Ellen - The Complete Season Four

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One of America's funniest women returns to the small screen in ELLEN: THE COMPLETE SEASON FOUR, which includes all 25 critically accled episodes of the landmark season that made entertainment history. As thirty-something Ellen Morgan, DeGeneres plays a neurotic Los Angeles bookstore owner who manages to get through her daily follies and foibles with the help of her loyal, lovable friends. Overflowing with humor, warmth, and wit, ELLEN serves up ample laughs and offbeat goofiness while also bravely confronting contemporary social issues. The groundbreaking SEASON FOUR includes the famous two-part episode in which Ellen comes out. In short, ELLEN is sitcom comedy at its very best. The star-studded ELLEN: THE COMPLETE SEASON FOUR includes guest appearances by Anne Rice, Trisha Yearwood, Queen Latifah, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Oprah Winfrey, Melissa Etheridge, and many more! DVD Features: Audio Commentary with Writers of "The Puppy Episode"; Cast Biographies; Interactive Menu; Scene Selection .com ---- Ellen: The Complete Season Four includes a significant moment in television history: the first time the central character in a situation comedy stepped out of the closet and announced she was gay. The widely-seen "The Puppy Episode Part 1" and "Part 2," closely followed by "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah," were among the final episodes that season. All dealt movingly and comically with the anxiety Ellen Morgan (Ellen DeGeneres) experiences as she tells her friends, parents, and the world she is gay, a distress quickly washed away by . Helping celebrate the event are a number of famous faces in co-starring or cameo roles, including Oprah Winfrey as Ellen’s therapist, Laura Dern as a gay woman who helps Ellen come to terms with the truth, Billy Bob Thornton as a grocery clerk in a nutty dream, Bonnie Raitt, k.d. laing, Gina Gershon and others. Part of the fun of watching the 25 episodes on The Complete Season Four are discovering little signs along the way that DeGeneres is planning something big, including a gag where Ellen literally steps out of a closet. But there are other tumultuous (yet funny) storylines unfolding in Season Four, including Ellen’s agonizing decision to sell her bookstore in order to raise money to buy a house. Ellen remains as manager, working for an executive (Bruce Campbell) who takes over her office with hunting trophies and a desire to cut dead weight—namely Joe (David Anthony Higgins), the attitude-impaired clerk whom Ellen considers a friend. Meanwhile, cousin Spence (Jeremy Piven) navigates a competitive medical residency while romancing Paige (Joely Fisher), and squeaky-voiced Audrey (Clea Lewis) becomes inuated with a deaf actor who is more attracted to Ellen. Between these big strokes, however, is an endless stream of DeGeneres’ hilarious takes on the simplest things: brushing teeth, waiting to get to the bathroom, drinking too much at a wine-tasting party. An heir to Lucille Ball, DeGeneres is also enough of an actress to convey real angst and sorrow when Ellen’s parents announce a breakup, or when hopes for love fall through. One gets it all here: great comedy and emotional truth. --Tom Keogh