…this writing has none of the wit and sparkle of Murphy Brown. — Marge doppelganger, “Burns’ Heir”

Remember Murphy Brown? Sure you do! The show, featuring CBS’s no-nonsense-tough-as-nails fictional anchorwoman, etched out a nook in pop culture history thanks in no small part to a much-followed storyline in which Ms. Brown entered the world of single motherhood.

As in “Selma’s Choice”, the Murph episode ends in a touching scene in which the new mom/lizard owner sings to her charge that classic Aretha Franklin cut, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”. For Ms. Brown, it was a callback to an earlier episode that season:

Hey, TV used to be pretty okay!