Has the sun set on Mr. Sunshine?

It’s interesting that the final episode of ABC’s Mr. Sunshine, for the time being at least, aired during the same week as the NCAA men’s basketball tournament ended. Because like all the so-called “bubble teams” who congregate around television sets on Selection Sunday, to see if they’ve been included in the championship bracket, Matthew Perry and his castmates find themselves on the bubble, waiting to see if they’ll be part of ABC’s programming going forward. The ratings have not been spectacular, in spite of following Modern Family, one of the network’s strongest sitcoms (although, they were re-runs). People have complained about unlikeable characters and mediocre plotlines. Personally, I have two major criticisms:

1. They’ve spent (wasted) a lot of time spinning their wheels establishing the characters personalities and flaws; we’ve seen Crystal (Allison Janney) absentmindedly blow off her son Roman (Nate Torrence) and then apologize more than enough times to get the concept that she’s not a great mom but she’s trying, darn it.
2. They’ve failed to exploit a potential gold mine of material; the glamorous world of sports and entertainment as seen from the not-so-glamorous viewpoint of those who work in a sports and entertainment venue. Why bother setting up a work place comedy in a setting that’s never been used before if you’re not going to use that to your advantage? Most of the major plot points could have easily been set in a hospital or a police station or at a newspaper or a school, any setting that’s been used a thousand times, with very few changes.

The end result — if this is the end — is a thoroughly average sitcom with a lot of wasted potential. And if this is the end, they went out with their most sentimental episode yet. Ben meets Vivian (Lizzy Caplan), who turns out to be Crystal’s new administrative assistant — a fact that didn’t come up in what little conversation they shared the night before. They mutually agree to a relationship of nothing but casual hook-ups, which works great until Ben, realizing that Vivian is the female him and therefor, perfect, wants more. Of course, this dooms the relationship, in spite of Ben’s attempts to prolong it by exploiting Vivian’s odd motherly fixation on Roman. Ben handles this heartbreak maturely and actually shows signs of development, resulting in probably the strongest A story of the series. The B and C stories seemed to suffer as a result, as they were so insignificant as to be forgotten while the episode was taking place. Crystal lusts after a 50-year-old BMX stunt rider (which is a shot at skateboarder Tony Hawk maybe?), causing her to miss Roman’s dental appointment. Meanwhile, Alonzo’s seemingly infinite supply of patience is tested by The Mascot who commandeers his office as a storage space.

Clark Brooks (@clarkbrooks) is a professional writer living in Tampa, Florida “which is another way of saying I have no idea how I’m going to pay my light bill next month.” Also, thanks to the internet, he’s an ordained minister and will gladly commit your wedding in exchange for an invitation to the reception and a seat next to a morally-liberal bridesmaid.

Clacked by Guest Clacker
on Apr 07, 2011 @ 21:50 EST5EDT