Ellen dances her way to talk-show success.

Byline: Jeff Wright The Register-Guard

For starters, there's The Dance.

After every opening monologue, comic Ellen deGeneres is loathe to walk over to the soft chairs where she interviews guests on her syndicated talk show. Instead, she dances - or at least what passes for dancing in some circles.

There are other clues that this is not your father's TV talk show. Ellen doesn't sit behind a desk, there's a deejay instead of a bandleader, and there's no Ed McMahon sidekick laughing at her every utterance.

The closest thing to a studio regular is a little old lady who's in the audience most every show: It's Ellen's mom, Betty.

Since its debut last September, when Ellen vowed "less evil and more glamour for daytime!" the show has attracted something of a cult following, both locally and nationally. The weekday series airs in 219 markets, covering 93 percent of the country, and averages about 2.5 million viewers a day. That's good enough for fourth place among all talk shows, trailing heavyweights Oprah, Dr. Phil and the Regis-Kelly dyad.

Hard-to-please critics apparently are impressed, having awarded Ellen with a dozen Daytime Emmy nominations, the most for any talk show.

So what's so delicious about deGeneres?

Shogan Naidoo, a 37-year-old software developer in Eugene, says it's her offbeat but inclusive humor on everyday life.

"She's not trying to teach me anything, she's there to entertain me, and she doesn't masquerade as anything else," he says. "That's what makes her so disarming and charming - she comes off as if she could be your friend. She's totally goofy."

"It's her complete normalcy - she doesn't put on any airs at all," adds Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant, a local comic writer and comedy class instructor. "She dresses like most people dress, she dances as bad as most people dance, and her hair doesn't look like she's spent an hour in makeover."

All well and good, but let's pause for some historical perspective. This is, after all, the same Ellen who made history seven Aprils ago when her on-screen persona from the sit-com "Ellen" became the first openly gay leading character on TV. Rather than being praised for normalcy, she was dodging epithets as Ellen deGenerate. Her show, and another that followed, were both canceled.

But then came a sold-out, three-month, nationwide comedy tour and HBO special, followed by her voiceover work as Dory, the memory-impaired fish in the blockbuster animated film "Finding Nemo." Ellen was back on her feet.

She's had little difficulty landing guests - from Jennifer Aniston and Justin Timberlake to Steve Martin, Jim Carrey and Britney Spears. That's a lineup that impresses Eugene's Debbie Newman - in more ways than one.

"I wondered if she'd have a problem getting stars and she apparently doesn't," says Newman, an office manager, comic and lesbian. `It's like, `Oh, well, it doesn't bother that star and it doesn't bother this star.' That's cool.'

Some viewers have chastised deGeneres for rarely mentioning her sexual orientation or her partner, photographer Alexandra Hedison, on the show. But it doesn't bother Naidoo, who says he considers good humor to be "gender neutral."

Nor does it appear to bother middle America, judging from the studio audiences - some men but mostly women, in all shapes, sizes and ages.

Many also visit the show's Web site - where Ellen answers such "Not So Frequently Asked Questions" as "What's the best way to get gum out of a carpet?" - and subscribe to the show's electronic newsletter.

As for the show itself, well, how can you not like a woman doing her best to follow the dance steps mailed in by viewers?

WHERE'S ELLEN?

On the tube: KZWB, cable channel 11, 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays; Oxygen, cable channel 68, 11 p.m. weekdays (one-week taped delay)

On the Web: ellen.warnerbros.com

CAPTION(S):

Jessica Simpson, star of MTV's reality hit "Newlyweds," rides a scooter on a show while Ellen deGeneres watches.