How Does Murphy Brown Hold Up? -- Vulture

[LeeBlue]

While some of the name-dropping will not connect with today's viewers (or at last a few of them), Murphy Brown is still a funny show.

The episode where Miles takes them on a retreat is hilarious.

Looking forward to the reboot.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by LeeBlue

While some of the name-dropping will not connect with today's viewers (or at last a few of them), Murphy Brown is still a funny show.

The episode where Miles takes them on a retreat is hilarious.

Looking forward to the reboot.

Can the 'Murphy Brown' Reboot Succeed Amid the Media Chaos of 2018?

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

Besides being filled with dated political references (let's face it, who laughs at references to George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton era staffers anymore) another major criticism that I've heard about Murphy Brown is that the writing when you get right down to it, was terrible. More to the point, the supporting cast lacks comic timing. For example, why did Faith Ford always have to shout her lines? I'm guessing that Murphy Brown was popular at the time because it was a show for baby boomer yuppies.

Going back on my original point, did Murphy Brown do poorly in reruns not so much because its writing, storytelling, and jokes being too topical so much that Candice Bergen was surrounded by a bad supporting cast? Other than Eldin, the painter guy, did any of Murphy's newsroom associates (Frank, Jim, Corky, Miles, and later Lily Tomlin's character) really add anything beyond playing the exact same characters for over 10 years?

Frank was presumably, a wannabe ladies man, Jim was a prissy old guy, Miles was a neurotic nitwit, and Corky was a one note pageant winner with a pretty face. The point is that it seemed like all that they were good for was show up, say their lines, but were otherwise, incapable of bringing much else to the table.

A great sitcom must live and die by its supporting cast because they must manage to create something funny and make it seem actually real. Also, it makes the viewers want to spend time with the characters every day if and when it got shipped off into reruns.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

I think Murphy Brown can be watchable if you simply look at it as a time capsule of what was going in during the late '80s on through the '90s. However, if you weren't old enough to remember living through that particular era, it's extremely hard to understand the context of what's being talked about. For example, there was a joke early on in its run in which I think Murphy makes a crack about Deborah Norville. I assume that this was done in reference to the big hubbub about Deborah Norville usurping Jane Pauley on The Today Show. The problem w/ this sort of thing now is that most people (including myself) more than likely primarily recognize/associate Deborah Norville as the longtime host of Inside Edition. I don't think that most people even remember Ms. Norville's time on Today (as she was replaced by Katie Couric shortly thereafter).

http://comforttv.blogspot.com/2014/0...phy-brown.html

Corky Sherwood was apparently modeled after or based on Phyllis George, who was also a one-time Miss America pageant winner turned TV news anchor for CBS.

I do kind of laugh at the comment about today’s cable news channels having no shortage of attractive blonde females, some with dubious journalism credentials, since Phyllis George's actual daughter, Pamela Brown is a gorgeous blonde woman who currently does news on CNN.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by DJM77

Wasn't Corky around the same age as Miles? I guess she was a bit of a moron at times too though.

For what it's worth, Faith Ford was about 24 years old (she was born in 1964) when Murphy Brown debuted in 1988. Grant Shaud is actually in real life, older than Faith, being born in 1961. Gen Xers are generally defined as being people who were born within 1965-1980.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by TMC

Going back on my original point, did Murphy Brown do poorly in reruns not so much because it's writing, storytelling, and jokes were too topical so much that Candice Bergen was surrounded by a bad supporting cast? Other than Eldin, the painter guy, did any of Murphy's newsroom associates (Frank, Jim, Corky, Miles, and later Lily Tomlin's character) really add anything beyond playing the exact same characters for over 10 years?

Frank was presumably, a wannabe ladies man, Jim was a prissy old guy, Miles was a neurotic nitwit, and Corky was a one note pageant winner with a pretty face. The point is that it seemed like all that they were good for was show up, say their lines, but were otherwise, incapable of bringing much else to the table.

A great sitcom must live and die by its supporting cast because they manage to managed to create something funny and make it seem actually real. Also, it makes the viewers want to spend time with the characters every day if and when it got shipped off into reruns.

You speak only for yourself here.
This show had a great cast if you ask me.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by king of comedy

Sorry but I can't stand it today. Candice Bergmans' stiff performance proves she is best at drama and supporting roles.

I suspect that Murphy Brown was too strident in its humor to work well in reruns. Candace Bergin for one thing, seemed to equate shouting with being funny. Maude with Bea Arthur was another sitcom that didn't do very well in syndication, in part because of the lack of comfort level with the lead character. People quite frankly, don't want to watch abrasive, loud-mouthed middle age women every day.

I also believe that the story arc during the tenth season, where Murphy deals with breast cancer, really hurt the rewatch value of the series in the long run.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by TMC

I suspect that Murphy Brown was too strident in its humor to work well in reruns. Candace Bergin for one thing, seemed to equate shouting with being funny. Maude with Bea Arthur was another sitcom that didn't do very well in syndication, in part because of the lack of comfort level with the lead character. People quite frankly, don't want to watch abrasive, loud-mouthed middle age women every day.

Really though, I believe that the cast made it work together.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Furienna

Let me say this as as a member of Generation Y: I had no problems with the fact that Murphy was just a few years younger than my mother and belonged to the generation before mine. Because I could still enjoy the show and the interactions between Murphy and her friends.

To clarify on my past point, Murphy Brown's decidedly forgotten impact may have arguably been in no small part, due to "Boomer self aggrandizement". In other words, it was a show that Boomers wanted to show and tell the audience about how important they are. So you for instance, have Murphy and Frank reciting Bob Dylan's lyrics.

I suspect that Family Ties was originally meant to be a show like that before the producers realized that it would be in the best interest to build the show heavily around Michael J. Fox's character.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by TMC

To clarify on my past point, Murphy Brown's decidedly forgotten impact may have arguably been in no small part, due to "Boomer self aggrandizement". In other words, it was a show that Boomers wanted to show and tell the audience about how important they are. So you for instance, have Murphy and Frank reciting Bob Dylan's lyrics.

I suspect that Family Ties was originally meant to be a show like that before the producers realized that it would be in the best interest to build the show heavily around Michael J. Fox's character.

Except I swear that I don't remember those moments at all.
They were maybe there, but how bad can they have been if I forgot all about them?

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

I think Murphy Brown can be watchable if you simply look at it as a time capsule of what was going in during the late '80s on through the '90s. However, if you weren't old enough to remember living through that particular era, it's extremely hard to understand the context of what's being talked about. For example, there was a joke early on in its run in which I think Murphy makes a crack about Deborah Norville. I assume that this was done in reference to the big hubbub about Deborah Norville usurping Jane Pauley on The Today Show. The problem w/ this sort of thing now is that most people (including myself) more than likely primarily recognize/associate Deborah Norville as the longtime host of Inside Edition. I don't think that most people even remember Ms. Norville's time on Today (as she was replaced by Katie Couric shortly thereafter).

http://comforttv.blogspot.com/2014/0...phy-brown.html

Based on the comments that I've been reading elsewhere, it's apparent that Murphy Brown's heyday was during George Herbert Walker Bush's administration (1989-93). It's telling that the show's big defining moment was when Bush's vice president, Dan Quayle publicly condemned her for being contrary to traditional family values. In hindsight, it's on the surface, kind of crazy for a politician to lose his mind like that over a fictional character being portrayed as being a single mom by choice.

It was always going to be dated since it was pretty explicitly political. At the end of the day, it was such a product of the 1990s, that it just wasn't going to have the same appeal for modern audiences. The recent attempt at a revival sort of proved that point. It doesn't help that is that it isn’t streamable so it can’t be as easily rediscovered even if one wanted to.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by TMC

Based on the comments that I've been reading elsewhere, it's apparent that Murphy Brown's heyday was during George Herbert Walker Bush's administration (1989-93). It's telling that the show's big defining moment was when Bush's vice president, Dan Quayle publicly condemned her for being contrary to traditional family values. In hindsight, it's on the surface, kind of crazy for a politician to lose his mind like that over a fictional character being portrayed as being a single mom by choice.

It was always going to be dated since it was pretty explicitly political. At the end of the day, it was such a product of the 1990s, that it just wasn't going to have the same appeal for modern audiences. The recent attempt at a revival sort of proved that point. It doesn't help that is that it isn’t streamable so it can’t be as easily rediscovered even if one wanted to.

Again, I don't remember much of the "dated" stuff.
I just loved how the main characters were friends and supported each other.
There were political discussions, yes.
But it's not like things have changed that much within American politics anyway since the '90s.
There's still a big Conservative vs Liberal divide, for example.
So while you may not recognize all of the names they mentioned on this show, many topics are still relevant today.

And as for Dan Quayle, it is clear in retrospect that he made a fool of himself.
But he was probably worried that Murphy would be a bad role model for women in real life.

And I can't believe that you can't stream this show anywhere.
That's weird.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

To clarify on my past point, Murphy Brown's decidedly forgotten impact may have arguably been in no small part, due to "Boomer self aggrandizement". In other words, it was a show that Boomers wanted to show and tell the audience about how important they are. So you for instance, have Murphy and Frank reciting Bob Dylan's lyrics.

I suspect that Family Ties was originally meant to be a show like that before the producers realized that it would be in the best interest to build the show heavily around Michael J. Fox's character.

Furthermore, somebody on YouTube commented that one likely reason towards why Murphy Brown may not have a lot of staying power when compared to other '90s sitcoms like Seinfeld and Friends is that Murphy Brown was a show that was specifically about a boomer making by in the late '80s into the '90s. While Jerry Seinfeld's character on Seinfeld was himself, also a boomer, the show never framed him as one. But on Murphy Brown, Murphy's character wasn't really living in the moment in comparison, and seemed to be the type of person who would wax poetically about being in her 20s.