Three years after the series finale of Ellen aired, Ellen DeGeneres gave sitcoms another shot with the genial The Ellen Show, which made its debut in 2001 on CBS. This time around, DeGeneres plays Ellen Richmond, a Los Angeles career woman who moves back to her hometown after her dot-com business goes under. She moves back home to live with her appropriately named mother, Dot (Cloris Leachman), and insecure younger sister Catherine (Emily Rutherfurd), who both idolizes and resents her. Clark is a small town where no one ever moves away. So when Ellen returns to her high school, eventually landing a job as its guidance counselor (she had conveniently earned a teaching degree prior to her L.A. move), she finds it to be pretty much the same place she left. Mr. Munn (a wry Martin Mull) is still the sarcastic principal. Her lunk of a high school boyfriend, Rusty (Jim Gaffigan), is now a teacher there and he doesn't see why her being a lesbian has to get in the way of a relationship. He simply stares blankly when Munn says, "Newsflash, Rusty. She's hopped the net and is swinging a new racquet." Unlike Ellen, which moved at a faster pace, The Ellen Show takes its sweet time setting up each gag and waiting for the laughs, which are sometimes undeserved. With her chatty, friendly way, DeGeneres is a likeable focal point but the storylines are often unfocused. The series ultimately didn't pack enough oomph to last a full season. Its last episode aired 3-1/2 months after it premiered. This two-disc, 18-episode set includes the handful of shows that never made it on television. Guest stars include Betty White and Mary Tyler Moore, who do a nice job chewing up the scenery. But it's a tiny Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds) who steals the show, playing a chatty school-age version of Ellen. --Jae-Ha Kim
Set in San Francisco, family-friendly sitcom Full House centers around the adventures of a widowed father, his three children, and his two best friends. Danny (Bob Saget of America's Funniest Home Videos) is a straight-laced sportscaster, Joey (David Coulier) is a fun-loving stand-up comedian, and brother-in-law Jesse (John Stamos) is an Elvis-obsessed rocker. Danny's children include 11-year-old D.J. (Candace Cameron), five-year-old Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), and baby Michelle (big-eyed future superstars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen). Created by Jeff Franklin (Laverne and Shirley), the show ran on ABC for eight seasons. In the pilot, "Our Very First Show," Joey and Jesse, who are both looking for a place to live, move into Danny's townhouse after the death of his wife (who was killed by a drunk driver). The deal is that they'll have to help look after the kids. It's a task for which both men are ill equipped. The fun comes from the trouble the girls get into each week and the many messes Joey and Jesse create in their attempts to set things right--particularly when it comes to cooking, cleaning, and diaper-changing--but also from the cheesy 1980s styles on display, like Jesse's big hair, spandex pants, and string ties. The Complete First Season includes all 22 episodes plus the original un-aired pilot with John Posey as Danny. (In Franklin's commentary on "Our Very First Show," he notes that Paul Reiser was also considered for the role.) Noteworthy guest stars include Phyllis Diller ("But Seriously Folks"), Stacy Q ("D.J. Tanner's Day Off'), and Candace's brother Kirk "Growing Pains" Cameron ("Just One of the Guys"). While Full House was never a magnet for major awards, the program developed a large following during its long run (while the house got fuller yet), followed by an even longer after-life in syndication. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Product Description 2 disc set contains all 13 episodes from the first season.
Product Description The lives, loves and losses of the doctors and nurses of Chicago's County General Hospital. Celebrate the 10th anniversary of the most watched and honored drama of the last decade. Loaded with extensive special features including two new documentaries featuring Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton, John Wells and George Clooney created exclusively for this release. DVD Features: Additional Scenes Audio Commentary:Audio commentary on three key episodes by series producers and crew Deleted Scenes Documentaries:Prescription for Success: The Birth of ER; First-Year Rotation: Caring for ER; On the Cutting Edge: Medical Realism on ER; Post Operative Procedures: Post Production in the ER Easter Eggs Featurette Interactive Menus Outtakes Scene Access:Audio commentary on three key episodes by series producers and crew. Inspired by creator Michael Crichton's experiences as a medical student in a hospital emergency room, ER quickly became one of the most compelling shows of the 1990s, each episode a whirlwind of intense and involving drama, gritty realism, and offbeat humor. Heading the staff at the inner-city Chicago hospital is Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), a doctor so good at providing care to the downtrodden, helpless, or just plain quirky patients that his career blossoms even as his personal life crumbles. Greene is the soul of the cast, but the heart is Julianna Margulies's nurse Carol Hathaway. Her character was intended only for the pilot episode, but she ended up capturing viewers with her palpable empathy for patients and her troublesome romance with womanizing pediatrician Doug Ross (George Clooney). The rest of the central cast consisted of compassionate Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield), Peter Benton (Eriq Lasalle), whose prodigious talent nearly matches his ambition, and his fresh-faced student, John Carter (Noah Wyle). Other key characters included ER heads Morgenstern and Swift (William H. Macy and Michael Ironside, respectively), overachieving student Deb (Ming Na), who returned later in the show's run, attending physician Angela Hicks (CCH Pounder), and physical therapist Jeanie Boulet (Gloria Rueben). The remarkably strong first season showed off its sharp ensemble cast through a variety of compelling story lines both personal (Carter's conflicts with Benton, Lewis's struggles with her no-account sister, Chloe, played by Kathleen Wilhoite) and professional (a holiday blizzard and especially the harrowing tale of a pregnancy gone bad, "Love's Labor Lost," which won five Emmy Awards). When Carter is pondering whether his future includes the ER, Green jokes, "It's not bad: Stress, late nights, hard work, no pay--it's hard to beat." It's hard to imagine people choosing to work under those conditions, but they do, and in the process these very human people perform superhuman feats as they face life and death as part of their daily jobs. DVD features are fairly generous for a TV series box. There are two commentary tracks on the pilot episode, including one by Crichton, and crew commentaries on "Sleepless in Chicago" and "Love's Labor Lost." A new 39-minute documentary discusses the show's genesis, casting, and the "Chicago hospital drama smackdown" with Chicago Hope through interviews with Crichton, executive producer Steven Spielberg, other crew members, and the principal cast members other than Eriq LaSalle. Also included are a very watchable featurette on the show's realism (ever wonder why Ross is always looking down?) and another on post-production, a list of characters (including patients by episode, but why no actor credits?), three minor deleted scenes, outtakes, and a glossary of frequently used medical terms. Particularly notable is that the episodes are shown in anamorphic widescreen. ER was one of the first network shows broadcast in widescreen, but that was years after these episodes, which are shown in widescreen for the first time. --David Horiuchi
Enjoy classic TV with Dragnet TV Classics World's Most Famous Detectives This set features 14 episodes, highlighting some of the world's most famous detectives. This DVD set is perfect for fans of detective shows and collectors of classic TV.
Product Description Do NOT approach, subject considered dangerously funny! Aliens have come to Earth to learn about its population, customs etc. To blend in, they have taken on human form which gives them human emotions but with no comprehension of how to decipher such emotions. Their uninhibited and candid reactions along with their complete lack of social etiquette turn everyday events into unusual, awkward and hilarious situations. Watch this band of loveably clueless resident "visitors" as they make their way through everyday life, observing the humans' every move. Starring: John Lithgow (Sherk), Kristen Johnston (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me), French Stewart, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer), Jane Curtin (SN L), Simbi Khali, Elmarie Wendel, Wayne Knight (Seinfeld) Episode List: See Dick Continue to Run (2) See Dick Continue to Run, Continued (3) Hotel Dick Big Angry Virgin From Outer Space Much Ado About Dick Dick the Vote Fourth and Dick World's Greatest Dick My Mother The Alien Gobble, Gobble, Dick, Dick Dick Jokes Jolly Old St. Dick Proud Dick Romeo & Juliet & Dick Guilty as Dick Dick on One Knee Same Old Song and Dick I Brake for Dick Dick Behaving Badly Dickmalion Sensitive Dick Will Work For Dick Fifteen Minutes of Dick Dick and the Single Girl A Nightmare on Dick Street (1) A Nightmare on Dick Street (2) Out-of-this-world bonus features: Candid interview with John Lithgow, Bloopers, Best of Sally featurette, Bloopers of the 3D episodes, Season 2 highlights!
