Murphy Brown - General Discussion

[Aethera]

This topic replaces the old Murphy Brown forum which has been vaulted at the location below:

https://forums.primetimer.com/forum/606-murphy-brown-v/

[AntiBeeSpray]

😢 Thanks for the memories.

[blondiec0332]

So if we can't get any new episodes can we at least get all the old episodes? DVD or streaming I don't care.  I just want to re watch the whole series.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, blondiec0332 said:

So if we can't get any new episodes can we at least get all the old episodes? DVD or streaming I don't care.  I just want to re watch the whole series.

Currently, all the old episodes are airing on Antenna TV.

[friendperidot]

been watching the reruns, enjoying, we are now in the Peter Hunt year, played by Scott Bakula. He works so well with Candice Bergen, he's a gorgeous, sexy man and a good actor. I've also been catching the episodes on Boston Legal with him. I haven't gotten to see Quantum Leap in a While and I don't watch network tv, so no NCIS New Orleans. He's all that I said above, talented actor, gorgeous and sexy. So just what in the world was Jonathan Archer? I cannot stand him, and I've quit watching that show for Murphy Brown reruns and a guilty pleasure, Supermarket Sweep.

[Kohola3]

On 7/12/2019 at 4:13 AM, friendperidot said:

He works so well with Candice Bergen, he's a gorgeous, sexy man and a good actor.

They really had a lot of chemistry. I loved those episodes.

[Glendenning]

As TV Tropes Dot Org pointed out, the original MB suffered thrice - it was aimed at Baby Boomers from the protest era, it was too topical which meant it's too dated to be popular in syndication, and thirdly once Dan Quayle was out of office, the episode about him became deflated.

[Kohola3]

3 minutes ago, TV 3D said:

I dunno; I just think it’s a lazy argument.

I agree.  So a single episode about Quayle "deflated" the episode, there were whole seasons before and after that episode that remained relevant.  Certainly the whole breast cancer season was and remains a realistic look at a working woman handling treatment, work, and family.  And a large number of references were not obscure names even by today's standards.

Politics really hadn't changed all that much either, at least until 2016 so that humor isn't all that date either.

I DVR each of the old episodes and watch them periodically.  Still great writing, still great humor, still great line delivery.  Love it.

[blondiec0332]

On 10/5/2019 at 11:21 AM, Glendenning said:

As TV Tropes Dot Org pointed out, the original MB suffered thrice - it was aimed at Baby Boomers from the protest era, it was too topical which meant it's too dated to be popular in syndication, and thirdly once Dan Quayle was out of office, the episode about him became deflated.

I was not and am not a Baby Boomer. I'm Gen X and was twenty years old when this show aired it's first episode. I loved it from the beginning. Were there some references that went over my head? Yes. Did that detract from the very well written humor? No. Fraiser was a huge hit and it had tons of references to opera and wines and things I had never heard of but I still found it funny. Most shows in syndication (and now streaming) are going to have things that are going to be dated.  It doesn't mean they stop being funny.

Edited December 4, 2019 by blondiec0332

[Anela]

On 12/4/2019 at 9:09 AM, blondiec0332 said:

I was not and am not a Baby Boomer. I'm Gen X and was twenty years old when this show aired it's first episode. I loved it from the beginning. Were there some references that went over my head? Yes. Did that detract from the very well written humor? No. Fraiser was a huge hit and it had tons of references to opera and wines and things I had never heard of but I still found it funny. Most shows in syndication (and now streaming) are going to have things that are going to be dated.  It doesn't mean they stop being funny.

I was thirteen when it premiered, and I loved it, too (when we moved over here, and I started to watch - it had been on for two years, at that point). 

[ljenkins782]

On 12/3/2019 at 10:42 PM, Kohola3 said:

I agree.  So a single episode about Quayle "deflated" the episode, there were whole seasons before and after that episode that remained relevant.  Certainly the whole breast cancer season was and remains a realistic look at a working woman handling treatment, work, and family.  And a large number of references were not obscure names even by today's standards.

Politics really hadn't changed all that much either, at least until 2016 so that humor isn't all that date either.

I DVR each of the old episodes and watch them periodically.  Still great writing, still great humor, still great line delivery.  Love it.

Yeah, that's a crock. They recently did a marathon of episodes on Antenna TV and there was a run of episodes that were PAINFULLY relevant. There was the political correctness episode, which lays waste to the theory that people have only recently become "too sensitive" or "snowflakes." The episode aired nearly 30 years ago and the jokes could just as easily have been written yesterday.

There was also the one where Stuart Best changes parties to win a Republican seat in Congress and says all kinds of crazy shit due to the people who paid for his campaign. His lines got more and more outlandish, but unfortunately for us, it didn't sound that much crazier than the statements being made regularly by political figures today. It actually made me sad that the episode wasn't nearly as far-fetched as it should have been.

I'm finally dipping into the season 7 and beyond episodes, I never saw those back in the original airings. They're definitely not as good as the earlier ones, but not as bad as I was expecting. There are some decent episodes mixed in there. The Miles/Corky relationship doesn't really work for me, they have the same lack of romantic chemistry that Niles/Daphne had on Frasier. They did an episode where they addressed the fact that they got married on a whim and then didn't consummate the relationship for like 4 months and that seemed realistic to me, it just seemed like the sex would be incredibly awkward.

[cynicat]

On 7/17/2020 at 11:51 AM, ljenkins782 said:

The Miles/Corky relationship doesn't really work for me

I'll never forgive them for having Corky divorce Will Forest.  Nothing better than Corky Sherwood-Forest.

[ljenkins782]

12 hours ago, cynicat said:

I'll never forgive them for having Corky divorce Will Forest.  Nothing better than Corky Sherwood-Forest.

There were some great episodes/scenes around that break-up though, the terrible dinner party episode, the one where Will is being sued and Corky reads her journal out loud to clear him and insults everyone in the process, and the market episode where she sees Will's picture with Cher in the National Enquirer. 

In rewatching some of the older episodes, I don't always like the secretary gag. It's funny when the person is completely out there, but Murphy is extremely rude to them before they even get a chance to speak, most of the time. It's supposed to be funny because she's the star of the show, but working for rude, demanding people is awful in real life.

On that note, I really enjoyed the later season episode where they're locked on the balcony and Murphy's just-fired secretary comes back for her things and taunts them from inside the building. That seems like something Murphy would deserve for the way she talked to people over the years. That episode is pretty good except for the couple in the apartment across the street who are supposed to be breaking up and decide to give it another shot by the end. I don't mind the premise, but the acting by the couple was so, so bad. Very over-projecting, playing-to-the-last row, community theater level acting and it's very distracting to see people acting SO HARD up close. 

[ljenkins782]

AntennaTV is still running this, so I'm going to post on top of myself to the 3 people who might open this topic. 🙂

My DVR caught "Murphy's Pony" the other day and the ending of this one is so ludicrous (though the premise is too). Basically, a poor single mom feels she can't care for her kids and leaves them at the FYI office with a note for Murphy to take them. Through typical sitcom shenanigans, Social Services can't get them til Monday or whatever, so she ends up with them for the weekend and ends up not giving them back to the Social Services lady when she comes for them.

Then the mom shows up to collect them (where her "I can't care for them" philosophy went, who knows?) and Murphy offers her some money, which she tries to turn down under the guise of "Oh, I couldn't possibly and as long as we're together, we'll be okay." Um...you LEFT YOUR 3 KIDS WITH THIS STRANGER FOR FOREVER at the beginning of the episode, but taking some money from the very same person is suddenly just too much for your personal pride?? It's such cheap, stupid writing that I felt the need to say so 30 years after the fact. 😛 

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

It's such cheap, stupid writing that I felt the need to say so 30 years after the fact. 😛 

It is an unbelievably stupid, trite, cliché, reality-defying episode, and so beneath this show.

That it's only the fifth episode of the series lets me forgive it some, as does the fact it's the lead-in to Murphy's thoughts - reasonable at her age - about whether motherhood is something she should pursue, which Diane English put in far earlier than she would have had she known the show was indeed going to carry on for many years.

But when I watch my DVDs (of season one, since that's all that was released and I don't get any of the stations that have aired this in syndication), I roll my eyes so much at that episode I'm afraid one day they'll get stuck.

[Blakeston]

I watched this show occasionally when it was first on - I was a kid at the time, and a lot of the jokes went over my head.

Now I'm watching the whole series in order. I appreciate it a lot more than I did the first time around. I'm especially impressed by how well the Corky character was handled, both re: the writing and Faith Ford's acting. Corky could have very, very easily been soooooooo annoying. But IMO she wasn't.

I'm also noticing that most of the time, Murphy behaved like a psychopath. A very charming, funny psychopath, to be sure. But with occasional exceptions, she was remarkably self-centered and devoid of empathy, lied constantly, and threw others under the bus without a second thought.

Once Avery was born, they showed that she was very focused on doing right by her child. But in the early seasons, it was very rare for her to think about anyone else's needs at all.

Nowadays, there are a ton of sitcoms centered around characters who are morally awful. But in the eighties, when the show started, it was really, really daring to make the main character so cold - particularly a female main character. I give a lot of credit to the makers of the show for their nerve, and I give Candice Bergen a lot of credit for managing to make Murphy likeable.

[UYI]

From Sesame Street: Murphy Brownbag!

And unlike the Mulberry Lane episode of this show, none of these Muppets wind up losing their heads! :D 

Speaking of humor from this show this isn't dated, by the way (regarding the MUCH earlier discussion above)--I'm just saying. 

Edited January 15, 2021 by UYI

[GHScorpiosRule]

A month or so behind, but the line from Frank, when Murphy is freaking out over Dan Quayle using Murphy being a single mother as an example for "lifestyle choice" just always makes me laugh:

"It's Dan QUAYLE!!" 😂😂

It was pure genius to use real footage, real quotes about a fictional character in that fictional character's show.

Edited May 1, 2021 by GHScorpiosRule

[GHScorpiosRule]

The show's past seven seasons perspective aired yesterday? This morning? And I'm keeping it on my dvr, even though it's been edited. Mainly for the outtakes and bloopers that I'll never see since only the first season is available on dvd.

I had nearly forgotten that casting was actually thinking about Heather Locklear to play Murphy Brown. I absolutely LOVE Candice's deadpan sarcastic delivery when she revealed that bit of information.

This show deserves to be on some streaming platform, what with all the other crap that's out there. Since I know we'll never get the dvds due to the music rights. Boo!

[Hiyo]

Wouldn’t Heather have been too young to play Murphy? I could see  casting agents thinking about casting her as Corky, but not Murphy.

[Egg McMuffin]

I always thought Sharon Gless would have been a great Murphy, and I would have liked to see her in a straight up sitcom (one where she wasn’t stepping in for another actress, and one where her character wasn’t switching bodies with a man). Gless said that she was offered “Sister Kate”, which wound up going to Stephanie Beacham.

[ljenkins782]

On 4/30/2021 at 2:27 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

A month or so behind, but the line from Frank, when Murphy is freaking out over Dan Quayle using Murphy being a single mother as an example for "lifestyle choice" just always makes me laugh:

"It's Dan QUAYLE!!" 😂😂

It was pure genius to use real footage, real quotes about a fictional character in that fictional character's show.

The high-pitched squeak Joe Regalbuto does on the "QUAYLE" is a genius line delivery.

Quote

Wouldn’t Heather have been too young to play Murphy? I could see  casting agents thinking about casting her as Corky, but not Murphy.

Maybe just a little young, but I also don't get how she'd have been a choice considering that whoever it was that didn't want Candice partly thought she was too pretty for a gritty character. Heather Locklear isn't as classically beautiful as Candice, but she's certainly known for her looks over her acting.

Quote

This show deserves to be on some streaming platform, what with all the other crap that's out there. Since I know we'll never get the dvds due to the music rights. Boo!

It certainly seems like it could find a home on streaming, lots of shows that struggled to make it to DVD due to music rights have been streamed somewhere. Cold Case and the Wonder Years spring to mind, CC streamed in full on the Roku channel (sadly not anymore, but it was there for a year or so) and the Wonder Years is on Hulu right now.

[GHScorpiosRule]

UGH.

I LOATHE the character of Miller. Whose bright idea was it to add that moron to the show? I wasn't paying attention to season seven, but by the eighth season, Candice was an executive producer of the show. The quality just seemed to drop after the fifth, I think. For me.

And how'd I forget that Stan was an unmitigated asshole? I hate that I hate Stan, because I feel like I'm hating Garry Marshall!

Just saw the two episodes where Jim quit because the network brass wouldn't let Murphy report on the tobacco industry, and how he was at this new "show" with new and up and coming journalists. And how it ended with Murphy telling him he should stay. But GOOD GOD. I was a journalism student, and even I wasn't such an ignorant idiot like some of these were. 

I can't remember--Jim does return to FYI, right? How does that happen. Yeah, I'm too impatient to wait to find out!

I'm also hoping Antenna will also air the most recent season 11 that aired three years ago for only a season.

[UYI]

On 6/2/2021 at 1:17 PM, Kyle said:

I always thought Sharon Gless would have been a great Murphy, and I would have liked to see her in a straight up sitcom (one where she wasn’t stepping in for another actress, and one where her character wasn’t switching bodies with a man). Gless said that she was offered “Sister Kate”, which wound up going to Stephanie Beacham.

I once saw someone suggest Jane Curtin as Murphy. It would have never happened, of course, since Kate & Allie's last season coincided with Murphy Brown's first season, but I can actually see Jane pulling it off!

It truly sucks that the low sales of season 1/the music rights have kept this show off of DVD/streaming. The Wonder Years was the one other show that I wished for YEARS to get an official release, and of course it has long since finally happened (albeit with still a few different songs from the original airing), and yet this one remains missing. Sigh. -_-

[GHScorpiosRule]

After just discovering Cold Case on HBO Max this weekend, I’m hoping they will add this show to their roster. Hey both are CBS shows, so why not?

Season nine just started and already I’m not paying that much attention with Miles/Grant Shaud being gone. I am also missing Eldin, though he left early in season 7.

Writers also apparently forgot that Frank had already been on that annoying Dottie’s show from the previous season-playing the saxophone-and not messing up with whatever retcon they came up with during her second appearance. 
 

As for who else could play Murphy? Candice just did such a great job and OWNED that character, that I can’t imagine anyone else playing her. Just as Raymond Burr IS Perry Mason, Candice IS Murphy Brown.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Did season nine have new writers or did they just have a brain seizure? When Stuart makes his s third appearance with a new job as a security guard at a museum, there is no mention how he had appeared the previous season as a whistleblower for the tobacco company he was working for; that the network refused to let Murphy report the story that had Jim quitting over it. 

Nope. They just talk about how he was on the FYI the first year and his annoying habits.

Not that I like him; he’s annoying as all get out.

Or that Frank buying a house was totally dropped and he now lives in another condo with Dana.

[GHScorpiosRule]

HOLY CRAP. I clearly blanked out on Corky's character during the first season, which returned a couple weeks ago. I was hoping Antenna would have been able to air season 11, but no.

Anyhoo, I loved how the last scene in the season 10 finale, it was a full circle, with Eldin returning, Murphy singing, Eldin coming in singing and the whole dialogue, which was how the pilot episode ended.

Back to Corky. She had to be the most annoying, irritating character ever. Just the way she spoke her lines, I couldn't be sure if she was really that stupid, or pretending to be. Like the episode where Murphy stole or tried to steal that big story, and Corky ended up doing it? I was never sure if Corky was acting stupid, or was truly aware what Murphy tried to do with her effusive praise at the end, to make Murphy feel even worse. 

I just want to mute her whenever she opens her mouth.

[Anela]

I wish that the reboot hadn't been cancelled. It wasn't the best thing on TV, but it wasn't the worst, either. I see other things getting renewed (like AHS Stories), and can't understand why, unless it was a hit with teenagers.

[UYI]

"Now you're just throwing that Grease money around!"

RIP, Livvy.

[Blue hues]

Antenna TV station stopping airing it.  Is there anywhere to watch the show?  I miss it 

[Bastet]

11 minutes ago, Blue hues said:

Is there anywhere to watch the show?

As far as I can tell from a quick search, unfortunately no -- it's neither airing nor streaming anywhere, and only the first season is available for purchase or rent (on DVD, iTunes, Prime, etc.).

[ljenkins782]

21 hours ago, Bastet said:

As far as I can tell from a quick search, unfortunately no -- it's neither airing nor streaming anywhere, and only the first season is available for purchase or rent (on DVD, iTunes, Prime, etc.).

I wonder why not. I know the music stuff might be an issue, but so many shows with tons of music are streaming. I guess this show was unfortunately timed when deals would have been structured without accounting for music, but The Wonder Years is a similar vintage and they somehow found their way to streaming.

There are just so many streaming channels out there, it's not like this would be competing for a space on a regular TV schedule, somewhere in the bazillion apps and streaming services, it should be able to find a home. 

I'm similarly (and perhaps moreso, given that hardly any music was ever used) confused about why Kate & Allie hasn't made it to streaming. They've had DVD releases of all the seasons and last I checked, they were rather expensive on Amazon. It was a successful show in its day and I believe, still has a name recognition among those old enough to have watched it. 

I have some crappy taped versions, but they were from channels that chop the hell out of the episodes to the point where the plot line barely makes sense anymore, and I'd love to see full episodes again. It's a show I found myself relating to far more as an adult than I did as a kid.

[ljenkins782]

Leslie Jordan passed away in a car crash. :(  He’s more well known for his Will & Grace role, but I’ll always remember him for his role of Kyle, the innocent man who Murphy got released from prison and attempted to give a job at FYI, where he wrought havoc on the office.

Nick at Nite always used his clip to advertise the show and “Murphy Brown is a saint, a saint I tell you” in his particular drawl is burned into my brain for life. 

[giovannif7]

#RIP Charles Kimbrough, best known for his Emmy nominated work in the role of Jim Dial on Murphy Brown - also Tony nominated in 1971 for his work in the original Broadway production of Company. 😢😢😢

[Bastet]

I'm so glad that, while frail, he was able to come out of retirement to make those limited appearances in the revival season.  He was always fantastic as Jim Dial, and it wouldn't have been the same without him.

[ButterQueen]

I really miss good shows like this.  I’d buy every season if it was available.

[UYI]

Jim's finest moment ever?

 

[ljenkins782]

Aww, I'm so sorry to hear this. I adored him as Jim Dial.

And completely randomly (well, after seeing a black & white photo in the mix of some modern pics), I was just recently trying to recall which episode it was where Jim says something like "at least your clips are recent, whereas all of mine seem to be primarily from the dawn of television." The line delivery just cracked me up, he was so good at those subtle, dry humor jokes.