Thursday TV Ratings 11/1/18: Will & Grace and The Good Place Steady (UPDATED)

Finals Update: Grey's Anatomy (+0.1), Superstore (+0.1), The Good Place (+0.1), Mom (+0.1) and Thursday Night Football (+1.1) adjusted up. I Feel Bad (-0.1) adjusted down.

Time	Show	18-49 Ratings	Viewers (mil)	Channel
8 PM	Thursday Night Football	3.2/9	11.06	Fox
	The Big Bang Theory	2.1/10	12.43	CBS
	Grey's Anatomy	1.6/7	6.62	ABC
	Superstore	0.9/4	3.27	NBC
	Supernatural	0.4/2	1.45	The CW
8:30 PM	Young Sheldon	1.7/7	10.94	CBS
	The Good Place	0.8/3	2.73	NBC
9 PM	Mom	1.2/5	7.96	CBS
	Station 19	0.9/4	4.92	ABC
	Will & Grace	0.8/4	3.47	NBC
	Legacies	0.4/2	1.15	The CW
9:30 PM	Murphy Brown	0.8/4	5.98	CBS
	I Feel Bad	0.5/3	2.29	NBC
10 PM	Law & Order: SVU	0.9/4	4.54	NBC
	How To Get Away With Murder	0.8/4	2.91	ABC
	SWAT	0.7/3	5.24	CBS

Murphy Brown Season 11 Episode 3 Review

Murphy Brown's return to TV hasn't exactly been perfect. Or, to be quite honest, all that great. It's had its moments, but for the most part, it's been a disappointment. A lot of the jokes border on cringe-worthy and some of the acting hasn't been up to par. Tonight's #MeToo episode is one I've been looking forward to for a while, so I'm hoping that it can mark a real turning point for the show.

It's time for the sexual harassment seminar at work, and even the main gang can't get out of it. The seminar is incredibly long and boring, but eventually it does end. Unfortunately for Miles, these guidelines mean that he can't ask out a co-worker that seems to be interested in him.

The gang talks about #MeToo experiences, and Murphy seems to have something serious on her mind, but she stays silent. That day at home, Murphy comes clean about her own #MeToo experience. Her professor in college sexually harassed her after an award ceremony, something she's never told anyone before. She blames herself for the experience, but Avery tells her not to blame herself because this is on the professor, not her.

Murphy talks to Phyllis about her experience, and asks her what to do about it. Phyllis tells her to go to see the professor, who is still living, and hava a talk with him. So she does, and she meets his new assistant. The assistant lets Murphy wait in his living room. But before the professor arrives, she tells lets assistant know that she can have a job at her network in case she ever needs to leave her job. Then the professor comes in, and Murphy finally confronts him. The professor tells her she's a liar, and that Murphy made the first move. She yells at him, and asks for him to tell her the truth, and to give her an apology. He tells her that everything she's done has been because of him. She decides to leave, and take hew old college award that she left behind after the attack with her. Meanwhile, the coworker Miles is interested in tells her she's leaving her job, so he asks her out, and she says to call her sometime.

Wrap-Up:

Of the three revival episodes that have aired so far, this one was by far the best. While it still had some of the staleness of the first two episodes, it didn't feel quite as forced and the jokes weren't as corny. Sure, there were still some moments of cringe to be found (Miguel hiding anytime the word ice was said), but for the most part, the show is finding its footing.

As much as I love her, Candice Bergen wasn't really on top of her game for the show's first two episodes. But she really had a moment to shine this episode and she delivered. The scene between Murphy and her old professor was nothing short of powerful, and Bergen delivered an excellent performance reminiscent of her earlier performances. Her scenes with Tyne Daly's Phyllis were also great, and were definitely the funniest parts of the episode. We haven't known Phyllis long, but what we've seen of her so far has been great.

While this was an episode that should obviously be devoted to Murphy, I would like to see the other characters get more screentime. Most of the show so far has revolved only around Murphy, with the others only really being along for the ride. Unfortunately, with stories as boring and contrived as Miles had this week, the other characters aren't really making a case for more screentime. One character that does deserve it though it Corky (a personal favorite character from the show's original run), who has gotten the least to do so far, at least of the original cast.

This episode restored my faith in Murphy Brown, and has made me feel that it can be great once again. This episode wasn't fantastic, but it was a big improvement, and that's all I needed to see this time in order for me to stick around a bit longer. I'm hoping next week can be an even better episode.

Score: 8/10
Grade: B

Murphy Brown Season 11 Premiere Review

One of TV's most acclaimed comedies, Murphy Brown, returned tonight. It seems like the perfect time for a revival, considering the endless stream of news lately due to the Trump administration and its critics, and I'm excited to see how Murphy & Co. will fit into this new, tech-savvy world.

It's election night, and Murphy awakes to the news that Donald Trump has been elected president. She's not thrilled. A jump forward in time puts Murphy at Phil's, where we learn that she's still getting used to retirement from FYI. Two months later, Avery gives Murphy some big news: he's moving back to Washington to work for the Wolf Network. Murphy is incredibly disappointed, because the Wolf Network is terrible. Murphy then gives Avery bigger, more important news: she's coming back to TV. Frank and Corky will be on the show as well, just like old time. Unfortunately, the show will be competing directly with Avery's show. Later on, Murphy goes to see Miles, and he's a bit of a hermit. And he kinda lost his mind. After two years on The View, he had to go "away" for a while. And now he's back in town and the gang needs him to help them on their show. Of course, he agrees to be a part of the show.

Miles introduces the gang to Pat Patel, their social media guy. This first meeting doesn't go very well, but maybe they'll learn over time. Then, Hillary Clinton shows up for an interview as Murphy's secretary. She's definitely overqualified for the job, but that's still an improvement over... every other secretary Murphy has ever had.

It's the day before the big premiere, and Murphy is setting up social media accounts, with Avery's help. Avery tells Murphy how to tweet, and her first tweet is an interesting one, involving the president. Avery warns her not to send it, but she does anyway. The tweet goes viral, and Miles is freaking out about it. Murphy worries about the show flopping, and Miles actually gives her a pep talk. And then, they're on the air and it begins with an interview of an (unqualified) EPA official, Mary Vernon. Corky has a hot flash live on television, and then Mary falls through the ice. Immediately after this, Trump tweets about Murphy, calling her Old Murphy. This causes Murphy to freak out, which makes Corky's hot flash look like nothing. That night, Murphy is pretty upset about the way she acted on TV, but she's proud of Avery. The ratings come in for the shows, and Murphy's show blows Avery's out of the water.

Wrap-Up:
While it was great to see the gang back together again, the show itself felt a bit off. It is understandable, though. It's been a long time since Murphy Brown was last on TV and these revivals usually do take some perfecting. Revivals of Roseanne and Will & Grace were similarly off at first (I will admit to over-marking their debuts in my early reviews, the nostalgia factor blinded me), and later found their footing. That's why I think this show can be the same. But I can only review what we've already seen, and this premiere was just okay, and not outstanding.

I'm not sure why all of these revivals think it's a good idea to go full steam ahead with politics for their premieres, but it's really not. Some handle it better than others, but for the most part, it's just a bit awkward. It made sense with Murphy Brown, but I still think it could have been executed better. It felt cheap to just make the same Trump jokes we've heard time and time again, and this all culminated in the cringe-worthy scene involving Trump tweeting back at Murphy. I could have done without that, and the show could have, too.

Despite my criticisms, I actually did enjoy this episode. While it wasn't the best all-around, the cast was still pretty funny, especially Candice Bergen, who is still hilarious as Murphy Brown. There were also quite a few instances of me laughing out loud (I will admit to laughing at a Trump joke, I know I'm a hypocrite), and that's definitely the most important part of a sitcom for me. The dig at Roseanne's cancelation and the Hillary Clinton appearance were some of the highlights for me, and they were responsible for some of my biggest laughs.

I will keep giving this show a chance, because I can still feel some of that old magic. Maybe it'll just take some time to truly become its best self.

Score: 6.5/10
Grade: C