About the "Ellen Degeneres Show"
Info about the Ellen Degneres Show

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (often shortened to Ellen) is an syndicated television talk show hosted by comedienne Ellen DeGeneres and distributed by Warner Bros. Television. The show features interviews with celebrities and members of the public, comedic monologues by the host and music performances. It premiered on September 8, 2003.

The show was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. It gained 12 nominations in its second season and won 6 Emmys, including Best Talk Show and Talk Show Host. The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been renewed through the 2010-2011 season.[1] Since the beginning of its run, the show has been taped in Studio 11 at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. The show began taping in high definition on September 8, 2008, the sixth season premiere. This coincided with a move to Stage 1 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California after NBC sold the property where the show was previously taped

CONCEPT

The premise of Ellen is similar to other daytime television talk shows, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show. The program combines comedy, celebrity and musical guests and human-interest stories. The program is not characterized as a tabloid talk show, nor does it involve experts giving advice in regards to personal relationships.[3]

A popular staff member, aspiring stunt man Houston Rose (pronounced “How-Ston”), frequently featured during the first broadcast year. In a segment called “Have Houston Do It For You,” he was sent to people’s homes to help with tasks like putting up Christmas decorations or remodeling a bathroom. Other staff members included Jeff Cosgrave, who was set up on a variety of blind dates; Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner, her executive producers on the floor; Robert, her crooning prop master; Kevin the game show host; Jim, her PA; and Andy, the prize guy.

As in The Rosie O’Donnell Show, DeGeneres often has audience participation games where prizes are awarded. During her Twelve Days of Giveaways promotion, she gives about $1,000 worth of prizes to each member of the studio audience (and a handful of home viewers as well) for 12 days in a row leading up to Christmas. Because the show has become so popular, not all who arrive hoping to see a taping can fit into the studio, so an off-shoot space referred to as “The Riff Raff Room” was created. Persons seated here are often referenced and shown briefly on camera but watch the taping from off-stage.
Ashley Tisdale with Ellen DeGeneres in her show.

Ellen has also helped many non-famous people attain their 15 minutes of fame by having them as guests on the show. Guests in this role have included intelligent children, the owner of a small shop called “Mostly Moose and More”, a flea market owner who raps in his commercials, and a male audience member who refused to dance, named Carl by Ellen based on the way he looks, while his real name is Jim. Most recently there has been Lisa Barnum, who attempted to step on Ellen’s coffee table aggravating her back injury; in several later episodes Ellen jokingly blames Lisa for her back injury.

In the show’s third season, Ellen began surprising fans by introducing them to their favorite celebrities.

On May 18, 2006, the show celebrated its 500th episode.[citation needed]

In October 2007, Ellen tearfully pleaded on-air with a private pet adoption agency. The agency took Ellen’s dog back from her when it learned Ellen’s girlfriend Portia de Rossi had violated a written agreement not to give ownership of the dog to a third party. The agency received threats from fans, according to their lawyer, which Ellen regretted.[4] A distraught Ellen canceled two days of taping her show to compose herself.[5]

On November 19, 2007, the show celebrated its 700th episode, even though the actual 700th show was over a month earlier.[6]

The show moved to Warner Bros. studios for its sixth season due to the NBC lot being sold. The episode aired on May 27, 2008, featuring Evan Handler and Dr. Wayne Dyer, was the last show taped on the NBC lot. The show was taped on May 23, 2008.

On May 1, 2009, Ellen celebrated her 1,000th episode.

2007 WRITERS GUILD STRIKE

DeGeneres, a member of the Writers Guild of America, supported the 2007 writers’ strike.[7] However, on November 9, 2007, DeGeneres crossed the picket line to tape more episodes of her TV show stating:
“ It was explained to me that no other daytime shows have shut down. I’ve got 135 employees that rely on me for a paycheck. But it’s been the hardest thing in the world driving onto this lot.[7] ”

DeGeneres decided to abstain from doing a monologue on her show (which is typically written by WGA writers) during the strike.[8] Her show continued production as normal with the exception of her monologue being omitted. The WGAE issued a statement condemning DeGeneres, stating she was “not welcome in NY.”[9] DeGeneres’ representatives asserted that she did not violate the WGA’s agreement, arguing that she is competing with other first-run syndicated shows like Dr. Phil and Live with Regis and Kelly during the competitive November sweeps period, and that DeGeneres must fulfill her duties as host and producer, lest her show lose its time slot or be held in breach of contract. In addition, a statement defending DeGeneres was subsequently issued by AFTRA, pointing out that DeGeneres also works under the AFTRA TV Code, which bars her from striking. The WGAE then issued a response pointing out that DeGeneres is also a Writers Guild member, and that any writing work she did on her show during the strike constituted struck work.[10][11]

DANCING

Since the show’s debut, DeGeneres has segued from her opening monologue by doing a dance. The dancing proved to be extremely popular with viewers, and has since progressed to a segment where DeGeneres dances into the audience, sometimes borrowing a coat or purse from someone’s chair, and taking it with her. She has also featured a segment in which people teach her new dance moves. During the early 2006 season, Ellen shortened her dance routine and did not go through the audience, making more time for segments. Upset fans sent thousands of e-mails to Ellen as a result of this, and the dancing resumed as usual a few days later. One of her most famous dance moves is dancing over the table, and although she does not do it every day, it is a recurring theme. As an April Fools’ Day prank in 2009, the show’s staff placed a wider table top over her normal table. During the show when Ellen attempted to dance over it, she barely made it across, being forced on her tip-toes and using the table as leverage.

DJ

Unlike most talk shows, the show uses a disc jockey to supply music rather than a band. Originally, the role was filled by Los Angeles-based DJ Scott K, who lasted only a few weeks. He was later replaced by Tony Okungbowa, who DJed through season 3. Due to his growing acting career, Okungbowa left the show in Season 4, and was replaced by actor/DJ Jon Abrahams for the fourth season premiere.[12] Abrahams stayed on the show for one season, and also left as his acting career grew. Ted Stryker of KROQ, who is also co-host of Loveline with Dr. Drew, was the DJ for the fifth season. Stryker stayed for one season when Okungbowa returned.

CREW

The Executive Producers are Ellen DeGeneres, Mary Connelly, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner and Jim Paratore. The writing staff has included Karen Kilgariff (Head Writer), Karen Anderson, Margaret Smith and Ellen DeGeneres. Margaret Smith recently left the show to work on her own projects, including her first book, What Was I Thinking? How Being a Stand Up Did Nothing to Prepare Me to Become a Single Mother (Crossroad Publishing, 2008).

RECURRING ELEMENTS

Ellen is known for its use of recurring elements, sarcastic jokes and gags, some of which have eventually petered out.

* “Emmy Nominated.” - Ellen says this when she makes a bad joke, saying that even though she makes all these bad jokes, the show still got nominated for an Emmy.
* “Whuut?” - Ellen uses this word as a joke, usually when she is talking about somebody being surprised, either by her or somebody else. In the episodes filmed in February, she often mentions it being “Whuut? the February!”.
* “KAAA!” - Ellen frequently uses this made-up word as an enthusiastic response to the audience’s applause. Often she will say the word in a high-pitched voice and drag it out for several seconds, or add unique hand gestures. This is often accompanied by the appreciative phrase, “Back at ya!” On one of the first episodes she was imitating a bird that flew over her head, and it stuck.
* “I appreciate it” - Ellen often uses the phrase “I appreciate it” in response to the audience’s applause. Also, Ellen frequently thanks the audience by telling them to “take it (the applause) and…”; filling in the end with a phrase such as “mix it up in a Margarita.”
* Mama chair - DeGeneres’s mother Betty DeGeneres regularly attends the show and was frequently featured on camera, but she stopped appearing regularly early in 2006 because she moved. Her chair was designated the Mama chair and special privileges are given to the audience member who sits in it.
* Shaking of the head - During the opening monologue, Ellen will frequently make sarcastic comments about her or other people but then shake her head and smile at the audience, making it clear she meant it as a joke.
* Breaking news - Sometimes Ellen will be interrupted by “breaking news,” which is always reported from in front of one of the rear projection screens. The gag is, however, that the reporter and Ellen seem to be in different locations at the beginning, but are then shown to be only feet from each other in the studio. The reporter also always holds her ear piece and experiences a delay in hearing Ellen. Usually Ellen will end up walking over to the reporter and attempt to talk to her face-to-face, while the reporter ignores her and carries on the charade of a satellite interview. The role of the reporter is played by Karen Kilgariff, the show’s head writer.
* Fireplace - During the third season, Ellen featured a small electric fireplace on the table between her and the guest.
* Telephone - Ellen uses an old-fashioned, beige telephone to conduct interviews. Sometimes the phone seems to be dialed without Ellen pressing numbers or Ellen will put the phone down and walk around the studio while still talking to the person on the line.
* Gladys Hardy - Ellen has called Gladys Hardy, a grandmother from Texas, who originally left Ellen a voicemail message. Gladys offers amusing advice and observations that often send Ellen into a fit of laughter. Gladys became so popular that the show now offers a Gladys T-shirt and Gladys has often replaced the show’s professional announcers who introduce Ellen at the start of each episode. However, some have begun to question the authenticity of Gladys, leading some to believe she is a prank. [13]
o “Keep On Keepin’ On!” - Gladys says this when speaking to Ellen.
* Drawings - Despite her lack of drawing skills, Ellen will sometimes draw a person or other image on the set using a large easel. At the end of the show, each audience member received a large copy of the drawing.
* Am I right, ladies? - Ellen usually says this when talking about men but has also said it on other occasions.
* “Kitty” - “Kitty” is an elderly woman who attended an episode taping of Ellen. Before the crew begins to tape, Ellen’s DJ will play music for the audience, and they are free to dance. Ellen, on a later episode, displayed video footage of “Kitty” dancing, showing her face changing abruptly and covering her ears when the DJ changed songs. Ellen nicknamed the woman “Kitty” and the clip became a fan favorite. The woman was later identified as Charlotte Pope of Riverside, California and was invited back on the show as a guest.
* Days of Our Lauren - Lauren is a writer from the show who was nominated for an Emmy in 2008 for her previous work on Saturday Night Live. She promised Ellen that she would run on stage with whoever won, but did not. Ellen said she was a liar and punished her by making her stand behind Ellen through the whole show on September 23, 2008. A man wrote in and said the Lauren was pretty, and Ellen read the letter on the show. Then, a lady wrote in saying that she was the man’s girlfriend. Ellen brought the man on the show on October 15, 2008. Ellen dubbed the issue “Days of Our Lauren”, and played the Days of our Lives theme song.
* “Aww Snap!” - Anytime Ellen says “Aww snap,” a sound effect of a whip cracking is played. Normally this happens when Ellen mentions her game of the same name, but sometimes the sound effect is played if Ellen mentions the phrase in general conversation. In November 2008, after guest Taylor Swift revealed that Jonas Brothers member Joe Jonas broke up with her in 27 seconds over the phone, Ellen said “Aww snap,” followed a few seconds later by the sound effect of a whip cracking.
* Ellen Underwear - Ellen gives each of her guests underwear that say Ellen on the waistband. Sometimes the guests show them off on the show, or Ellen will show pictures of guests wearing them in other places.

SET

Ellen premiered its fourth season on September 4, 2006 with a new set and on-screen graphics. The new set features two large rear projection screens that initially displayed a cityscape of Los Angeles. As the season progressed, producers replaced the screens with seasonal photographs contributed by viewers and DeGeneres. The screens are also designed to display video clips to the studio audience. In addition, the screens are also used during some of the show’s gags, such as “breaking news” segments.

In front of the screens is the main area of the set, situated on a raised platform. Normally, this area features two red arm chairs with a plasma screen between them. Ellen typically sits in the chair on the right, while guests take the left side. On occasions when more than one guest is interviewed at one time, an additional chair is added to the left side or a large matching sofa replaces the chair. Throughout the show, the plasma screen is used to display graphics relating to the current segment, guest or other content.

To the left of the main area is a large wall with unique lighted segments that slides open for DeGeneres’ entrance at the beginning of each show. The entrance is also used for crew members to wheel out audience gifts. The lighted segments often change colors to match the episode’s theme and are also sometimes used as a game board for audience games. The area in front of this wall is often used for games as well as demonstration segments such as cooking or exercise features. The area behind the lighted wall is most frequently used for live music performances. Often this area is decorated with special scenery and lighting to match the mood of the singer and the song. The audience area of the set is decorated in similar tones as the main area. Audience members sit on folding chairs set up in rows on risers. One of these rows, near the center of the audience area, is slightly wider, and is almost always the one Ellen dances through at the beginning of the show.

Season 5 saw some minor tweaks to the set, including new textured glass covering in the audience area “windows” and a new monologue location in front of the lighted wall. The new season also saw the introduction of new on-screen graphics and a shorter opening clip. In addition, the show has reverted to using a professional announcer.

Season 6 is also seeing some changes to Ellen’s set, mainly due to the fact that the show moved to the Warner Brothers Lot. The stage itself is the same, but what Ellen sees is different. There are more seats in the audience, with a whole new Riff-Raff Room, and new seats. The new seats are blue and feature cup holders. Behind the audience is different as well, featuring colored blocks on the walls that flash different colors. The aisles where Ellen dances are now made of wood.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ellen_DeGeneres_Show

 
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