80) The Puppy Episode (Ellen)

The year was 1997 and Ellen DeGeneres was sick of living in the closet. Good for her. Actually, Ellen DeGeneres came out of the closet publicly on Oprah in February of 1997, which was a big deal. Despite the fact that it was only 20 years ago, publicly coming out was still uncommon among celebrities. This meant that outing her character on her show was also a huge deal.

SUMMARY

The episode begins with Ellen Morgan, her character, going out to dinner with an old friend/crush, Richard (Steven Eckholdt), who brings along his producer, Susan (Laura “No, really, Laura Dern” Dern). Ellen is slightly turned off by Richard, but finds herself drawn to Susan. After Susan tells Ellen she thought she was gay, Ellen denies it and accuses Susan of trying to convert her. Susan laughs this off, telling her that she was trying, and that she’s only…