Original subtitles

Earth angel, earth angel, will you be mine?

My darling dear, love you all the time.

I'm just a fool,

a fool in love with you.

Yes,

she is back.

And in case any of you want to know, it was a great trip.

Mrs. Thatcher's interview was terrific, and I sat next to Smokey Robinson on the

plane.

Look, his dinner roll.

Very funny.

Attention, please.

I'm looking for Murphy Brown.

Someone tell me where she is.

Mother! Murphy.

Gee, this is a... A surprise. Yeah.

Big surprise.

How are you, Mother? I'm fine. How are you, Murphy? Just fine.

So, Mother, is there some new gallery opening in town?

No. Oh, is there some big fundraising event?

No.

Well, why are you here, Mother?

Well, do I need an excuse to visit my daughter? I thought I'd like to spend a

little time with you. As a matter of fact, I've cleared my schedule, so I'm

available to stay as long as you'd like.

Jim, come here, quickly.

There's someone I'd like you to meet.

Frank Fontana, Jim Dial. This is Avery Brown, my mother.

Your mother?

Well, it's great to meet you, Mrs. Brown.

Wow, Murph, you've got a mother.

Lovely to meet you.

I hope you enjoy your stay in the nation's capital.

Be sure to visit the Treasury Building.

They have a million dollars on display.

Avery Brown, Miles Silverberg.

This is Murphy's mother?

Wow, it is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Brown.

How do you do?

You know, I don't often think of Murphy as having a mother.

Let me just say, she's doing great here at FYI. She has a very good attitude,

and she's learning to work well with others.

So, tell me, Mrs. Brown, is Mr. Brown here as well?

No, Mr. Brown is in Chicago with a woman half his age.

I've been divorced for 15 years. I got the house and a lot of money. He got his

underwear and the asphalt on the driveway.

Oh.

Are you married, Mr. Dial? Yes, yes, I am. Oh, that's too bad.

You're a very attractive man, bright and a good height.

Well, in another life.

I'm not married.

Young man, have you ever heard the expression,

Can't pound a nail with a tack hammer.

Boy, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Mother, why don't we go into my office and we can talk?

It's been very nice meeting all of you. I'm sure I'll see a lot more of you.

Guys, don't go far.

Mother, just go in and make yourself comfortable. I'll get you some coffee.

Something's really wrong, guys. My mother never just dropped in on me.

If we made up a list of favorite things to do, visit each other would be about

tied with get appendectomy.

Not one visit we've had that wasn't a disaster.

Well, maybe this time it'll be different. Why don't you look at this as

opportunity to change the past?

Sounds great in theory, but she's not fooling me for a minute. I know there's

reason why she's here, and I'm not looking forward to finding out what it

Like I really wanted to marry her.

You just sent the steak back, Mother.

You didn't have to go into the kitchen and make the chef eat it.

You can't let people get away with shoddy service. It starts with

meat and ends with President Quail.

Your townhouse is lovely, dear.

Oh, thank you, Mother.

I had some work done on it since you saw it last.

Although you still have that picture over the mantle, I've never understood

you gravitate to florals. I like that painting.

You just think you do.

I'll send you something else when I get home.

Well, what are we going to do now?

We could play poker or we could find another place for that couch.

I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted.

What do you say we call it a day?

Oh, now just wait a minute.

Go to bed without our hot cocoa? You know it's tradition.

I've been thinking a lot about that lately.

Remember how Eloise used to bring it to us on our favorite silver tray with one

praline cookie for you and one praline cookie for me?

And you'd sit on my lap and we'd listen to the Nutcracker Suite.

Oh, God, you're dying.

That's why you're here, isn't it? I apologize for everything.

I was going to send you a Christmas card last year, but I didn't have any

stamps, and you know what the lines are like. What are you talking about? I'm

not dying.

For God's sake, do I look like I'm dying?

Now, come on.

What do you say we get our hot cocoa for old time's sake, okay?

Okay.

Do you know how to make hot cocoa?

No, do you?

Where is Eloise when we need her?

I'll go see if I can figure it out.

My mother.

This is your mother?

Wow. I never pictured you having a mother.

Well, nice to meet you.

I guess I should be glad there were no wire coat hangers laying around.

Eldon's the one who's doing the work on the house, Mother. He keeps strange

hours.

So, looks like we'll finally be getting some home cooking around this place,

huh?

You know, your daughter, she's no Julia Childs. Maybe while you're here, you

could help her out a little bit.

Teach her how to select produce.

Stuff a nice turkey.

Check his pockets for jewelry.

Eldon, did I mention my mother as a curator at the National Gallery in

Philadelphia? Mother, you know, Eldon is no ordinary house painter. He's an

artist. I'm a student of the WPA and Russian constructivist period.

Which is why murals fascinate me. When I first saw the ceiling, A Rockefeller

Plaza.

I wept.

Well, you know, I curated an exhibit of Kandinsky's work last year.

There's a certain utopian nostalgia in his work that I find enlightening. You

know, my favorite artist of that era is Lusitsky. His work is atypical, but I

think it was important.

What can I tell you? She likes to paint me over the mantle, too.

Excuse me while I go set the kitchen on fire.

You know, dear, I think maybe you're right about turning in.

Mr., uh... Bernicke.

I hope I didn't leave any scars. We'll continue our conversation tomorrow.

Murphy, you get your rest. I'm taking you shopping tomorrow, and we're going

drop in on the hairdressers.

It looks like time for a trim.

Good night, Mother.

Sleep tight.

Don't let the bedbugs bite.

What a captivating woman. Oh, yeah? Well, then you go shopping with her

she drags you from store to store, forcing you to try on things you hate.

to the hairdresser with her while she and Mr.

Fabio decide whether you should have bangs or not.

Well, not this time.

I've come a long way in the last few years, and it's about time I made her

realize that.

I think it's ridiculous, Murphy, to go to a museum when I can spend the rest of

the day with my daughter in her own environment. I told you, Mother, there's

nothing happening today. I'm going to make a few calls and do some paperwork.

That's it. Go to the Smithsonian. You'll have a much better time.

Well, if you're sure that I've been to the Smithsonian, maybe I'll take a tour

of the White House and see what damage the bushes have done.

There you go.

Don't say anything.

I wasn't going to.

Love the hat, Mrs. Brown.

Murphy, we need a meeting with that. I had to kill the piece on the insanity

plea, and we need to get something in its place right away.

Aha, I knew something good was going to happen today. A meeting. I love

meetings. You're welcome to sit in, Mrs. Brown. I know that.

Come on, what are we waiting for? We have a deadline to meet.

Everyone, gather around. Put your thinking caps on.

I see Murphy's already wearing hers.

As you know, we're facing a crisis situation.

48 hours till airtime, and we have no lead story.

Our backups are highly sensitive, and they've not yet cleared legal.

This is due to the changing climate standards and practices, which mandates

much more stringent code of ethics in broadcast journalism.

Miles is trying to act smart because we have a visitor.

Would you work with me here, Corky?

Look, what if we do an update on Star Wars with a focus on the new Secretary

Defense? It's not bad, although it feels a little overdone.

How about that piece on the Witness Protection Program?

We're still waiting on two key interviews, Jim. What about the Supreme

cutback on affirmative action? I think that's something we should cover.

I like that for the future, but it seems too ambitious for our deadline.

Well, you know, you've got to do something on airport security. It's a

timely subject now, and you'd be remiss if you didn't. Correct me if I'm wrong,

but the FAA is releasing a national study next month. A wife of one of the

committee members is an acquaintance of mine. I could make a call.

I love this.

This is great.

Timely and highly promotable. Murphy.

I want you to get on it right away.

What if I don't want to do a story on airport security?

What if I want to do affirmative action?

You can't do affirmative action. You don't have the time.

I do, too.

I have time.

I don't want to do her story.

I want to do mine.

Don't be stubborn, dear.

Listen to your mother now.

I don't want to.

Murphy, you know how I hate to pull rank.

Do you want to be on TV this week?

Well, thanks.

Thanks a lot.

Okay, I'll do it.

I'll do airport security.

But I don't have to like it, and you can't make me.

Are you making the burger smaller?

Didn't you used to serve two cups of coleslaw on each plate?

I don't like it. I like the looks of this, Murphy.

You're doing the same thing with food you used to do with booze.

This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that your mother's in town,

would it?

How'd you know my mother's in town? She came in here about an hour ago.

She found six ways to increase the efficiency of my staff and help throw

drunk.

Damn good -looking woman, too.

Got good calves.

Hey, Merv.

Hi, Frank.

So, are you gonna come back to the office today, or are you planning on

here right through dinner?

I'm hiding, Frank.

What do you mean, hiding?

Hiding, hiding.

What's wrong with you?

This is so absurd.

I'm an adult woman, an accomplished woman. My mother comes to visit me, and

instantly reduced to an eight -year -old. I feel stupid and little, and all

furniture looks bigger than it is.

You've got to be kidding me. admit, she is a pretty amazing woman.

She even looks good in hats. Frank, how do you live up to that?

Maybe you shouldn't try. I stopped trying to please my parents five years

I bought them a condo in Boca Raton, moved them down there. Two weeks later,

hurricane hits, and suddenly it's my fault. I'm telling you, you can't win.

just can't win.

Then there's the little matter of why she's here, which is still a mystery.

I want to show you something, Frank.

This is a picture of my mother and father.

Right. Well, do you see anything strange?

No. I don't look like either of them.

That's the answer, Frank. That's what she's come to tell me.

I'm adopted.

You know, Murph, for somebody who holds down a job and dresses herself in the

morning, you are one donut short of a dozen.

I just wish I could have a closer relationship with her.

Do you know that in our adult lives we've never said I love you to one

I tried to once, but... Well.

I was thinking I'd invite her to the show tomorrow night. Let her sit in on a

live broadcast.

See me in action. Doing what I do best. What do you think?

I think you should stop trying to please her so much.

Your mother seems to be enjoying herself.

Well, I really think she is.

Bringing her onto my turf was a great idea. I'm starting to feel like my old

self again.

See, I told you you could get through this visit in one piece.

She's such a dear, sweet woman, Murphy.

She really does deserve grandchildren.

There's just a few minutes till airtime, Mother.

Why don't we go over here, and you can watch the show near Miles. He can

any complicated technical things that might come up.

Just don't ask me how the picture goes through the air and gets into the

television. Still don't get it.

Okay, Murphy, here's your copy.

The guy from the FAA is in the green room. Now, he likes to talk charts and

numbers, so you're going to have to find some way to personalize the interview.

Oh, ask him about his daughter's trip to Europe last summer. He sat by the phone

and chewed his nails until she landed safely.

This is great.

You've got to use that, Murphy.

Well, I want to start by asking him who intends to pay for increased security.

The airlines, the government, or the consumer?

Oh, I think the more compelling issue is who are they hiring and how are they

training them?

Mother, you have to talk dollars and cents first.

Why? Because that's the primary issue.

Not to me, it isn't. Well, that's you.

And this is me.

And I'm not you, and you're not me.

And why did you make me wear those hats to school? I hated those hats.

I hated every single one of them. And you know which one I hated most? The

beret. That's right. And remember when I told you Shelley Horn stole it out of

my locker? Well, she didn't. I tied it to the back of my bike and dragged it

half a mile past the Kramer's German Shepherd who chewed it into a million

lolly pieces while I watched and I laughed like this.

Enjoy the show, Mother.

You little stinker.

You've been sneaking around after me ever since you were a kid and you're

doing it.

Well, now I know one thing for sure. I'm definitely not adopted.

You know, that was a side of you I've never seen before.

And it's a side of me you're never going to see again.

We haven't laughed like that in a long time.

No.

Felt good.

Ah.

I wish it could happen more often.

Mother, why are you here?

Well, I just felt I... I thought that... When you're the only child I've gotten,

I thought it was about time we learned how to be mother and daughter.

Mother, I don't know how to be your daughter.

Because I don't know how to be perfect. I've been trying for 40 years, but I

just don't seem to be getting anywhere.

Well, if there's anybody who isn't perfect, it's me.

Oh, I've done a lot of things in my life, but when you compare them to

child, they don't mean very much.

You're my great achievement.

Somewhere long ago, I lost you, and I never got you back.

Surprised?

Mother admitting to failure.

But I'll tell you something.

In here, I know all the secrets.

Tell me one.

I never wanted to have a birthday party. Do you know why?

Because I was afraid no one would come.

I'll tell you another one.

I'm terrified to walk into a room full of strangers because I'm sure no one

want to talk to me.

I'll tell you one of mine.

I've never said I love you because I'm afraid no one will say it back.

Why don't you try it?

I love you.

I love you.

You know what? I'm in the mood for all of a sudden. What?

Praline cookies.

Oh, that sounds great.

Let's go in the kitchen and bake some.

Do you know how to bake praline cookies?

No, do you?

No. Feel brave?

Let's go for it.