Here are my first episode impressions of “Mr. Sunshine” (8:31 p.m. Central Wednesdays on ABC).
1. Even though the writers are trying to make arena manager Ben (Matthew Perry) into a jerk that they can gradually reform as the series progresses, Perry is so intrinsically likable that he actually comes off as a distracted nice guy. When he can’t remember the name of an employee played by Jorge Garcia from “Lost,” and bumblingly calls him Bobert, he strikes me as a nice guy pretending to be a jerk in order to get things done. But I’m OK with that. I don’t want a jerk as a main character.
2. As is often the case in the world of sitcoms, the actors are better than the material. At one point, when Ben asks his girlfriend Alice (“Better Off Ted’s” Andrea Anders), the marketing director at the arena, if she is seeing another man, and she says “Yes, very much so,” Perry’s facial and guttural reaction elicited my only out-loud laugh of the episode. On the page, the scene is generic, but Perry sells it.
3. Ben’s secretary Heather (“Youth in Revolt’s” Portia Doubleday) is the classic quirky cute girl who only exists on TV but that I like anyway. “There’s a guy in your office. And he’s gorgeous,” she tells Ben, and then we see that the guy in his office is schlubby and uncool. It’s the only surprising moment of the pilot — which otherwise tries too hard with ax-wielding clowns and a loose elephant (Yes, it even does an “elephant in the room” visual gag) — so even though people like Heather don’t exist in reality, I like her.
4. When Alice tells Ben she needs to talk, he confesses his love and she breaks up with him in favor of Alonzo (James Lesure), the other arena co-worker she is dating, it rings false. (She cruelly says “I’m 100 percent sure I’m choosing the right guy,” and then Ben starts complimenting her and asking to be her friend.) Rather than rooting for Ben to win her over, I’m rooting for him to meet someone else. But the writers will almost certainly stick with this standard love triangle, unfortunately.
5. When I first heard about “Mr. Sunshine,” I assumed it would be an hour-long show like “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” just with an arena instead of a late-night skit show studio as the setting. But it’s a half-hour show, and while it would be a generalization to say that 44-minute shows are better than 22-minute shows, this one would be better if it was longer. As it stands, the storylines and jokes feel obvious and the characters don’t have room to breathe. Admittedly, Perry’s character on “Studio 60” was often out of breath, too, but there it was because of the job. Here, it’s because “Off the Map” is coming on at 9.
Verdict: Watching the pilot didn’t make me yearn for more “Mr. Sunshine”; it made me want to watch “Studio 60” again. But Perry is a likable lead, and Heather the Secretary and Garcia’s Bobert have potential, so I’ll try it again next week.
