{alltv} Matthew Perry's smarmy charms light up 'Mr. Sunshine'

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Sometimes you have to take stars how, and where, you find them.

Certainly if TV stars are what you're after, you'll find no more appealing lineup than the group gathered for Mr. Sunshine. And that starts with Sunshine himself, Matthew Perry, who returns to the sitcom arena with his well-honed Friends comedy skills enriched by a new, mature vulnerability.

Were he not enough, you get another big name in The West Wing's Allison Janney, enjoying herself — and sharing the joy — as the eccentrically self-centered owner of the arena Perry's Ben manages. And in support, you have Better Off Ted's Andrea Anders (a master at putting an agreeably bent twist on old-fashioned ingénue roles) and, as a late recurring addition, Lost's adorable Jorge Garcia.

What more could you ask? Sharper scripts, for a start, and a better sense that Perry's unhappy central character is strong enough to hold the center of the show. But there's enough promise here, and enough room to grow, that you can't help hoping Sunshine will follow the midterm-correction path set by the show it's replacing, Cougar Town. Which, as fans know, became a much better series when it tweaked its own central character, played by Perry's former co-star Courteney Cox.

That kind of change seems possible herebecause Perry's Ben Donovan is a man seeking self-improvement. He's 40, he's single, and he's just realized that the reason he's alone is because he has no real interest in anyone but himself — as evidenced by his running-joke failure to remember anyone's name. (A joke, by the way, that pays off splendidly in an upcoming episode built around a flashcard malfunction.)

Things are not looking good for Ben. He just lost his girlfriend (Anders) to the frighteningly happy ex-basketball player who runs the arena's outreach program (James Lesure). He has been saddled with an idiot aide (Nate Torrence) who happens to be the owner's son. Oh, and the circus is in town, and that owner (Janney) is terrified of clowns. ("Are they happy? Are they sad? Why are their pockets so big?")

The problem tonight is not just that the episode is a little frantic (that's common with pilots); it's that it's a little too sour as well. It's one thing for Ben to be miserable to other people. We've learned to accept that in a sitcom hero, though for a broadcast-sized audience, it's probably best that he not be abusive to everyone all the time. But it's quite another if the hero is constantly miserable himself. That extra bit of drag is more than this vehicle may be able to pull.

Still, as the show moves on, so does Ben. It's clearer in future episodes that he's good at his job and gets some pleasure out of it. Sunshiney he's not, but some of the storm clouds pass.

If that requires time, well, Perry is worth the wait. His timing, his line readings, his quirks — the unexpected shifts of emphasis, the little shudders, the too-smart-for-the-room exasperation — are, in sitcom terms, iconic. (Think of the way he shoved that "could he be" linguistic construction into the vernacular on Friends.) When he pits his deadpan against Janney's rising hysteria, Sunshine truly sparkles.

I'll take that any day.