The original blue-sky show balanced darkness and humor better than any of its successors.
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Its a jungle out there.
Randy Newmans jaunty theme song warns us as much at the beginning of (nearly) every episode ofMonk.
If its not clear from that description, its also a really funny show!
Ultimately, though,Monkis a show about love.
A new movie on Peacock,Mr.
As several of his friends point out inMr.
Monks Last Case, post-COVID the whole world is living like Mr. Monk.
Youll thank me later.
Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum is the weakest of the bunch.
Without the grounding presence of Stottlemeyer and Disher, Monks heightened character has nothing to bounce against.
ManyMonkepisodes are sad this one is sadandboring.
Natalie is trying to throw Monk a surprise 50th birthday party, which he keeps thwarting.
A maintenance man is killed in an apparent accident, but Monk isnt convinced.
And I havent even mentioned the introduction of T.K.
Troy talks Monk through his extreme claustrophobia until the captain and Randy arrive to rescue them.
Setting aside Dr. Krogers egregious ethical breaches here, its just not that interesting.
This isnt even the first time hes been buried alive!
(See: Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra.)
Monk quickly determines that Gregorio is a good guy who didnt kill his girlfriend.
He even comes to help Sharonas son Benjy (Kane Ritchotte) with his Little League games.
Its more fun when we at least have the possibility of figuring out the mystery ourselves before Monk does.
Rather than creative, it just looks cringe.
Voodoo dolls seem to be predicting accidental deaths, and Natalie is convinced theyre really magic.
The show has played with that hypocrisy before but without the vague racism that brings down this episode.
Sure, hes a curmudgeon, but hes not a monster.
The show is typically great at balancing its tone, but this one was a swing and a miss.
(See: Mr. Monk Gets Hypnotized.)
(The rest of the group members were all murdered by a fellow patient.
Its a whole thing.)
Sure, the monk/Monk wordplay is fun, but thats alotof character development to cram into one episode.
Middle school was hard enough for all of us, we dont need to relive it!
Too bad that the long road to get there is a slog.
Its dull up until theCooper Clandream sequence, with a healthy sprinkling of slut-shaming thrown in for good measure.
Elizabeth Perkins is fabulous as the boozy, washed-up child actress, though.
He just had an accomplice, and thats whose DNA was found.
So this episode just kind of feels likeMonkspinning its wheels.
Unfortunately for Monk, that includes the councilman Harold Krenshaw.
(In case the joke isnt clear, plato is Spanish for plate … or dish.)
The mystery is also pretty clever.
The medical examiner who determined that the boy drowned midair was a fugitive.
It has to be a fun murder-of-the-week mystery, while also setting up Monks reinstatement in the next episode.
(See: Mr. Monk and the Badge.)
Its admittedly pretty funny to watch Monk venture to make a good impression while surrounded by everything he hates.
Unfortunately the episode isnt much more interesting.
Glenne Headly is always a treasure, though.
The resolution is a classic whodunnit twist: Marilyn has an identical twin named Patrice.
Its so ridiculous I have to applaud the moxie, even if the resolution doesnt quite feel earned.
(I dont know why its always funny to see someone hit by a bus!)
But the episode loses points in comparison, as its the second mob-related episode in the shows run.
Theres just no beating that.
(Cooper cameos in the reenactment, which is just delightful.)
Natalie, naturally, panics.
And then it happensagain.
But it doesnt ring quite true that hed need to be reminded that Trudy wouldnt want this for him.
95 & 96.
Captain Stottlemeyer doesnt even like Monk!
He notices things no one else does but also lets a perpetrator get away because hes afraid of heights.
Then hes able to overcome his fears, briefly, when Sharona is in danger.
We also learn the stakes of Trudys unsolved murder and the potential for Monk to be reinstated.
It was good enough to get picked up for a series order, and thats all that really matters!
Because this isMonk, naturally she turns out to be a murderer.
A very bad girlfriend indeed.
Season 8, Episode 3: Mr. Monk and the UFO
Okay, now were just being silly.
Mr. Monk thinks he sees a flying saucer when Natalies car breaks down in the Nevada desert.
Naturally, UFO enthusiasts flock to the site and begin to think Monk is an extraterrestrial himself.
This episode does both, to mixed results.
Howard Sternesque shock jock Max Hudsons wife dies from a gas leak while hes on the air.
Her sister is convinced Hudson killed her, though, and enlists Monks help to solve it.
But this episodes main purpose is to give us more of Trudys backstory.
A pretty good Monk episode thats also a commentary on the subjectivity of art?
But the real meat of the episode is a new relationship Monk strikes up with his neighbor, Marge.
Season 1, Episode 4: Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale
This is a tough one.
(Its Adam Arkin here, but hes recast every time we see him.)
But theres our problem.
Without the fatphobia, this would be a top-ten episode.
As it stands, its hard to get through.
One of my favorites is Kevin Dorfman (Jarrad Paul), Monks upstairs neighbor who never stops talking.
Tragically, Kevin is murdered in Mr. Monk and the Magician by (who else?)
a magician (played by real-life magician Steve Valentine).
Also, Bob Costas plays himself as a good friend of Monks, which is just a great cameo.
Whats the connection toMonk, other than the fact that the writers really likeRocky?
(As does everyone with a heart.)
Unable to accept that such a thing is possible, Monk sets out to prove that shes lying.
Shes not lying … but shes also not psychic.
But the supernaturalness of it all kind of muddles the mystery.
That real-life connection is sweet, but this is Randys episode.
Natalie feels intense guilt for inadvertently getting Monk hurt and nearly kills herself caring for him.
Ultimately, though, he sees how cruel hes being, and apologizes to Natalie before solving the case.
At least now theyre even!
Case in point: Amy Sedaris, whos an absolute joy as Sharonas younger sister, Gail.
Not to worry this is still a very silly show.
Its not, like, offensive, its just not very funny.
Monk reluctantly agrees to help, though, and its touching to see him warm to his old friend.
Its pretty shocking in a good way!
(See: Mr Monk Falls in Love and Mr. Monk and the Blackout.)
But the emotional core of the episode is Lelands relationship with his wife, as indicated by the title.
Season 4, Episode 12: Mr. Monk and the Captains Marriage
And heres where Lelands heart finally breaks.
He tracks her to a restaurant where shes having lunch with a man, but the classes actually worked.
Leland tells Karen he forgives her and they can work through her infidelity.
But she reveals that she wasnt meeting Sharkey she was meeting a divorce lawyer.
Here shes just kind of mimicking Sharonas brash personality.
We dont check back in on the murder until later, though.
Turns out, though, its none other than Dr. Jay Bennett.
Leyla was just trying to protect her mom by confessing.
It turns out that the woman had a cornea transplant she has Trudys eyes.
(The answer: You got your shoes … on your feet.)
He murdered the actress who found out about the scheme and then framed Natalie for the cheating.
Its a neat little mystery, made more satisfying by the Natalie and Adrian role reversal.
Her arrival has another purpose, though.
Its close to the finale and we need to start setting up everyones happy ending.
(Greatest city on earth!!!)
58 & 59.
It turns out that Rollins was hired by none other than Dale the Whale.
In this episode, Monk is taken into witness protection after he sees a mob hit go down.
But murder follows Monk everywhere, and he soon suspects his neighbor across the lake of killing her husband.
Credits roll; the good guys won.
Natalie and the captain are suspicious that anyone who didnt already love Monk would willingly hang out with him.
Shes been getting threatening phone calls after someone ransacked Lelands apartment.
In this episode, that metaphorical chess match becomes literal.
Monk knows Kloster did it, though, because his wife hired Monk to solve her murder days earlier.
Kloster had been taunting her, telling her he was going to kill her soon.
Monks Heres what happened might as well be checkmate.
Luckily Steve Zahn is up to the task.
Its just a shame we couldnt get Ambrose to join this family reunion.
The episode is mostly about Leland and Jareds relationship, though.
In a rare moment of humility, Monk admits hes no Magoo.
Thus the syndication celebration doubles as a called shot.
(So well need 59 more Monk movies to catch up.
Get working on it, Andy!)
In the end none of them get the reward.
Its a moment of karmic justice for Monk, as he had been harassing Gladys to clean under tables.
A clever solution and a reminder to always be nice to your cleaning lady!
Brian then planned to be in prison when the packages were eventually mailed.
Or it would have, if Monk didnt figure it out.
It takes a while for the latter to pay off, but its very sweet when it does!
(See: Mr. Monk and Sharona.)
Somehow, its not Mr. Monk.
He learns what we probably should have known from the beginning hes chasing something that doesnt fit him anymore.
Natalie is shocked when her boss starts jumping in puddles and picking up frogs and overall acting very un-Monk-like.
Hes an excellent foil to Monks own eccentricities.
But its made dynamic by Kevins constant chatter about how hes fallen in love, distracting the analytical Monk.
(Davenport, like the toothpaste, the captain remarks upon hearing Natalies maiden name.
Notlikethe toothpaste, wearethe toothpaste, she replies.)
(Its givingEmily Gilmore.)
31 & 32.
Of course it had to wait for the series finale, though.
Rickover, up for a State Supreme Court seat, was tying up loose ends.
Well let it slide that anaphylactic shock looks nothing like being stabbed to death.
But its Julie who catches the designers eye, and he hires her to walk in an upcoming show.
Either that or he just watched a lot ofAmericas Next Top Model.
But she has an ulterior motive: Shes into Monk.
Season 5, Episode 6: Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion
26.
(That wastwotruck puns.
They both agree that their relationship is a two-way street.
(That pun is in the episode, I cant take credit for it.)
Its charming and cringe at the same time, just like Randy.
Monks Last Case.)
They werent lying about people saying crazy things on anesthesia!
And the how is extremely funny, with a sort of classic detective story logic.
Season 4, Episode 1: Mr. Monk and the Other Detective
21.
Monkey murderer is one of those premises.
Theversatile character actorplays a sleazy computer nerd turned playboy mogul named Dexter Larson.
The episode follows a classicMonkformat, where we see a death happen that appears accidental.
Larson is obviously responsible, but how?
He stood under the floor with a super-powerful magnet, of course.
They knew that Monk would be an unimpeachable witness.
Season 2, Episode 11: Mr. Monk and the Three Pies
Ambrose is here!
In a classic whodunnit twist,everyoneis in on the crime.
Its the most Agatha ChristieishMonkever got.
(More on that later.)
When hes discovered by the trucker he has no memory of who he is.
Laurie Metcalf deserved that Emmy!
(Even more unluckily, Murderuss has a hit song called Car Bomb.)
Healsocontributes a rap version of Randy Newmans iconic theme song, which legitimately slaps.
Thats not the only Snoop track that makes the episode though.
GreatMonkepisodes, like this one, weave the two together in a neat little package.
Monk has to visit the circus when its ringmaster is murdered by a masked acrobat.
Obviously thats extremely rich coming from a man with, by his own count, 312 phobias.
The trainer saw her do it, so she killed him too.
Tony ShalhoubsWingscostar Tim Daly is here playing himself, and Sharona is starstruck.
When Monk asks her if the show was good, she replies, deadpan, He was.
Season 1, Episode 10: Mr. Monk Takes a Vacation
Its a beach episode!
Sharona takes Monk on vacation with her and Benjy, forgetting the fact that murder follows him everywhere.
to fill in for her as Monks assistant.
Ambrose told him their dad called and wanted to see them.
There was an actual possibility that theMonkwriters could kill Ambrose after wrapping his story line.
Someone hand me a tissue.
Season 1, Episode 12: Mr. Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger
I mean … its Willie Nelson.
Just kidding, but the arrival of the Red-Headed Stranger does feel like a thrown-down gauntlet in this earlyMonkepisode.
The show is calling its shot for the quality of guest stars that it would feature across its run.
Its also just a really tight episode of television.
Season 4, Episode 14: Mr. Monk and the Astronaut
This is the platonic ideal ofMonksColumbo-style episodes.
It has it all!
And this nemesis, astronaut Steve Wagner (Jeffrey Donovan) is one of the worst/best weve ever seen.
Not so weak, buddy!
We know this is just a show, its not really how cops act.
This is also where we meet Sarah Silvermans Marci Maven, whos introduced as an obsessed fan of Terrys.
(To be fair, much of the fanbase is made up of boomers who fear all change.)
But its a gentle mocking, which is exactly what makesMonkso fun.
That, and the fact that milk is actually really scary.
This article has been updated to include the two-part finale, Mr. Monk and the End.
