Line #53 Series/MrSunshine2011


1	[[quoteright:214:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mr_Sunshine_7574.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:214: Could he ''be'' any more cynical?]]
3
4	->'''Ben''': I'll tell you what's wrong! Something's happening to me! Roman, is very sad about his mother, and that makes me sad. Crystal, is very ''very'' upset about a [[Franchise/TheSmurfs little blue person]], and that makes me upset. It's just occurring to me now, I'm actually curious, how your night went with Alonzo! What the hell's happening to me?
5	->'''Alice''': Aw, you're becoming an actual human being!
6	->'''Ben''': Well I don't like it!
7
8	''Mr. Sunshine'' is a SitCom about misanthrope Ben Donovan and his work at the Sunshine Center, a second-rate arena in San Diego. Somewhat an [[EnsembleCast ensemble show]], Ben's travails are caused by his wacky employees (and boss) and the occasional JerkAss from the outside world. He's the manager of the arena, and his job is to make sure that the events taking place at the arena run smoothly so the arena makes money.
9
10	Other characters include his boss [[CloudCuckooLander Crystal]], his former [[FriendsWithBenefits benefriend]] Alice, his [[AxCrazy assistant]] Heather, his friend Alonzo, and [[ManChild his boss's son]] Roman.
11
12	Astonishingly, despite starring [[Series/TheWestWing Allison Janney]], Creator/MatthewPerry, Creator/NateTorrence, and James Lesure (also Studio 60) this is ''not'' a show by Creator/AaronSorkin. Rather, it was co-created by Perry himself, and he may have recruited the other two from his time on Sorkin's shows. Or it could be [[ThereAreNoCoincidences just a coincidence]].
13
14	In a move that couldn't ''be'' less surprising, the series was cancelled after lackluster ratings for its half-season run.
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16	Not to be confused with the [[Series/MrSunshine2018 South Korean drama of the same name]].
17
18	----
19	!!Examples:
20	* AccidentalMisnaming: Ben insists to the pop start that he is ''not'' Larry King. "He's old!"
21	* TheAce: Alonzo, the Sunshine Centre's community outreach director. He gives blood (more than he should) and is athletic, and sets up clothing drives, and is handsome and and and.
22	** This is being [[AvertedTrope averted]] as Alonzo gets more BackStory.
23	* AxCrazy: Heather, at least so everyone thinks. She once lit a man on fire. She's also stalking Ben, but not romantically.
24	* BlindDate: How Heather sets Ben up with her sister.
25	* BookcasePassage: Subverted. When leading Ben to her secret office, Crystal pulls out a book, and Ben thinks it's this. Turns out it's just a book. Of course, there ''is'' a hidden door.
26	* BrickJoke: The elephant from the pilot.
27	* TheCastShowOff: The seventh episode centers on a tennis tournament. Matt Perry played tennis in college and participates in the tournament.
28	** Of course [[TheAce Alonso]] who has never even picked up a racket has Perry running frantically to keep up.
29	* CatFight: How the double date ends.
30	--> '''Ben:''' I'm gonna go.
31	--> '''Heather:''' I should slap you.
32	--> '''Stephanie:''' I should slap ''you''.
33	--> '''Ben:''' [[GirlOnGirlIsHot I'm gonna stay.]]
34	* CloudCuckooLander: Crystal Cohen. Also, her son Roman. He really likes boats.
35	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Crystal, when Ben shows her a certain photo.
36	--> '''Ben:''' I just spoke to the photographer and this is the picture they were going to go with in tomorrow's paper.
37	--> '''Crystal:''' Ooh! Look at my arms! Pilates is paying off.
38	--> '''Ben:''' Yes; may I direct your attention to the terrified child you're hurling through the air?
39	* CrazyPrepared: Heather, though she may just be crazy. When no one can park because the traffic guys are at Crystal's house detailing her cars and the gate's still locked:
40	--> '''Ben:''' You probably have bolt cutters under your desk. [She does.]
41	* DeadpanSnarker: Ben
42	* TheDitz: Roman. He ''literally'' knows nothing.
43	--> '''Ben''': Yesterday he asked me what the letter "Q" was.
44	* FanService: Lingerie football.
45	* ForgottenBirthday: Averted in the pilot, Heather puts "Happy Birthday BEN" on the big screen, but in the next episode absolutely no one realizes that its the 10th anniversary of Ben working at the arena.
46	* FriendsWithBenefits: Ben and Alice are this in the backstory, but she leaves him in the pilot for his best friend.
47	* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Invoked by Heather's sister.
48	--> '''Ben:''' No, I can stay; you seem great.
49	--> '''Stephanie:''' Wanna watch me make out with the hostess?
50	--> '''Ben:''' Really?
51	--> '''Stephanie:''' No. I'm not ''that'' great.
52	* GrievousHarmWithABody: When Crystal stops using the child as a shield, she hurls him at the clowns.
53	* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Alonzo found a tennis racket and is sending Ben, who's been playing since he was four or five, running all over the court.
54	* HumanShield: Crystal defends herself from [[ItMakesSenseInContext axe-wielding]] [[MonsterClown clowns]] by picking up a small child.
55	* ImpossibleTask: Invoked by the staff. Attempting to WOW Crystal, they make her a four foot tall, three-tierd cake entirely out of churros. The entire contest involves people trying to do this.
56	* IntoxicationEnsues: Crystal took a pill. She is then entirely stoned.
57	* JerkAss: The teen pop star, played by Nick Jonas, of episode two. Makes outrageous demands and is fully aware that he's a nightmare.
58	--> "Here's the problem: I wasn't parented properly and I'm very rich. It's a brutal combination.
59	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Ben. Possibly Crystal.
60	* KillItWithFire: Apparently, Heather's MO. Also how Roman proves his love to her.
61	* LiteralMetaphor: In the pilot, after [[spoiler:Crystal dumps Ben for Alonzo]], [[BrickJoke the missing elephant appears]].
62	-->'''Alonzo''': There's an elephant in the room.\
63	'''Ben''' [''walking away'']: Yeah, I know.\
64	'''Alonzo''': Ben?\
65	[''Ben turns. The elephant trumpets.'']\
66	'''Ben''': Oh, I see what you mean.
67	* [[OnlySaneEmployee Liz Lemon Job]]: Ben's job in a nutshell.
68	* LoonyFan: Ben, to Tony Hawk and Music/CarrieUnderwood, though it's more a business thing with him.
69	--> '''Heather:''' Oh, I almost forgot, you have a dinner tonight with pro skateboarder Tony Hawk.
70	--> '''Ben:''' Oh? I do? I love Tony Hawk! How did this happen?
71	--> '''Heather:''' He called saying he got all your letters asking to include the Sunshine Center on his tour and that he'd like to have dinner tonight to discuss it.
72	--> '''Ben:''' Tony Hawk; this is so exciting. I guess you're right; if you pester celebrities long enough eventually they have to notice you. Oh! Let's go ahead and send another muffin basket to Carrie Underwood.
73	** Also Heather of... the Unabomber...
74	* LovableSexManiac: Crystal has an upbeat personality and, among her other eccentricities, often uses the stadium to try and get laid.
75	--> '''Crystal:''' I see in the schedule that John Cougar Mellencamp is playing here next Wednesday; I'd very much like to sleep with him.
76	* LoveAtFirstSight: Roman and Heather
77	* LudicrousPrecision: Within the first thirty seconds of the first episode.
78	--> '''Ben:''' Every night 17,505 people come here expecting to have a good time and I make sure they do.
79	** It's perfectly reasonable for the person who runs a major arena to know what the maximum seating capacity is, though not necessarily to mention it every time he describes his job.
80	* MamaBear: Heather, to her sister. Apparently, that guy she lit on fire? Yeah, he broke up with her sister.
81	* ManChild: Roman. To an extreme.
82	* TheMatchmaker: Ben's assistant Heather really wants him to get with her sister.
83	* MoodWhiplash: Crystal finds out that the woman who was stealing from her had a granddaughter named for her. This heartwarming moment is followed by a whiplash inducing speech where she bounces from heartwarming compliments to shrill insults. This is followed by people learning lessons and making apologies. Which is followed by a drunk man having a breakdown over the PA system. The series thrives on these.
84	* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Tennis legend Jimmy Connors! And his partner, boy actor Fred Savage! Against NBA star Alonzo Pope! And his partner, the guy in the red shirt!
85	* {{Nepotism}}: Why Roman has a job at the arena.
86	* TheNicknamer: Ben can't remember any of his employees' names (Your name's really Bob Bobinson Bobert?). To learn everyone's names, he puts their names and pictures on flashcards and gives them nicknames based on their initials and something noticeable about them (orange pumpkin, scary mole). It didn't end well.
87	* NoodleImplements: Right before having sex, Ben puts on a large foam #1 finger.
88	** "Don't look in that drawer. It will change you."
89	* NoodleIncident: Crystal picked up a child to use as a shield to defend herself from clowns with axes. Then she threw him at the clowns. Ben bribed the photographers to use a photo that made it look a bit more like she was ''hugging'' the child.
90	--> '''Crystal:''' How much?
91	--> '''Ben:''' More than when you kicked the policeman , less than when you [[KillItWithWater sank the mayor's boat.]]
92	* OhCrap: Ben walks around a corner and finds himself face to face with an angry bull. Then he starts [[SubvertedTrope talking to it about his girl troubles]].
93	* OnlySaneMan: Ben in the second episode. Everyone is so desperate to win Crystal's contest that they're all ignoring their jobs. Ben realizes from second the first that this would happen and that he would end up doing all the work.
94	* OverlyLongName: Crystal's dog, Riverdale Admiral Horatio Nelson Ticklefight.
95	* PassedOverPromotion: Crystal gives the golf cart [[spoiler:to Roman, but Ben]] thought he'd be getting it for his years of service.
96	* PleaseDumpMe: Ben doesn't want Heather to set him on fire for dumping Stephanie, so he tries to get Stephanie to dump him.
97	* RacistGrandma: Crystal, sort of. "I specifically requested an asian" (about a group of ''children''). Then she sings a '''song'''.
98	--> '''Ben:''' Well, apart from the musical interlude, that was actually moving.
99	* SourSupporter: Ben will help Crystal out with her shenanigans and her lusty lustings and trying to get to know her son and running her arena, but he's not particularly nice about it.
100	* SpeedSex: Alice mocks Ben. Since they then proceed to have sex, she was probably joking. Probably.
101	* SpiritualSuccessor: To Series/BetterOffTed
102	* SupervillainLair: Crystal has a second, secret office. It has a bar, a bed, a closet, and a grand piano.
103	* ThisIsWrongOnSoManyLevels: The pop star tells Ben to get him a teen girl's phone number (the hottest girl). This is frightfully easy, and Ben is unhappy about it.
104	--> '''Ben:''' I know this is going to sound creepy and weird, but could I have your phone number?
105	--> '''Girl:''' Sure!
106	--> '''Ben:''' Sure? Just like that? Why don't I just give you a ride home, too?
107	--> '''Girl:''' Okay!
108	--> '''Ben:''' Oh my god! I do not approve of this behavior young lady, that is dangerous! [[HypocriticalHumor Is that an eight?]]
109	* TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket: Roman is not a fry cook. He tells Ben this while putting heavy bandages on BOTH his hands.
110	--> '''Ben:''' Yes, but in his defense, in his very brief time here he has demonstrated little or no skill at anything.
111	* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: All over the place.
112	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Crystal is terrified of clowns. Then she's charged by a horde of axe-wielding clowns...
113	* WouldHurtAChild: Played for comedy, when Crystal uses a child first as shield then as a weapon.

Context Series / MrSunshine2011