Mr. Sunshine

There's some smart slapstick, and I believe that Perry could be the one sane man in an arena that holds 17,505 people.

It's a busy opening, including brief but satisfying guest appearances by Jorge "Hurley" Garcia and an elephant. The show is well played down to the smallest parts.

Unfortunately, things just never really gel in a pilot episode that falls flat and is only intermittently funny....In fact, only Janney, whose gleefully oblivious character spews un-PC zingers and keeps a huge self-portrait in her office, makes a truly fresh impression.

Much like "Cougar Town" was back in the fall of '09, Mr. Sunshine is a show with a lot of likable performers, a solid creative pedigree, occasional laughs and a whole lot of room for improvement.

Even when the pacing and writing and performances seem to line up, some intangible quality fails to quite hit the spot.

It just doesn't feel like it's setting up a story we're really going to care about.

The premiere, which was written by and stars "Friends'" Matthew Perry, has a premise that's full of possibility but a delivery that never arrives.