Murphy Brown (TV Series) Bob & Murphy & Ted & Avery (1990) User Reviews

"I like to surprise Murphy, and I'm the only one that can do it."

[mark.waltz · 10/10 · 27 March 2021]

Yep, Avery Brown is back, and the whole town is going to be aware of it...or else. Murphy and the crew have just been on a 24 hour continuous news story, and she's not prepared for the arrival of her mother, let alone Avery's news. She's decided not only to move to Washington DC, but to move in with her daughter. Murphy tells her mother simply in passing that she needs to find a man, and Avery goes out and does just that, picking up a handsome older man (George Coe) at the national gallery. To make matters more complicated for Murphy, Avery invites his son (John Getz) along, and they go for a night on the town. Murphy is insecure about going out on a blind date because as she says in a reflective moment that when men see her on TV, they only assume that she's a certain way and never call her again. At Avery's insistence, they end up in a dive bar playing pool, and when Coe declares "Remember, this is a man's game. It's in our genes", Avery declares war, and takes over the pool table, winning every game which of course doesn't sit well with the two men. That gives Murphy the confidence that she needs, and there's a funny twist when the two men drop the two women off for the evening. It's a very funny episode that shows these two sophisticated women in an unexpected place, but even more important, it's another episode that helps mother and daughter bond. In reflection, it's sad because loyal viewers know what's coming up, and their last scene seems to reflect a knowledge of her passing. It's facing the inevitable with dignity, and a huge round of applause for the amazing lady that Colleen Dewhurst was. Of course, Avery Brown lived on through her spirit in the soul of another human, and you couldn't ask for a better eulogy than that.