This week, Mr. Sunshine got away from casting high-profile guest stars from the 1970s (well, more like guest stars who had high profiles in the 1970s) and left the action in the hands of the principal cast. The ads hinted at a mix-up in scheduling that had a rodeo and a funeral scheduled at the same time, but that was a red herring. That’s a shame, because that kind of thing does happen and it would have been funny to see a situation like that dealt with. Instead, we got another helping of relationship issues.
Ben changed things up a bit by re-assigning Roman to Alice, as an answer to her pleas for an assistant and as a way to get Roman out from under his nose. For all of Ben’s faults, you can’t say he’s an ineffective manager. Of course, the first thing Roman does is mix up Alice’s emails, sending the one for a pedestrian dinner meeting with a client to Alonzo and an appeal for some quality time to Ben. Of course, since this is sitcom land, nobody figures it out until several people’s lives are thrown into a tailspin. None more so than Alonzo, who has been spending time with his ex-wife, with whom he remains chummy because he’s such a nice guy … and they’re still legally married! BOOM! Of course, Alonzo claims it’s strictly clerical; he’s carrying her on his health insurance. And while that may be the kind of thing a nice guy would do, keeping it a secret from his girlfriend is something a sleazeball would do, and a truly good guy would know the difference.
Is it possible that Alonzo has some flaws, perhaps even more dirty laundry that has yet to be aired out? I guess not, because the writers wrapped everything with a neat, hastily arranged ribbon by having him apologize to Alice, who, of course, happily accepts it. Probably because it happened at a memorial service, held for a recently deceased cleaning lady who Crystal considered a friend, until finding out the woman was stealing from her for years and passing the items on to her family members. The Russian nesting dolls one of the grieving family members gives to Crystal as a gift teach her that there are many facets to an individual and after learning that the cleaning lady’s granddaughter is named Crystal, she half-abandons her plan to trash the cleaning woman in her eulogy (she still trashes her, but also praises and forgives her). Only on television are funerals uplifting sources of valuable life lessons.
As someone who was formerly employed in the arena industry, the layout of the Sunshine Center throws me a little bit. Some aspects of the arena’s look are spot on, particularly the tacky furniture and weird patterns painted on the cinderblock walls in the hallways. And they do a good job of presenting heavy traffic and barely-controlled mayhem in the service concourses. But the offices, where most of the show’s activity takes place, are kind of weird. For starters: way too wide open, spacious and well-lit. Also, office space in an arena is typically located on the ground floor or at least a relatively lower level, for the sake of easy accessibility in conducting day-to-day business. Yet, whenever we’re in one of the characters’ offices, it’s obvious from the view out the windows that they’re several stories up. And in this episode, when Ben visits the “wacky” public address announcer (a bit that went absolutely nowhere) in his booth, presumably high up in the Sunshine Center stands, Ben mentions that he “came down” to see him. Where exactly are the Sunshine Center’s offices? On the roof?
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 Mar 31, 2011 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
I don’t think that Roman messed up the emails. Alice’s line was to have Roman remind her to follow up with Ben about an “email I sent”. With that and the conversation that Ben and Alice have later when they straighten it out where she says that she emailed Ben the wrong one, it seems to be Alice’s fault.
I loved how they made Roman look like a quality assistant with the phone call he got from Alice as he walked into the apartment. This will be a good fit for him and a solid piece for the show.