I had high hopes and still a warm heart for the only sitcom I ever actually appeared in. Creator Diane English and Candice Bergen had good intentions. The highly bi-polar political climate was ideal for Murphy to revisit and comment on. You got the impression that English and Bergen were salivating by mouth at the thought of tackling the Trump presidency.
And therein lies the reason why it never caught on. Ironically, other reboots have been successful. The "Roseanne/Conners" series is surprisingly entertaining. At the same time, "Will and Grace" is absolutely dreadful even though it is coming back for yet another year.
So, "Murphy Brown" certainly had the pedigree and the cast and the creative forces to make it work.
The only trouble was they tried too hard to be political and edgy. Keep in mind that CBS doesn't just have affiliates in the blue cities of New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. And they wrote from one point of view which I am sure turned off the good citizens of Oklahoma City.
Sure, the original MB was political and edgy, but times were different and tones were not as vociferous. From the moment in the premiere where Hillary Clinton showed up to be Murphy's next doomed secretary, you knew there was an agenda at work.
Ironically, my original thoughts on how I would have brought back MB were the ones English and company should have taken. I fashioned an updated series where Murphy's adult son Avery was also in the news business but working at the Fox-like Wolf Network. But, in my blueprint, Avery was a staunch conservative. This would have set up a balanced and fun weekly debate not unlike "All in the Family."
Well, yes, English had Avery working at Wolf but, in her world, Avery was working there as the lone liberal voice. Um, apparently you can be half pregnant. Why not take the route of funny and balanced with a Mom-Son relationship that many Americans can relate to.
Boat. Missed.
At the end of the day, English and her writers were probably incapable of writing from that perspective. So, the end result for 13 episodes were plots that were often more preachy than funny. The episode I saw taped in early November was all about reporter Frank Fontana getting beat up by Trump-supporting goons at a rally. Cringe. Worthy.
Oh, there were other smaller problems, too. Grant Shaud was completely wasted as the hyper kinetic producer Miles Silverberg. Candice, who was obviously slowed by a stroke several years ago, occasionally drifted in and out with energy levels.
And what was the reasoning behind CBS' decision to run the 13 episodes so quickly last fall? They should have savored the series like a fine wine. It was almost like they wanted to get the installments run as soon as possible.
One mistake after another. And, as a result, the fine legacy of "Murphy Brown" ends not with a crescendo, but a resounding thud.
Dinner last night: Chopped salad.
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