I think Sue Ann came along at just the right time because Murray's jokes at Ted's expense were becoming predictable. I loved the jabs at Sue Ann and Murray was so good at it.
Al - Alicia
An - Andrew
Jo - Joseph
Be - Benjamin
I thought Sue Ann's back at Murray were just as witty! 😂
shareI agree. Ted is a much more sympathetic character also so it's more enjoyable to see him take shots at her rather than Ted
shareMurray digs at Sue Ann were much more fun because she was smarter than Ted and knew that she had been insulted. What's more, she was witty enough to threw some back at Murray's direction from time to time which didn't make it a one way street......
shareTrue!
Though Murray was well aware that when he zinged Ted, there would be one person in the room (namely Ted) who would manage to take it as a compliment -- so neither Murray nor the audience thought of his shots as truly mean-spirited.
Then, as you say, Sue Ann knew how to zing right back -- so that was more a battle of wits rather than mean spirited.
So the writers always managed, one way or another, to keep the zingers functionally harmless, so the audience could feel free to laugh at them.