In the first season of Ellen, the series was called These Friends of Mine. However, with the second season came many changes, including a different cast and title change. The second season follows the same format as the first, an episodic look into the crazy daily life of thirty something Ellen Morgan (Ellen DeGeneres) and friends. Overall, the comedy feels much like season one, but a little funnier and the episodes are easier to enjoy.

In this second season, two cast members were dropped. They are Anita (Maggie Wheeler, Friends) and Holly (Holly Fulger). Neither role added a great deal to the series, and their personalities were easily replaced by giving more precedence to reoccurring roles, guest stars, and another main cast member. The new season two character is Paige Clark (Joely Fisher), who offers an easy going character that is much like Anita. The character Paige is easier to like than Anita or Holly, but she's still does not bring a very funny dynamic to the series. One big improvement to the cast was with Adam Green (Arye Gross), the only season one cast member (besides Ellen) to make it into season two. He is Ellen's long time roommate and wannabe photographer. In the first season, there wasn't anything very impressive about his role, but in season two Adam comes off funnier. The character gets more camera time and few quirks that are a great laugh.

Continuing with the tradition of change, two reoccurring roles from the first season return with more camera time. Joe Farrell (David Anthony Higgins) is the cynical, rude, sarcastic guy at the coffee stand in Ellen's bookstore. While he showed up infrequently in season one, he now gets put in the center of several episodes. His character seems a little unnecessary, but on occasion, his sardonic attitude is worth a few laughs. Next we have Audrey Penney (Clea Lewis), who is Ellen's annoying friend. You know, that one friend whose voice just makes you want to scream, but you don't want to hurt their feelings? That's Ellen's Audrey. Bluntly put, she's annoying. However, she gives Ellen and friends a few sticky situations to enjoy.

In addition, there are some funny jokes that run throughout this season. Some of come from season one, but have been developed. For instance, we have Adam. He has this odd obsession with girls. Now what makes it odd is that he'll date anything and anyone he can. Since Audrey appears a lot more in season two, her relationship with Ellen becomes more important and quite funny, since Ellen is constantly trying to ditch out on her. Now, my favorite running joke in season two is the relationship between Ellen and her parents. They are always trying to fix her up on dates and whatnot. They're convinced that she's thirty and never going to marry. The way that both parties handle the situation makes it a riot.

As for notable episodes, there were several that were quite good. In "The Trainer" we get to see Ellen pretend to be a personal trainer and wear a thong. It's funny to see how she handles it, the thong. Following along the concept of physical fitness, the episode "Gladiator" is a one of the season's best. Do remember that cheesy game show, American Gladiators? Well, in this episode, Ellen and Adam tryout for the show. Towards the end of the season there are a bundle of great episodes. In "The Therapy Episode", Ellen has a heart to heart moment with her mother and reveals that she lied to her. In turn, her mother reveals a few dark secrets that Ellen has a hard time dealing with. Then in the season finale "Thirty Kilo Man", a very funny two part episode, Ellen suspects her boyfriend to be a drug dealer.

In general, I felt that this season was a big improvement over the first. The balance between Ellen and the other cast members was done pretty well, such that they didn't all feel completely insignificant. While some weren't really adding a lot to the series in general, there were episodes they had a chance to shine. All in all, I did enjoy this season.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture quality is fairly decent, with only a slight grain in the picture. However, there are noticeable compression artifacts in each episode, which cause slight color distortion. The quality isn't very impressive, not really much better than what you would expect from broadcast or cable television.

Audio:
The audio track in this DVD release is an English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound track. The sound quality is fairly good, with only a barely audible distortion. Like most other television series releases on DVD, the audio is relatively flat, as it consists of spoken dialogue. Also, there is very little distinction in separation between audio channels.

Extras:
The extras include two audio commentaries with Joely Fisher and David Anthony Higgins for the episodes "The Trainer" and "Mrs. Koger". There is not anything really special about them. I would have preferred it if Ellen DeGeneres had been included.

Final Thoughts:
Overall, I thought that the second season of Ellen was a big improvement over the first season. The format of the series is exactly the same, but season two offers a better mix of characters and the funnier stories.