Monsters of Television

“Larry King’s so old he had to retire from sitting in a chair.”

A friend of mine tried to defend Mr. Sunshine to me last night by saying it’s good because it’s “vintage Matthew Perry.” That’s true. That’s also the problem.

Just because a former Friends friend is playing themselves doesn’t mean the show is going to be good. Do you not remember Joey? As much as I love Matthew Perry, now matter how vintage he may be, I am still not loving this show. All it is is Matthew Perry surrounded by unfunny people and hating his life. I feel ya, MP.

That’s what it’s like watching your show.

This latest episode featured Crystal holding a contest to find the most valued employee at The Sunshine Center, the winner receiving a golf cart. So Ben’s reason for hating his job this week (which seems like it’s going to be the theme for every episode) is he is having to pick up everyone’s slack while they neglect their jobs due to trying to impress Crystal. It doesn’t help that pop star rock star Eli Cutler (played by Nick “Remember that band I used to be in? No? Please?” Jonas) is performing that night and acting like more of a diva than Aretha Franklin in that Snickers commercial. To top everything off. no one remembered that it’s the 10th anniversary of his working at The Sunshine Center. Life is hard. While Ben feels overworked and under appreciated, we do see that he is really great at his job. And for all of his complaining, he loves it there.

There’s a great wasted B story in this episode concerning Alonzo and Alice. The newly serious couple go head to head in the most valued employee contest. Alice goes so far as to steal frisbees from blind kids. But the story just drops off, there is no resolution or payoff or lesson learned or anything for these two, which brings me to another central problem with this show: it is too much about Matthew Perry.

Yes he created the show and yes he is the main character and yes he is the biggest star but the show is just a (unfunny) vehicle for him and the rest of the show suffers because of that fact. The Alonzo and Alice story just dies so that we can shift more focus on Ben. Mr. Sunshine needs to A) get funny and B) utilize the supporting cast more. Use Matthew Perry to sell your show but give us another reason to stick around and watch. Look at Cougar Town, Courtney Cox is supported by a hilarious ensemble. That’s what needs to be done.

Again: do you not remember Joey?

Final Thoughts:

• Nice Brothers & Sisters joke/plug there, ABC.
• I want a cake made entirely of churros.
• “America! America! The system works, people!”
• Andrea Anders (Alice) was also a regular on Joey? Is she a curse? Could that spell doom for Mr. Sunshine?