Concept
The program combines comedy, celebrity and musical guests and human-interest stories. The program is not characterized as a tabloid talk show, nor does it involve experts giving advice in regards to personal relationships.
The program often features audience participation games where prizes are award. During her Twelve Days of Giveaways promotion, audience members receive roughly $1,000 worth of prizes on each of twelve episodes.
Because the show has become so popular, not all who arrive hoping to see a taping can fit into the studio, so an off-shoot space referred to as "The Riff Raff Room" was created. Persons seated here are often referenced and shown briefly on camera but watch the taping from off-stage.
Other non-celebrities have been featured in an attempt by DeGeneres to give them 15 minutes of fame. Guests in this role have included intelligent children, small business owners, etc. In the show's third season, DeGeneres began surprising fans by introducing them to their favorite celebrities.
Recurring elements
Several recurring sounds, gags, and catchphrases are used by DeGeneres depending on the topic of discussion or theme for a specific episode. For example, after DeGeneres says the phrase, "Aww Snap!", a sound effect of a whip cracking often is played. Other video segments including DeGeneres scaring people, playing pranks, taking part in faux-breaking news segments, interacting with crew members, etc.
Other recurring segments include those where DeGeneres comments on internet videos, tabloid-style photographs of celebrities, advertisements on Craigslist, or voice mail left for her on an answering machine. Some segments feature audience members more prominently, including having audience members show hidden talents, pictures of others that resemble DeGeneres, interviewing children, etc.
DeGeneres frequently plays games with audience members and awards prizes based upon their performance. Games have included Pictionary-style drawing games, finding hidden objects within the studio, category, current event or pop-culture-based trivia, and various other stunt and charade-based games.
Dancing
Since the show's debut, DeGeneres has segued from her opening monologue by doing a dance. The dancing proved to be extremely popular with viewers, and has since progressed to a segment where DeGeneres dances into the audience, sometimes borrowing a coat or purse from someone's chair, and taking it with her. She has also featured a segment in which people teach her new dance moves.
During the early 2006–2007 season, DeGeneres shortened her dance routine and did not go through the audience, making more time for segments. Upset fans sent thousands of e-mails to DeGeneres as a result of this,[citation needed] and the dancing resumed as usual a few days later.
One of her most famous dance moves is dancing over the table, where she straddles the coffee table and dances from one end to the other. Although she does not do it every day, dancing over the table is a recurring theme. As an April Fools' Day prank in 2009, the show's staff placed a wider table top over her normal table. During the show when DeGeneres attempted to dance over it, she barely made it across, being forced on her tip-toes and using the table as leverage. On the seventh season premiere, DeGeneres performed a dance segment with the cast of "So You Think You Can Dance".
DeGeneres's mother
DeGeneres's mother, Betty, regularly attended the show and was frequently featured on camera, but her regular appearances ended in early 2006 when she relocated. The chair in which Betty sat has since been designated as the "Mama chair", and special privileges are given to the audience member who sits in it. While Betty continued to appear and since her departure, other older women have been featured as either a guest announcer, advice giver or sidekick, including Gladys Hardy, a grandmother from Austin, Texas, who originally left DeGeneres a voicemail message, and Charlotte Pope of Riverside, California, whom DeGeneres nicknamed "Kitty".
Reception
The show has achieved much success, and has won several Daytime Emmy Awards. Additionally, as the show's popularity has increased, the program has appeared in plot elements of story lines in several scripted television programs, including Joey, Six Feet Under and The Bernie Mac Show, among others.
Ratings
The show averages about 2.74 million viewers per episode, according to daytime television ratings, which makes it one of the highest-viewed daytime shows behind Live with Regis and Kelly and Dr. Phil.
Awards
The show has won a total of 32 Daytime Emmy Awards, including four for Outstanding Talk Show (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) and two for Outstanding Talk Show—Entertainment (2010 and 2011). DeGeneres has won the Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host four times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008). The show has also won Emmys in numerous writing and technical categories. In 2009, the program won Best Talk Show at the Genesis Awards.
Production information
Taping location
The program was originally taped at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. In 2008, production moved to Warner Bros. Studios, also in Burbank. The final episode taped at NBC aired on May 27, 2008.
Personnel
The executive producers are DeGeneres, Mary Connelly, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner and Jim Paratore. The writing staff has included Karen Kilgariff (Head Writer), Karen Anderson, Margaret Smith and DeGeneres. Margaret Smith recently left the show to work on her own projects, including her first book, What Was I Thinking? How Being a Stand Up Did Nothing to Prepare Me to Become a Single Mother (Crossroad Publishing, 2008). Amy Rhodes, a writer for the program, has regularly appeared on camera during various segments.
DJ
Unlike most talk shows, the show uses a disc jockey to supply music rather than a band. Originally, the role was filled by Los Angeles-based DJ Scott K, who lasted only a few weeks. He was later replaced by Tony Okungbowa, who DJed through season 3. Due to his growing acting career, Okungbowa left the show in Season 4, and was replaced by actor/DJ Jon Abrahams for the fourth season premiere. Abrahams stayed on the show for one season, and also left as his acting career grew. Ted Stryker of KROQ, who is also co-host of Loveline with Dr. Drew, was the DJ for the fifth season. Stryker stayed for one season when Okungbowa returned.
2007 Writers Guild strike
DeGeneres, a member of the Writers Guild of America, supported the 2007 writers' strike. However, on November 9, 2007, DeGeneres crossed the picket line to tape more episodes of her TV show stating:
“ It was explained to me that no other daytime shows have shut down. I've got 135 employees that rely on me for a paycheck. But it's been the hardest thing in the world driving onto this lot. ”
DeGeneres decided to abstain from doing a monologue on her show (which is typically written by WGA writers) during the strike. Her show continued production as normal with the exception of her monologue being omitted. The WGAE issued a statement condemning DeGeneres, stating she was "not welcome in NY."DeGeneres's representatives asserted that she did not violate the WGA's agreement, arguing that she is competing with other first-run syndicated shows like Dr. Phil and Live with Regis and Kelly during the competitive November sweeps period, and that DeGeneres must fulfill her duties as host and producer, lest her show lose its time slot or be held in breach of contract. In addition, a statement defending DeGeneres was subsequently issued by AFTRA, pointing out that DeGeneres also works under the AFTRA TV Code, which bars her from striking. The WGAE then issued a response pointing out that DeGeneres is also a Writers Guild member, and that any writing work she did on her show during the strike constituted struck work.
In September 2009, four major record labels sued the producers of the show for unspecified damages over the dance routine, for allegedly using songs without permission.
Special episodes
Several episodes have aired with a special theme or format, including a "Backwards Show", entire episodes themed around Broadway productions, a Thanksgiving special taped in the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, and an entire episode filmed on an airplane. Other recurring themes feature products from sponsors DeGeneres likes (similar to Oprah's Favorite Things from The Oprah Winfrey Show), specials following awards show telecasts (such as the Academy Awards), and numerous milestone episodes (e.g., DeGeneres's 1,000th, 2,000th, 3,000th , etc. broadcast).
The episode titled "Sirdeaner Walker Interview" was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Talk Show Episode" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.
Pet adoption incident
In October 2007, DeGeneres tearfully pleaded on-air with a private pet adoption agency. The agency took DeGeneres's dog back from her when it learned DeGeneres's had violated a written agreement not to give ownership of the dog to a third party. The agency received threats from fans, according to their lawyer, which DeGeneres later regretted. DeGeneres canceled two days of taping her show to compose herself.
International broadcasts
The show has been syndicated around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, The Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, and The United Kingdom.
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