"Murphy Brown" revival 2018

[BetterForgotten]

NY Times Review: Review: ‘Murphy Brown’ Returns, Not for the Better

[BetterForgotten]

Variety Review: TV Review: ‘Murphy Brown’ on CBS

 

MB was always a polarizing and strident show (through beloved by Emmy voters), but these early reviews have not been very good for this revival.  I'll watch the first episode and judge for myself though, and I hope it can find its footing if it gets off to a shaky start.  

 

Edited September 26, 2018 by BetterForgotten

[DRW50]

The show that once took specific news anchors — even ones from CBS! — to task now defaults to a portrait of “the Wolf network” so generic as to have no bite at all.

 

That Murphy Brown left years before the series finale. I still remember the episode where Candice had gentle, teasing banter with Newt Gingrich. I don't think I ever watched another episode. 

 

I can see why they might have thought it would be different with Diane English back, but for the most part Murphy Brown's edge was more written about in the press than actually shown onscreen. 

 

I do think trying to do a Fox News pastiche was a mistake though.

 

I have to admit I am mostly hoping this will do well because I like a lot of the cast and have fond childhood memories of the first few years of the show, but in terms of quality, I am not really expecting anything, and probably not in ratings either.

[Soapsuds]

I wouldn't expect huge numbers a la Roseanne premiere. Had it been put behind TBBT the ratings might have gotten in the high 6's.....

The ratings have been lackluster. I think every show dropped from last year except for maybe The Voice....even Tuesday's numbers look low for shows like NCIS and the new FBI show......even This Is Us was down from last year.

[BetterForgotten]

EW: Murphy Brown revival puts outrage before comedy: EW review

[Vee]

Eh, again, nothing I didn't expect. They did seem to say it improves as it goes. As long as it's Murphy out there doing Murphy I'll watch. And I think it might surprise a few critics in terms of numbers (or not).

[dragonflies]

I think it will do well, will it get NCIS Or TBBT numbers? Nope, but I think it will do as well as CBS is expecting it too

[Vee]

[Khan]

"Oh, bring it on!  Hashtag Dan Quayle!"  She's back, ladies and gentlemen.  And not a moment too soon.

[Vee]

THR likes it, warts and all.

[Khan]

I think I'm just glad to see a "political" show again.  These days, everything is either apolitical or skewing so far to the right that it lapses into tone-deafness and parody.

[BetterForgotten]

That was a sweet moment towards the end of the first episode when Murphy and Avery remembered Eldin - the one character in the original show that made Murphy feel human. That's a hole that can never be replaced. I think a lot of the early reviews were right in that Jake McDorman as Avery really is great addition and probably the highlight of the first episode. He brought a great energy to the role and has a nice rapport with Bergen. 

 

But yeah, a lot of writing felt like Diane English doing "Murphy Brown's greatest hits." Miles is still as cartoonish as ever, I really don't think this reboot needed that character again. 

 

This Vox article is a great one about the rise and fall of the original run. 

Edited September 28, 2018 by BetterForgotten

[Vee]

This is actually flowing a lot better for me than the Roseanne return pilot. Pretty funny. Miles' exile was a definite cathartic message to all of us.

 

Nik Dodani is still cute as ever as Pat the tech geek and I wish he were my boyfriend. Critics may find the old vs millennial humor creaky but tbh it plays to the CBS audience and to my mother (Frank asking 'can you make my font bigger?' is way too close to home). I also loved Frank bemoaning only getting a timeshare in Boca out of hitting on women at the March and then stridently hating Nazis.

[DRW50]

I have watched a bit. It's creaky, as many of the last 5-6 seasons were, but the cast still has their strengths. I get why people would have little enthusiasm for the anti-Trump stuff just because we have had so much of it already (although it fits a lot of the original Murphy Brown - maybe just a bit more blunt and with less character focus), but I'm baffled by the people who insist the show has been ruined by adding political commentary. I have to assume they just never watched the original show at all and are jumping on a bandwagon for likes and retweets. 

 

The Hillary cameo was so much like the old show, for better and worse, but it was fun, and Hillary shows the good comic timing she's honed over the years. It's also something that many people clearly needed today, judging by the tweets and posts I've seen. As in the past Murphy Brown is always a bit more prescient than it necessarily meant to be. 

[Vee]

It's a lot less creaky than I thought it would be based on the reviews! But the reviews have also tilted more positive in the last two days. I'm curious to see how it does. I expected low numbers but after this week of hell who fuckin' knows.

 

Hillary drolly saying she has experience with emails was too funny.

 

"Right now a Russian hitman could be sneaking plutonium into your next latte!" God bless Grant Shaud.

 

The EPA bit is great.