History Main / TheSponsor

The Sponsor is a specific type of {{mentor|s}} who specializes in helping a character, usually the protagonist, deal with the trials and tribulations of recovering from an addiction. A former addict himself, The Sponsor is in a perfect position to give others the benefit of his experience and help keep them on the straight and narrow. The shared struggle between sponsor and sponsee can give the former shades of OlderAndWiser.

* In Comicbook/SuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan, reformed supervillain M.A.C.H. V is Boomerang's sponsor at Supervillains Anonymous. Except Boomerang has no interest in reforming, just in not going back to jail.

* ''{{Dexter}}'': Lila from season 2 becomes Dexter's sponsor after he joins Narcotics Anonymous. Shortly after falling for him, Lila drops all pretense of looking out for Dexter's best interests in favor of deliberately sabotaging his life so that he'll have no one left but her... all the while unaware that Dexter's ''true'' addiction is to [[SerialKiller serial murder]].
* Aaron Stark is protagonist Mark Benford's AA sponsor in ''[[FlashForward2009 Flash Forward]]''. As the first (and only) season of the series progresses, his focus shifts from helping Mark with his addiction to finding his kidnapped daughter.

* William Hurt's character in ''Film/ChangingLanes'' is The Sponsor for Doyle (played by SamuelLJackson). He shows genuine concern for Doyle throughout the film, even going so far as to bail him out of jail during Doyle's EscalatingWar with Creator/BenAffleck's character. Near the end he finally gets fed up with Doyle's increasingly unhinged antics, delivering this [[ReasonYouSuckSpeech scathing commentary]]:

* In the commentary of Film/IronMan2 John Favreau reveals that [[SamuelLJackson Nick Fury]] was written as Tony Stark's sponsor. He even went to AA meetings and talked to various sponsors to make sure his dialogue was right.

* In the commentary of Film/IronMan 2 John Favreau reveals that [[SamuelLJackson Nick Fury]] was written as Tony Stark's sponsor. He even went to AA meetings and talked to various sponsors to make sure his dialogue was right.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Birds Anonymous", Sylvester joins the titular group to kick the bird-eating habit, and his sponsor is there to make sure he doesn't try to eat Tweety in a moment of weakness. [[spoiler:However, the sponsor himself falls OffTheWagon and goes after Tweety, while Sylvester tries to stop him.]]

* Since this version of the character is a recovering drug addict, SherlockHolmes in ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' has one: Alfredo Llamosa, a [[ReformedCriminal reformed car thief]] turned security consultant for car companies. Alfredo proved [[EnsembleDarkhorse rather popular with the fanbase]], and there was [[AndTheFandomRejoiced much joy from the fandom]] when he reappeared in a later episode.

* Since this version of the character is a recovering drug addict, SherlockHolmes in ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' has one: Alfredo Llamosa, a [[ReformedCriminal reformed car thief]] turned security consultant for car companies. Alfredo proved [[EnsembleDarkhorse rather popular with the fanbase]] but has only appeared in [[OneShotCharacter one episode]] so far.

* Subverted in ''TheVentureBros.'' when Sergeant Hatred begins drinking in a fit of depression.

* The Showtime TV series ''Series/RudeAwakening'' was about a BottleFairy going through AA, who ended up having {{UST}} with her sponsor.

* William Hurt's character in ''Film/ChangingLanes'' is The Sponsor for Doyle (played by SamuelLJackson). He shows genuine concern for Doyle throughout the film, even going so far as to bail him out of jail during Doyle's EscalatingWar with BenAffleck's character. Near the end he finally gets fed up with Doyle's increasingly unhinged antics, delivering this [[ReasonYouSuckSpeech scathing commentary]]:

So, you've acknowledged that you have a problem with addiction, and have made the decision to join a [[TropaholicsAnonymous support group]]. While this is a great first step, you will soon find that the path to recovery is a long one, and the temptation to go back to your drug of choice can be great when you are outside the safety of your weekly meetings. If only there was someone you could call for advice. A veteran who is experienced with the pitfalls recovering addicts often face. Someone who could help you stay strong when your willpower is at its lowest...

This is where The Sponsor comes in.

The Sponsor is a specific type of {{mentor|s}} who specializes in helping a character, usually the protagonist, deal with the trials and tribulations of recovering from an addiction. A former addict himself, The Sponsor is in a perfect position to give others the benefit of his experience and help keep them on the straight and narrow. The shared struggle between sponsor and sponsee can give the former shades of OlderAndWiser.

A particularly attentive sponsor will often help a character with issues that on the surface seem unrelated to her addiction... after all, it is often the stresses of life that led the character to addiction in the first place. It is not uncommon to see The Sponsor helping out with repair work, searching for information that will bring down the BigBad, or even bailing the protagonist out of jail. On the other hand, bad sponsors will [[{{Sabotutor}} actively impede]] the recovery of their wards through incompetence, [[EvilMentor malice]], or both.

See {{Mentors}} for comparison with characters whose function is not related to addiction. Sponsors who get in too deep run the risk of provoking RageAgainstTheMentor or MentorOccupationalHazard.

Not to be confused with advertising "sponsors", who may in fact drive a show's production staff to drink ''more''.
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!! Examples:

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In the ''IronMan'' story ''Demon in a Bottle'', Tony Stark had a stint where he gave up the suit and wallowed in booze and despair for a while, but his then-girlfriend Bethany Cabe picked him up and got him back in the game.

[[folder:Film]]
* William Hurt's character in ''Film/ChangingLanes'' is The Sponsor for Doyle (played by [[SamuelLJackson Samuel L. Jackson]]). He shows genuine concern for Doyle throughout the film, even going so far as to bail him out of jail during Doyle's EscalatingWar with BenAffleck's character. Near the end he finally gets fed up with Doyle's increasingly unhinged antics, delivering this [[ReasonYouSuckSpeech scathing commentary]]:
--> "You know what, Doyle? Booze isn't your problem. It never was. You're addicted to ''chaos''. ''Rage'' is your drug of choice."
* ''Film/TheAlphabetKiller'': Though it is not drug related, head of DefectiveDetective Paige's support group Richard Ledge acts in a TheSponsor-like capacity for her, giving her advice on dealing with the resurgence of her visions and even helping her out when she later gets in trouble with the police.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''{{Dexter}}'': Lila from season 2 becomes Dexter's sponsor after he joins Narcotics Anonymous. Shortly after falling for him, Lila drops all pretense of looking out for Dexter's best interests in favor of deliberately sabotaging his life so that he'll have no one left but her... all the while unaware that Dexter's ''true'' addiction is to [[SerialKiller serial murder]].
* Aaron Stark is protagonist Mark Benford's AA sponsor in ''[[FlashForward2009 Flash Forward]]''. As the first (and only) season of the series progresses, his focus shifts from helping Mark with his addiction to finding his kidnapped daughter.
* On ''TheJohnLarroquetteShow'', John had as his AA sponsor David Crosby, perhaps the Poster Boy for rock star addicts. Once at the start of a meeting Crosby admitted he had had fallen off the wagon, leading John to respond: "My ''sponsor'' needs a '''sponsor'''?"
* ''[[ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'': Charlie's court-ordered AA meetings become a lot more voluntary when The Waitress offers to be his sponsor. Unfortunately she's only doing it to get closer to Dennis and drops Charlie when it doesn't work out.
* The Showtime TV series ''Series/RudeAwakening'' was about a BottleFairy going through AA, who ended up having {{UST}} with her sponsor.

* On ''PartyDown'' Ron joins AA and gets a sponsor, who is a plumber. When he needs a plumber at a party, he calls the sponsor, who comes to the alcohol-filled party and promptly falls OffTheWagon. Then ''his'' sponsor shows up. And that's how Ron got kicked out of AA.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* There are dozens of [=RPGs=] where the player becomes this for [=NPCs=] with whom he will spend a grand total of four minutes in conversation. The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series is quite fond of this. (In contrast, if the player character gets addicted in Fallout, the only moral support they get is a shot of detox meds and a stern reprimand.)

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the Season 4 episode of ''TheSimpsons'' "Marge in Chains", Lionel Hutz also calls upon David Crosby when he's tempted by "...that bottle of delicious bourbon. Brownest of the brown liquors..."
* Subverted in ''TheVentureBros.'' when Sergeant Hatred begins drinking in a fit of depression.
-->'''Dean:''' Hatred! You listen to me! This is your ''sponsor'' talking! What is Step #4?
-->'''Hatred:''' Uh...to make a fearless moral inventory of ourselves?
-->'''Dean:''' Yes. And what are you doing in there?
-->'''Hatred:''' I don't know what "moral inventory" ''means!'' And you're not my sponsor!
* In the ''LooneyTunes'' short "Birds Anonymous", Sylvester joins the titular group to kick the bird-eating habit, and his sponsor is there to make sure he doesn't try to eat Tweety in a moment of weakness. [[spoiler:However, the sponsor himself falls {{off the wagon}} and goes after Tweety, while Sylvester tries to stop him.]]

* There are dozens of [=RPGs=] where the player becomes this for [=NPCs=] with whom he will spend a grand total of four minutes in conversation. The ''{{Fallout}}'' series is quite fond of this. (In contrast, if the player character gets addicted in Fallout, the only moral support they get is a shot of detox meds and a stern reprimand.)

** In the commentary of Film/IronMan 2 John Favreau reveals that [[SamuelLJackson Nick Fury]] was written as Tony Stark's sponsor. He even went to AA meetings and talked to various sponsors to make sure his dialogue was right.

* ''TheAlphabetKiller'': Though it is not drug related, head of DefectiveDetective Paige's support group Richard Ledge acts in a TheSponsor-like capacity for her, giving her advice on dealing with the resurgence of her visions and even helping her out when she later gets in trouble with the police.

* [[TheFlintstones Fred Flintstone] once joined Eaters Anonymous, and his sponsor would grab whatever food Fred got a hold on while giving the group's secret call, "Gobble, gobble, gobble!"

* The Showtime TV series ''RudeAwakening'' was about a BottleFairy going through AA, who ended up having {{UST}} with her sponsor.

* Aaron Stark is protagonist Mark Benford's AA sponsor in ''Series/FlashForward''. As the first (and only) season of the series progresses, his focus shifts from helping Mark with his addiction to finding his kidnapped daughter.

The Sponsor is a specific type of [[{{Mentors}} mentor]] that specializes in helping a character, usually the protagonist, deal with the trials and tribulations of recovering from an addiction. A former addict themselves, The Sponsor is in a perfect position to give others the benefit of their experience and help keep them on the straight and narrow. The shared struggle between sponsor and sponsee can give the former shades of OlderAndWiser.

A particularly attentive sponsor will often help a character with issues that on the surface seem unrelated to their addiction... after all, it is often the stresses of life that led the character to addiction in the first place. It is not uncommon to see The Sponsor helping out with repair work, searching for information that will bring down the BigBad, or even bailing the protagonist out of jail. On the other hand, bad sponsors will [[{{Sabotutor}} actively impede]] the recovery of their wards through incompetence, [[EvilMentor malice]], or both.

[[folder: Comic Books]]
* In the ''IronMan'' story ''Demon In A Bottle'', Tony Stark had a stint where he gave up the suit and wallowed in booze and despair for a while, but his then-girlfriend Bethany Cabe picked his ass up and got him back in the game.

[[folder: Film]]

[[folder: Live Action TV]]

[[folder: Video Games]]
* There are dozens of [=RPGs=] where the player becomes this for [=NPCs=] whom they will spend a grand total of four minutes in conversation with. The {{Fallout}} series is quite fond of this. (In contrast, if the player character gets addicted in Fallout, the only moral support they get is a shot of detox meds and a stern talking to.)

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* Subverted in ''TheVentureBros'' when Sergeant Hatred begins drinking in a fit of depression.
-->'''Dean''': Hatred! You listen to me! This is your ''sponsor'' talking! What is Step #4?
-->'''Hatred''': Uh...to make a fearless moral inventory of ourselves?
-->'''Dean''': Yes. And what are you doing in there?
-->'''Hatred''': I don't know what "moral inventory" ''means!'' And you're not my sponsor!