[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk Is Underwater"
Season Seven Episode Five
Directed By: Paris Barclay
Written by: Jack Bernstein
Original Air Date: August 15, 2008

We’ll Need Some Help: Executive Officer Jason Piece is missing on the U.S.S. Seattle which is a neat trick considering it is submerged. Captain Nathan Whittaker goes to the quarters along with Chief Medical Officer, Lieutenant Stephen Albright, and they hear a gunshot. Breaking down the door they find Piece shot with a bottle of Vodka nearby.

Albright is an old colleague of Mitch’s, and he visits Monk via Natalie. Pierce’s death is ruled a suicide, but Albright is doubtful. For one, he examined Pierce for his medical evaluation and there was no trace of alcohol.

Monk is apprehensive about going in a submarine, knowing more about the dangers than Albright, but goes anyway. In Pierce’s cabin, Monk finds a piece of plastic adhesive with gunpowder residue. Alarm klaxons go off as the ship prepares for a drill, submerging. Whittaker is pissed but not enough to alter course as they are in the middle of a drill that will last a few days. Monk copes by creating a subconscious version of Dr. Bell. He also calls Disher to get information on Pierce.

Natalie and Albright wonder what might have been while Monk visits Whittaker who is reluctant to have visitors on board and asks Monk to avoid him for the duration of the trip. Monk leaves but secrets away a discarded bottle which matches the shard he found earlier and is confirmed by Albright to be part of a private stash. Monk realizes that the bottle can make a perfect silencer and suspects Whittaker of being involved somehow.

The officers make a meal out of being with Monk in the mess hall. Monk learns that months ago, they hit an undersea mountain due to outdated maps. Albright brings Natalie to find Mitch’s copy of The Art of War, his best book on male/female interactions, and they smooch. Natalie breaks it off but cannot explain how awkward it is.

The bunk is a little smaller than Monk would like, and when he asks for a bed for Dr. Bell, they crew mentions ‘he’ can have Jonsey’s old bunk as he had an accident during the underwater exercise months ago and died the same day as Pierce. Disher reports that Pierce’s relatives give him a clean bill of mental health. Monk notices that one of the tubes which should contain a map is empty.

Monk confronts Whittaker with what he has put together; they hit a mountain and Albright convinced Pierce to swap out an old map to explain the situation. When Jonsey died of complications, Pierce wanted to come clean. That does not explain the locked room aspect, though.

Monk and ‘Dr. Bell’ visit Natalie and receive a note telling them to meet in a secluded room. There is no one there and the door locks behind them. Whittaker decides to shake things up and do some maneuvers, which wind up flooding the room Monk and Natalie are in. Natalie is able to MacGyver a snorkel while Albright finds the note and gets Whitaker to surface.

Safe and dry, Monk, Natalie and Albright confront Whittaker. He forced Peirce to drink at gunpoint then shot with a silencer. He improvised a delay on a firecracker and put Pierce in his quarters, creating the alibi. Whittaker salutes Monk, hoping that the fleet is as good at their job as he is at his.

Natalie and Albright make plans to meet for some cocoa in December which is probably a euphemism. As Disher marvels at Monk being able to survive on a sub, the real Dr. Bell begins to talk with Monk about the situation.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk is fumbling around with a dustbuster at the start giving him a reason to stay out of the Teeger/Albright reunion.

White Courtesy Phone: Attempting to convince Monk to go on the submarine, Natalie says it is as big as an island and Monk ‘loves’ islands. Monk replies that she is the devil.

Dishing it out: After ‘listening;’ to Head Dr. Bell explain how he got on the submarine, Disher asks to talk to someone else.

Let’s Talk it Out: While Head Dr. Bell is prevalent in this episode, the real one plays along with Monk and will presumably tell him the truth.

The Innocence of Youth: Julie appears in a photograph and commented on by Albright. Her absence is explained by being with relatives, Camp Grandma. Upon hearing Natalie is on a sub, she requests a torpedo which Albright offers to gift wrap.

Let’s Up the Rating: Albright finds Natalie a private place to stay since the crew of military officers apparently can’t handle being around a woman.

One More Time: “I have my problems but the last thing I am is delusional.”
Monk chest thumping to Whittaker.

Dear Genre: William Atherton has appeared in several works, mainly as the authoritative asshole such as Walter Peck in Ghostbusters or Albright here.

But the big guest is Casper Van Diem who gets the coveted Special Guest Star credit after starring in Starship Troopers et. Al.

Trivial Matters: This is the last of four episodes where Disher appears, but Stottlemeyer does not. It is also the last episode where Stottlemeyer does not appear.

The correspondence course where Monk learned to swim from Mr. Monk, Private Eye is mentioned.

This episode makes liberal use of stock footage to sell the submarine, including emerging from the water from The Hunt for Red October.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “Mister Monk, be brave.” “Why, what’s in it for me?” A locked room mystery is always a classic in the genre. You don’t get more closed door than a submarine, an environment Monk would hate.

As much as Monk manages to function, Head Dr. Bell is great. On set, it is not uncommon for an actor to not be in the shot or on present even opposite someone else. Elizondo is in the shot more often than when he is not, but director Paris Barclay knows how to shoot this ‘ghost’ of a character. One particularly effective moment is when Monk hand’s Head Dr. Bell the note and a reverse shot shows it falling to the ground. Shaloub plays off the unseen version ell and everyone else pretty much humors Monk. The best part is that Head Dr. Bell does not pick up on anything Monk does not. By the midpoint, even the crew knows that it is something to humor Monk about.

Natalie gets a chance to shine as well. She is caught underwater too, but handles it better, though that really does not say much. She and Van Diem have incredible chemistry. In some of their scenes, you could put a match between them, and it would light. They entirely sell the relationship they had, and it gives us a good reminder of what Natalie was like when Mitch was around. This show is not neglecting her, and she has grown in her role. She really does not have to do much with working with Monk but grows as a character, even getting some hints at a future romance. Van Diem sells Albright perfectly, and while he can be a bit wooden at times, shows a bit of his personality.

Shaloub shines as Monk. He knows how to handle the scenes with Head Dr. Bell and while it should be self-explanatory, it is not as easy as he makes it look. Ask any actor to tell you how to sell a phone call and you will learn that it is hard. Here Shaloub had to do the in-person version of that. Also, Atherton plays Whittaker as the asshole authority figure he has made a living out of.

There are some detracting moments such as these military men not knowing how to treat a lady on board. It would be outdated even in the fifties. Did no one else take a trip off the ship during shore leave? They act like eleven-year-old boys, not military men.

If you can get across that, this is a great episode to watch.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk Falls in Love"
Season Seven Episode Six
Directed by: Arlene Sanford
Written by: Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan
Original Air Date: August 22, 2008

We’ll Need Some Help: Disher’s date is going well despite him not picking up some obvious hints. They get in a cab, but it does not move on account of the driver being stabbed in the neck.

At the station the next day, we find out that the victim was killed by a pin bearing a family crest. One suspect is Leyla Zlatavich, local refugee helper from the fictional country of Zemenia. Upon seeing her, Monk is smitten. Unfortunately, one of the items found in the cab matches a note found at the center. Most everyone on the case thinks Zlatavich should be brought in for questioning. Amusingly, civilian Natalie is allowed to vote but not prior officer and current consultant Monk.

Zlatavich visits Monk and Natalie. Fearing that she might be in trouble, she hires Monk to help. They set a dinner date for later that night. Zlatavich is impressed by Monk helping to stick up for a guy on the street and appreciates being able to have differing views on display.

Monk does not like the Zemenian restaurant that serves things teppanyaki style. He spills a lot of information that Zlatavich was told by the police which is good since he shouldn’t be divulging information about an active case to a suspect. Monk also finds out about a missing warlord, Karsten Emerick; international fugitive on the lam. Upon seeing Emerick’s picture, Monk identifies him as the victim, which gives Zlatavich motive.

While everyone is ready to get an order to formally bring her in, Monk wonders why Emerick would pick her up from the airport and be killed blocks from Zlatavich’s home. A couple guys on the force file a complaint on Monk for obstructing the case. Monk sees Zlatavich to break it off but in the process gets sprayed by a passing car. Monk goes with Zlatavich to dry off his pants. It comes up that Trudy is always with Monk and soon, they are dancing. Monk realizes he has to break it off about when Stottlemeyer serves Zlatavich with a warrant. They find a matching symbol from the murder weapon, a family crest. Zlatavich confesses to Monk’s chagrin. After a confession, the asshole cops give Monk Zlatavich’s personal effects. Monk sees a letter from Zlatavich’s mother and has a breakthrough.

At a local Zemenian refugee settlement, they find Zlatavich’s mother, in town to surprise her daughter with a personalized charm bracelet. She got a ride to the old address, killed Emerick in a fit of rage and ran off. Mother and daughter are reunited but mother is imprisoned. Zlatavich breaks it off with Monk.

This Week’s Compulsion: Upon hearing of an upcoming visit from Zlatavich, Monk throws away his silverware for reasons not explained to the viewer. Probably for the best.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie is sympathetic when talking to the elder Zlatavich.

Captain Moustache: After Monk criticizes Stottlemeyer’s penmanship, it is sarcastically suggested that they interrupt the task force meeting to get a T-square to ensure proper lettering on the white board.

Dishing it out: It only takes two hints for Disher to give his blazer to his freezing date.

Let’s Up the Rating: Disher and his date get smoochy and friendly in the back of the cab before noticing their driver is brutally murdered.

Here’s What Happened: The elder Zlatavich narrates the sequence in Zemanian, the only time the sequence is not in English.

One More Time: “I am a cop. I read the situation. It’s all in the details. Noticing all the little things that other people miss. “
Pretty much the logline of being an officer

Trivial Matters: Zemenai is a combination of several European countries. The actors are speaking Russian, the flag is color swapped with Croatia and Joanna Paucala who plays Zlatavich is Polish, speaking that language in her dialogue.

Stottlemeyer refers to a case solved from air found in a beach ball as seen is Mr. Monk Goes to a Rock Concert.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “I’ve never seen a recipe that included the word ‘hat.’” Much like the fictional Zemenia, this episode is a hodgepodge of different elements we’ve seen before, including a main character falling for a suspect and the rest of the cast telling them they are wrong only to be proven right.

A lot of the success is due to Joanna Pacula who plays Zlatavich. She makes a case for a sympathetic character from the jump and does not slow down. The romance does not always work, but Shaloub and Pacaula try their best. Gray-Stanford takes his this as Disher and Stottlemeyer plays referee as best they can. Natalie encourages Monk up until he gets in trouble.

Unfortunately, there are some issues as well. Teppanyaki is mainly for Asian cuisine, not really meant for European, though I’m sure it is possible. Also, Zlatavich plays a little too quickly into being guilty. Finally, the script remembers that they cannot add another character so pushes Zlatavich out the door at the end. It is somewhat justified just contrived in an otherwise good script by Siegal and Morgan.

Much like the fictional country, sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk's 100th Case"
Season Seven, Episode Seven
Directed by: Randall Zisk
Written by: Tom Scharpling
Original Air Date: September 5, 2008

We’ll Need Some Help: Newsmagazine program InFocus is featuring Monk as he solves his landmark one hundredth case as a consultant for the police. Presenter James Novak is hosting a viewing party at his place. The program follows Monk as he is on scene for the murder of Cassandra Rank, an actress who was strangled in her lobby. After a segment on Monk’s hand technique, he needs a burnt-out bulb replaced and them replaced again with the correct wattage.

We get a background segment on Monk, including from his former babysitter who looks just like Nurse Semple from Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect. On camera, Monk figures out that the killer took Rank’s lipstick and that the two knew each other. At the party, Monk is uneasy, though not because he was hugged as Natalie first suspects; rather, he thinks he may have missed something.

Another actress, Barbara McFarland, is found strangled in the same manner. It turns out they both worked at a vampire themed restaurant where some patrons are served meals not at a table. Rank and McFarland did not work there at the same timeframe, but Monk gets a list of all employees.

After a segment on Trudy, including how Monk was in a downward spiral after her death, we see that a third victim is found, another actress. Monk realizes that their headshots were done by the same photographer, Douglas Thurman, giving them a suspect. At the party, Novak openly flirts with Disher’s date, Jillian, saying that he made a mistake in marrying his wife.

After Thurman is released due to a lack of evidence, we get a segment on other criminals put away by Monk. After Thurman skips a polygraph, Stottlemyer and Disher go to his place and find some headshots of the victims with lipstick put on them. A fourth victim is found later, and the reenactment is portrayed by Jillian. Novak smooches her chastely afterwards, to the disapproving look of his wife.

While at the fourth scene investigating Kate Kindel, Thurman is found at a motel hundreds of miles away after taking his own life. The segment ends and there is a general applause. Monk notices that Kindel’s murder was different from the others. Via the footage from the piece, they realize someone altered the crime scene and that Novak knew which light switch to turn on in Kindel’s apartment. Novak was having an affair with Kindel and went to her place to do a photo shoot before killing her, taking the lipstick to frame Thurman. When they went to Thurman’s studio, he was able to plant a film canister. They need evidence and Novak’s wife, long-time suspicious of her husband, found a tube of lipstick on him nights ago; it can presumably be tested for DNA. Novak pulls out a gun to get it back, but Stottlemeyer and Disher are able to save everyone, though Jillian pretends to be shot out of habit.

Monk is ready to stop at solving one hundred cases, a nice round number. Natalie points out that Novak is technically the hundred and first, allowing her and Monk to scour the newspaper as they make their way to two hundred.

This Week’s Compulsion: We see Monk vacuuming, cleaning his vacuum and then cleaning the device he used to clean the vacuum. Oddly enough, the narration only mentions the first two.

White Courtesy Phone: After being asked what Natalie does for Monk, she asks how long the program is.

Captain Moustache: During the viewing party, Stottlemeyer changes that channel during a commercial break to a game.

Dishing it out: Disher is misidentified as a Sergeant instead of a lieutenant. Novak assures him it will be corrected for the DVD.

Let’s Talk it Out: Dr. Bell is unseen but Krenshaw notes that his new therapist is better than Monk’s. Ironically, we do not know who Krenshaw is seeing and Krenshaw is unaware of Dr. Bell.

It Recurs to Me: There are a lot of interview segments with people making their second appearance, but we get the third and final non-archive appearances of John Turturro as Ambrose Monk and Sarah Silverman as Marci Maven. They are outdone by Tim Bagley making an appearance as Harold Krenshaw.

Let’s Up the Rating: Jillian is an actress who specializes in reenactments, Disher has an odd sense of joy when describing her specialties.

Here’s What Happened: The criminals do not like hearing a summation of how they committed the murder, especially when they have been planning them for a while.

One More Time: “What are you doing over here? You can’t even see the TV.” “Which makes it the best seat in the house.”
Natie to Monk not fully udnerstanding a viewing party

Dear Genre: The great Eric McCormick of Will and Grace fame is Novak. He receives the coveted Special Guest Star credit.

Trivial Matters: Among the many other callbacks, Stottlemeyer refers to the hiring freeze from Mr. Monk is at Your Service.

The host of the vampire themed restaurant mentions drinking the blood of Rank and McFarland prior to knowing they were killed. Odd since they had an appointment made by Detective Stottlemeyer.

In proud tradition, Aimee Bell, stuntwoman for Howard, played Kindel.

David Hoberman, producer of Monk, is credited as a producer of InFocus.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “The bomb was across town, but it killed my brother, too.” One hundred episodes is an incredible milestone for a series. Sometimes you get a great celebration of the series, such as Timeless while other times you get whatever episode happens to be ready such as The Ship.

Mr. Monk’s 100th Case is an example of the former.

For one, we have a celebration of the lead character. Newsposition is a crutch but here were have great moments showing us just how awesome the title character is. This is a great way to look back at the legacy of the series other than just going with a clip show. We get the highs and lows for Monk’s life and while it is clunky, we get a great overview of Monk along with honest feedback from his loved ones. As a bonus, there are some things we were never explicitly told, at least in this format, but get out in the open, particularly Trudy’s death and what led to Monk getting off the force.

For another we have the best group of guest actors coming back to reprise their roles. Most are done separately, but Ricardo Chavira, Andy Richter and David Koechner play off each other amazingly well. Sarah Silverman’s Marci Maven is a slam dunk and only Joosten plays an entirely different character. This is a great way to bring back some talent, even if a lot of them are criminals in jail. It is a great way to honor the series and bring back some big names in a very creative way, thanks to Breckman and Sharping, the former the series creator.

Director Zisk is not to be overlooked either. Montages of footage are not easy to do and here he had to make a newsmagazine of a fictitious character along with an episode. Plus, there is a fun gag when Trudy’s picture fades out to reveal Ambrose. There are fun callbacks to prior episodes, too many to mention.

The only nit is that we have seen more than a hundred cases solved and dialogue in a prior episode indicates the total is greater than one hundred by far. Then again, nothing says they are all chronological so this could take place earlier in the timeline. A stumble in an otherwise excellent episode that is a joy to watch from start to finish. Also, the Thurman case has a clunky resolution, dark for this series.

Simply getting to one hundred episodes is a remarkable achievement the too many of shows throw away, but Monk does not.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk Gets Hypnotized"
Season Seven, Episode Eight
Directed by: Michael W. Watkins
Written by: Tom Gammill and Max Pross
Original Air Fate: September 12, 2008

We’ll Need Some Help: It is pouring rain as Sally Larkin visits the Sheckman’s jewelry store to sell a bracelet. The item could fetch a better price at an auction but that is too public. Told to wait a week, Sally leaves. Mrs. Sheckman recognizes Sally from an article; there is a nasty divorce with her and her equally wealthy husband Aaron. They hear a scream (a particularly loud one to be heard over the rain and indoors) and find Sally gone.

There is not a lot to be gathered at the crime scene, but Harold Krenshaw happens to be jogging by, reveling in his new therapist, Dr. Climan, who does hypnotherapy. Krenshaw is no longer antagonistic and is enjoying a run outside.

Aaron tells them that he was at home all night but the rain on a monogramed umbrella says otherwise. Monk is too preoccupied with thoughts of hypnotherapy, but Natalie makes him promise not to make the call until they consult with Dr. Bell. That night, as Monk sweeps his floor, he makes an appointment with Dr. Climan, who apparently has an answering service open all night.

At first, Dr. Climan tries to generally help Monk. Then they go back but Monk chooses Trudy’s death. They go back further to high school but Monk is preoccupied with third period gym. They go back further and Monk smiles.

A search of the seven-acre Larkin estate is conducted during which, Monk is having a blast, running around, sloshing a puddle and ready to climb trees. They find nothing useful, though Monk finds a frog. Monk’s antics are not enough to dissuade from bringing him to question Aaron at his place of business. Monk realizes that Aaron and his assistant Emily Carter are involved but the rationale involves cooties. This establishes an alibi, but Aaron was reluctant to say so earlier since Carter is still technically married.

A disheveled Sally is able to flag down a car in the middle of the night while Dr. Bell talks with Monk. He cannot snap Monk out since that would be even more damaging; Monk will come out of it on his own eventually. Until then, they have a six-year-old Monk living his ideal life.

Sally was kept in a cabin but killed Aaron and freed herself, at least that is what they think. Monk theorizes a juvenile solution, leading Stottlemeyer to end the visit. Sally is questioned and Monk calls her a liar thrice, getting kicked out. Monk finds his way to a park but scares away the children (or rather adults of the children.)

Stottlemeyer and Disher offer their condolences to Sally at her residence as after they leave, she goes to pour herself some wine and finds Monk wandering the premises. Monk is there to drop off a frog he found and is confronted by Sally. He knows she signed a prenuptial agreement that she was unhappy with, so she faked the abduction and starved herself for days. After killing Aaron, she would claim to have been captive. The proof is a piece of gum made by Disher from the Larkin estate at the time of her disappearance was found on her shoe. A chase ensues but Sally is eventually arrested, and Monk is back to his old self.

Monk has a breakfast and is not interested in the wonders of nature, though he does see a mama bird feeding her young.

This Week’s Compulsion: During a pancake meal, Monk runs out of syrup. A different angle shows a good amount left, so Monk must have drenched the pancakes in the stuff.

White Courtesy Phone: It takes Natalie forever to connect Monk’s odd behavior with the hypnotherapy they were discussing earlier. She also does not call Dr. Bell.

Captain Moustache: At the Larkin residence, Monk and Natalie discuss the merits of Dr. Climan. Sottlemeyer interrupts them a few times to learn that Aaron’s story is a lie.

Dishing it out: In the wee days of buying stuff off the Internet, Disher buys a gum making kit.

Let’s Talk it Out: Dr. Bell has been cleaning up Dr. Climan’s messes for years.

It Recurs to Me: Tim Bagley is back as Harold Krenshaw for the second week in a row. He unnerves Monk enough to get Dr. Bell’s first name.

Let’s Up the Rating: Hypnotized Monk thinks kissing happens on a honeymoon. Technically, he is correct. Also, Krenshaw goes around au natural, but a jump reveals that he is wearing nude tights.

Here’s What Happened: Hypnotized Monk narrates a theory with both Sally and Aaron acting like kids.

One More Time: “Leap, and a net will catch you.” “Who’s Anette?”
Hypnotherapy not working well.

Dear Genre: Richard Schiff of The West Wing and The Good Doctor fame guest stars as Dr. Climan.

The Rainbow Treknection: Dina Meyers, Commander Donatra herself plays Sally.

Trivial Matters: In the strip mall, one of the stores is called Indiana Joan’s.

At one point, Natalie wonders if Monk has been getting enough sleep. We saw sleep-deprived Monk in Mr. Monk is Up All Night.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “What’s the problem with shortcuts? They’re your friend. They get you where you want to go. Only faster.” Science fiction shows have a body swap cliché which is really an excuse for the actors to have fun. They generally depend on the actors for their success or lack thereof.

This episode is an excuse for Shaloub to act like a kid. Shaloub is more than up for the occasion, having a blast running around the Larkin estate, playing with things at the precinct, walking around with a frog. Some of the dialogue does not go well, but Shaloub is a joy to watch as the episode goes on. This more than makes up for Mr. Monk Takes his Medicine which had a similar concept with poorer results. Credit to Dina Meyer and Henry Czerny as the Larkins for acting like kids during a Here’s What Happened sequence. Czerny knocks himself out and sticks out his tongue while falling, fully in on the bit.

We are left wondering what took so long for Natalie to pick up on Monk getting hypnotized. They were discussing it earlier and a couple days later, she does not realize what is amiss. It seems as though she did not see anything odd until the camera was rolling.

There are some other odd choices in the script as well. While it gives Shaloub a chance to have fun, Stottlemeyer does not listen to Monk at the station. Also, the hypnotism is greatly truanced. Though to the credit of writers Gammel and Pross along with director Zisk, they do not smash cut from Natalie telling Monk to think about the therapy to him going.

Despite some questionable choices, this is worth it to see Shaloub letting loose.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Miracle"
Season Seven Episode Nine
Written by: Andrei Belgrader
Directed by: Peter Wolk
Original Air Date: November 28, 2008

We’ll Need Some Help: After a series of Christmas themed shots, The Professor, Ike and Reggie, three guys down on their luck, sing a shortened and modified version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. They lament the missing Willie but he shows up in in time to talk about people wanting to kill him before running off. The next morning, they find Willie dead.

Not getting any help from the police, they go to Monk who is not in favor of helping them. Things change when they make themselves comfortable and Monk decides to go to the crime scene, though he does not leave the car. Even from that vantage point, he could see that the refrigerator Willie was found in has aa single print and no signs of struggling due to suffocation; he was dead when put in.

Monk and Natalie approach Disher covering for the sick Sotttlemeyer and the case is reopened. Needing to get back in shape, Stottlemeyer sees a sign painted on his door pointing to a local ‘miracle’ fountain that can cure many maladies. The church was planning on tearing it down to build a classroom but changed their minds after people started to heal after drinking from it.

Oddly enough, the miracle cure does not do its job immediately. Sometime later though, he is back to his spry self. Meanwhile, Natalie invites the trio to dinner for the holiday. There, Monk complains that three of the bottles offered as ‘payment’ to be redeemed later were from Stottlemeyer’s yard, thanks to a unique extract he is drinking. For his part, the cured captain joins the monastery after discarding his not needed cane and medication in an already formed pile.

Monk and Natalie go to question Stottlemeyer but Natalie is not allowed beyond the foyer and Stottlemeyer is observing a vow of silence. Natalie encourages Monk to drink from the fountain in hopes of being cured. She would do so in hopes of seeing Mitch again in the hereafter.

Pharmacist Katie Doyle is rummaging through medication when caught by pharmacist Owen McCloskey. They are involved in a ruse with the fountain which must be maintained because they both know what is under it. As Monk prepares to drink, he notices that most of the pill bottles are form the same pharmacy. Doyle approaches them confessing that Owen killed his ex-partner, burying the body under the fountain.

Monk tells Stottlemeyer that McCloskey was making people sick, painting the signs on doors and giving them the cures after they drank. Willie caught him painting and had to be killed. McCloskey is arrested and the trio gives Monk some homemade gravy as a thanks. Stottlemeyer asks Disher to shave the moustache he grew and later gets a call from his estranged son Jared who is flying in and bringing a lady friend.

Monk goes to the fountain, filling up a glass but does not drink before the episode ends.

This Week’s Compulsion: In preparation for a Christmastime meal, Monk puts wrap over the seats and marks off a room with a wooden X.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie is more into being a person of the cloth than Monk, though efforts to calm him give away their identities.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer is plagued with sickness for weeks that makes him feel lousy and knocks out his back so much he needs to use a cane.

Dishing it out: While covering for Stottlemeyer, Disher knows how to get things done including which judge to bring a case before.

The Innocence of Youth: Julie is asked to get newspaper for the trio to stand on … and disappears for the rest of the opening scene.

Let’s Up the Rating: Natalie is impressed with Disher holding down the fort while Stottlemeyer is sick. The delivery implies in more ways than one.

Here’s What Happened: Not being able to talk in a monastery during prayers, Monk adopts a Gregorian chant to explain the case.

One More Time: “I’m fine. Except for the alimony I can’t afford, I haven’t had a date in two? Two years. And my oldest son, Jared, is not talking to me. He’s with his mother and he doesn’t even pick up the phone.”
Stottlemeyer with problems a miracle cure won’t solve.

The Rainbow Treknection: In the category of They Grow Up So Fast, young Geoffry Blake played Arjin in Insurrection and is Ike here. Not to be outdone, Tracey Walter played a couple of Ferengi before playing The Professor.

Trivial Matters: The unopened present from Trudy featured in "Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa" and "Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa Claus" makes an appearance.

Showrunner Berkman confirmed that the body under a fountain was taken from a Columbo episode titled “Requiem for a Fallen Star.”

It’s a Jungle Out There: “Well, so much for miracles.” After doing the office Christmas party and a Santa themed episode, the one follow-up needed (after meeting his dad) was the true meaning of the holiday.

And boy did they ever screw it up royally!

While Monk wanting to be clean is in character, he is downright inhospitable towards the trio. Natalie makes overtures and Monk is derisive. Having your main character be unlikeable is not a good look and this is an undercurrent through the episode.

To make matters worse, there are jabs thrown at Natalie as well. Her not being allowed in the convent is not a good look, particularly after a priest not being polite to her. Again, it is understandable but not a good look. Not even Stottlemeyer escapes unscathed as he finds a calling, and then stops when he finds out about a crime.

There is some novelty with Disher growing a moustache and Stottlemeyer shaving his. In particular, Disher proves to be quite adept at being in charge with Stottlemeyer gone. Plus, there are some great shots though it is hard to get a bad shot when you are in a church. There is a good moment when Monk discusses the hereafter with Natalie and when Stottlemeyer finally heard from Jared, but the holiday episodes should have just ended.

This brings little of value to the table and seems to be grafted on for the sake of a holiday episode.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk's Other Brother"
Season Seven Episode Ten
Directed by: David Hoberman
Written by: David Breckman
Original Air Date: January 9, 2009

We’ll Need Some Help: Monk hears newsposition of escaped prisoner, Joe Endicott, who killed someone on his way out when he hears a window breaking. Endicott is in his place, but that name is an alias; Endicott is really Jack Monk Jr.

The reunion is awkward, but it does happen as they bond over their lousy father. Jack swears hand to God that he didn’t kill anyone on his way out; Lindsey Bishop was already dead. She was also someone beloved by the prisoners, helping with appeals and such, so he won’t last if he is recaptured before clearing his name.

After cleaning up to look a little less Joe Exotic, Jack recounts how after he escaped, he came across a car, but Bishop was already dead. He was fired upon and decided to make a run for it. Jack calls his mother to calm her nerves, but she pleads with Monk over speakerphone to help Jack.

At the scene, Warden Tom Bennett wants ‘Endicott’ caught since the staff loved Bishop. Guard Daniel Reese did not see the murder but saw an escaped prisoner and sounded the alarm. Bishops’ phone was not taken, and she was killed with a spoon made of sterling silver. The dogs come in having found the scent, so the brothers Monk make their escape.

At a diner, Monk mentions that there was no blood found on Jack, emboldening his claims of innocence. Monk believes Jack is being set up, but no one knew about the escape tunnel. Except Shiv, a previously unmentioned cellmate. Jack made a promise of honesty before saying he did not have a cellmate. He moved into the cell, knocked out Shiv and went out. Monk wants to question Shiv, but that will be a big red flag that Jack is out, so he will have Stottlemeyer ask around.

They get into Bishops house under the pretext of Jack being a brother, and the landlord lets them poke around all they want unsupervised. There are some crappy pictures on the wall meaning someone changed them after she died.

At night, they bond over their father’s favorite movie, The Incredible Shrinking Man and putting Cinnamon on popcorn. They talk about their father, but he did not visit Jack since his mother passed away; the call earlier was a friend with benefits. Monk calls Stottlemeyer over with handcuffs. Jack professes his innocence and tugs at the family heartstrings, causing Monk to mumble when Stottlemeyer comes. Before leaving, Stottlemeyer mentions that Shiv was found dead at the prison.

Monk talks to Dr. Bell about families and mentions Jack’s obsession wit Paraguay. Dr. Bells says Paraguay will not extradite unless there is a murder. Monk confronts Jack who promises to go straight but when he raises his hand to swear, he is wearing a watch from Bishops’ place. Upon examining the watch, Monk solves the case.

They confront Reese due to an engraving and find him using a spoon similar to the one that killed Bishops. As they leave, Reese fires on them. Thanks to his Stormtrooper accuracy, Monk is able to tell what happened; Reese was having an affair with Bishops and wanted to frame a prisoner for her death.

Needing a weapon, Jack goes to Natalie’s car to get a gun, but drives off. Reese climbs down from the roof but is run over before he can shoot at point blank range. After the confession, Jack has to return to prison since he did escape after all. There is a touching moment between brothers and Jack prepares a means of getting out.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk cuts the edges off his pancakes to make them square.

White Courtesy Phone: Jack tries to con some money out of Natalie for a charity with a limited marketing budget.

Captain Moustache: It takes Stottlemeyer all of two seconds to suspect that the guy hanging around Natalie at the crime scene is Jack. He asks Monk some questions and gets some very tepid responses.

Dishing it Out: After Jack is off to prison again, Disher cannot find the keys to the cuffs.

Let’s Talk it Out: When talking about families, Dr. Bell mentions non-biological families are common. Monk counters with there being a warrant out for Jack’s arrest, less common in general and families in particular.

Let’s Up the Rating: Before changing, Jack asks for some privacy.

One More Time: “Selling cars. That weren’t mine. Exactly.”
Jack’s reason for arrest.

The Rainbow Treknection: Jude Cicoletta from Nemesis as Suran is Warden Bennett and Reese is played be genre legend Titus Welliver who among many others was Max Burke in Voyager’s season spanning two parter.

Trivial Matters: The existence of a half brother was stated in Mr. Monk Meets His Dad. Ambrose is mentioned but we are continually capped off at only two Monk’s an episode.

In Mr. Monk Gets Hypnotized, he mentioned that he didn’t have pancakes since he was a boy. In this episode, he is back into them.

Monk gives Stottlemeyer an alias for Jack but chooses Gretsky with no relation to Wayne.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “We have the same dad. Same alcoholic son of a (REDCATED). He ran out on us ten years after he ran out on you.” A lot of this episode is a duo of the Brothers Monk. That is not to say that the rest of the cast sits this one out, but the main feature is brotherhood, a lot resting on the shoulders of Jack.

Make no mistake, Jack is a louse. He steals a lot of stuff in the course of this episode from the victim to his brother. He tries to fleece Natalie out of money and lies constantly. But there are some touching moments as well, particularly their bonding moment over their dad who is not that great himself. Mentions of the other members of the Monk family abound, but there is a lot of dramatic moments with Jack reaching out and being caught in a lie.

While watching, there are moments where you do not know where the script ends and the acting beings. Steve Zahn is more than up to the task asked of him, being a charismatic convict. He and Shaloub are a great double act, and you can tell these are two great actors making the best out of their material, which is strong to begin with. Their relationship develops over the course of the hour and feels natural taking steps forward and back as things progress. There are just enough lies and truth to keep things going for the hour. Smooth as Garak Jack is not.

You get the sense that Stottlemeyer is in on the gag and Natalie is caught up in the scam as things go on. The biggest issue is that Reese has horrible aim. Not being able to hit three civilians with a rifle is pathetic but if he was even remotely competent, there would be no ending without someone being killed.

This is a one and done for Jack but unlike with their father or brother, there is a reason for not seeing him again, something few other series remember. This was a great appearance worth it for the main pairing alone.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk on Wheels"
Season Seven Episode Eleven
Directed by: Anton Cropper
Written by: Nell Scovell
Original Air Date: January 16, 2009

We’ll Need Some Help: Natalie helps bike rider John Kuramoto after a pothole causes a crash. She assists him and after he is off, Betavegatech CEO Dean Berry calls out about the bike being his. It turns out the bike as a gift from an environmental group that was engraved and had nifty/organic/sentimental features.

Natalie more or less drags Monk to help so they go to the station and look at mugshots. They go to his house and, to make sure the episode lasts longer than ten minutes, get a string of bullets for their troubles, one of which hits Monk in the leg. The damage requires a hundred stiches, and Monk recovers in a hospital.

Kuramoto got away but Stottlemeyer has the police looking for him. They find his cousin Vince who was crashing at the house. After some back and forth, Vince says someone at a bar paid him three thousand dollars for the bike.

Natalie tries to put a positive spin on things with Monk only being wheelchair bound for three weeks, and ha won’t dirty his shoes in that time. She offers to stay with Monk while he recovers. Stottlemeyer and Disher come and bring Monk to Berry to see if there was anything valuable in the bike. We get some schtick with Monk getting into the wheelchair but Berry arrives and offers to sponsor ten acres of the Brazilian rainforest in honor of Monk. There is a special alloy used for the bike but nothing valuable or proprietary.

That night, Kuramoto meets Sarah Longston in a cemetery. After getting a McGuffin in a bag, she gives him an envelope full of cash and instructions to leave. She also gets the gun used to shoot Monk and shoots the leaving Kuramoto. The next morning, Monk finds some tire tracks going in all directions. Stottlemeyer sends Natalie away and tells Monk to treat her better otherwise he might lose her. Natalie subsequently confesses to Monk that she has not slept in days and had to rent the wheelchair as it was not covered by insurance(!).

Sanitation worker Ronny O’Dell found the discarded bike that was put in the bin twenty minutes after it was stolen from a half mile away. The lock is missing, though O’Dell finds, and repeatedly rings, the bell.

Berry demonstrates something for investors, but it does not work, causing them to leave disappointedly. Berry is despondent as he was confident the demonstration would work. His assistant, Longston, is ready to leave on a trip to China. Natalie comes in with the recovered bike, but Monk’s new motorized wheelchair goes berserk while Natalie nearly faints from dehydration and lack of sleep. Monk finally realizes the error of his ways and offers Natalie a wipe.

As Monk is leaving, Berry emotes that the bike was locked. Monk recalls the missing lock which had a keypad similar to the safe in the lab. Monk realizes that Longston could sell the formula to China and make a fortune so she planted the bike and lock as a gift, hiring Kuramoto to steal the bike and sabotaging the experiment. As proof, the sandals she packed are made from recycled tires that match the tacks found in the cemetery.

Longston leaves but Natalie gives chase. A gun flies out of Longston’s purse, but Natalie gets hold of it. While holding Longston at bay, she accidentally shoots Monk in the other leg. Natalie owes a lot to Monk but tries to point out that his legs are now even.

This Week’s Compulsion: A squashed bug causes Monk to become unbalanced in a Princess and the Pea scenario.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie wants to use Monk’s services as a birthday gift only to find that he was not planning on getting her one.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer promises to get the Bike Squad on the case. With helicopters.

Dishing it Out: Disher proposes a cucumber with ranch dressing already inside. Berry does not dignify that with a verbal response.

Let’s Up the Rating: After Disher and Vince argue over the semantics of ‘former cop shooter,’ Stottlemeyer wonders if they are married. Also, if feet are your thing, we see both of Shaloub’s in this episode.

One More Time: “San Francisco PD, what’s the emergency?” “Someone stole his bike.” “And?” “And didn’t come back.” “… And?”
Stottlemeyer on the scene and Natalie explaining the urgency.

Dear Genre: Bradley Whitford gets the coveted Special Guest Star credit having appeared on The West Wing, The Handmaid’s Tale and others too numerous to mention.

The Rainbow Treknection: Mike Hegery makes his mark as O’Dell but was Klingon Larg in Redemption II and hotheaded villager Skoran in Thine Own Self.

Trivial Matters: At the Karumoto residence, Monk claims to be Encyclopedia Brown and Natalie as Sally.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “What are you going to do all day, sit around and complain to Natalie?” It’s been a while since we’ve seen Monk and Natalie together and even longer since Natalie has been in debt to Monk, if ever. Monk makes the most horrible patient in this episode. It is predictable, but he is insufferable as he rightly blames Natalie for putting him in the dire straits.

Howard does not entirely sell someone being pushed hard, but that would not be entertaining to watch. As someone who has suffered a lot under Monk, she willingly puts herself at his beck and call, not really knowing what she would get herself into.

Outside observer Stottlemeyer tells Monk that he is pushing her too much, seeing a bit of himself in this new Monk. Between that and his sarcastic scene at the top, this is a great vehicle for Levine, pun not intended. We also hear form Natalie that the case escalates when Monk is shot and Stottlemeyer leaving no stone unturned.

Whitford is always reliable and is great here as Berry. He is passionate about the environment and while his ideas are a little out there (a square tomato, a seed sprouting in minutes) he is committed to the cause. He has enough sarcasm to extrude throughout.

Not everything works. Why did Longstreet bring her bag to the lab? Was she the only person wearing the sandals? Also, why did they have tire treads on the bottom in the lab instead of discarding them after their use? Finally, the scene with getting Monk in a wheelchair takes about five hours too long.

Not the best episode but good use of a great guest star and good dialogue all around. The escalation works and while we will never have another newspaper episode, you can see the DNA.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door"
Season Seven Episode Twelve
Directed by: Tawnia McKiernan
Written by: Hy Conrad and Joe Toplyn
Original Air Date: January 23, 2009

We’ll Need Some Help: A night watchman at the Guinness World Record Museum is doing his rounds and he catches someone. For some reason, John Keyes does not listen but murders the guard with a control board, causing the animatronic displays to activate.

Monk meets nice old lady Marge Johnson on his way to pick up some checks. Johnson is known to the police with constant complaints, the most recent of which is a noise complaint for a neighbor who recently acquired some drums. Even though the police have been there five times and cited him, Johnson has to wait for his court date and hope the judge does something. Monk volunteers to step in the next time it happens, earning him some candy from Johnson.

An egg eating animatronic robot, Toro, is missing, wheeled out. The plague is undamaged, but it was replaced months ago after some who claimed to have the actual record defaced it.

Marge calls Monk about her neighbor who is at it again, but we see it is Keyes! The confrontation goes better than anyone would have expected, at least after Monk reveals his connection to the police.

Johnson invites him over for a meal and they bond over not wanting to stop working plus Johnson’s estranged son would be roughly Monk’s age. Monk is so taken he forgets to wash his hands before eating.

Local competitive eater Winston Kazinsky took issue with the record but did not take the exhibit. He was at a buffet restaurant the night in question and while there is no paper trail, they will remember him being there. He is also practicing for a competition and demonstrates his prowess to Stottlemeyer and Disher.

David Elliott is closing up his jewelry shop for the night when an armed Keyes comes in. At first, he wants some stuff from a specific place but is recognized with that specialized knowledge. Elliott promises not to tell anyone but Keyes shoots him just to be sure.

Johnson gets Monk to rearrange his living room after cleaning and doing some cooking, things Natalie usually does. Monk lets her have some time off to help a sick Julie. Johnson also has an article proclaiming Monk’s brilliance. Stottlemeyer and Disher come with news of the robbery. Keyes claims to have been practicing at the time of the robbery and Johnson recalls hearing him at that time and she saw him through the window.

Dr. Bell is impressed with Monk making a friend but upon making that realization, Monk wonders what the catch is since he is the main character on an episodic television show and his friendships last roughly an hour.

Johnson goes to the jewelry store and while Monk finds some clues such as a glove used in the crime and deduces that the perpetrator worked there recently and had inside knowledge. Johnson is a bit of a distraction, contaminating evidence and bragging about Monk. When she sees a broach similar to the one she had, she shows a picture as proof. Monk sees another picture of her son and deduces they planned the robbery together, using Keyes as an alias and befriending Monk to get away with it.

The matching birthmarks are enough to bring both in for separate questioning. Monk says hurtful things of Johnson he cannot take back but Natalie arrives with news of Keyes making bail and being picked up by his mother.

Monk goes to apologize to Johnson but even help from Natalie is not enough to make amends. While leaving, they find some fluid in Keyes’s yard. Stottlmeyer arrives and confirms it matches the exhibit. In the garage, they find Toro dressed to look like Keyes. He put on a timer and used the noise as an alibi. Keyes approaches them armed from behind, but Disher comes on the scene, and they apprehend Keyes.

Johnson moves to Seattle to be in a townhouse with her sister, but not before making up with Monk, and giving him a scarf to wear at stakeouts. Natalie makes plans for lunch.

This Week’s Compulsion: Even after ten minutes of the light not changing, Monk wants to wait and see before crossing.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie notes Monk being fond of Johnson when she catches him eating the offered peppermint.

Captain Moustache: When the curator wants to keep the body in the museum to boost sales, Sottlemeyer asks him to stand somewhere else.

Dishing it Out: Disher comes to the museum every year on his birthday. Stottlemeyer forces him to claim it is just done in his youth.

Let’s Talk it Out: The big clue that Monk is bonded with Johnson is when he refers to her as his mother.

Let’s Up the Rating: If eating turns you on, Kazinsky eats twenty eggs, though there is some clever editing to make it work.

One More Time: “A jealous egg eater? God help us, we have a motive.”
Stottlemeyer surprised at a turn in the case.

Trivial Matters: Monk channels John Wayne, accent and all, in his retelling of the situation to Johnson.

Johnson mentions a son named Paulie. Actress Gena Rowlands and Shaloub were in a movie titled Paulie.

One of the pictures shows Rowlands with her real-life husband Robert Forrest.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “Don’t tell me; a little old lady helped you across the street.” Gena Rowlands was nominated for an Emmy, and it is not hard to see why. As Johnson, she has excellent chemistry with everyone, even Keyes during a fake Here’s What Happened segment. She impresses Stottlemeyer and Disher, even temporarily taking over for Natalie though unlike Monk, it is not internalized.

Rowland and Shaloub are great together. Rowland has the nice old lady character down perfectly and is very maternal in the role. She gets Monk out of his shell and helps make him a better person. The best part is that Monk self-sabotages the relationship. Granted it should not have taken long to realize that Keyes and Johnson were not related but that would break up the dramatic tension and they had to break up for the climax to work.

It is telling that they make up in the end though the writers had to get Johnson out of the picture due to the way episodic television works. It is rushed but is better than Johnson holding a grudge or another Jeremy Aster where they form a life bond, and he is never seen again.

While Johnson is the focus, the scene at the Kazinky residence is great as well. The family is all for him breaking the record. Even a silent son is proud to be there. The best part is where he eats twenty eggs quickly, but that is done mainly with camera trickery.

A great hour built around an amazing guest star.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk Makes the Playoffs"
Season Seven Episode Thirteen
Directed by: Randall Zisk
Written by: Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan
Original Air Date: January 30, 2009

We’ll Need Some Help: David Gitelson of the San Francisco Cougars is enjoying the nightlife, having come to party after practice. After being dropped off at a club for the afterparty, his driver Shawn Metzger, takes the playbook to Brian Binsack, coach of the opposing team, the Wildcats. The next morning, Gitelson notices something funky and confronts Metzger only to be clubbed by a crowbar for his troubles.

Three days earlier, the guys are abuzz about the game. One is hosting a party, but Monk can’t make it because he got a couple press all access passes from his buddy Bob Costas. Monk wants to take Natalie but is talked into taking Stottlemeyer.

Disher holds down the fort as Monk is introduced to tailgating with people of various sobriety levels. Metzger drains a tank and fills a grill with the gas. Kickoff time nears as an explosion is seen on the grounds and Monk wants to investigate. He determines there was gas used as the game begins. Grill owner Chet Walsh suspects sabotage by a rival group of fans. Stottlemeyer confronts the suspects who turn out to be old high school buddies with a soldi alibi.

Natalie brings some snacks for Disher to enjoy with the game, but they wind up watching an upside screen in the stairway. Stottlemyer finally convinces Monk to go to the game, which isn’t going well due to Gitelson not showing up, only to be stopped by a picture of the championship ring. It turns out Monk saw it earlier in the parking lot. Gitelson is in there, dead, made up to look like a passed-out fan.

After the body is cleared, Metzger is brought in by Disher. Even though there is a charcoal smudge and the smell of gas, they let Metzger go. As they are out of their jurisdiction, Monk and Stottlemeyer go in to watch the game. Stottlemeyer tries to cheer Monk up for the game but eventually just asks for his ticket.

Monk confronts Metzger who does not admit to anything and takes his limo out of the lot, though Monk figures out he siphoned gas from his own car to light the grill. Monk talks to Walsh who remembers talking to Gitelson early in the morning. Gitelson mentioned something was out of order. Monk has to go into the stadium courtesy of an all-access pass, illegally letting Walsh come in as well.

Bob Costas relays the story of how he met Monk. Apparently, Costas was sold a dementia cat with multiple personality syndrome, one of which was a dog. Monk watches the game on a monitor and sees the opposing coach flipping through a playbook realizing he has a good shot at winning and improving his career, leading Monk to solve the case.

The pages in the playbook were out of order because Metzger had a short time to copy them. Metzger also figured Walsh knew more because they were talking earlier. As halftime approaches, with a Monk friendly score of ten to ten, Monk must retrieve the playbook as proof.

While the Wildcats are preparing for the second half, Monk is caught with the book in hand and makes a run for it. A chase ensures into the parking lot and stops when Disher catches the book, for reasons not explained to the viewer.

Costas reports the end of the game in favor of the Condors and Stottlemeyer gives an on air update about an ongoing investigation while Monk cleans up the area, admitting that the cat was not homicidal; he just wanted to leave Costas’ place. Natalie marvels at watching the game upside down is a stairwell.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk notices that the jersey numbers add up to one thousand.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie says that Monk can have male bonding time with Stottlemeyer but Monk prefers Natalie.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer wonders where the fun guy was who hung out with him and Trudy and Monk replies that Trudy died.

Dishing it Out: Disher is apparently alone at the station initially watching the game on a flip phone before liberating a big screen from the evidence locker.

Let’s Up the Rating: Stottlemeyer finds football better than sex and Monk wonders what isn’t.

One More Time: “Don’t you have an off switch?” “No.” “Here you can borrow mine. Beer, natures off switch.”
Stottlemeyer trying to relax Monk.

Trivial Matter: With all due respect, the pizza Natalie brings looks nasty. The crust looks barely cooked, and the cheese is congealed.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “My best friend, great guy, I left him downstairs.” “Sure, I understand. Is he with Monk?” Did they find out Costas was available and rush an episode around him?

So much of this does not make a lick of sense. Disher is the only cop around the whole station so who is in charge when he leaves? When he does leave, why doesn’t Natalie come with? Is she left in the station alone? Also, he pilfers a TV from the evidence locker and gets away with it. For an episode with playoff in the title, surprisingly little happens at the game itself. Plus, the coach was caught with the opposing team’s handbook and faces no repercussions. They don’t restart the game or anything. Although granted, it was tied at halftime.

Even the episode structure is off, we got a flashback to three days earlier and then are at gametime giving us some wonky timetables to work with, implying that Gitelson was partying the night before a game, and a major one at that. Why didn’t Metzger just leave after dropping Gitelson off?

Mind you this would be a good hour with the characters we love, but Stottlemeyer just dumps Monk in the middle of things. He eventually comes to but is not the least bit cordial to his host who gave him the ticket to be there in the first place. Also, Stottlemeyer is disinterested in how Costas befriended Monk in the first place. To make matters worse, Monk just wanted to leave and outright lied to Costas, admitting as much at the tag.

Costas is having fun doing his job and fangoobering over Monk because of course, but there is so much odd about this whole endeavor.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Bully"
Season Seven Episode Fourteen
Directed by: David Breckman
Written by: Joe Ventura
Original Air Date: February 6, 2009

We’ll Need Some Help: Natalie books an appointment with a potential client Roderick Brody. Billed as an old friend of Monk, we flash back to grade school where young Brody gave young Monk a swirlie after accepting a bribe not to do so.

A session with Dr. Bell reveals that Roderick has been a large negative influence on Monk’s life. This could be an opportunity to get past that, but Monk would rather avoid it to the point where he brings a note for Dr. Bell to sign excusing him from the meeting.

They go to a mansion and are greeted by Marilyn Brody who hits it off with Natalie. Marilyn was adopted so they had a small wedding recently. Successful business mogul Roderick sees the water under the bridge and adjourns to a private study. After brushing off Monk’s apology, Roderick suspects Marilyn of cheating. Weeks ago, when she was supposedly out of town, he saw her crossing a street in a manner consistent with being flirty. After Natalie mentions that they do not handle that kind of case, Monk accepts, happy prove to Marilyn a cheater.

They go a bar where they find Marilyn canoodling with Douglas Fendle. After taking a picture, they show it to Roderick, but the film is decades old, and Roderick has a change of heart. Marilyn got tickets for a cruise, kind of a second honeymoon and he lets Monk off the hook.

Natalie buys Monk a digital camera to get more proof, but Natalie is reluctant to continue working the case. They get a call about Fendle’s death in a hotel. He was stabbed three times and there are no signs of forced entry. Upon hearing of Monk’s work and wanting to interview Roderick, Natalie wants to protect confidentiality while Monk gives the name and address.

Roderick says he was with Marilyn watching a movie, but Marilyn has a different story; Roderick left for a couple hours and came back with a bloodied knife for her to discard. Roderick professes his innocence, and Monk gets some fresh air with a smile on his face. After trying to start a cartwheel, Monk realizes he shouldn’t be happy since there is a death involved. He also wonders why Roderick would have stabbed Fendle given a gun in his car.

Natalie and Monk question Marilyn who is finalizing setting up a new offshore account. She also does not immediately recognize Natalie and offers few reasons why Roderick would not use his gun. After they leave, Marilyn goes to the basement where the real Marilyn is tied up by her twin sister, Patrice Glesner.

Monk visits a handcuffed Roderick, ready to take the case for realsies. Roderick mentions that Monk was the only victim that fought back though Roderick is not harboring a grudge. Looking at a mirror, Monk realizes that Marilyn had a twin, enabling her to be at two places at once.

Glesner is ready to kill Marilyn but not before expositing. Fendle was a lawyer representing their adoption cases and Glesner wanted some money, so she framed Roderick after kidnapping Marilyn. Glesner would have killed Roderick too, but he was in police custody. The warrant does not arrive soon enough, but Marilyn is able to scream for help giving probable cause to enter and save her.

Marilyn and Roderick are happily reunited, and Roderick gives a sort of apology before leaving. Monk tries to get some sort of acceptance for the situation.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk is so preoccupied with Roderick that he takes a pan out of the oven without a mitt.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie introduces herself as designated hand shaker.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer came up empty in dumpster diving for the murder weapon but notes the lack of knife left by room service.

Dishing it Out: For once, Disher’s twin theory pans out. He is also trying to figure out which one to arrest and Stottlemeyer suggests the one not drowning.

Let’s Talk it Out: Dr. Bell is happy to squeeze Monk in even though they have an appointment for later that day.

Let’s Up the Rating: Per Natalie, the guy Marilyn is cozying up to is kind of cute.

One More Time: “I don’t think a fifty year old man is calling you just to give you a swirlie.”
Natalie being the voice of reason

Dear Genre: Noah Emmerich was already an established actor as Marlon from the Truman Show and more before playing Roderick. Julie Bowen was more starting out before her breakout roles in Lost , No Ordinary Family and Modern Family.

Trivial Matters: Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End is name checked indirectly. That novel has a character surnamed Rodericks.

Bowen was pregnant while filming this episode, affecting her wardrobe. This was around the time she filmed the pilot for Modern Family where she hid her stomach with laundry.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “I heard you got a little crazy after graduation. Is it funny crazy or sad crazy?” After watching shows for years, you can see some cool tricks that are used for effects. There are only two shots where both Marilyn and Glesner’s faces are shown, one of which has an obvious line to split the shot before fading to black. All other times it is just one on the screen. Very clever directing from David Brackman.

Bowen does do the job of pulling off the double act. It is easy to see why she would go on to be in an ensemble series lasting over a decade. There are differences between the two characters with one being just a bit more evil than the other. Not to be outdone, Emmerich shows off his acting chops with both remembering Monk but having there be water under the bridge.

That’s about it that I can highly praise as the writing is absolutely dreadful. Of all people Monk should not be reveling in someone’s misfortune. We have a decent introduction to Roderick but by this point it should be water under the bridge as multiple people tell Monk, particularly Dr. Bell. Yet that is the singular driving force for most of the episode and worse, Roderick still thinks Monk is in his corner even while handcuffed at a police station. This is a side of Monk we rarely see and should not at all. Even Natalie goes so far as to buy a digital camera for him before saying she will not help him further.

Some great performances by talented actors but this should never have been written.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Magician"
Season Seven Episode Fifteen
Written by: Randall Zisk
Directed by: Andy Breckman
Original Air Date: February 13, 2009

We’ll Need Some Help: Magician Karl Torini is doing some camera aided sleight of hand magic with a Thailand mobster. The mobster is more worried on making some cash from heroin in the streets of San Francisco.

Dorfman is going over some accounting and finds an error. He talks to Torini who is rehearsing with his new assistant, Tanya Adams. It is a private matter, but Torini makes Adams disappear. Looking over the records, it appears that Torini’s bags weigh more coming back than going out and this trend goes back years. Fearing a rip-off, Dorfman wants to sue the airline but Torini counters with just forgetting about it. Instead, he will have Dorfman cover for him while he is away on a trip to propose to Adams.

Dorfman practices in front of Monk and Natalie, explaining the situation and doing a horrible job while rehearsing for an audience of two, not helped by Monk not refusing entry into a magic box.

Torini calls from Reno with Adams having accepted the proposal. Dorfman makes it through his show titled Abraca-Dorfman. Wondering what is taking so long afterwards, Monk goes backstage and is directed by a maintenance worker only to find Dorfman dead. The killing was done via a wire, and Monk confirms it was a magician who painted their lines black to create an illusion. Monk remembers the maintenance worker but there are none on the weekends meaning Monk saw the killer albeit from the back.

At the wake, we find that chattiness is a Dorfman family trait. Natalie needs some water and is directed by Torini where to get some and Monk recognizes the gesture from the maintenance worker leading Monk to have a suspect. Adams is not wearing her ring, but she blames the quickness of events. Torini has a solid alibi as the call came from a hotel and was not rerouted.

Adams talks with Monk and Natalie briefly before Torini comes, using and talking about misdirection to complete an illusion. They have little in the way of evidence which gives Torni the upper hand. Natalie is angered by the nonchalance and Torini takes it a step further by writing a confession on flash paper which he quickly ignites.

Monk reminisces with Natalie over Dorfman who was annoying but lovable. He complained about a sore throat to Monk for hours once. A call from Disher brings a clue when Natalie’s phone falls into a secret compartment.

Monk and Natalie go to Torini’s show and Torini calls for a volunteer for his magical cabinet. Natalie steps up, but Torini chooses Monk having read up on the detective. Monk takes some items covertly given by Natalie and the cabinet tests positive for heroin. Torini whispers something to Adams before taking control and spinning the cabinet causing Monk to disappear. Later Sotttlemeyer demands to know where Monk is, but Torini feigns ignorance and gives the card for his lawyer.

Monk is in a subbasement with Adams, the plan being to murder Monk burn the remains. The phone rings but it is an extension and Monk realizes that was how Torini did it. They were in Reno, but Torini went back early and when Adams called, picked up the extension. While the trap door is found, Adams has a change of heart and tries to secret Monk the handcuff key but chooses to deliver it mouth to mouth. Monk spits it out and when Torini tries to double his murder, the cavalry arrives.

Monk insists on sitting through Dorfman’s video will with Natalie.

This Week’s Compulsion: After a long-winded explanation by Dorfman, he says ‘long story short’ to which Monk counters with ‘too late for that.’

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie does not think Dorfman did too bad. Monk reminds her there are three dead doves on the stage.

Captain Moustache: By now Stottlemeyer knows not to distrust Monk. He volunteers to dig things up but needs to know what to look for.

Dishing it Out: While on the line, Disher is put on speaker as Natalie and Monk play with a magic box.

It Recurs to Me: One of the tenets of magic is not revealing the secret, a rule Dorfman breaks.

Let’s Up the Rating: The piece de resistance is a disappearing rabbit who winds up in Dorfman’s … nether regions.

Here’s What Happened: When Monk is ready to explain it all, Torini shuts the door in his face.

One More Time: “He will make this bullet disappear in your skull. Where is the watch”
A thug showing Torini what a tough crowd is.

The Rainbow Treknection: Peyton List is familiar as the contemporary lead from the television version of Frequency along with Lieutenant Narissa Rizzo from Picard’s first season.

Trivial Matters: A great deal of this episode takes place at Magic Castle, a real-life magic club in LA.

Monk references being buried alive which happened in both Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra or Mr. Monk and the Buried Treasure

The magic box seen with the phone must be magnetic as the phone stays on the flipping surface. Not impossible but something worth noting.

The cabinet used in the climax is called the Zig Zag cabinet, created by Robert Harbin. Contrary to the episode, it requires some assistance or at least foreknowledge.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “Abraca-Dorfman you son of a bitch!” We live in an era where a show will kill off a main character in the final throes to show the seriousness of the situation. Perhaps most famously Jeremy Combs’ Weyoun dies twice in the ten-episode finale of Deep Space Nine.

Choosing Dorfman to be the victim is genius. This series takes time to humanize the victims as best they can, and the writers have given Dorfman a lot of character. Coming on their final season, they could give him a featured role to be his swan song, and this was a great display for a character we’ve seen and come to love. We also got to see some of his family who all seem to have the gift of gab.

This is a celebration of Dorfman with Monk willing to sit through the final will and testament. Though for a series focused on Monk who can have his quirks, focusing on Dorfman’s and annoying is not a great way to spend time, particularly when he is the focus of the episode.

Magic is also a featured player this week and Torini’s actor Steve Valentine is a close-up magician to the point where we are not sure where the camera trickery ends, and his talent begins. He has a natural smarm to him including his writing out a confession. There are two great moments for Stottlemeyer; the one where he is willing to go to bat for Monk but needs some direction and his fury at Torini when Monk disappears.

There are some issues, though. Couldn’t Torini have passed off the extra weight as keepsakes? The dialogue indicates the weight is for the equipment, but couldn’t he put it in his personal luggage? Also, there is no way Monk would be able to do the trick without some preparation. How come no one stops the show immediately when the cabinet tests positive for heroin? Plus, it was lucky of them to pick the drug they had a test kit for.

A great showcase for a recurring character, their last one giving them a focus episode before the end of the series.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk Fights City Hall"
Season Seven Episode Sixteen
Directed by: Chuck Parker
Written by: Tom Scharpling and Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan
Original Air Date: February 20, 2009

We’ll Need Some Help: Ugly ass old Sommerset Parking Farage is set to be demolished to build a beautiful new playground but there is one nut who chained himself to the interior. Monk refuses to leave as that is where Trudy died. He has a key to the locks but throws it down the sewer and the demolition crew does not have access to bolt cutters.

Councilwoman Eileen Hill tries to explain that they voted for this a while ago, but Monk thinks there might be a clue as to what happened with Trudy, and he does not want it gone. Hill sees the logic and decides to force a redo confirmation vote, sending the demolition crew away, presumably paid for the day and adding additional time to their contract, something the disgruntled crew does not appear to understand.

Four days later, a tourist couple is found dead. Their camera waws taken but not jewelry or cash. There are some details Monk should look at, but he wants to rush to the council meeting. Reporter Paul Crawford is there to cover the story but unofficially is on Monk’s side. They also find councilman Harold Krenshaw who is willing to vote in Monk’s favor in exchange for the name of Monk’s new therapist. Monk does not need Krenshaw’s vote but Disher arrives with news of Hill going missing.

At the councilwoman’s office, aide Maria Schecter is holding down the fort as best she can given that she is horribly incompetent, hanging up on people, mistaking a smudge on her glasses for a scar on everyone’s face, and not knowing how to print. She takes a dislike to Monk and hopes her water doesn’t break as she is very pregnant. A copy of Hill’s schedule shows a recent meeting with Crawford.

Crawford is a hard man to track down so he must be stopped on the top level of a parking garage. Hill is gone without a trace, not much is missing but her wallet and keys though not her car. Hill met with Crawford over an article about George Gianopolis, local hog dog czar. At the hog dog hub, Gianopolis says he was supposed to meet with Hill, but she did not show up.

Monk canvasses the area offering a thousand-dollar reward, the vote happening in a matter of days. Dr. Bell wonders if Monk should move on and let the kids have their playground. He also recalls being a councilman in Tulsa and getting so aggravated he had his secretary go in as a proxy. This gives Monk an idea since a tied vote would not accomplish anything, so he approaches Schecter with a hot dog date. Schecter mentions that she saw the job posting a Lamaze class, had a quick interview, passed a drug test and got hired. Monk tells her that a parking garage can be a playground if kids use their imagination. Schecter is unsure of how Hill would have voted as she kept everything in journals, but they are not found. At least in her one apartment. Schecter knows of another, even having a key.

The second place was for meetings of a … romantic nature, though they find a positive test for pregnancy. Around the same time, Hill’s body turns up off the pier. The case going from missing person to homicide as a high-end necktie was used to do her in. However, Hill was not pregnant, despite the positive tests; the medical examiner checked twice. The journals are found, and Monk is off to the meeting.

Chairperson Krenshaw begins with a prayer for Hill, hoping the killer is not targeting council members. The vote is 4-3 saving the garage. Monk wants to buy drinks, but the pregnant Schecter cannot partake. Monk realizes Crawford was Hill’s lover and Hill wanted more though the married Crawford was reluctant. She faked a pregnancy with the drug test sample Schecter provided. Crawford killed her and dumped the body along with a couple tourists taking pictures in the area. The proof is Crawford’s tie, an import made custom matching the one found on Hill.

Monk is thrilled with another victory, but he insulted Hill during the summation and she wats to change her vote which they can do since there is a recess, not an end to the meeting. To top it all off, Natalie lets slip Dr. Bell’s name.

Monk takes a visit to the future site of the Trudy Monk Memorial Playground.

This Week’s Compulsion: Being in a hog dog facility is worse than being buried.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie was in the dark about Monk’s protest.

Captain Moustache: The main reason for meeting Crawford on the parking garage is so we could see cool shades on Stottlemeyer, Disher and Crawford.

Dishing it Out: Disher’s clue as to the nationality of the victims is that they are from Berlin.

Let’s Talk it Out: Dr. Bell does not want to put up a missing person’s poster as a lot of his patients are paranoid.

It Recurs to Me: When Monk gives the name of Dr. Door as his therapist, Krenshaw wonders if they were standing by an alarm, he would have said Dr. Bell, at which point, Natalie spits a mouthful of water on him.

Let’s Up the Rating: A maid, cheerleader and other outfits make Monk think Hill was into costumes until he realizes the real reason behind the second room, including instructions from Natalie not to look in a drawer.

One More Time: “You could be letting a killer go free for a swing set. Or a sandbox.”
Monk being persuasive to Hill.

The Rainbow Treknection: Tamlyn Tomita played Commodore Oh on Picard’s first season along with other appearances such as Tamlyn Matsuda on Quantum Leap playing Hill in between.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “That’s very sympathetic.” “Sympathy’s got nothing to do with it. Parking’s a bitch is that neighborhood.” This episode is kind of a prequel to the final season. It cuts off a big avenue for Monk to find clues to what happened to Trudy though in the best storytelling fashion it does not move the plot forward, though in a good way.

The quest for Trudy’s situation has been a tentpole for the series from the start. It is very hard to bring the case to the forefront and not move things further and each time it is brought up, which would dilute interest. This brings her back to the forefront but does not solve the case, in fact it makes things harder since there might be something Monk missed. Shaloub is more than up for the challenge.

The writing is great giving Monk a cause to champion and an advocate in the government. Hill has a brief appearance at the start, but her legacy permeates the case with her journals resurfacing along with some other personal choices. No one ever went wrong casting Tomita in anything.

Everyone is written well with Disher getting a moment to show off. The guest cast is great with Tim Colon having a good smarm as Crawford and Kali Rocha being an aptly described dolt in the office. Even Jon Polito has a fun scene as Gianopolis.

As things go south for Monk, they go great for Krenshaw. We saw him run an effective campaign before, but he did well enough to become chair of the council. Mainly due to them not having to pay an extra to speak but we got another great performance by Bagley. In addition to the council victory, he gets Dr. Bell’s name with the Jedi Mind Trick.

The thinnest piece is that Crawford’s necktie is the key to putting him away. This show has flimsy evidence, but this is pretty extreme. Nonetheless it is a good season ender.

[Faithful Reader]

Monk Seventh Season Overview
Original Air Dates: July 18, 2008 to February 20, 2009

We’ll Need Some Help: In the seventh season, Monk would get a new therapist, Dr. Neven Bell, after the tragic death of Dr. Kroger. Monk was reluctant at first but eventually grew to like the sessions, hallucinating a version when trapped on the U.S.S. Seattle. Hypnotism would regress him to a six-year-old and he would meet his long-lost brother.

Monk had some formidable foes such as genius Patrick Closter and magician Karl Torini. He would also face one foe he could not outsmart: a mandatory physical! There would be an amazing milestone as he solved over one hundred cases!

Natalie would embark on a career as a lotto girl, but it would be short lived. There would be a longer-lived romance with a friend of Mitch’s. Stottlemeyer would temporarily leave Monk to watch a big game with Bob Costas.

Monk would be united with his half-brother Jack Monk Jr. There was heartache as Monk’s neighbor and friend, Kevin Dorfman, was killed.

During the season, Monk bought a house, learned chess, participated in a boxing match, fall in love, become wheelchair bound after losing a bike, became friends with a nice old lady, and made nice with a childhood bully.

But as the season closed, so did an avenue of tracking down Trudy’s killer as the parking garage which would play a key role in her ultimate fate was demolished.

Favorite This Week’s Compulsion: From Mr. Monk’s 100th Case: We see Monk vacuuming, cleaning his vacuum and then cleaning the device he used to clean the vacuum. Oddly enough, the narration only mentions the first two.

Favorite White Courtesy Phone: From Mr. Monk Takes a Punch: Needing to control boxer Regis’ perspiration, Monk asks Natalie for some deodorant which she of course has on hand.

Favorite Captain Moustache: From Mr. Monk Buys a House: Monk is sleep deprived and between psychologists, Stottlemeyer tells Monk to not make any rash decisions. Then Monk offers to buy a house they are investigating as a crime scene.

Favorite Dishing It Out: From Mr. Monk’s Other Brother: After long lost brother Jack is off to prison again, Disher cannot find the keys to the cuffs.

Favorite Let’s Talk it Out: From Mr. Monk Buys a House: Dr. Bell does his homework on Monk being ready with a wipe, his favorite brand of water and having a picture from Dr. Kroger’s office.

Favorite The Innocence of Youth: From Mr. Monk Buys a House: Monk complains repeatedly about a girl across the street practicing her piano playing. While most piano lessons happen at a teacher’s place, one apparently does house calls.

Favorite It Recurs to Me: Mr. Monk’s 100th Case: There are a lot of interview segments with people making their second appearance, but we get the third and final non-archive appearances of John Turturro as Ambrose Monk and Sarah Silverman as Marci Maven. They are outdone by Tim Bagley making an appearance as Harold Krenshaw.

Favorite Let’s Up the Rating: From Mr. Monk and the Genius: Needing Monk to play in the match, Julie flirts with Tavala to free up a seat. Monk comments to Natalie how practiced she appears and is told to shut up.

Favorite Here’s What Happened: From Mr. Monk Falls in Love: The elder Zlatavich narrates the sequence in Zemanian, the only time the sequence is not in English. Honorable mentions to Mr. Monk Gets Hypnotized where Monk offers a theory from his six-year-old mind, and the actors are more than happy to play along. Also, Mr. Monk and the Miracle gave us a Gregorian chant.

Favorite One More Time: From Mr. Monk Buys a House: “What’s the point of having a gun if you don’t shoot your friend in the leg when he’s about to buy a house?”
Monk both making a point and undermining it at the same time.

Dear Genre Highlights: Brad Garret of Everyone Loves Raymond, Evan Peters from X-Men and American Horror Story, Malcolm Barrett of Timeless and Better Off Ted, Robert Loggia of Big, William Atherton as the asshole on Ghostbusters, Carper Van Diem of Starship Troopers, Eric McCormick of Will and Grace, Richard Schiff of The West Wing and The Good Doctor, Bradley Whitford also of The West Wing along with The Handmaid’s Tale, Noah Emmerich of The Americans, Julie Bowen of Lost and Modern Family all make appearances this season.

The Rainbow Treknection Highlights: Dina Myers who would play Commander Donatra, Geoffrey Blacke of Insurrection as Arjin, Tracey Walter of several Ferengi, Jude Cioletta from the film Nemesis, Titus Welliver from the Voyager’s Equinox two parter, Mike Hegery as a Klingon and Villager in TNG, Payton List from Picard, and Tamlyn Tomita also from Picard all made appearances this season. Strangely enough, most are from the back half.

Favorite Trivial Matters: Mr. Monk’s 100th Case: So many great callbacks and appearances.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “There is no script, this is the lottery. If there was a script, we’d all be rich.” As you can tell by the synopsis, this seventh season was heavily dominated by Monk. It makes sense given that the series is his namesake, and he is the biggest star, but there were no episodes focused on the other members of the cast. The closest we get are Natalie with the lottery and submarine along with Stottlemeyer at the game, but Monk is the main focus of those episodes.

This series has gone out of their way to feature the other members of the cast, almost dedicating entire episodes to them. Heck, Dorfman got a key episode, and he was killed off in it! The rest of the cast has shown time and time again that they are up to the task but are not given a spotlight.

Thankfully, Shaloub is up to the task. His talents are in prominent display, and he is a joy to watch.

Pity he wasn’t given better material to work with. More than any other season, this had the longest run of so so episodes. Not only were they in the middling, they were rehashes of others. Another Christmas episode, another episode where Monk loses his superpower, another episode where he falls in love. We’ve seen this better before and just cannot capture that magic. The exception is the hundredth episode, a clear love letter to the series with a lot of references throughout that does not distract overall.

This would be the first season with Hector Elizondo taking over as a new therapist for Monk as Dr. Bell. There was the requisite head bumping at the start, but Monk eventually settled with Dr. Bell. Elizondo does not try to be Dr. Kroger, he establishes a character of his own. This is the first of two great comedic roles for Elizondo as he would be Ed Alzate in the sitcom Last Man Standing. This had more dramatic moments and was an hour long, but you can see his comedic chops. The performance in Monk’s head aboard the U.S.S Seattle are a highlight, but he made the character a memorable one.

We are gearing up for the final season and the penultimate one kind of stumbled around more than it flew.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk's Favorite Show"
Season Eight Episode One
Directed by: Randall Zisk
Written by: Jack Bernstein
Original Air Date: August 7, 2009

We’ll Need Some Help: Monk and Natalie are waiting overnight to get a copy of Christine Rapp’s tell all autobiography. Rapp is a former child star of “The Cooper Clan,” a show Monk obsessed over throughout his life. She is due for a book signing at ten the next morning. As Rapp gets ready to leave, the paparazzo question her about the tell all nature, including some co-stars thrown under the bus. When Rapp starts her car remotely, it explodes.

Monk argues with another fan about the details before buying a copy of the book. His enthusiasm fades as he learns of the attempt on her life. The bomb is a basic one meaning there are no suspects. Papp is glad to meet Monk once she realizes he is a detective and publicist Kelly Kim hires Monk as a bodyguard. With an offer of a thousand dollars a week, Monk accepts saying he will be late on the first week’s pay before Kim clarifies she will pay him.

Monk and Rapp watch some old episodes which are either heavily inspired from or completely rip off The Brady Bunch. Kim interrupts them for a report on the murder. There is a suspect who was in the area plus the police are combing through some threatening letters received. Monk gets a tour of the house in which he finds a gun licensed to Rapp. There is also a mirror above the bed which Monk believes is for surveillance, but Rapp corrects him to the personal nature of it.

Rapp gets ready for a photo shoot while Monk and Kim reminisce about an award. A scream brings them to the bathroom where someone wrote on the mirror “next time I won’t miss.” The handwriting matches the letters, and Monk swears he saw the style before but cannot place it. Former costar Stephen Dorn is being interviewed as a person of interest and when Monk does not realize how much Dorn hates Rapp, Stottlemeyer orders Monk to read the book. Monk reads the book is appalled. Natalie says that all young stars get messed up.

Rapp gets a hotel room and is unknowingly followed by a hooded stranger, Victor Tomilson, but there is a gunshot, killing him. Rapp says it was self-defense, and the writing matches the letters. Monk is cold to Rapp after reading the book, Rapp tries to tell Monk that there were even worse things that did not make the cut and that she was young, but Monk does not accept the apology.

Needing to cheer up Monk, Natalie gets his favorite meal (ten round crackers, apple juice and one ice cube) and tries to reignite his love of The Cooper Clan. In one episode, Monk recognizes the young Rapp’s handwriting as the letters and mirror; she wrote them to frame Tomilson so she could kill him.

Monk and Natalie are off to Tomilson’s former place and find a bad example of a bachelor pad. As they separate Monk finds a hollowed-out book with some votes for the award Rapp won before her career took off and they are not for Rapp. Rapp is in the apartment and knocks out Monk.

We cut to an episode of The Cooper Clan where a broken vase is found, and the kids are suspected. The parents rarely suspect their brother Adrian (“Adrian, Adrian, Adrian!”) Monk confronts the character Rapp played with how Tomilson rigged the award but demanded money after the fact. Rapp set him up afterwards. Monk talks about how no one recovered from the show. Another child got pregnant with a co-star’s baby (allegedly) and third child got hooked on meth, never recovering professionally. Monk begins to come out of it …

… as Natalie grapples with Rapp. Monk regains his composure and holds Rapp at bay with her gun.

Monk goes to return the book and get the change he originally let the proprietor keep. The book is missing a page but there is a sign saying if a book is returned in a seven-day window, no questions will be asked.

After leaving the store, Monk bemoans the lack of funny people in his life and Natalie mentions herself, Disher and Stottlemeyer. Monk asks her to say something funny, but Natalie is at a loss without an army of writers behind her.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk does not like being second in line as he is the last in a line of two.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie is downright appalled at the autobiography, to the point where she eats a page out of it.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer asks if Monk knew Rapp and Monk replies he watched her grow up. It takes Stottlemeyer a bit to realize Monk meant on the show.

Dishing it Out: Disher wonders if the killer used their non-dominant hand to disguise their writing.

The Innocence of Youth: The Cooper Clan is composed of three little ones and a big um. Their suspects for who broke the case are a ghost or a wayward racoon.

Let’s Up the Rating: Among the men mentioned in the book are Ricardo Montalbán, Dudley Moore, Cheech, Chong, Cheech & Chong, along with Bob Denver though there is an asterisk.

Here’s What Happened: Monk hallucinates himself into The Cooper Clan when giving the summation, including a huge applause when he appears.

One More Time: "She's a loudmouth, a liar, and a tramp. Next time I run into her, I hope I'm driving a truck." “Did you say that? Why would you say that?” “Because she's a loudmouth, a liar, and a tramp.”
Stottlemyer quoting Dorn, Monk wanting clarification and Dorn confirming.

Dear Genre: Elizabeth Perkins is the adult version of Rapp and has several huge credits to her name, including Weeds. Rena Sofer did stints on both Heroes and 24 after being publicist Kim.

Trivial Matters: The award Rapp won was a Silver Globe, a parody of the Golden Globes. The show includes accountants discussing the tabulation of votes.

Judy Garland is name checked, though not in the book.

Fictional series The Cooper Clan and real series Monk share associate producers.

In Mr. Monk and his Biggest Fan, Marci Maven mentions ‘Not crazy, just a fan,’ a statement echoed by Monk in this episode.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “I’m not obsessed. I’m … mildly fixated.” As the final season premiere, this is an excellent episode to bring us back with. The one hundredth episode celebrated the series, but they could not talk about a great series on the show itself, so they made one up.

The Cooper Clan is a great pastiche of The Brady Bunch, down to the set based around that series. The film and sequel driving the piece were released not terribly long before this and serve as inspiration. Three of the four kids are young, but they have great roles, albeit somewhat indistinguishable from one another. The plots are right out of that series as well and we even get Monk on the action when he has a Here’s What Happened segment in that guise, telling the cast what happens to them and going along with it. It is great fun to watch.

Shaloub is great as Monk fabgoobering. We rarely see him happy, and he is very happy, at least initially. He puts off reading the book to solve the case giving us information on how Rapp is like in reality before Monk discovering for himself. We get very few quotes, but we hear enough in references to see how wild Rapp was. Coming from Natalie, it means a lot. Natalie did a great job trying to keep him away from the bad stuff and even tried to get him out of the slump.

Perkins is a little too nice for the role she has, but the writers gave her a lot of material to work with. She shrugs it off as being a kid, but fame does not come crashing down quite that much. Stottlemeyer has a fun scene with Dorn, and he has to unofficially order Monk to read the book. The writers even get in on the gag with the tag scene, talking about how awesome they are.

If there is a quibble, it is that the timeline does not quite match up. We hear that Rapp got a career boost after she won the award, but the flashback shows us Perkins doing that, not the younger version. Also, did Tomilson wait for years to blackmail? There is a lot of fudging to make this work.

An all-around great way to bring us into the final season nonetheless.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man"
Season Eight, Episode Two
Directed by: David Grossman
Story by : David Breckman and Justin Brenneman Teleplay by : David Breckman
Original Aire Date: August 14, 2009

We’ll Need Some Help: Nigerian Ansara Waingaya is picking up some groceries durring her last week in America. She is due to go back and get married. After calling her soon-to-be husband on a pay phone, she is hit by a car.

Housekeeper Maria Fuentes was killed days ago. When the Buxton’s came back from Barbados, the stench was unbearable. An earing is found in her pocket and there is a first aid book on the counter, but it was put there before Fuentes was killed.

As Monk tires to sleep at 7:45, he is kept awake by a man playing a woodwind across the street. Samuel Waingaya is mourning the loss of his wife. This hits a nerve with Monk who invites Samuel to his place. Samuel is having problems finding out who killed his wife as the police are not helpful and his reward of twelve thousand naira coverts to eighty-five dollars. Monk is so touched, he lets Samuel smoke, albeit blowing into a trash bag. Monk vows to find out what who killed Ansara.

Stottlemeyer shows gas station surveillance footage of the suspected van from later that night, but the crime will be almost impossible to solve. Stottlemeyer privately confers with Monk to not get Samuel’s hopes up and to start working on the less cold Fuentes case, something piping hot.

The footage shows the van turning around and at the gas station, two stoners confirm that the van was for an exterminator, bearing the word Poison and all. Also, the driver was hunched over, meaning they turned around so they would not lose the signal when going into a tunnel.

Monk shows Samuel how to do laundry (colors and socks separated into at least ten piles and a prewash cycle) when Samuel realizes the word on the truck was not ‘poison’ as a pesticide but the French word for fish. They find a van at Le Poisons Bleu, and Samuel is certain the headlight has been replaced with an old one. They find a grain of rice which would be consistent with Ansara going shopping. They witness asshole owner Kenneth Nichols firing a chef. Samuel fingers Nichols as the guy.

Stottlemeyer is concerned that Monk is obsessing over Ansara. He witnessed Monk being bedridden after Trudy died. Monk and Samuel try to get closer to Nichols and go undercover as dishwashers. Their first day goes horrible though they manage not to get fired. Nichols goes to a farmers’ market regularly, specifically the night in question. Monk also sees the Buxton’s greeted by Nichols, leading Monk to question them. Mr. Buxton talks to Nichols regularly, especially during baseball season.

After seeing a waitress take off her earing to use the phone, Monk puts it all together but is too late as Nichols approaches with a gun. They are put in the back of the van with at least thirty boxes full of fish (which seems like a bit much for both a farmer’s market and one restaurant) in such a manner that does not dirty their whites and Monk explains what happened; Nichols called the Buxton’s, but they were out of town. Fuentes answered while Nichols ran over Ansara, making her a witness. Nichols kept Fuentes on the phone while driving, long enough for Fuentes to take out the book on first aid.

Monk is sure they will die, but Samuel brings out Monks inner strength, drawing on Ansara and Trudy. All is not lost when Monk uses Samuel’s lighter to burn through their bindings. Samuel is not deterred by his burning flesh because he’s just that awesome. They ambush Nichols, forcing him to say the names of their dearly departed, even though Nichols never met Trudy.

Natalie gives Samuel some comedy CDs (Richard Pryor, Monty Python and Bill Cosby) as a parting gift. As Monk gives his regards, Samuel invites Monk to Africa. Monk wonders what it is like knowing but Samuel says Monk’s time will come.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk gets wind of Samuel when he smells incense, the bacon smelling kind.

White Courtesy Phone: Monk is too quick reading Natalie’s magazine. Prior to determining ownership, Monk asked her to go down to the newsstand a get her own. When ownership is revealed, Monk is in no hurry to go bet his own copy.

Captain Moustache: In the nascent days of cell phones, Stottlemeyer realized that if someone really wants to be on vacation, they will leave their cell behind.

Dishing it Out: Disher tries to impress a tech by manning out the stench of a rotting corpse. It doesn’t seem to entirely not work.

Let’s Up the Rating: Ansara is absolutely over the moon about Samuel, talking about him and even calling late at night.

One More Time: “I have some juice.” “I am happy for you.” “No, I’m offering you some juice.”
Monk trying to be hospitable and Samuel not getting it.

Dear Genre: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays Samuel though he has quite the resume from Killer Croc in 2016’s Suicide Squad, and also Lost and Oz for the smaller screen.

Trivial Matters: Lest you think Asnsara is a reference to the late great Michael, the name means sunflower in Nigerian. Monk replies says that Adrian translates to not getting picked for softball.

When asking Samuel to stop playing, Monk references Fillmore Park and Louis Armstrong.

Upon entering the precinct, Samuel says it looks just like the movies. A double entendre since they are on a set.

Samuel learned American customs by watching Friends. Monk says they do not get African broadcasting in America.

Stottlmeyer does not think that rice is that great evidence in the city as it is a treat in San Francisco.

French restaurant Le Poisson Bleu serves the Italian dessert tiramisu.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “In Nigeria we just wash all our socks together.” “I don’t like to judge people but that’s wrong.” Idris Elba is a major star of screen and has had a lot of dramatic roles. The one comedic role he did was on The Office as Charles Miner and will probably be his only one.

Similarly, this seems the only major comedic role for Akinnuoye-Agbaje, affectionately known as Triple A. No one ever went wrong when casting him and this is no exception. His comedic chops are on point, and he is the perfect straight man to Shaloub’s Monk. He swallows everything Monk puts down and agrees to the customs, most of which are invented. You need timing as an actor and Akinnuoye-Agbaje has it down pat.

This series has done well putting strong actors together and the combination of Shaloub and Akinnuoye-Agbaje is right up there. You can see the moment when Monk is reminded of Trudy, the tenor of their conversation changes entirely. We do not need a reminder; Shaloub tells us everything we need. The acting is nothing short of phenomenal. The two bond over their mutual losses.

Someone should have sent the memo to writers Breckman and Bannerman. Having subtly is a good thing and they cannot just let the subtext speak. They have to shout the parallel to Trudy during the episode. It feeds Monk’s desires but does not reveal anything new to us. While we get a heartwarming moment with Stottlemeyer who is trying to help his friend, we do not need it brought up as much as it is. Plus, the moment where Monk asks Nichols to say Trudy’s name is a bit too much, which is not good for the culmination of the episode.

After a brief reminder from last week’s premiere, we have Stottlemeyer used to good effect. Disher continues to be a buffoon, trying to impress a lab tech by holding his nose. Is she the only one with the translucent cream? Still, this brings them more to the forefront than last week. Natalie gets some fun moments with Akinnuoye-Agbaje as well.

This could have been excellent, especially with fantastic dialogue throughout, but the reminders of things we already knew get too old after a while.