several episodes have aired with a special theme or format, including a "backwards show", entire episodes themed around broadway productions, a thanksgiving special taped in the ed sullivan theater in new york city, an entire episode which included deltalina filmed on a delta airplane, her 12 days of giveaways shows and ellen's birthday show. other recurring themes feature products from sponsors degeneres likes (similar to oprah's favorite things from the now ended "the oprah winfrey show"), specials following awards show telecasts (such as the academy awards), and numerous milestone episodes (e.g., degeneres's 1,000th, 1,300th, 1,500th, etc. broadcasts). in 2017, an episode aired commemorating the 20th anniversary of "the puppy episode", the episode of her sitcom "ellen", in which her character ellen morgan came out as a lesbian.