Extremely low ratings for "Murphy Brown" revival....
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- 24
They won't decide on "renewing it" (for a second season) until the spring. If they had ordered additional episodes to air in addition to the thirteen that comprise season one, then the term they would use is "extending its run". Which they are not going to do. It'll be May before anyone at CBS announces a decision on a renewal, but I would not be surprised if Candice Bergen made the decision for them by announcing her wishes well before that. If she says "no more," then it's pretty much a given that the show won't go further.
They did a pretty good job shaping the character of (adult) Avery. With some re-tooling (and some balance) they could develop a spin-off around him that I'd be willing to sample.
They did a pretty good job shaping the character of (adult) Avery. With some re-tooling (and some balance) they could develop a spin-off around him that I'd be willing to sample.
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This show was always intended to be 13 episodes and would've remained that way even if it was a huge hit. The Connors/Rosanne is huge, but still gets a short order. Considering how old the cast is I think it's holding up well with ratings. You also can't re-watch the old episodes so it's hard for them to build new viewers with streaming. I hope they end up giving them a second season because the show has settled in nicely and is really fun now. The episode where Jim won his award is what sold me. Once the show got out of the Trump hype of the first few episodes it's been amazing!
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Both parties are extremely flawed and corrupt, but Murphy Brown is very much a "blue no matter who" type of show. And as such, it presents an extremely myopic point of view.
I get why people like Avery so much, though. He seems to be the most open minded character on the show.
I get why people like Avery so much, though. He seems to be the most open minded character on the show.
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- 11
Wasn't much the same thing said the other way about the Roseanne remake (that it was for Trump cultists who believed that Hillary was the beginning and end of their troubles)?
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It started out that way, but they at least had Jackie offering a counter opinion. In fact, she and Roseanne had been estranged since the election because of their political views. However, they wisely moved away from politics as the show went on. I get that Murphy Brown is about journalists, and is more inclined to discuss politics, but all of the counter opinions come from right wing stereotypes. If Murphy hates Trump's policies so much, why doesn't she also go after the Democrats who vote with him, yet pretend to be against him?
Instead, the show presents a one sided view where Trump and the GOP are bad, and Hillary and the Democrats are good. Personally, I think it lacks nuance and critical thinking.
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- 24
Yes, I would not have been as upset at the revival if they had provided some attempts at balancing the viewpoints. I did not expect Murphy or any of the others to suddenly start behaving like Republicans...that would have been weird. But I know they were not as stridently liberal in the original.
I recall a few instances on the original series where they tried to balance out the left-leaning viewpoints. They even introduced a young, conservative (or perhaps Libertarian would be more appropriate) part-time correspondent on FYI for a season or so named McGovern (obviously modeled on MTV personality Kennedy). She questioned the others' viewpoints enough to make them have to explain themselves (not just operate in that "everyone thinks this way; how could you possibly think anything else?" bubble) and occasionally pointed out the hypocrisy of their points of view. The leads still did as they pleased and no minds were changed--which is fine--but at least there was representation of opposing points of view. The character didn't really catch on (for whatever reason) but recalling her being on the original series tells me that the producers did know back then that the scripts benefitted from having more than one 'side' represented. Now it seems they don't want that diversity of viewpoints, or maybe they simply don't feel the need to justify their hardline stance. Ironic, since Diane English took great pains in pre-publicity to say that she wanted the show to remind the public that the newsmen and newswomen of Murphy's era were impartial and had no 'agenda'.
The more obvious solution to the situation (and the one providing the most comic potential) would have been for Avery to grow up to become a moderate--that is, not overtly one side or the other. Having him disagree with his mother on occasion would force her to listen, since she can ignore practically anyone else but him. Another opportunity that they passed up on was using the character of Miles Silverberg as the 'opposing voice'. He could have developed conservative viewpoints on certain topics as he moved into middle age, and his occasional interjections in story meetings and/or show prep would harken back to the funny 'power struggles' between Miles and Murphy when he was the new, jumpy exec producer.
I recall a few instances on the original series where they tried to balance out the left-leaning viewpoints. They even introduced a young, conservative (or perhaps Libertarian would be more appropriate) part-time correspondent on FYI for a season or so named McGovern (obviously modeled on MTV personality Kennedy). She questioned the others' viewpoints enough to make them have to explain themselves (not just operate in that "everyone thinks this way; how could you possibly think anything else?" bubble) and occasionally pointed out the hypocrisy of their points of view. The leads still did as they pleased and no minds were changed--which is fine--but at least there was representation of opposing points of view. The character didn't really catch on (for whatever reason) but recalling her being on the original series tells me that the producers did know back then that the scripts benefitted from having more than one 'side' represented. Now it seems they don't want that diversity of viewpoints, or maybe they simply don't feel the need to justify their hardline stance. Ironic, since Diane English took great pains in pre-publicity to say that she wanted the show to remind the public that the newsmen and newswomen of Murphy's era were impartial and had no 'agenda'.
The more obvious solution to the situation (and the one providing the most comic potential) would have been for Avery to grow up to become a moderate--that is, not overtly one side or the other. Having him disagree with his mother on occasion would force her to listen, since she can ignore practically anyone else but him. Another opportunity that they passed up on was using the character of Miles Silverberg as the 'opposing voice'. He could have developed conservative viewpoints on certain topics as he moved into middle age, and his occasional interjections in story meetings and/or show prep would harken back to the funny 'power struggles' between Miles and Murphy when he was the new, jumpy exec producer.