Murphy Brown!!
Murphy Brown is my favourite female character who was every on television, and I say all the time that she should be granted the honour of best female character on TV for all time. Murphy wasn’t a superhero and didn’t have a superbrain or any other superpowers, and more often than not she got into trouble because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut, but this is what makes her such a great character: she does what she thinks is right all the time, and when she wins it’s because she has tried.
In the pilot episode of the series, we see Murphy coming back to work after a stint in rehab because of her alcohol addiction. This as well makes her more human. Murphy struggles with her alcoholism throughout the show and they portrayed this in a real way. In one episode in particular she offered to sponsor another journalist in whom Murphy could spot the symptoms of alcohol addiction.
Murphy Brown as a series was also one of the best at the time. It was a sitcom, yes, but it brought in a lot of real life politics and opinions. In one of the most famous episodes of the entire series (and personally I think one of the best episodes of TV ever) was where they included a real-life segment of news. Politician Dan Quayle spoke poorly about the series and Murphy’s character in particular after she decided to raise her child alone (the father was a war correspondent, and both he and Murphy felt that his job was too important for him to give up, but he would make an appearance in the child’s life when he could). In response to the speech, the fictional news team FYI devoted a segment to the modern American family, showing that not all single mothers are single by choice; fathers die or go to war or are in jail.
Murphy is my favourite female character on TV for all time because she was strong and brave and human. She stuffed up some times and made mistakes and got angry for no reason, but she was also kind and loyal and (mostly) nice to her friends. She and fellow journalist Frank Fontana had one of the best friendships on TV despite their different genders and competitiveness had one of the best friendships on TV despite their different genders and competitiveness---they never tried to make them have a sexual or romantic relationship either!
It seems that a lot of people either don’t like Murphy or don’t know her because she only got 1 vote on my FaceBook poll. If you are one of those people who don’t know about Murphy Brown then please check it out, you won’t be disappointed.
So what does one else thank about Murphy Brown? After reading my views, does Murphy move higher up your list? Let me know in the comments.
Kathy
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