Description: Murphy Brown was created by Diane English. Murphy is the star reporter on a news magazine show called FYI. The show is based in Washington DC, which gives the FYI team more than enough material to work with. Murphy lives in a townhouse that she has been having repainted for the duration of the series, Eldin the painter may never finish the job, but Murphy doesn't seem to mind. Murphy owes her Betty Ford trip to Phil, he owns the local bar & restaurant where the staff and the rest of the political scene have lunch. Phil knows about everything going on in Washington. Jim Dial is the uptight senior anchor, a seasoned veteran, who accompanied Murphy on her trip to the Betty Ford Clinic. Frank is a single guy and constantly looking for a girlfriend, he is also Murphy's best friend. Corky is a former Miss America turned news person, she covers all the "hard" news. Miles is a young Harvard graduate, whose first "real job" out of school is as executive producer of FYI. Murphy has trouble keeping a secretary, in this guide the actors that play this small part has their appearance number placed after their names, take note of the increasing number after the character name of Secretary. Some secretaries had no dialog and did not get credited, others wound up on the cutting room floor, this accounts for holes in the numbering scheme. When Murphy became a new mother, she began to run through nannies the same way, they are also numbered after the character name of Nanny. After running through 6 of them, she makes the obvious choice for a nanny, Eldin, who prefers the term "Big Guy." It also takes Murphy four months to give the baby his name. After nine seasons in the newsroom, the series looked like it might take a different direction in the 10th season. Murphy may change careers and become a White House senior advisor. Amazing since in the past she had been banned from the White House press room on several occassions. True to form, when she does, it is only for a short time. When a commercial for the series aired during the 49th Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards, it seemed to indicate that Murphy's life would take a different turn. It certainly does when she faces her own mortality when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Murphy Brown has done well with the Prime Time Emmy Awards with nominations in many categories and numerous awards for Candice Bergen as "Best Actress in a Comedy Series." So many in fact that she declined the nomination for 1996, allowing Helen Hunt to get the Emmy that Candice thought she deserved a few years earlier. First air date: November 14, 1988 Last air date: May 18, 1998 Original air time: Monday 9:00:00 pm (Eastern) Episodes: 247 Color Episodes + 1 Special Nielsen Ratings: (Top 30 or Better) #27 in the 1989–1990 Season #6 in the 1990–1991 Season #3 in the 1991–1992 Season #4 in the 1992–1993 Season #9 in the 1993–1994 Season #16 in the 1994–1995 Season #20 in the 1995–1996 Season