Ellen

I loved and miss her show. What a fresh and interesting new comedy. Ellen helped open the eyes of America on gay issues, but did not dwell on it or shove it down our throats. It was down tactfully and with class. Her new talk show is good, but doesn't measure up to the freshness and originality of "Ellen" the sitcom. Anyone who has a problem with her coming out on the show, must be insecure with their own sexuality. She did it in a way that I allowed my kids to watch. It opened up discussions with my kids and made it easy and fun to discuss human sexuality with them. Ellen helped America drop their guard with the gay issues. She provided an excellent comedy that was appropriate for the entire family. Parents who can not talk about sexuality with their kids need help. We love you Ellen !

I didn't rate it because I have no idea how to rate this series.

Season 1 was pretty solid, and my personal favorite. The style was close to Friends', and it was pretty fun. Anita and Holly and Adam were all fun and ordinary nice people. They're like your best friends - fun and nice and when you're together you just have these sort of silly funny moments. It wasn't as good as Friends, and also a bit inferior to the first few seasons of How I met your mother, but it was quite good. A 7 or an 8.

The following seasons had a different gang, and it really seemed that they tried to be funny simply by giving all the characters some rare and annoying qualities. After a few episodes, it really gets boring watching Audrey's weirdness and Spence's bipolar disorder. But they did this for the entire length of the show's existence, which gradually dropped the show from 7 to 4. I think 7 was when Adam was still on the show, and 4 was towards the end of season 4.

Season 5 was a complete disaster. I have nothing against gay people. And I'm okay with Ellen DeGeneres' decision, even though it was a bit inconsistent since her character was perfectly straight in the first few seasons. But the show just became super boring and annoying when everything had to revolve around Ellen's sexuality. I get it that LGBT equality is important to you, but nobody's watching a comedy to get educated about civil rights. Seriously, Ellen, your show did not get cancelled because you came out. It got cancelled because it was boring and annoying. I hate to be mean but it really became a 1 or a 2 at the end of the show.

Ellen DeGeneres' "Ellen" showcased the versatility of one of the best comedians of the 90s. She exhibited the physical comedy of a modern day Lucille Ball, dry wit descended from Jack Benny, and jabbing one-liners like Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam were whispering in her ears.

The supporting cast (especially Piven and Fisher) and guest stars played well off DeGeneres. When the writers finally got a handle on the cast the writing was priceless. They weren't afraid to drop in wry insights among the "jokes."

"Ellen" was a groundbreaking sitcom, and like most pioneering shows, it wasn't supported by a fearful network. It's unfortunate that Ellen's sexuality became the focus of the press and the show. Maybe if the show wasn't constantly trying to break free of network restrictions and fear the writers and actors could have taken "Ellen" into a strong finish. Instead it petered out. Nevertheless, catch any episodes you can on cable.

Together with Seinfeld and Friends, it's another top American comedy show that we are viewing frequently in the U.K. recently. When I say "top", I mean "top notch". In the 70's and 80's I was used to switching off American comedies, but these 3 shows have made me reconsider my bias! I particularly like the way Ellen introduces so many irrelevancies into her dialogue, she kind of says what other people would only think but not dare say for fear of being boring. At some point in the series she declares herself to be gay, and while it obviously changes the direction of the show a little, it doesn't get heavy going about it and is still as funny as ever no matter what your tendencies. I love all the other characters too; the show was better for the entry of Audrey, Paige and cousin Adam - they each have their own very identifiable traits that enrich the plot. The cousin is particularly funny, especially in scenes together with Paige.

This was one of the funniest shows I had ever seen until the last season. The characters were hilarious, the was an amazing chemistry between the whole cast, and the scripts were well written. In the last season, however, it went from being a show about Ellen and her friends, to a show about Ellen being gay, and *nothing* else! This not only took away from the show's dynamic, but it completely alienated almost all of her audience. I think it was a poor choice to focus only on her sexuality. I hope that her new CBS show is more like the first three years of her old one.