Already a very dated show.... - Murphy Brown (1988) Discussion

[–] nancys_nightmare 13 years ago

I started watching the show in reruns before the season 1 DVD came out, when I was in middle school, in the year 2005. So yes a lot of it kind of went over my head but that just made me want to learn about it, and I understood a lot of it too. I loved that show so much I named my dog Murphy Brown. I'm a 19 year old now and am still very much in love with the show. I agree that most kids wouldn't get it or even like it because it is a somewhat political show but I also wouldn't undermine the intelligence of this generation.

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[–] mitchellhundred 13 years ago

Nancys nightmare is this you? http://www.theonion.com/articles/nations-weirdest-teenager-buys-season -one-dvd-of-m,21004/

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[–] nancys_nightmare 13 years ago

No I guess I'm the girl version of that? Lol.

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[–] TMC-4 12 years ago

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeaderThanDisco

During its network run, Murphy Brown was one of the most talked about, critically acclaimed shows on the air. Today, it's nowhere to be found in syndication, and first season DVD sales were so poor that the second season was never even released. The show's reliance on topical humor is almost certainly a factor; jokes about Dan Quayle aren't nearly as funny 20 years later. It definitely doesn't help that its defining moment, Murphy's pregnancy and the subsequent feud with Dan Quayle, not only happened relatively early (the show ran for another six seasons after that), but has aged poorly — it seems quaint by today's standards for Quayle to have made such a big deal about a single mother on television.

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[–] hodie 12 years ago

Murphy Brown jumped the shark when she had that baby.

"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"

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[–] jritty 11 years ago

The term 'dated' is moronic - as are people that use it. Everything old is dated...but one man's 'dated' is another man's 'classic'.

You Suck...now deal with it.

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[–] CCRider01 11 years ago

I wonder if the people making the "dated" comments are doing so because they are ones that have become "dated", more so than the show itself lol. Certainly some TV shows do not hold up well to repeat viewing after they have been in syndication for a number of years, and looking "dated" can be part of it, but for me, Murphy Brown does not fit that bill. Sure it used topics relevant to the time period as the base for many of the story lines, but most of the subject matter (and overall humor of the show) still works today.

Murphy Brown is also another example of an extremely popular and critically acclaimed TV show of the 80's and 90's that has an IMDB rating that IMO, does not accurately represent its merits.

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[–] tsegat 10 years ago

I've been re-watching Murphy Brown on Encore Classic from the very beginning. I find it interesting that the politics are often the same, but the names have changed.

Watched one last week about a loser who couldn't hold a job, so he ran for congress as a republican and won - Wallace Shawn, "The Best and Not-So-Brightest". The character wasn't even a republican. He reminds me of so many strange people who win seats in congress, but appear to have no qualifications whatsoever to do much of anything! Change a few names (Gingrich to Boehner perhaps) and it would fit right in today.

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[–] carolineno 10 years ago

I agree tsegat. I think people get caught up in the shoulder pads and perms and can't see that the content is till very relevant. As sitcoms go, that is.

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[–] tsegat 10 years ago

I wasn't really expecting it to be as relevant as it is. I'm thoroughly enjoying the show all over again.

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[–] carolineno 10 years ago

Me, too. And I'm finding Murphy less acerbic this time around.

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[–] osolis 10 years ago

Murphy Brown dated itself the minute it premiered. Seriously, any time a show devotes a portion of it's writing to making references to events of the day it gets dated. However, if a show is truly and timelessly funny, it'll overcome that. I Love Lucy is a perfect example. Unless you're a fan of classic movies, chances are you won't know who Cornell Wilde or William Holden is but the writing and comedy performances in that show are so good that it doesn't matter. I don't get the same feeling from Murphy Brown. It's very dated.

The modern equivalent to Murphy Brown would be The Big Bang Theory. As popular as it is today, in the future it'll be forgotten by the majority, remembered only by a few. It's pop culture references, while funny today, will leave future viewers scratching their heads as to why those references were so important in the first place.

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[–] dreaming (43) 8 years ago

tsegat:

Yeah,like the majority of trumpf's cabinet,and trumpf himself,lol.

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[–] professor_of_gamez 8 years ago

I would assume that's why it's not seen in syndication.

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[–] anbmom 8 years ago

I personally love the dated aspect, it gives a window into the past.

The reason the show isn't shown much in syndication is the opening music. They don't have permission to use many of the original songs that were featured and syndication would be a huge problem.

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[–] dreaming (43) 8 years ago

That same reason is why another show I love called Frank's Place has still never been released on DVD--due to the music rights issue. A damn shame too,since it was such a great show.

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[–] missy (174) 7 years ago

I loved it at the time; I will probably watch it again one day (the old episodes) but I would rather not see the reboot.

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[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 6 years ago

The current (past) issues of the day did date it. I can't speak for others, but I find that it adds to the charm while watching the reruns these days. It's like a refresher course in history. The history is quite funny too!

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

The OP either set up a straw man at which to tilt, or is just ignorant, or both. Topical humor, by dint of BEING topical, has a very short shelf-life. Sheesh! There was once a network show titled That Was The Week That Was, that did humorous takes on the past week’s news. Trot that out, or all of SNL’s Weekend Update segments, or episodes of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and tell me how current they are. Topical humor: look into it!

But Candace Burgen’s comic TIMING is eternal. Her father was Edgar Bergen, who was renowned in his day as a comic ventriloquist whose best-known puppets were Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Candace was quite a famous high-fashion model in her youth. A dazzling woman with a wicked wit is a force of nature. And legs up to her neck.

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[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 6 years ago

I agree. I understand what you are saying. I'm just not as good at expressing myself, but I do understand about topical humor.

Yes. I know of Candace Bergen and her background. I haven't exactly been living under a rock for the past 60something years. I have even read her autobiography some years ago. I love much of her work.
Have you seen her in Book Club? Very funny. My only complaint is that it being an ensemble piece, she didn't get as much screen time as I would have liked.

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

Goodness, my dear Margo, I wasn’t speaking to you. I was addressing the nimrods on this topic. You are not a nimrod!

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[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 6 years ago

😄 Sorry. I thought you were talking to me directly. The reply was to me.... I got confused. Are you sure that I'm not a nimrod? I feel like one right about now. LOL!

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

You couldn’t be a nimrod if you tried, Margo; and I would never presume to lecture you!

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[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 6 years ago

Thanks for saying so.

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