This show is the creation of Diane English & it shows. Every script reflects her values, her morals, & this has been the major work in her life. She will never equal it again.The reason the show worked was the talent of the cast ensemble. Everyone knew Candace Bergen has talent. The surprise is how many folks this show discovered. Grant Shaud for one has never equaled his performance in this in any other show. Faith Ford was another great discovery.The show is set in a television newsroom. A lot of the network news insiders considered it a favorite show of theirs during it's run. It definitely influenced the media generation which it was meant to serve.That is why you rarely see it re-run on TV now. The political satire that was it's forte is now as ancient to this generation as an expired piece of meat. It is no longer funny & teenagers now would not relate to it. This generation is being driven away from being self-righteous snobs which are what most of the characters on Murphy Brown were. That is because Diane English very often put her own reflection in the mirror into the characters she drew for this show. While it was effective then, that effect is no longer in vogue.On Johnny Carson's last show, his monologue made a statement about being a surrogate father for Murphy's just born child. Considering we are pretty much on the verge of having a group of grownups who have never heard of Johnny, nothing better illustrates why the shelf life of this show has expired.It was topical & funny then, & good to look back on for the folks who remember Murphy.

At the top of its class when first introduced in the late nineteen eighties, MURPHY BROWN still holds up as satisfying, warmly humorous "class" television twenty years later in syndication and on DVD.Of course MURPHY BROWN was most notable in its original run for addressing the prime issues of the day, but it is the quality of the writing and acting which glows today.Sadly, few of the "issues" addressed have gone away - "pols" of the ilk of Dan Quayle have even moved up to stealing elections through short counts in Florida and rigged voting machines in Ohio to take the TOP job - where is a Murphy Brown when we need her?), but even conservatives (I'm an occasionally elected - if moderate - Republican myself) could laugh at the balanced writing for MURPHY BROWN the TV show, which took many opportunities to spoof the irony of a newsroom full of dedicated caring professionals (this was just at the time - another topic sharply satirized - when networks were turning the once sacrosanct news departments over to the ministrations of their "entertainment divisions") trying to do a solid job while balancing corporate politics and real personal lives and passions.Some commentators here have had reservations about the comic impact of MURPHY BROWN, perhaps longing for the knock-about, content free physical comedy of the 1950's. I'd suggest that they do not understand the nature of what SITUATION comedy has (thank God) evolved to since the days of I LOVE LUCY and I MARRIED JOAN. The best comedy comes, not from jokes and mugging (though MURPHY BROWN had its fair share of those too), but from carefully developed SITUATIONS and CHARACTER - which is why those "breast cancer episodes" in the latter seasons, with the show admittedly struggling with maintaining its comic focus in the face of departing - and frequently beloved - cast regulars, could glow so strong in so many memories.These things go in cycles, and for those who don't like subtlety in their comedy writing, there will always be another wave of joke filled silliness that doesn't actually engage the mind in a season or two - and some times when you have a brilliant comedienne like Lucile Ball at the core and an innovative creator like Desi Arnaz shaping new ways of presenting the old formulas, it will be memorable - but the shows that really last, and *grow* with each passing season are those like MURPHY BROWN that actually engage the mind and attempt to portray and interact with the world they exist in.MURPHY BROWN may well be the best situation comedy ever not written by Aaron Sorkin (SPORTS NIGHT and WEST WING).Casting - regulars and guest appearances - was uniformly top drawer to match the writing, with a series of outstanding guest stars fleshing out the fictional news magazine (FYI)'s stories and the personal lives of the characters (Murphy's "ex-husband" and Miles' "brother" were brilliant in too infrequent appearances).One of the best and most surprising ongoing story lines was Brown's relationship with her over achieving mother, Avery Brown, played by the great stage actress (and long time President of Actor's Equity!) Coleen Dewhurst. This story line brought a new generation of fans to one of the stage's brightest lights and wisely continued even after the actress's untimely passing. While the first season of MURPHY BROWN has been out on DVD for some time (Dewhurst first appeared in the first season), the issuing company does not appear to be in a hurry to put out subsequent seasons. One can only pray that they will consider a single disc DVD issue of all the Dewhurst episodes (and the one where Murphy's child is named). It would be treasured by fans of the series - and of Dewhurst.

Murphy Brown is the best sitcom ever! It's very smart, funny, and Candice, what can I say, she was so brilliant and deserved all the Emmys she won and even more, I'm her biggest fan. But let's not forget the rest of the cast, they did a great job too. Too bad the series ended. I miss you guys!

In my opinion the best sitcom ever! Candice Bergen, surrounded by a brilliant cast, shows wit and intelligence - and not to mention she is (still in my opinion) probably the world´s most beautiful woman.As, alas, it is dubbed in German in Germany I would give a lot to be able to watch it in original language.