Just when you thought the newest season of Murphy Brown couldn’t get any more of-the-moment, episode six of season eleven leaps one week into the future and takes on the midterm elections – which will be in the past by the time this review posts. “Results May Vary” begins at daybreak as Murphy and Avery both prepare to go live for up to twenty-four hours until the polls close and the results are in.
The Browns take the usual lighthearted jabs at one another about their opposing networks and the company Avery keeps at the Wolf Network. Avery teases Murphy that she won’t be able to stay awake that long and she teases him that he won’t be able to endure a day with Hannity twin John Haggerty without losing his cool. With that, the game is on.
Unused to being on for such a long period of time in recent years, the Murphy in the Morning gang struggles for ways to fill the time and stay alert, both on and off the air. Pat Patel is drafted to bring his unique skills on air but is temporarily thwarted as Miles tries to put Pat into a box he simply refuses to fit into. When Miles finally agrees to let him be himself he shines dramatically, and just in time as Frank gets way too hopped up on caffeine and Corky accidentally says the F-word in the throes of a menopause moment.
Just as Miguel finally convinces Phylis that she has an obligation to vote; if only for the people in America who can’t, the episode ends with a unique perspective on how the elections will turn out on Tuesday. Without giving too much away I’ll say that the episode name is appropriate and the end of the episode sums up the anticipation we all feel right now as America gets ready to make a statement on the course of the next two years and the future beyond.
