[ cheers and applause ] whoo! hello, everybody. hello! mitchell: oprah has a particularly magical combination of her own background, her own experience, her own incisive mind, and empathetic spirit. thank you. i'm oprah winfrey and welcome to the very first national "oprah winfrey show"! [ cheers and applause ] donahue: i was surprised at the rocket pace that "oprah" took off because it took us a lot longer. the donahue show rearranged the furniture, but oprah remodeled the whole house. winfrey: there are a lot of other people who are watching who really don't understand what you mean when you say, well, you know, we're in love. because i remember questioning my gay friends saying, you mean, like, you feel about him the way i feel about... it's kind of a strange concept, you know, for a lot of people to accept. oprah was connecting with people in a way that no one had on tv before.