Murphy Brown

CBS (ended 1998)
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Show Summary

  • Ended
Murphy Brown was created by Diane English. Murphy is the star reporter on a news magazine show called FYI. The show is based in Washington DC, which gives the FYI team more than enough material to work with. Murphy lives in a townhouse that she has been having repainted for the duration of the series, Eldin the painter may never finish the job, but Murphy doesn't seem to mind. Murphy owes her Betty Ford trip to Phil, he owns the local bar & restaurant where the staff and the rest of the political scene have lunch. Phil knows about everything going on in Washington. Jim Dial is the uptight senior anchor, a seasoned veteran, who accompanied Murphy on her trip to the Betty Ford Clinic. Frank is a single guy and constantly looking for a girlfriend, he is also Murphy's best friend. Corky is a former Miss America turned news person, she covers all the "hard" news. Miles is a young Harvard graduate, whose first "real job" out of school is as executive producer of FYI. ''''Murphy has trouble keeping a secretary, in this guide the actors that play this small part has their appearance number placed after their names, take note of the increasing number after the character name of Secretary. Some secretaries had no dialog and did not get credited, others wound up on the cutting room floor, this accounts for holes in the numbering scheme. When Murphy became a new mother, she began to run through nannies the same way, they are also numbered after the character name of Nanny. After running through 6 of them, she makes the obvious choice for a nanny, Eldin, who prefers the term "Big Guy." It also takes Murphy four months to give the baby his name. ''''After nine seasons in the newsroom, the series looked like it might take a different direction in the 10th season. Murphy may change careers and become a White House senior advisor. Amazing since in the past she had been banned from the White House press room on several occassions. True to form, when she does, it is only for a short time. When a commercial for the series aired during the 49th Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards, it seemed to indicate that Murphy's life would take a different turn. It certainly does when she faces her own mortality when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. ''''Murphy Brown has done well with the Prime Time Emmy Awards with nominations in many categories and numerous awards for Candice Bergen as "Best Actress in a Comedy Series." So many in fact that she declined the nomination for 1996, allowing Helen Hunt to get the Emmy that Candice thought she deserved a few years earlier.''
''First air date: November 14, 1988''Last air date: May 18, 1998''Original air time: Monday 9:00:00 pm (Eastern)''''Episodes: 247 Color Episodes + 1 Special''''Nielsen Ratings:''(Top 30 or Better)''#27 in the 19891990 Season''#6 in the 19901991 Season''#3 in the 19911992 Season''#4 in the 19921993 Season''#9 in the 19931994 Season''#16 in the 19941995 Season''#20 in the 19951996 Seasonmoreless
8.3
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  • Bring it Back in 2012

    10
    "Perfect"

    I loved this show and still do. The person asking about Audrey, she went on to Fraser and now is on Hot in Cleveland. I really wish the wrtiters and Diane English would consider bringing back Murphy Brown for the 2012 election.....
    Bring it back please :)
    I think Diane and Candice could have had a blast in 2008 with Sarah Palin and the rest of the canidates.

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    0 0
  • Still my favorite sitcom

    10
    "Perfect"
    I watched Murphy Brown for the first time when I was about 10 - 12 years old. Back then I couldn't grasp even half of the jokes in the show but nevertheless it fascinated me. The characters were extremely well written and had wonferful interaction between each other. It was a pleasure to watch them fighting, laughing, or whatever they were doing. The reason is that all of them had many flaws and all of them were more or less self-centric (of course, Murphy's ego was huger than anyone else's). Certainly, the formula wouldn't have worked without the brilliant ensemble cast which (in my opinion) was the basis of the show's success and the superb writing. Later, when I was older, I came to appreciate the other wonderful aspect of Murphy Brown as well - the satire. The ability of the writers to balance the funny and the serious has always impressed me. Some people find the show preachy but I strongly disagree.
    The only season I found weak is season 9. But the 10th was great and the show returned to its origins with it. It was a perfect way to say goodbye.moreless

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  • One of the best shows out there

    9.9
    "Superb"
    Murphy Brown/Candice Bergen is an inspiration in her own light; I'm sure this show has made quite a few people consider journalism as a career based on FYI and the cast of Murphy brown. the rest of the cast has done a wonderful job in portraying their roles. Sharp wit. Wonderful dialog. A lot of nicely shot scenes and memorable moments. Funny and unique characters. Great writing! Murphy Brown remains a favorite of mine to the day. I own Season 1 on DVD and have already watched it several times; it never ceases to be funny. Now if only they'll release the rest of the show on DVD.moreless

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  • I didn't care for it too much. It was sort of funny but that was about as much substance as it had.

    1.2
    "Abysmal"
    Candice Bergan plays the same character now forcing her beliefs on people as she did on Murphy Brown. There were som funny jokes, but when you use a show as propaganda for your beliefs, political, religious, or any other I don't really care for that too much. It's kind of sad that these people feel like they have to do that, because that was really the only thing wrong with Murphy Brown. The unfortunate part was that the only the wrong was used during about 80% of the show especially towards the last few seasons that is was on the air.moreless

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  • This show was one of the best shows on the air from the 80's until the 90's. It hit America's funny bone hard and never let go. It was one of the earliest shows that I got hooked on and watched until the day that it sadly went off the air.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    I wish that there were more shows like Murphy Brown out there today, that actually make the audience think. I had a blast seeing Murphy and the gang go through daily life and the many problems in it with such class, character and humanity. Each episode, for the most part, was special in their own way.

    My all time favorite episode was "Waiting to Inhale", the episode where Murphy is fighting breast cancer and Jim goes and tries to get her some marjuana from a drug dealer. What happens next is just pure Murphy Brown. It cracked me up when I first saw that episode back when it originally aired and it still does today.

    Too bad more shows don't have that much guts anymore. The writing just isn't as original and that kind of thing in todays' shows. In fact, Murphy Brown kind of predicted the coming of reality tv in a way. There was an episode where everyone was in one of the bosses' offices' and they showed the board where all of the new shows were listed on, and all that were on it for the most part, were reality tv shows. Kind of ironic, when I look back at it, and rather sad as well.

    Murphy Brown will always be missed for its' sharp humor and insight into life and the world itself, and will be remembered for it as well.moreless

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