Benson

Benson Dunwoody is a main character on Cartoon Network's Regular Show. He is a gumball machine also known as The Park's manager. As the manager, he is the boss of every park worker (with the possible exception of Pops). He has a short temper and has a tendency of yelling at Mordecai and Rigby every time they slack off. Benson made his debut in J.G. Quintel's animated short "2 in the AM PM", where one of the cashiers transformed into a prototype version of Benson after being drugged from candy. He then made his first appearance in the pilot. In the short film The Naive Man from Lolliland, proto-Pops calls his chauffeur Benson, however in the film Benson appears to be a human not a gumball machine.

## Appearance

Benson is a gumball machine (standing at 5'4” and about 150 pounds) with pinkish purple/red gumballs enclosed by a glass dome, sunken eyes and a large, straight nose that just about overlaps his mouth. He is 34 for most of the series. The gumballs may act as facial hair for Benson, as noted by story boarder Benton Connor. It is also worth noting that the dispenser slot sits in a rather phallic position. The turn switch on his chest is shaped like a heart symbol, hinting that's probably where his heart is. When his latch is open it is considered to him being naked, as well as his private area. If shown sick, as shown in "Sandwich of Death", his gumballs will turn green. It has been hinted that Benson once had hair in "150 Piece Kit," when one of the band members of Hair to the Throne had insulted Benson by asking him, "What happened to your hair?" and calling him chrome-dome, with Benson responding that it's hereditary, although the band members were shown to all be wearing wigs at the end. Also, in Benson's flashback in "Stick Hockey", Benson was shown to have long black hair. But in "Peeps," he had some stubble where his gumballs were for a short period of time, which could've meant he was growing a beard, even though this was the only episode showing it in his real-life self. In total, there has been three times Benson had facial hair. As already mentioned, Benson had stubble for a short period of time in "Peeps." The other two times were in the episodes "Jinx" and "More Smarter," In "Jinx," he had a full beard in his negative demon form, and he had stubble in his barbaric form in "More Smarter," hinting he is able to grow facial hair. In the episode "Expert or Liar" Benson is shown ripping his hair out during a flashback after losing on a game show. Also, in "Terror Tales of the Park IV" (Unfinished Business), in Benson's flashback in which he was conversing with Mr. Maellard, he had the same hairstyle as he did in "Expert or Liar" (before it fell out), implying that this event took place before the game show and was perhaps even his first day at the park.

## Personality

Benson's short temper is usually attributed to the continuous lack of productivity from Mordecai and Rigby on work time, with the two strongly preferring to play video games, eat, and nap instead of working. Benson regularly tells them that they will be fired if they do not perform a simple task, whether it's buying tortillas or "fixing" the park or the house after a large explosion. Benson often says that he places rules and restrictions on Mordecai and Rigby to show how important their duties are and increase their work ethic. They often miss Benson's point entirely, if not pretending to understand only until Benson goes away. Stemming from their usually negative work relationship, he has a tendency to harass Mordecai and Rigby, as seen in "The Best Burger in the World," "Pie Contest," "Peeps," "A Bunch of Full Grown Geese" and "Lunch Break."

Benson is a hard and fair boss during work hours, but outside of that time, he is friendly and social, even with Mordecai and Rigby. Whenever Benson is in a good mood, he'll reward his employees with time off, usually in the form of nightly entertainment or dining out. Benson enjoys his work at the park and he will do anything to save his job if he is at the risk of being fired.