# 102. Murphy Brown

by Adam Ferenz

This seminal sitcom, set in a fictional newsroom at a tv magazine show, FYI, tells the story of the recovering alcoholic Murphy Brown-the great Candice Bergen-and how she negotiates her way through a life she seems incapable of appreciating. The series may have gone on several seasons past its best by date, but when it was at its best, few comedies of the era could match it. That is an important distinction, because unlike other classic comedies of its era, such as Cheers, Wonder Years or, later in its run, the prime years of Seinfeld, Murphy Brown was a series rooted in the topics of the day. Being a political series, there was little way around it, since the show was centered on a news magazine.

Yes, the series lost much of its steam once the Bush/Quayle administration was no longer around to mock, but while it was, the series was about the sharpest, most insightful comedy on air, taking aim at left and right-but mostly right-leaning politics. The birth of Murphy’s child, Avery, named after Murphy’s mother, who had been played by the magnificent Colleen Dewhurst until her passing, created a firestorm in the media about “family values” and brought the series increased visibility.

For the series early run, the first four or five years, in which creator Diane English was in charge of the proceedings, this was one of the smarter, more astute sitcoms on the air. While it never approached the level of pop culture sophistication of a WRKP in Cincinnati, or the workplace realism of a Barney Miller, the series nevertheless carved out its own niche. Never as elegant as Cheers or Frasier, as outright funny as Seinfeld, as comforting as Golden Girls or as convention defying as the late, great Frank’s Place, instead Murphy Brown was like its central character.

This was a show that had problems, but persevered, through good times and bad, and always tried its best. When Murphy was down, or when she was feeling up but nostalgic, she would often sing along to the Motown tunes of her bygone days. She would listen to the advice of her friend and employ, the painter, Eldon, who came to apply “one coat to the living room” but returned every week to dole out advice, fix up her plumbing, a loose railing, or to convince her to allow him to create his own “Sistine Chapel” in some corner of her home. This was a woman who had been to Betty Ford, who had loved and lost. When she had her child, she did not ask the father to be there with her, and he was not particularly eager, all too easily stepping to the side. The series, in the end, was about endurance and love.

The series will return to CBS this fall, along with much of the cast and some of the crew.

Advertisements