 | |
List Price: $27.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 7039
Released: February 8, 2005 |
| Our Price: $2.45 |
| Used Price: $1.95 |
|
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Candice Bergen stars as Murphy Brown, an outspoken TV journalist, who along with her hilariously quirky cohorts of the top-rated newsmagazine show, FYI, struggles to handle personal and professional problems with humor and insight.
DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Documentary
Description of Murphy Brown - The Complete First Season:
The DVD release of Murphy Brown is particularly newsworthy. There had never been anyone on primetime quite like Murphy, the star investigative reporter for the Washington, D.C.-based television news magazine F.Y.I. As created by Diane English and embodied by Candice Bergen, Murphy was, in English's words, "Mike Wallace in a dress." On camera, she was tough, smart, and relentless. Off camera she was intriguingly flawed. In the pilot episode, her character returns to work following a stay at the Betty Ford Clinic. Over the course of the season, her sobriety is supremely tested by the chaotic goings-on inside the funniest newsroom since WJM on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Murphy must contend with an unending parade of ill-suited, stressed-out secretaries (a running joke throughout the series' 10 years), new 25-year-old producer Miles Silverberg (Grant Shaud) whom she rudely dismisses ("While I was being maced at the Democratic Convention in '68, you were wondering if you'd ever meet Adam West"), and new co-anchor Corky Sherwood (Faith Ford), a former Miss America ("by default") with no journalistic background. Murphy is over 40 and prickly, with a penchant for vindictive practical jokes against her colleagues. In short, in the words of a lampooning cartoonist in the episode "Funnies Girl," dynamic, "pain-in-the-butt," Motown-loving Murphy is "a veritable fountain of material."
With its smart and sophisticated writing and seamless ensemble, Murphy Brown instantly established itself as one of television's gold standard series, earning four Emmy Awards for this inaugural season, including Outstanding Lead Actress for Bergen and Outstanding Writing for English. Colleen Dewhurst was also honored for her guest appearance as Murphy's equally intimidating mother in the episode, "Mama Said." A cast and crew retrospective and commentaries by Bergen and English for, respectively, the pilot and classic flashback episode "The Summer of '77" earn this set R*E*S*P*E*C*T. --Donald Liebenson
Murphy Brown - The Complete First Season Reviews:
Best journalistic show 
2009-08-02 - I can't believe the amount of garbage that makes it to DVD -- most not even lasting one whole season, whereas Murphy Brown, the epitome of journalism TV only gets *one* season's recognition. The *entire* series of this show deserves to be put on DVD. How fickle are we...
Lots of Laughs
2009-07-06 - This was as wonderfully funny as I remember it. I actually laughed out loud, a lot. How many times can you say that watching any of the current sitcoms. I'm hoping they release more seasons.
scracthed 
2009-03-18 - first disk is severly scracthed. it will cost more to send it back than pay to have it repaired.
Oldie but goodie
2009-01-06 - I bought this DVD for my mom as a gift. This is one of her favorite shows. Even though it began in the 80's and ended more than 10 years ago, the content is still relevant. The mainstream media is still coming up with ridiculous ways to increase ratings/profits, still hiring unqualified beauty queens as news anchors, etc. The only difference is that real journalists like Murphy are a dying breed. I wish there were more quality shows like this one on TV now. If you want to watch a comedy that doesn't insult your intelligence with slap-stick humor, give this one a try.
And we want Season 2 released! Thanks.
Brings back memories
2008-12-12 - I remember "Murphy Brown" as one of the funniest sitcoms of the past few decades, and seeing the first season again confirms that memory. Candice Bergen is great in the role of Murphy, a feisty, unabashedly liberal, feminist TV journalist. She plays the character as smart, funny, and incredibly convinced of her own infallibility. The remainder of the cast is excellent in their semi-slapstick roles. Whether you agree with the obvious political positions espoused (and I often don't), objectively, you have to admire the writing and presentation of those positions.
