Where is Murphy Brown when you need her?
Alessandra Stanley’s piece in More magazine (March 2005….a little dated I know but still relevant) laments the passing of strong female role models like Murphy Brown in favor of the dim-witted, vapid posse of Desperate Housewives. I agree. Where are the smart women of television yesteryear? They don’t all have to be Susan Dey and the smart, attractive women of LA Law 
but it would be a pleasant change of pace to have some semblance of intelligence in the women on today’s TV. With the exception of The Oprah Winfrey Show, of course, even the daytime talk shows have turned trashy. The Tyra Banks Show seems to be scraping the absolute bottom of the barrel as one episode recently features Ms. Banks offering her breasts to ‘an expert’ for groping to ‘prove’ that they really were her own. What??! The majority of television viewers are women. What am I missing here? Maybe I am the odd duck who would rather see a clever female detective in her 60’s investigating crime in Small Town, USA or even a Barnes-turned-Ewing working in retail just for her own sense of satisfaction. They are stronger, more intriguing role models than a scantily-clad Teri Hatcher coyly walking down a catwalk. What smart, sassy woman can rescue us from ourselves? Any ideas?