Ep 15. Guess Who's Coming to Luncheon

Murphy Brown season 4 episode 15, titled "Guess Who's Coming to Luncheon," follows the employees of FYI as they prepare for a high-profile lunch with a potential sponsor. All of the usual suspects are present, including Murphy, Corky, Frank, Jim, and Miles. However, tensions rise when Murphy's estranged mother, Avery Brown, unexpectedly shows up.

Avery is a famous feminist icon and author who has been estranged from Murphy for many years. Their relationship is strained, to say the least, and Murphy is not happy to see her mother at work. However, Avery claims that she came to town to promote her new book and thought she would stop by to say hello. Inevitably, the two women begin to bicker and fight, with Murphy accusing Avery of abandoning her family and Avery accusing Murphy of being too self-centered.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team is scrambling to prepare for the lunch with the sponsor. They are hoping that the company will agree to advertise on FYI, which would be a major coup for the struggling news show. However, everything goes wrong when the sponsor brings his teenage daughter along to the lunch. The girl is moody and uninterested in the news, which makes everyone uncomfortable.

To make matters worse, the girl sees Avery and immediately recognizes her as a feminist icon. She begins to fawn over Avery, much to Murphy's chagrin. Avery is happy to soak up the praise, but Murphy is annoyed that her mother is getting attention while they are trying to impress the sponsor. The tension between the two women continues to build, with both of them refusing to back down.

As the lunch goes on, the rest of the team becomes increasingly worried that they will not land the sponsor. They try to salvage the situation by engaging the girl in conversation, but nothing seems to work. Finally, Murphy realizes that she needs to make a sacrifice to salvage the day. She offers to take Avery out to lunch, freeing up the sponsor and his daughter to leave.

As Murphy and Avery leave the restaurant, they continue to argue, but the tension has lessened somewhat. Avery tells Murphy that she never expected to see her on TV, and that she is proud of her daughter's success. Murphy softens a bit and admits that she misses her mother, but that she cannot forgive her for abandoning the family. Avery tells Murphy that she has been going through a rough patch lately, and that she needs her daughter's support now more than ever.

The episode ends with the rest of the team breathing a sigh of relief that the sponsor has left, while Murphy and Avery walk through the streets of Washington DC. They are both smiling now, having remembered some good memories from their past. The future is still uncertain, but for now, they are content to put their differences aside and enjoy the day.