. It was the way so many people lived.

But back to the thread, I'm old enough to remember when Billy Crystal was gay on Soap. That was really huge. They did pre-show warnings so you knew it was something big.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 2:25pm

People always blame her coming on for the show being canceled the next year, but the tone and quality dipped drastically. I always liked that show, still watch the DVDs now, actually. It was always a middle-of-the-road/not really a hit sitcom, but when she came out, the show stopped being as funny. All the stories completely revolved around her being gay and stopped being about her, her bookstore, and her friends. Granted, I'm happy for the pioneering efforts of making episodes about gay issues, the community, and having a real gay romance on network television, but they didn't make them funny.

 

I was in 6th grade when this happened. I remember reading her first book and my teacher once said "oh, well you read about her, right?" And I just replied "So? She's funny and who cares?" He laughed and said "Well, I guess you're right."

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 2:59pm

I loved Ellen's sitcom, the first one, and "The Puppy Episode" was a highlight. She won her first Emmy for writing the episode, and was considered a shoo in for Best Actress that year, but perennial winner Helen Hunt won, again. She gave a lovely shout out to Ellen in her acceptance speech.

The ratings drop was indeed due to the change in tone to the show. Perhaps it was too much at once, but a year later we got "Will and Grace" which was a hit. 

After she dusted off for a few years she tried another sitcom, but it was a mess and not very funny. Then she took a shot at daytime, and the rest is history. Kajillions of people around the world watch an out and proud lesbian chat with celebs and make jokes about her marriage.

Things have changed so much, and she has been a big part of the acceptance of gay folks...as was Roseanne.

For a few years, "Ellen" and "Roseanne" were back to back...funniest night on tv!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 4:36pm

I never thought Ellen was funny. If I remember the coming out episode correctly, the beginning went something like:

One of her friends calling to Ellen who was off-stage: Ellen, when are you coming out?

Ellen: I have a whole hour yet.

That's such basic humor, it's pitiful.

The only reason I watched was because one of my co-workers was in the audience.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 5:54pm

I think ROSEANNE is still the greatest sitcom of all time. 

I concur.

That's such basic humor, it's pitiful.

For me, it was Ellen's delivery as much as it was the material.  She would have me in tears and I still think she's hilarious.  To each their own.  I found nothing about Seinfeld funny except Julia Louise Dreyfuss and Frasier just bored me.  Ellen was a breath of fresh air.  Funny and often quite clever but not mean-spirited or deeply cynical.  Her physical comedy had me in stitches sometimes as well.  I'll never forget the bit where she changes the water cooler bottle.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 6:15pm

BREAKING NEWS:

I liked Roseanne, Ellen, Seinfeld and even Frasier (well, in small doses).  

 

Anyway, beyond all the obvious qualities - it's willingness to show what real life was like for low-middle class families, its leading lady's unapologetically brash and progressive POV and it's sharp comedic sensibilities - I think what made Roseanne so great was something very simple and, yes, corny: love.  That family felt so real to me and for all the squabbles and anger and bitter sarcasm and pain, it's undeniable that you were watching a family that loved each other deeply.  That is hard to pull off and they did it effortlessly.  

 

[darquegk]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 7:40pm

Roseanne stands out today because it was, in some sense, naturalistic. It could exaggerate for comedy, it could take chances, but there was no element of the absurd in the show. It's one of the last mainstream not-at-all-gonzo sitcoms to be a big success.

Today, you see some shows trying that again, but in a way, they feel more conventional not for being experimental, but for being "traditional" with a few experimental elements. "Mom" on CBS, for instance, does the comedy-drama balance in a way that, at its best, is Roseanne-esque, but this is also a show that has daydreams of Jesus Christ as a recurring dramatic character, not played for comedy. They don't make them like Roseanne anymore, because I suspect they can't.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 7:48pm

Lest we forget, neither were the first time. All in the Family had an episode where Archie thought Mike's friend was gay. He later finds out that a good friend of his and ex football player, a real "Macho" guy is. That was trailblazing in that era.

ETA: Not to mention Edith's good friend Beverly!

 

Updated On: 4/30/15 at 07:48 PM

[HorseTears]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 7:50pm

Controversial opinion?  I love Norman Lear, but I've always preferred his politics to his comedic sensibilities.  

[SNAFU]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 8:12pm

Liking his comedy sensiblities or not, I believe he was one of the first to put gay characters on Prime Time in a dignified manner.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 8:16pm

That was exactly my point, SNAF.  I love Lear's unabashedly progressive politics and the way in which he brought conversations about race, class, gender and even sexual minorities to massive national audiences.  I just don't find any of his shows particularly funny, but they're also very much products of their time.  

[SNAFU]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 9:52pm

Point taken. At the time, Middle America did find them funny though. He held up a mirror to them and they laughed at what they saw. It was a beginning of the change we have been experiencing these past 35-40 years.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/1/15 at 10:47am

I see your Norman Lear, and I'll raise you a gay man and fear of pedophilia. Alice had a very hard decision to make when the man she was going to let Tommy go camping with admitted that he was gay. Flo, Vera and Mel couldn't make the decision for her. I don't remember the outcome but I think she let Tommy go camping.