Mr. Sunshine

Matthew Perry writes, executive produces and stars in this fab new comedy from ABC in which the manager of a sports centre has a mid life crisis.

Perry still has enough of the traits of Chandler Bing to entertain old fans and has smartly surrounded himself with a good supporting cast. Although at times this show did feel all on his head with the other characters never really stepping up to the plate.

Allison Janney of West Wing fame is on top form as Crystal and former Joey cast member Andrea Anders adds suitable bite to her role as Perry's love interest while former Studio 60 man Nate Torrence is a scream as Roman.

It is a shame that this show never got renewed from a second series but with dipping rating figures and the critics on it's back the sunshine soon dimmed.

This was my favourite show from this past T.V. season and I really hope it gets picked up for next year. It's a sharp, well-written sitcom with great comedic performances by virtually the entire main cast. The premise revolves around Ben (Matthew Perry), who is the manager of a major sports arena in San Diego, and his off-beat staff members and wacky boss (Allison Janney).

Janney really sinks her teeth into this quasi-insane character, who, despite being the owner of the arena, delegates most of the work and responsibility to Ben. I really enjoyed the season-long arc involving her awkward and contrived attempts to be a better mom to her 20-something son and new employee, Roman (Nate Torrence), who seems to have been neglected by her and is just looking for a healthy mother-son relationship. Actually, I liked any scene or plot line which involved Roman. Torrence is hilarious and charming pretty much every time he appears on screen and gets a laughs from me simply through his delivery. I've read some people saying they find him obnoxious and don't like him, but I just can't understand why that is, because to me, he's my favourite character.

Even though the performances are great, I think the real star of this series is the writing. I just watched the 'Celebrity Tennis' episode on NETFLIX and I was laughing consistently throughout. You can't find a lot of new shows with scripts this smart and so densely packed with humour. However, I have a sense that it may not have mainstream appeal, since there didn't seem to be a lot of buzz and fanfare for it.

I really hope people discover it on NETFLIX (The first 8 episodes are currently available) and a fan-base starts to develop that is large enough to keep it going indefinitely on ABC. I also think ABC should have been airing more reruns of the first season this summer to give it a chance to catch on, and I really hope this does not indicate that they are giving up on it.

I encourage you to watch it if you can (start with the first episode just to get a sense of all the main plot lines and relationships) and decide for yourself if you think it's as good as I do. Note, however, that this is one of those sitcoms without a laugh-track, which is an important feature of this show since I just can't imagine it working as well with one.

Season Rating: 3.5 stars out of 4

He's back! After the failing of Studio 60 a while back, it's good to have another show of Matthew Perry on TV. The show, though, is clearly not the same as Studio 60. Mr. Sunshine is a lot less serious, but has true potential to be something good. It was almost disappointing to find out the episode lasted only 20-something minutes, because up until now each episode left me wanting more. It was already a done deal when the intro (short, dry, funny) already made me laugh. Fingers crossed they will keep shooting and airing Mr. Sunshine, because it'll definitely brighten your day. Let's hope for more crazy events, dry humor and extravagant characters alternated with a hint of romance and yes, some heartwarming, touching scenes. So far, so good!

This show truly is joy.

With moments that pay tribute to Matthew Perry's best known character, Chandler, and the talents of Allison Janney, Andrea Anders and James Lesure, this show couldn't have a better start. The inclusion of Jorge Garcia only benefited the series premiere, with his clear comedic background that was showcased during his six-year role as Hurley on "Lost."

What "Mr. Sunshine" offers isn't a new, breath-stopping idea -- a lonely company man who decides to change his life. Movies were made based on this concept, but "Mr. Sunshine" offers to retell the story with a bunch of bizarre and colourful characters, that no matter how much medication they take, or how fast they cut themselves in the kitchen -- we cannot ignore our growing love towards them.

With 25-30 minutes that make up an episode, the pilot left me wanting more. Whether it was the sexual tension between Ben and Alice, or the hilarious insanity of Crystal Cohen (I can already predict an Emmy nomination for Allison Janney), "Mr. Sunshine" offers a refreshing new side to televised comedy: one that goes hand-in-hand with "Modern Family," and could very well be the start of a new, legendary comedy line-up.

When Ben uttered the words "Thank you" to one of his many employees for the first time, I felt like thanking the show creators as well. Sure, it was only the first taste of the show, but I could already feel that we're in for an hysterical journey,

If the rest of the episodes live up to pilot, Mr Sunshine will be a big hit. It is a smart comedy with dialogue reminiscent of some of the episodes of "West Wing". Allison Janney & Matthew Perry play off each other well and though Matthew Perry's character seems a little like, "Chandler - the Later Years", it's still very funny.

As with most ensemble comedies, it will take a little time to learn the characters and their individual personalities. I think this show has the potential to be a big hit and it is in an appropriate spot in the line-up at the present time, following 3 other hit comedies. Let's hope the network doesn't move it around to other time spots, as sometimes happens, before it has time to create its audience.