HBO

It seems that most people have strong opinions when it comes to Ellen DeGeneres. Of course, when you make yourself the first openly gay character on television, those opinions can be expected. Some feel that she is courageous, bravely stepping into the forefront of the gay rights movement. Others feel that her lifestyle is immoral, and that she should be shamed of her actions. Personally, I feel that it is unfortunate that her status as a gay woman is an issue at all. The desire of any true performer should be for th... world to discuss their art, and not their personal life. (Of course, she freely made an issue of her sexuality herself, but I digress.) Simply saying that Ellen is "funny" shortchanges her talents.

Ellen is not just funny, she's smart. Very, very smart. This stand-up performance takes her stream-of-consciousness style of storytelling to a new extreme. Topics segue from one into another at breakneck speed, forcing the listener to simply hang on and enjoy the comic ride. Her theme for this show (which happens to be filled with all-new material) is life in the 21st century, and she captures its nuances and frustrations flawlessly, from cell phone etiquette to news and information overload. Someday, I will be able to show this disc to my children to explain what life was like at the turn of the new century.

Love him or hate him, you have to admire his freakishly sponge-like brain. Dennis Miller has an amazing gift of recall, creating references so obscure that ABC Sports actually offered an on-line translator on the Tuesday mornings following his stint in the booth for Monday Night Football.

His rants are mostly easy to follow during this one-hour stand up performance, however. In fact, he even pokes fun at his own gift for the obscure early in the show, essentially acknowledging that he may have been too hig...-brow in the past, and he’s going to make it a little more mainstream this time around. There are a few truly big laughs here, but the majority of his material leans more toward mildly humorous and incredibly insightful. His conservative views come across as common sense when presented in his signature witty style. While the material is quite topical (and may be completely irrelevant in just a few years), it is dead on for its time. This is a great opportunity to witness free speech in action, carried out by a man that is completely unconcerned with whom he offends. Miller has strong beliefs, and he is not afraid to share them, a trait far too many of us have forgotten somewhere along the way.