This was perceived as something of a sensation back in the late 80's and early 90's. What is strange is that while other sitcoms who were pushing the envelope got virtually no attention, like Married with Children, Murphy Brown was considered cutting edge.
What the sitcom actually introduced was that you could portray a woman, who was successful in her job, even though she was pushing middle age and to top it all of she was single. In that respect you can say that the sitcom was out of the ordinary. Just think of Claire Huxtable without 5 children.
What was not so great about this was the fact that Murphy Brown relied heavily on stereotypes, at least in the beginning of its run. Aside from Murphy Brown herself there was Phil, the understanding but gruff bartender, the airhead journalist who usually got by on her looks and the jealous co-worker who was as stiff on camera as William Shatner.
Oh, yeah. In case you forgot this took place in a newsroom and was one of dozens of shows that aired in the 90's that did. Starting with the feature film "Broadcast News" TV-shows milked this setting for all it was worth in the 90's.
Every once in a while they found an interesting hook in this show like having Murphy Brown get a new secretary (this was before the term assistant became the right term) every week. Of course, this was spoofed on Seinfeld but in itself this was the most funny thing about this show.
The show was famous for tackling issues but usually it was done in such a straightforward manor that you could just as easily have made this a 50 minute drama series instead.
So not that this was the worst sitcom ever, but I couldn't get many laughs out of the situations portrayed here. Just to name a few Murphy Brown was a recovering alcoholic, she gave birth as a single mother (ha-ha), her best friends were a bartender and a man she hired to paint her house.
What the sitcom actually introduced was that you could portray a woman, who was successful in her job, even though she was pushing middle age and to top it all of she was single. In that respect you can say that the sitcom was out of the ordinary. Just think of Claire Huxtable without 5 children.
What was not so great about this was the fact that Murphy Brown relied heavily on stereotypes, at least in the beginning of its run. Aside from Murphy Brown herself there was Phil, the understanding but gruff bartender, the airhead journalist who usually got by on her looks and the jealous co-worker who was as stiff on camera as William Shatner.
Oh, yeah. In case you forgot this took place in a newsroom and was one of dozens of shows that aired in the 90's that did. Starting with the feature film "Broadcast News" TV-shows milked this setting for all it was worth in the 90's.
Every once in a while they found an interesting hook in this show like having Murphy Brown get a new secretary (this was before the term assistant became the right term) every week. Of course, this was spoofed on Seinfeld but in itself this was the most funny thing about this show.
The show was famous for tackling issues but usually it was done in such a straightforward manor that you could just as easily have made this a 50 minute drama series instead.
So not that this was the worst sitcom ever, but I couldn't get many laughs out of the situations portrayed here. Just to name a few Murphy Brown was a recovering alcoholic, she gave birth as a single mother (ha-ha), her best friends were a bartender and a man she hired to paint her house.