Emergence of Ellen - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

RWCTV · 09-26-2001, 09:45 AM

The reason Ellen was cancelled was the viewers reacition to the gay issue. Let's face it, every episode of the last seasons revolved around her being gay. Enough was enough. It's like someone trying to sell you new religion or something. I loved the show besides the gay issue. My only favorite gay episode was the one where she tells her parents. I taped that one.

Mossopp · 09-27-2001, 02:35 PM

I know that the reason the show was cancelled was because of veiwers reactions to the gay issue but I think that's just a really, really sad reflection of the society we're living in. 'Ellen' was one of the best sitcoms of the 90's and it ran for 5 seasons so it was obviously popular. But just because a large percentage of the American population are completely homophobic the show gets taken off the air! That really annoys me.
However, I disagree with what you said about "Let's face it, every episode of the last seasons revolved around her being gay. Enough was enough. It's like someone trying to sell you new religion or something." Ellen wasn't trying to convert anyone - that wasn't the point - she was just trying to put accross a different veiwpoint from the one that mainstream television constantly rams down everyone's throat. In most sitcoms it's the gay characters who get laughed at and most of the jokes are made from stereotypes of gays - either that or homosexuality aren't mentioned at all. I thought it was cool how Ellen was the main character in a primetime sitcom, she was gay, and yet she wasn't the butt of every other characters jokes or ridicule.
And not EVERY episode revolved around her being gay. Admittedly, at the start of series 5, the amount of referances to her being gay kinda annoyed me but that didn't conitinue for the whole series. Personally, I found the constant 'clues' to her real sexuality in series 4 more annoying than anything in series 5. I thought series 5 was the best in the whole history of the show and I was really sad when I found out that it was cancelled.

------------------
"This life has been a test. If it were an actual life you would have recieved instructions on where to go and what to do."
- Angela, 'My So-called Life'

"...everything was there and around us. We knew exactly who we were and exactly where we were going. It was grand."
- Gordie, 'Stand By Me'

Please visit Mossopp's TV Corner -
http://members3.boardhost.com/TVcorner

Jimbo · 11-17-2001, 07:28 PM

I must disagree with Mossopp, and concur with the first person's comments - Ellen wasn't taken off the air because people are "Predjudiced" or "Homophobic". That's a very convenient excuse. It was taken off the air because it ceased to be funny and entertaining. Instead, the show became a forum for Ellen DeGeneres to whine week after week about how tough it was to be a Gay woman. The public simply got tired of her constant whining. As a result, her ratings took a nose dive, and the show was cancelled - and rightly so.

09-26-2001, 09:45 AM	#1
RWCTV Making Sense Senior Member Join Date: Sep 21, 2001 Location: Lockport, IL USA Posts: 1,138	Emergence of Ellen The reason Ellen was cancelled was the viewers reacition to the gay issue. Let's face it, every episode of the last seasons revolved around her being gay. Enough was enough. It's like someone trying to sell you new religion or something. I loved the show besides the gay issue. My only favorite gay episode was the one where she tells her parents. I taped that one.

09-27-2001, 02:35 PM	#2
Mossopp asleep at the wheel Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 30, 2000 Location: Helensburgh, Scotland Posts: 3,726	I know that the reason the show was cancelled was because of veiwers reactions to the gay issue but I think that's just a really, really sad reflection of the society we're living in. 'Ellen' was one of the best sitcoms of the 90's and it ran for 5 seasons so it was obviously popular. But just because a large percentage of the American population are completely homophobic the show gets taken off the air! That really annoys me. However, I disagree with what you said about "Let's face it, every episode of the last seasons revolved around her being gay. Enough was enough. It's like someone trying to sell you new religion or something." Ellen wasn't trying to convert anyone - that wasn't the point - she was just trying to put accross a different veiwpoint from the one that mainstream television constantly rams down everyone's throat. In most sitcoms it's the gay characters who get laughed at and most of the jokes are made from stereotypes of gays - either that or homosexuality aren't mentioned at all. I thought it was cool how Ellen was the main character in a primetime sitcom, she was gay, and yet she wasn't the butt of every other characters jokes or ridicule. And not EVERY episode revolved around her being gay. Admittedly, at the start of series 5, the amount of referances to her being gay kinda annoyed me but that didn't conitinue for the whole series. Personally, I found the constant 'clues' to her real sexuality in series 4 more annoying than anything in series 5. I thought series 5 was the best in the whole history of the show and I was really sad when I found out that it was cancelled. ------------------ "This life has been a test. If it were an actual life you would have recieved instructions on where to go and what to do." - Angela, 'My So-called Life' "...everything was there and around us. We knew exactly who we were and exactly where we were going. It was grand." - Gordie, 'Stand By Me' Please visit Mossopp's TV Corner - http://members3.boardhost.com/TVcorner

11-17-2001, 07:28 PM	#3
Jimbo Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 29, 2001 Location: United States of America-One Nation UNDER GOD! Posts: 471	I must disagree with Mossopp, and concur with the first person's comments - Ellen wasn't taken off the air because people are "Predjudiced" or "Homophobic". That's a very convenient excuse. It was taken off the air because it ceased to be funny and entertaining. Instead, the show became a forum for Ellen DeGeneres to whine week after week about how tough it was to be a Gay woman. The public simply got tired of her constant whining. As a result, her ratings took a nose dive, and the show was cancelled - and rightly so.