Ellen works in a Los Angeles bookstore called Buy the Book and hangs around with her friends discussing lovers, work and family.
In the series pilot, Ellen is concerned that Holly might be getting involved with a creep.
A call-waiting snafu causes an awkward incident between Ellen and an acquaintance she'd like to avoid.
Ellen, Holly and Adam respond to personal ads, and Ellen finds a great guy---whose kisses aren't so great.
Ellen lies about her marital and career status at a class reunion, but then she meets an old heartthrob.
Problems are born when Ellen seeks a promotion by buying a gift for her boss's baby.
Dating a younger guy makes Ellen insecure about the status of her hipness---or what's left of it.
Ellen arranges for Adam to escort her boss to a wedding.
Ellen's cousin visits, but her vacation is spoiled by a flat tire, beach pollution and conterfeit theater tickets.
Adam and Ellen get a discount on a refrigerator, but Ellen must move it around town herself after Adam fakes a back injury.
Ellen pities a hapless car salesman, who gets fired after she backs out of a deal.
Ellen believes that Holly's boyfriend is making passes at her, but has trouble proving her case.
Adam finds that being in a secure relationship makes him attractive to other women.
Ellen has the urge to work for a charity after crashing a fund-raiser.
A pizza deliveryman takes Ellen out, but his lack of ambition is hard for her to swallow.
Ellen doesn't like it when she discovers someone in her book-store reading group doesn't like her.
Ellen's mom fixes her up with a guy whom Ellen remembers as being freaky.
Ellen is jealous of the attention Adam gives to his witty pal. Meanwhile, Paige and her boyfriend aren't in synch romantically.
Ellen says the wrong thing during her toast at the rehearsal dinner for her brother's wedding.
On his birthday, Adam thinks his life isn't going anywhere, and he decides to move out.
Ellen poses as the personal trainer for Paige's boss, who offers Ellen a movie-development job.
Ellen's cranky neighbor dies after Ellen tells her off.
Ellen wants to be friends with a travel writer, but their mutual friend keeps getting in the way.
At Christmastime, Ellen wants to wrap up her relationship with her boyfriend.
Ellen hits the books to increase her knowledge, then hits it off with a professor.
Ellen helps Audrey find an apartment far, far away.
Paige persuades Ellen to go to a spa that puts the "hell" in health. Meanwhile, Adam seeks a friendship with Joe.
Ellen makes an ungraceful attempt to dance the lead in her ballet class's recital.
Ellen's apartment is burglarized, and she seeks to protect herself.
Ellen goes to a sleep clinic when she's plagued by dreams about Adam.
Ellen qualifies as a contestant on "American Gladiators".
The IRS mistakenly gives Ellen $5000, which she gives to charity.
Ellen is jailed after an animal-rights protest, but is released into the custody of her parents.
A white lie and a terrifying experience send Ellen to therapy, where she realizes that she needs to be more honest with her mother.
The hapless pizza deliveryman, whom Ellen once labeled a loser, returns from Italy and wins her heart.
Ellen has fallen in love with Dan, and Paige doesn't like being the odd man out.
Ellen's world is shaken up by an earthquake and the arrival of her cousin Spence.
Inspired by Paige and Adam's successes after the earthquake, Ellen hits the road in search of a dream...any dream.
Ellen is angst-ridden after she tapes an episode of "thirtysomething" over a video of Paige's sister giving birth to twins.
Spence has a one-night stand with a woman but is not inclined to call her again, even though Ellen thinks he should.
Adam is leaving to take a job in London, and the parting is such sweet sorrow for Ellen.
Spence is in a dark mood on Halloween; Audrey treats herself to a job at Ellen's bookstore.
After going through therapy, Ellen's mom decides she wants to be her pal, which is more than Ellen can handle.
Martha Stewart appears at a book-signing at Ellen's store, inspiring Ellen to plan a dinner party for a few friends.
Carrie Fisher plays the "best friend" in Paige's first film, which features Ellen's bookstore as a location.
Spence's dad wants him to return to medical practice.
Ellen has to choose which members of her reading group will appear on a highbrow TV show called "Book Chat."
Ellen's parents give her a burial plot for Christmas, leaving her to ponder how wonderful her life is.
Everyone's along for the limo ride when Paige gets invited to a bash for John Travolta in a secret locale.
Ellen's bookstore is robbed, and a detective steals Paige's heart.
When Audrey buys a car, she becomes part of a cultish club of auto owners who really---really---love their wheels.
As a faux witness, Ellen makes a mockery of Spence's mock trial for law school.
Curious about how she would be as a mom, Ellen volunteers to look after the daughter of Paige's boyfriend.
Ellen tries to save a 65-year-old lobster from a restaurant's pot---an act that mirrors a real-life effort by Mary Tyler Moore (who appears as herself).
Paige accepts Matt's marriage proposal, but finds the small diamond on her engagement ring unacceptable.
Ellen puts off firing Audrey when Audrey's wealthy parents give Ellen a large sum to keep her employed.
Hipsters come to hang out when a musical-comedy duo---who are so bad they're good---entertain at Ellen's bookstore.
While at the doctor's office for a mammogram, Ellen becomes buddies with another patient.
Bad omens loom over the bachelorette party that Ellen and Audrey throw for Paige.
Ellen is given the task of making everything run smoothly for Paige's wedding. But everything doesn't.
In an unaired episode from the show's first season, Ellen and her friends must retrieve a racy videotape of one of Ellen's pals.
Ellen discovers Spence and Paige in a liplock before Paige's wedding ceremony.
Ellen comes forward as a witness to a mugging she didn't actually see.
Ellen longs to buy a home, but she'll have to sell her bookstore to do so.
The bookstore's new manager, whose hobby is hunting, wants to bag Joe, whom he finds beastly.
Ellen comes unglued when her parents reveal that they intend to separate.
Desperate to reunite her parents, Ellen re-creates their Cuban honeymoon, circa 1958, complete with the musical stylings of Eddie Fisher (who appears as himself).
Ellen's therapist counsels her to speak her mind, but Ellen's speechless when she spies the good doctor in a compromising position.
At a camp reunion, Paige intends to get even for a childhood incident that Ellen was secretly behind.
Ellen insists on mothering her ailing father.
Lois accepts a date with a man she meets through a dating service.
As Spence's passion for medicine is reborn, Paige takes a test to find out if she's pregnant. But Audrey is the one who's positive.
Ellen invites a nice guy to Thanksgiving dinner, not knowing that he's homeless.
Ed becomes fiercely competitive after Ellen beats him in a bowling match.
Ellen's attachment to a stray dog upsets her Christmas vacation plans.
As a New Year's resolution, Ellen pledges not to let being unattached prevent her from doing the things she wants to do.
Ellen comes in contact with Joe's friend when she seeks a permit to remodel her house.
Ellen has one too many at a wine-tasting party given by an M.D. whom Spence wants to impress.
Ellen and the group attend "Rock and Roll Dream Camp."
Ellen thinks she's gotten signals of attraction from a hearing-impaired actor with whom Audrey is infatuated.
Ellen and Peter attend a new-age retreat, where Peter offers the insight that Ellen is not really as happy as she claims to be.
Ellen and her parents conspire to keep up appearances for Ellen's grandmother; Paige and Spence go to Las Vegas.
Ellen is finally reconciled to the impending divorce of her parents, but they don't appear to be in any rush to finalize the matter.
Spoofing "The English Patient," Ellen provides a burn victim with a litany of memories (shown via clips from previous episodes).
Part 1 of two. Ellen discovers her true sexual identity when she finds that she has a decided preference for her male friend's female pal.
Conclusion. Ellen discovers her true sexual identity when she finds that she has a decided preference for her male friend's female pal.
Ellen comes out to her parents.
As Ellen prepares to move into her house, she runs into trouble at the bookstore when she learns that Ed has an aversion to gays.
Ellen's friendship with an old boyfriend takes a romantic turn that confuses Ellen about her sexuality.
Ellen tries rock climbing in a rather rugged effort to impress an outdoorsy fitness instructor.
When neighbors recommend a "roommate" for Ellen, she assumes she's being fixed up.
Ellen consults a "gay" business directory to find a plumber to repair a sink as she prepares a party for members of the gay community.
Ellen still doesn't know where she stands after a few dates with her mortgage broker, so she hopes to ask a few bold questions.
Ellen soldiers on as a participant in her dad's Civil War re-enactment.
Ellen's awkwardness about public displays of affection with Laurie has an effect on Laurie's daughter, Holly.
Ellen discovers that Oscar winner Emma Thompson is a closet lesbian.
With Laurie poised to take the next step in the romantic relationship, a nervous Ellen flees.
Ellen gets a job at a talk-radio station, where she's harassed by the lecherous sports-show host.
Ellen and Laurie's relationship unravels after they exchange gifts for their one-month anniversary.
Paige reveals her intention to marry Spence on the way to a women's music fest, where Ellen gets clues about her Ms. Right from a fortune teller.
Ellen's dying to know what Laurie is doing on Saturday that she doesn't want Ellen to know about. Turns out it's her father's funeral.
Ellen and Laurie take a vacation, and Laurie's instinct for organization clashes with Ellen's spontaneity.
Paige and Ellen scheme to have Ellen infiltrate the focus group slated to evaluate a TV cop show Paige developed.
Circumstances conspire to make Ellen look like a fool in front of her neighbors.
Accidental exposure to bug spray sends Spence into a dream world where what's gay is straight and what's straight is gay.
After Laurie's in a car accident, Ellen meets a woman in the hospital waiting room who doesn't reveal that she's Laurie's ex.
Part 1 of Two. An irreverent mockumentary celebrates Ellen's career in entertainment, including her landmark sitcom that premiered "way back in 1959." "Hosted" by Linda Ellerbee.
Conclution. An irreverent mockumentary celebrates Ellen's career in entertainment, including her landmark sitcom that premiered "way back in 1959." "Hosted" by Linda Ellerbee.
Ellen's espousal of neighborly behavior inspires listeners of her radio program.
Ellen's parents' plan to renew their wedding vows inspires Ellen to propose to Laurie.
