Ellen
Pilot
TV Flash files “Pilot” as a desk essential hour — Ellen (1994–1998) on ABC, season 1, episode 1, aired 1994-03-29, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 109 in the Ellen guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 1994-03-29 (30 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “The Anchor” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “Pilot”. Before the talk-show empire: a bookstore sitcom finding DeGeneres's comic rhythm, still pretending it is only a workplace.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
In the series pilot, Ellen is concerned that Holly might be getting involved with a creep.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Pilot sit in the Ellen guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 109 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did Ellen S01E01 air?
Pilot aired 1994-03-29 and is listed at 30 minutes.
What is The Puppy Episode?
The 1997 landmark coming-out storyline — event television in which the lead's onscreen and offscreen closets opened in the same cultural moment.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Before the talk-show empire, this was a bookstore sitcom that detonated the closet on primetime. Watch not only for the Puppy Episode as event television, but for DeGeneres finding a comic rhythm that could no longer pretend. History, sitcom craft, and the aftertaste of a network that wanted the ratings without the honesty.
ABC, 1994–1998: a quirky L.A. bookstore sitcom that detonated the closet on primetime. Ellen DeGeneres starred as Ellen Morgan. Carol Black, Neal Marlens, and David S. Rosenthal in the creator file. Joely Fisher, David Anthony Higgins, and Clea Lewis populated the friend-com orbit. "The Puppy Episode" (1997) was a landmark coming-out hour as event television; DeGeneres came out publicly around the same cultural moment. First time a major U.S. sitcom lead came out as gay — onscreen and off — as appointment TV.…
Filed against
- Ellen DeGeneres as Ellen Morgan
Ellen DeGeneres detonated a bookstore sitcom as Ellen Morgan on Ellen — the Puppy Episode as event television, a comic rhythm that could no longer pretend, and primetime's closet as a network earthquake. History and sitcom craft in the…
- Joely Fisher as Paige Clark
Joely Fisher’s Paige Clark sat beside Ellen DeGeneres on Ellen — a bookstore sitcom that detonated the closet on primetime, the Puppy Episode as event television, and a comic rhythm that could no longer pretend. History, sitcom craft,…
- David Anthony Higgins as Joe Farrell
David Anthony Higgins’s Joe Farrell kept Ellen’s bookstore staffed — a 1990s sitcom that detonated the closet on primetime, DeGeneres finding a comic rhythm that could no longer pretend. Puppy Episode as event television; Joe as the…
- Clea Lewis as Audrey Penney
Clea Lewis played Audrey Penney on Ellen — before the talk-show empire, a bookstore sitcom that detonated the closet on primetime. Watch not only for the Puppy Episode as event television, but for DeGeneres finding a comic rhythm that…