Shenandoah Valley Friends
Reprinted from: 
Friday, April 24, 1998
ABC Cancels 'Ellen' After 5 Seasons
By Lynn Elber, AP Television Writer
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Lesbian trail-blazer Ellen DeGeneres.
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One year ago this month, "Ellen" made television history as the first series with a homosexual lead character. It drew both praise and fire for its groundbreaking portrayal of a woman coming to terms with her lesbianism.
What it didn't draw was ratings on a consistent basis. After months of speculation, ABC confirmed late Thursday that Ellen DeGeneres' last show would be a one-hour finale May 13.
Both ABC and DeGeneres declined to comment Friday. The conservative Southern Baptists Convention praised the decision, while gay rights groups said the loss of a major gay character and perspective on television is a serious blow.
"There's a big silence out there now," said Kim Mills, spokeswoman for the Human Rights Campaign.
But not a total silence.
Some two dozen gay and lesbian characters are part of TV in supporting roles, according to a count by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Among them: Ross' ex-wife on "Friends," Paul's sister on "Mad About You" and the gay mayoral aide on "Spin City."
And "Ellen's" fate doesn't mean there won't be other gay leading characters in the future.
"The trail has already been blazed," said Paul Schulman, a TV analyst whose company buys advertising time.
Michael Marsden of Northern Michigan University said a show's cancellation cannot be taken as proof its subject matter was inappropriate. Quality, promotion and timing also could be factors, said Marsden, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and co-editor of "The Journal of Popular Film and Television."
"I suspect the issue of gay lifestyle is not something that will be prohibited from the airwaves," he said. "Granted, it's not mainstream America; but it is, indeed, a topic to be dealt with."
And Schulman said that if the ratings were there, ABC would have renewed the sitcom.
"There was the one terrific episode, the coming-out episode," he said. "It was written beautifully. ... Since then, it's just been a downward spiral. It's just not funny, it doesn't hold its lead-in from 'Drew Carey.' There's no real reason for it to be renewed."
The sitcom, which has been airing Wednesday nights after the higher-rated "The Drew Carey Show," made its debut in 1994 with DeGeneres playing a single heterosexual with a "Friends"-like close group of pals.
After the comedian and her character, Ellen Morgan, both came out as lesbians last season, DeGeneres and the network fought over the show's content, including story lines that concentrated on sexual orientation.
More than 36 million people watched the April 30, 1997, episode when Ellen came out. This year, the series averaged fewer than 11 million viewers -- a 22 percent drop over the previous year.
The Southern Baptists Convention, which cited "Ellen'' and other issues in calling last summer for a boycott of ABC parent Walt Disney Co., said the show's demise showed Americans weren't ready for "this type of program."
"Americans are tolerant, to a point," convention spokesman Dwayne Hastings said. "This program was 'In-your-face, like it or not, here I am.'"
Joan M. Garry, executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said more than ratings should have counted.
"We really wish that they had seriously considered the impact of Ellen's work and looked at it from a broader perspective," Garry said.
Copyright © 1998 The Washington Post, Inc. and The Associated Press