[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk Meets His Dad"
Season Five, Episode 9
Written by: Tom Scharpling and Daniel Dratch
Directed by: Jerry Levine
Original Air Date: November 17, 2006

We’ll Need Some Help: Co-owner of Tiger Bay Trucking, Ben Glasser, meets his other half, accountant Kenneth Woods. Woods has Monk for the Secret Santa event but wonders why Glasser did not fire him. Woods also believes that Glasser has been illegally gaining from the company by purchasing secondhand parts and pocketing the difference. He shows Glasser before his tie gets caught in the truck. Glasser starts to help but realizes his troubles may soon be over.

Monk is called to the station as his father is arrested. The initial stop was for speeding, but he resisted. His truck is at the station, though Monk thought he was a writer. For his part, Jack Monk has regrets but needs to get to Phoenix or he will lose his job. He cannot stay and meet Ambrose for Christmas Dinner, but Monk can ride with Jack.

They do not drive long before they get into it. Jack got a fortune cookie that said, ‘Stand by your man,’ but he is his own man, so he got a truck and never stopped driving. There is also a stepbrother of Monk, who was not mentioned until now.

The Teeger Christmas Party is in full swing when Monk calls needing to be picked up. That will be hard considering that everyone has had a few drinks except Julie, who is too young to drive.

Monk looks at Jack’s route and it involves a lot of zigzagging. Jack replies that Glasser offered him five thousand dollars to run the route delivering toys all over the state. There is even a Santa and elf costumes along for the ride. Monk finds a shortcut and Jack calls in for permission. Grassley hears the call and tells them to stick to the schedule; the shortcut will put them right at construction.

The first stop could go better with the orphans finding the gifts lackluster, including an easter bunny and cassette tape. Even the nun realizes they are sub-par, and she has more tact than the small child who openly criticizes Jack, Christmas and life in general.

Monk looks at the rest of the gifts, six boxes in one truck. They are also pretty lame; a travel sixed shampoo, dog food, Das Kapital. Plus, Glasser was never at that orphanage. Jack takes umbridge at Monk being so inquisitive, but Monk says that is what he does. Jack will not have it and drives off leaving Monk in Arizona.

A couple hunters in Texas find Woods’ body and look at it oddly.

As Monk walks along the road, Jack checks in with the company only to find out Woods has bene found. He offers to come in, but Glasser insists on the route being completed. At a stop, a trucker comments about the route Monk suggested. Jack relays the message from Glasser that it is under construction, but it has been clear all day.

Jack goes to find Monk, easy as Monk will just walk in a straight line. Jack tells Monk about the situation and Monk hops on board. At a diner, the two have a Christmas Dinner. Monk shows Jack Trudy’s picture, but they do not have proof of what Glasser is up to. For now, they stick to the schedule.

After learning some lingo and habits, Monk sees the GPS in the truck which remembers the last five thousand miles. A look at the itinerary shows the trip is just over that distance. In fact, they are a couple miles away from that. Monk pieces it together; Glasseer used the truck when the murder happened, but he needed to erase the trip, so he asked Jack to do the run. The evidence is the memory chip. Unfortunately, the brakes are out of order, and they are on a hill. Jack admits that Jack Jr. is a failure who he talked up so that everyone would think he had a great son as he did not know about Monk. They find a runoff and manage to stop in time to survive but not enough time to go under the mileage. The upside is that Monk called Jack ‘Dad.’

Jack and Monk visit Glasser at the office along with the authorities and a warrant. They do not need the tracking data since Glasser signed out the truck and part of the unique tie Woods was wearing was found under the truck’s hood.

Jack gives Monk a bike as a holiday present and Monk takes his first ride.

This Week’s Compulsion: There is a very specific cookie that Monk wants from the freshly baked batch.

White Courtesy Phone: After hearing about Jack’s troubles, Natalie lets Monk have any cookie he wants.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer is the recipient of the Jack Monk backstory

Dishing it out: When Monk talks about things he needs before he can leave with Jack, Disher is the first to say that those things can be bought.

The Innocence of Youth: Julie takes the task of keeping the cookies from Monk to heart.

Let’s Up the Rating: Jack openly flirts with the receptionist from Tiger Bay Trucking. She is not surprised that Jack has an entire other family.

One More Time: “What do I want from you? Two things. A) Forgive me. Forgive your father. I was negligent. I was selfish. And I’m very sorry. B) Get me out of Dodge. But if you can only do one, I’ll take B. I’ve got to be in Phoenix early in the morning.”
Jack trying to be helpful and get some help.

Trivial Matters: Originally, the creators wanted Columbo himself, Peter Faulk to play Jack. The price was too high, though, resulting in Daniel Hedeya getting the role.

Despite playing Monk’s father, Hedaya is only thirteen years older than Shaloub.

While driving out of control, Jack says a line very similar to Stottlemeyer’s from Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect in “He's a putz! Actually, he's not even a putz! He dreams one day of becoming a putz!”

It’s a Jungle Out There: “You two obviously have a lot to talk about.” Monk meeting his long last dad. The two getting along. Christmas. This should have been a slam dunk.

Instead, it is OK.

The fault is not in Hedaya. He sells Jack perfectly. He has great chemistry with Shaloub but that is not needed in this story. The father-son scenes write themselves and while we get the character of Jack, evident from the first scene in the jail, it does not show on screen. They are great actors but as the guys who carry this episode, it does not work.

Hedaya is a joy to watch. He talks about his other son, Jack Jr., but we find out he is not an orthopedic doctor in the end. Jack also remembers Monk, knowing he will walk in a straight line and that he does not like his food touching.

The best scenes are the ones that do not involve their relationship outside then diner; the orphanage is a lot of fun with kids having a rotten Christmas. Stottlemeyer is there to help Monk get along with his father and Disher helps as well. It is not mentioned that just last week, Monk helped Stottlemeyer bond with his estranged son. That would have been a great callback but not in episodic television. Ted Levine is quietly understated in this episode but also the strongest character. In an episode with Monk meeting his dad, that’s a problem.

The Christmas Party scene is a lot of fun, too. Natalie puts Monk on speaker before Monk complains and Natalie takes him off speaker. She also says that Monk wants to speak to someone but passes Stottlemeyer and gives the phone to Julie and Emmy Clarke plays it perfectly.

This had so much potential but for reasons that are no one’s fault does not get better than the sum of its parts.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Leper"
Season Five Episode Ten
Directed by: Randall Zisk
Written by: Charles Evered and Joe Karter
Original Air Date: December 22, 2006

We’ll Need Some Help: Late at night, Natalie takes Monk to a seedy bar where he meets Derek Bronson, the thought deceased wealthy CEO. Derek will pay Monk five hundred dollars to listen and twenty thousand to take a job. It seems that Derek got caught in some bad winds while ballooning and got sick. Specifically, he is a leper. Monk cannot get out fast enough.

Monk washes his hand and asks Natalie to light it ablaze, when she mentions that Bronson called and upped his order to twenty-five thousand dollars. They will meet with a doctor so that nothing happens to Monk. In the waiting room, they see an old picture of teenage Disher who has some sort of skin issue. Dr. Polanski says that leprosy is so rare to catch and easily treatable that he will treat Monk for free.

Monk meets Bronson who will be declared dead soon. In doing so, they will go through his estate, including his office. There, they will find letters from an affair, something Derek regrets. Monk is to go in and remove those letters. Technically, Bronson owns the house, so it is not a crime. He chose Monk due to an honorable reputation.

The plan goes off pretty well, but once they have the letters in hand, Mandy Bronson holds them at gunpoint. She is not perturbed by the affair as much as she is the Bronson is alive. At gunpoint, she has them take her to Derek.

In a damp garage, it is not Monk who approaches Derek but Mandy. She knows about the affair and forgave Derek. She is willing to reconcile, even move Derek into their new home. It seems that there is a will allowing his family to claim the inheritance. Derek can testify otherwise, but he is not in condition to do so. He asks Monk for some more assistance.

Stottlemeyer provides exposition about an upcoming probate hearing with Monk’s testimony via newspaper and Natalie teases Disher about his skin condition. Natalie will relay the information that night on a date with Dr. Polanski.

That night, a guy who looks an awful lot like Derek but does not have any skin disease at all, is playing the piano for Mandy. After he finishes his peace, she shoots him.

The case is flimsy with a letter that is hard to authenticate but Monk identifies Derek from a picture. He proves his observational skills by deducing that the judge is having an affair with his stenographer. Whether that is in the dictation is an open question. The ruling is that Mandy gets the estate, leaving the rest of the family devastated.

Stottlemeyer and Disher investigate the disappearance of a man named Steiner. He has been gone for days and has not fed a pet. They investigate and find makeup plus a book on skin disease. He also had an appointment for Mandy Bronson at New Years.

Dr. Polanski and Natalie are getting hot and heavy though the mood stops when he admits to being a former leper. In the meantime, Monk is taking care of Julie when he realizes that the security system at the Bronson estate was installed after Derek was declared missing, meaning he could not have known the code. As Natalie rushes in to wash her mouth, including filing the bathtub with Listerine, Monk tells her what he determined.

Monk and Natalie go back to the Branson house after figuring out that Mandy shot Derek years ago. Needing to free up the estate, she concocted a scheme to get the inheritance, knowing Monk would not get too good of a look at ‘Derek.’ While looking for evidence, they find Mandy getting ready to take the body out in a hot air balloon.

Disher goes to Dr. Polanski’s office to remove his picture, but finds it is stuck to the wall, unlike every other hung picture. He removes the picture along with part of the wall. Dr. Polanski is not pissed at the property damage but mentions his interest in Natalie. Specifically, that the rehabilitation clinic ‘Derek’ was at closed years ago. Disher puts it together with the Steiner case and they are off, Dr. Polanski wanting to keep Natalie out of trouble.

Mandy takes a call and walks away from the balloon. Natalie and Monk find Steiner’s body in the balloon which is when Mandy coms back. There is nowhere to go but up and Mandy is nice enough to let them get away before she starts firing. Fortunately, Disher shows up and arrests her. At ground level, Stiener’s body falls out first followed by Natalie. Monk manages to catch a branch after going off a cliff. Dr. Polanski offers a hand getting back up, but Monk has to think about it.

Natalie agrees to see Dr. Polanski again, but still has to get over the cured disease before heavy smooching. Monk is not close to being friendly with the man who saved his life. Natalie introduces Julie to Dr. Polanski who is momentarily taken aback.

This Week’s Compulsion: After running out, Natalie fumbles with the keys long enough for Monk to opt for running home.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie deviates from the instructions by opening the gate for Monk so he does not have to climb a ladder.

Captain Moustache: Disher decides to play music during the investigation. Stottlemeyer lets him do so instead of actually investigating the scene.

Dishing it Out: Disher claims he was undercover while in Dr. Polanski’s office.

The Innocence of Youth: Julie was told she was babysitting Monk, not the other way around. After finding out her rate, he concedes.

Let’s Up the Rating: If you like skin, you probably won’t after this episode.

One More Time: “Let me tell you something; you’re no picnic either. A lot of people would rather not work with you, but they do.”
Natalie being sharply honest with Monk.

Dear Genre: Paul Blackthorne of 24 and Arrow plays Dr. Polanski.

Trivial Matters: This episode originally aired twice, once in color and once in black and white. Shaloub introduced the latter while Levine and Gray-Stanford introduced the former. The DVD includes both versions, but Peacock chooses the color version for you.

Disher was just supposed to swipe the picture from the wall, but a set dresser glued it on, forcing an improvisation.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “Natalie, let me explain something to you. No!” For some reason, the writers think Monk having issues with people who have disabilities is entertaining. It is not.

To their credit, they write about this in the script. Natalie tells Monk he will not catch leprosy and they go to a doctor to get information about the disease. Plus, Natalie forgives him in the end, even continuing to date him. It would have been better for Natalie to not want to drink mouthwash after kissing him, but Monk pointed out the hypocrisy there. It would have been nice for her to see what a nice guy Dr. Polanski was before saving Monk’s life, but we take what we can get. It is also the script’s credit that Monk throws the facts back in her face.

Except, Natalie is supposed to be the rational one, as she is in this very episode. They try to make humor with the confusion of lepers, but in this series, it falls flat. There should not be as instant of a gag reflex, and it translates poorly. It is a pity, because Blackthorne is smashing as Dr. Polanski.

The subplot with Disher is fun and Gray-Stanford has a fun moment pulling the picture from the wall, though he surprisingly gets away with it. Maybe Dr. Polanski has the best insurance there is. No other pictures are stuck on the wall, just Disher’s. Plus, even Disher wants to ride in separate cars.

The mystery is pretty solid with manipulating Monk into testifying, plus his testimony with the judge is worth the price of admission. The saving grace is the directing. Randy Zisk gave us some good noir scenes in the bar and even has the camera following Monk at a very low angle early on while he walks to “Derek.’ It is not enough to save the episode, though.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk Makes a Friend"
Season Five Episode Eleven
Directed by: Randall Zisk
Written by: Andy Breckman and Daniel Gaeta
Original Air Date: January 19, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: Gail Segalis is ready to celebrate her one-week anniversary with her boyfriend. She opens up a bottle of Sangria which he explicitly told her not to do. He rushes out of the shower to see her holding the bottle and thinking there might be something in it. He strangles her with the towel.

Monk is exiting the grocery store when someone runs into him. Hal Tucker is appreciative of the things Monk does like bubble wrapping produce or only buying ten eggs at a time. Tucker insists on reimbursing Monk, but Monk will have none of it. An undeterred Tucker promises to look Monk up. Sharp eared viewers might recognize Tucker’s voice as the assailant.

Speaking of the assailant, Monk quickly determines he urgently left the shower. Disher identifies Segalis as a former dispatcher and they reminisce. Tucker calls Monk and they agree to go to a hockey game. Monk has help from Natalie and Julie to make himself presentable and brush up for the game. Natalie and Julie are both impressed by Tucker.

The game goes decently with Monk getting information he can straight from his cram session. Tucker sticks up for Monk when a fan gets rowdy. After buying helmets, Monk finds out that Tucker did some time due to some Turkish coins that were not as authentic as he thought. Monk takes it in stride.

Tim Hagley, the gentleman from the picture, is questioned. He was vacationing with Segalis, but she fell for some other guy, a bearded rich man who bought her expensive wine. Hagley decided to come back early. Monk is more focused on how things went with Tucker. Stottlemeyer is concerned that Tucker might be conning Monk for money, but Monk has none. He tells the group not to worry that he is about to get a best friend.

Tucker visits Hagley, who is surprised Tucker shaved his beard. Tucker confirms that Hagley did not tell the police anything, then shoots Hagley. Unfortunately, he forgot to load the gun but wins the ensuing fight in a restaurant, complete with dishes breaking.

Tucker accompanies Monk to Dr. Korger wherein Monk wonders how to ask Tucker to be his best friend. Natalie meets the pair with news of Hagley’s murder. Tucker wants to go to the scene to watch. Natalie tells him not to touch anything to which Tuckers laughs that they will have to arrest him.

At the scene, Tuckers asks all sorts of questions and almost manages to get away with sneaking his sunglasses left at the scene, but he fobs it off. Stottlemeyer sends Monk to the alley so that Tucker can be questioned. Tucker discloses that Monk knows about the criminal history. He also chides them for only using Monk as a necessity, not an actual friend.

As Monk amazes Tucker with a rock polisher, Tucker checks Monk’s mail. Oddly enough, Segalis sent him a card from vacation, complete with a bearded Tucker who hides the picture and cannot get out fast enough, but not before Monk asks to be Tucker’s best friend. Monk calls Dr. Kroger with the news.

Days go by with no call and Monk is crestfallen. Julie tries to have Monk spread rumors about Tucker but to no avail. Monk confronts Tucker in public, but Tucker is with a client, who leaves reminding Tucker about ‘the merchandise.’ Tucker is cold to Monk until Monk picks up a bottle of wine, the same vintage they found at Segalis’s place, though he notes the weight. At that point, Tucker invites Monk to his place to meet the family.

Disher and Stottlemeyer are looking at the Hagley case, wondering if they need Monk, but Disher remembers the availability issue. Stottlemeyer wonders how Tucker knew the gun was used as a club and not to fire at someone, causing Stottlemeyer and Disher to bolt out.

In the apartment, Tucker begins closing blinds as Monk pieces everything together. Tucker was trying to smuggle something out of Greece and seduced Segalis because he knew she would not be searched. He then befriended Monk to intercept the picture she sent. After some back and forth with a gun, Stottlemeyer, Disher and Natalie burst in, Stottlemeyer telling Tucker to “Stay away from my friend!”

Monk divvies up the tickets he got for Tucker, giving Disher stageside seats to Pearl Jam, Stottlemeyer claiming women’s volleyball leaving Natalie Disney on Ice, to which she invites Monk to go with as friends. Monk ‘jokes’ about inviting Tucker.

This Week’s Compulsion: After the grocery store problem, Monk throws out his groceries and goes back in the store.

White Courtesy Phone: After meeting the charming Tucker, Natalie likes him and half handedly wonders what he is up to.

Captain Moustache: Seeing Monk having problems concentrating at the crime scene with the toilet seat up, Stottlemeyer moves the number placard and closes the seat, all with his pen.

Dishing it out: Upon hearing Tucker want to know how hot Natalie is, Disher checks her out.

Let’s Talk it Out: When Monk points out Tucker might be his first friend, Dr. Kroger mentions Trudy.

The Innocence of Youth: Julie first puts on some classical music, but Monk wants something more upbeat like rock. The closest they get is the national anthem.

Let’s Up the Rating: If you like guys just coming out of the shower, sorry! Broadcast standards would not let Tucker do that even if the plot demands it.

One More Time: “Is this a boyfriend? I like boyfriends. Let’s meet him.”
Stottlemeyer upon seeing a picture of Segalis with a charming beau.

Dear Genre: Andy Richer receives Special Guest Star status as Tucker. Most known for being a writer on Conan O’Brien, he has headlined two short-lived series and does a good amount of guest starring.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “He's right here. Who's this? The what? A friend of whose? This is Adrian Monk. What number are you calling?” There is always a desire to capitalize on guest stars when appropriate. We’ve seen Trek get The Rock prior to his meteoric rise along with Terri Hatcher. They have gotten some big-name stars at the height of their popularity such as Jason Alexander and Doug Jones, though that is different as he is a leading character.

Andy Richter was the it guy for about a minute back when this aired, and he nails a friendly guy because he is a friendly guy. You can see him turn on a dime which is just what the character asked for. He does a great job in the role and sells you on him as a character both in friendly and menacing times.

I am not sure who was asking Monk to jump around like a five-year-old looking for a friend. It is as if his emotional maturity went out the window. He has never been in tune with everyone else, but this is borderline pathetic. You could write this dialogue for a middle school, and it would work better. Shaloub does what he can, but it is just sad to see.

The script would want us to think that he, Natalie, Stottlemeyer and Disher do not hang out, but we have seen them being social. Monk went to the holiday party. Heck, Natalie held one this prior year. We have seen them hang out beyond the bounds of the job plenty of times. Stottlemeyer has shown his respect on several occasions. Monk went with the Teegers on a trip, a wedding nonetheless, and we have seen him with the Flemings before that. Why this was not brought up in an exercise for the viewer. One expect more from a script by the creator and one of the frequent directors.

This only works without any other episodes and even then, you have to overlook a lack of direction both with the writing and acting. Richter alone does not save this.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk Is At Your Service"
Season Five Episode Twelve
Written by: Rob LaZebnik
Directed By: Anton Cropper
Original Air Date: January 26, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: Rich asshole Paul Buchannan gets his 4:00 PM Manhattan from butler Edward Stilson. Buchanan asks why Stilson has been blackmailing him and has evidence to back up the claim. Stilson cannot backpedal fast enough but it is not sufficient to prevent Buchannan from shooting him.

Monk visits Dr. Kroger with some bad news; there is a hiring freeze within the police for four years. When it is scheduled to be over, Monk will be too old to be reinstated. Dr. Kroger sees this as a chance for Monk to move in another direction.

Monk and Natalie are having brunch with Natalie’s parents. They discuss Buchannan and the mysterious events surrounding the death of his father and stepmother. There are some questions and Natalie hires Monk (using money from her fathers’ wallet) to investigate. They find more issues with the official story.

Natalie drops off Monk at the Buchannan residence with a phone and a warning, all but accusing Buchannan of beating up a boyfriend form high school. On the grounds, Monk is mistaken for a buttling applicant. It starts off poorly with him not having a resume, but Buchannan is impressed with cleaning up the room after a huge party. Buchannan hires Monk on the spot, at which point Monk realizes the position he is being hired for.

Monk calls Natalie to be removed from the situation but she would rather he stay and poke around. He meets Susie, the assistant housekeeper and finds out that Stilson left in a huff but did not pack anything when he left. He initially brushes off a seating chart, but then gets a little too into the role. It is 2:30 in the morning and Monk is adjusting the table settings for a weekend luncheon with the entire staff present. He does find out that Buchannan’s stepsisters got nothing from the death of their mother.

Stottlemeyer plays the tape of an emergency call for Natalie and Monk but considers the case closed. Monk considers working for Buchannan full time at which point Stottlemeyer says he will try to work around the hiring freeze. An undeterred Monk goes to braise a duck.

We get a montage of Monk preparing for the luncheon at the end of which he finds some remnants of the letter thrown into the fireplace along with some blood on the carpet. Buchanan is getting ready for the event when he bemoans Natalie’s lack of attendance. For her part, Natalie is in her room (which looks like it hasn’t been changed since Julie was four (or since she herself was four)) and has a moment when a stuffed frog makes a noise.

The luncheon is a smashing success, though a stepsister ponders that Buchannan inherited the house because their mother died first. Had Buchannan’s father passed away initially, they would have the estate. Needing to talk to Monk, Natalie attends the luncheon after all, faking a pregnancy and an absent boyfriend at anger management class. In the garage, she sees a mileage log and realizes something is afoot. Buchanan interrupts and offers to adopt the child if things do not work out.

As she prepares to leave, Buchannan invites her hunting. She declines but Buchanan mentions that her parents will be alone and all but threatens their safety. In his room, Monk knocks over a pile of magazines and finding a page cut up. He matches it to the burnt ransom notes and realizes what is going on, running out urgently.

Buchanan is ready to kill Natalie and blame it on an accident when Monk comes and fires a warning shot, which hits a bird. Buchannan surrenders but not before firing Monk. Buchanan came upon his deceased father in the garage but needed to do away with his stepmother and put a timestamp on the death so he could prove he was the heir. After the explanation, Natalie’s parents arrive and her mother wonders when Natalie got pregnant.

Stottlemeyer pulled some strings to get Monk exempt from the hiring freeze by quitting otherwise.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk hands over an article to Dr. Kroger and it is sealed inside a plastic bag.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie is in charge of the list of Monk’s phobias. Frogs are put very close to soccer riots and possums.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer offers up explanations as to why spotty cell service can clear up on occasion.

Dishing it out: Disher knows that butlers like to be referred to as a House Manager.

Let’s Talk it Out: Dr. Kroger mentions that Winston Churchill was sixty when he became Prime Minister and Monk says he cannot have that role because he is not of British citizenship.

The Innocence of Youth: Julie is unseen, making it unknown who is watching her while her mother is with her grandparents.

Let’s Up the Rating: Buchanan saw Natalie’s tattoo, but it is not in a place it would regularly be seen.

One More Time: “What do you do, exactly?” “He inherits money” “I could do that. I bet I would be good at that.”
Monk not realizing the work going into inheriting money.

Dear Genre: Sean Astin of Goonies and Lord of the Rings fame, guest starred as Buchannan. He also guest starred on a season of 24 where he butted heads with a character names Buchannan.

Trivial Matters: Needing an alias, Monk takes the last name of Melville after glancing at a nearby copy of Moby Dick.

Traylor Howard was pregnant during the filming of this episode, thus requiring Natalie to fake a pregnancy.

This is the second and last appearance of Marion Holland and Michael Cavanaugh as Peggy and Bobby Teeger.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “You miss her, don’t you?” “It was the worst day of my life, sir.” Just last week, there was a flash in the pan actor in a sub-par episode. We really can’t call Astin a flash in the pan since the tentpoles of his career span decades, but we can be certain that this week is much better than last.

Part of it is the talent that Astin brings. He is great in the role of Buchannan, being slimy when the situation calls for it but always being in charge and having a plan. The cracks in the acting come when he has to be overtly rude, but the script minimizes that aspect of his character. There are some lines that I do not know if they were scripted or not, but you can see that Astin is a master of his craft.

Credit also goes to director Anton Cropper. There is a very slow montage of Monk getting acclimated to the cleaning, and it both very slow and very compelling. Such sequences have been draining in the past, but here it works, though that may be to the staff wondering what is going on but paid to be relaxed and attentive.

The hiring freeze brings to life some danger for Monk to face. Dr. Kroger gives some good advice about moving on and while Monk reads too far into it, it is easy to see Monk trying to do something different. It is unlikely that Buchannan would never find out that Monk was an imposter at the interview, and you can see there is some fussing about to make it happen, though Buchannan is rich and can fire someone as easily as he hires.

The little things are here too and add up. Natalie’s parents are there for one scene and Natalie has apparently gotten better with her mother. Taylor Hollard is a joy to watch. Also, Stottlemeyer goes above and beyond to keep the door open for Monk, again at odds with last week where he couldn’t talk about just being Monk’s friend.

An all in all good hour for the series.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk Is On the Air"
Season Five Episode Thirteen
Written by: Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan
Directed by: Mike Listo
Original Air Date: February 2, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: Shock Jock Max “Mad Max” Hudson is interviewing a movie star about an upcoming release and trying to make ‘Jiggle me timbers’ a catchphrase. At the Hudson residence, there are reports of a gas leak and they check the house just to be sure. No one answers the door, and they find Hudson’s wife, Jeanette, passed out on their bed while listening to the morning show. The police call the station and Mad Max practices his response before answering the phone.

Jeanette’s sister, Linda Riggs, suspects foul play. Jeanette never used the fireplace. Also, Linda has a huge dislike of Mad Max. A visit to the scene reveals that there were no items to light the fire. Plus, she died two days before her tenth anniversary, but nothing was planned for the big day.

Monk and Natalie go to the radio station, and both are eaten alive, the later has very suggestive comments made about her. At the police station, Stottlemeyer reveals that the house is wired so that no door or window opens without it noting. There is an eight-inch ventilation shaft that a midget might have been able to crawl through and it just so happens that one of Mad Max’s cohorts, Little Willie, is one.

They go to a book signing where Little Willie has an alibi (and lawyer) along with a determination that he could not fit in the gap. Mad Max confers with Monk privately expressing remorse but not confessing. He also plays the lawyer card, unless Monk will do another on-air interview.

Dorfman and Natalie encourage Monk to go back on the air, but Monk has no gift of humor and has video evidence of such. Thankfully, Dorfman has some professionally written jokes courtesy of Milton Bearle. They do not land due to delivery and being outdated. Dorfman calls in with a layup, but it misses. The talk turns to Trudy and Mad Max gets so out of line, even Little Willie asks him to tone it down. Monk is a little more forthright openly lunging across the desk. Security escorts him off and out since this has obviously happened before.

At the Hudson residence, Monk notices the neighbor’s dog chewing on a shoe from the Hudson house. It seems as though they go on vacation every year and Mad Max volunteered to watch their dog this time. Mad Max comes to his bedroom and is served a warrant. He wasn’t just watching the dog he was giving training to turn on the gas and shut the door with “Jiggle me timbers” being the trigger.

Monk watches his wedding video in which he is ebullient and cracks a tearful smile.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk runs the dishwasher twice, once knives up and once knives down.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie tries to warn Monk about Mad Max.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer congratulates Monk on getting some good zingers in at Mad Max. One wonders which show he was listening to.

Dishing it out: Disher is a fan of Mad Max until he sees Natalie hates it. There is a fellow named “The Burpenator” that Natalie mockingly asks to be introduced to and Disher does not take the hint.

It Recurs to Me: Dorfman tells Monk that he washed a dish that was not marked dishwasher safe, and it turned out fine.

Melora Hardin has a cameo in the end tag as Trudy but it is enough to warrant on screen credit.

Let’s Up the Rating: Give Mad Max two seconds and he will say something naughty.

One More Time: “If you could wait until my assistant gets here. She’s in charge of saying things.”
Monk rolling out the red carpet.

Dear Genre: If Heather Tom is not familiar to you as Linda Riggs, you’ve probably not been watching soaps.

Danny Woodburn is Little Willie but will always be Mickey Abbott to Seinfeld fans. This would not be the final collaboration with Shaloub since they were both Splinter in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film with Shaloub doing the voice and Woodburn the motion capture.

The Rainbow Treknection: Mad Max is played by Steven Webber, making him the second co-0star from Wings to appear after Tim Daly in Mr. Monk and the Airplane. He might be more familiar to Trek fans as Colonel Day.

Trivial Matters: References to Howard Stern abound including a tell-all book that is slated to become a movie.

Dorfman refers to his uncle Sy Burrell, associate of Milton Bearle. One of those is fictional and the other is Milton Bearle.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “I looked you up on the internet. I don’t know where else to go?” “I’m on the internet?” Steven Webber is entirely in the role as Mad Max. He knows how to push people’s buttons and say something inappropriate. He, Danny Woodburn as Little Willie and Kevin Farley as J.J. are a great triple act. You would think they have been working together forever.

As he is the murderer, we in the audience are not supposed to like him, and we don’t. Why he gets a lot of jokes is the real mystery here. His true gift is being able to work around problems. In that respect, he would be a formidable opponent for Monk. Instead, we have someone joking about the murder of his wife. We already don’t like Mad Max by this point, but it goes too far, even with Little Willie telling him to calm down.

The worst of it is the Monk claims not to be funny, but we’ve seen him do so in the past. That somehow transfers to never being happy and Ambrose thought it would be a good idea to stitch unhappy family memories together on tape. Heck, at the very end we have Monk being happy and laughing with his wedding video!

Natalie is appropriately turned off by Mad Max, but Disher is still a fan, even in the climactic confrontation. He knows Mad Max is guilty and is still conciliatory. This is a person who has destroyed Monk publicly. Why this show likes to poke fun at the lead character will never be answered for the audience.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk Visits a Farm"
Season Five Episode Fourteen
Directed by: Andrei Belgrader
Written by: David Breckman
Original Air Date: February 9, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: Harvey Disher is visited by neighbor and fellow farmer Jimmy Belmont. There is something Belmont needs to take down due to legal requirements, and Harvey will not take bribes. Belmont promises to get rid of it within the next day. That night, at a square dance, the power briefly fluctuates. Belmont is certain he heard a gunshot, though no one else, including the viewer, can verify. The sheriff finds Harvey’s prized pig Nadine dead on the road and Harvey’s truck a few meters down crashed into a fence.

Disher botches a drug raid by holding the hotel room number upside down. Unfortunately, he raided a retired lawyer who is ready to come out of retirement. Stottlemeyer handles the fallout, but Disher wants to resign. His uncle, Harvey, left him a farm so Disher will try his hand at it.

Disher calls Monk about the suspicious circumstances surrounding Harvey’s death. Monk will be there the next morning vis a bus. Per Natalie putting him on. While Monk has issues acclimating to the farm, Disher is only marginally better. Farmhand Oates knew Harvey for a while and does not think he would commit suicide.

At the crime scene, the official report is that Nadine got out, Harvey ran over her by accident and shot himself with a rifle, crashing into the electric fence. Disher wonders why Harvey wouldn’t use a pistol kept in the car. Sherriff Margie Butterfield drops of the official report and tells Disher to fix the fence as deer are coming out.

They do a field test at the next square dance to determine if a gunshot can be heard from that distance with that much music. The requires Monk to attend the dance wherein he is forced into the action by Sherriff Butterfield. He is able to get some questions in and finds out that Belmont only came to the prior dance. Meanwhile, Disher forgot to load the gun and just shouts for twenty minutes.

Monk needs to speak with Belmont, but the farmer is recluse, though he is hiring a farmhand and Monk shows up in civvies speaking Spanish. He does just above absolutely horrible though he notes four saltlicks are missing. Monk finds some marijuana growing and Belmont quickly determines Monk does not speak Spanish and knows all about his work on the force. After sending Monk on his way, Belmont returns that night to burn the illegal crops. Monk is there to get some pictures but is scared away by the fumes.

Oates finds Monk handcuffed to a tractor so as to avoid impressing the effects of the drug on others. Oates has some experience in that area and does not believe Monk is under the influence. The sprinklers come on at eight as they do automatically, and Monk knows how Belmont murdered Harvey. Oates is impressed that Monk solved the case but wonders if there is a way to give Disher the credit, make him feel like a cop again.

With Monk’s helpful hints, Disher says that Belmont lured Harvey out and killed him. He then hitched the truck onto saltlicks and put the truck in gear. At the dance, he had alibis when the sprinklers were set off, eroding the salt. The evidence is that key from the ignition which has a fingerprint and Disher bets it matches Belmont’s. Belmont is put into custody and Sherriff Butterfield tells Disher to go back to the force.

DIsher is reinstated since Stottlemyer never turned in the paperwork and instead took sick leave. Disher believes he can solve cases in his sleep, taking a few off the desk and napping on the couch but not before having a moment with Stottlemeyer.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk tires to put exactly one hundred pellets of feed in each chicken coup one at a time.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie carries a heavy box of plants into Monk’s place. The company wanted too much money to deliver.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer tells Disher that they caught the perpetrator, and the former lawyer will settle, per usual.

Dishing it out: Disher resigns at noon but hands in the letter nine minutes early offering to do work in that time period.

Let’s Up the Rating: Speaking of pieces of meat, Sherriff Butterfield has her eyes on Monk.

Here’s What Happened: Monk whispers the solution to Disher while the latter sleeps.

One More Time: “Randy, son. This badge represents ten years of your life. Ten years of good work.”
Stottlemeyer trying to talk Disher out of it.

Dear Genre: In the middle of his run on Desperate Housewives as Carlos Solis, Ricardo Chavira played Belmont.

Trivial Matters: This is the third of five appearances by Brooke Adams, the wife of Tony Shaloub. Here, the plays Sherriff Butterfield, a complete turn from her first appearance where her character despised Monk.

This is the second time Disher quits, following Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “You want to tell me what you flushed down the toilet?” “No.” This series has veered from their lead, even this very season where we got a Dr. Kroger focused episode. None have gone as far as this one has. Starting off with the victim is not new for this series, neither is having Stottlemeyer and Disher be the first main characters we see. Heck, it kind of makes up for weeks when we do not see them until the mid-point. We’ve even had Stottlemeyer’s marriage by a ‘miniseries’ of sorts. Ending on characters other than Monk and Natalie is not out of the ordinary either.

Natalie is only in one scene. Disher is in most of the episode and has a great scene in the opening. Heck, both his scenes with Stottlemeyer are great, highlighting their relationship, both professional and personal. We only see Stottlemeyer in those scenes, but you can tell then respect he has for Disher. The botched raid is played well, and Jason Gray-Stanford is more than up to the task of Disher. Both he and Monk are fish out of water on a farm and while Monk gets deep in the community, Disher gets a taste of the farm life and is in over his head.

While there is a murder to solve, we get to see Disher trying to acclimate. The plot does not get in the way of great character work though there are some issues. For one, there is no reason why Belmont could not just shoot Monk on his property and blame it on an accident, particularly after Monk sneaks onto the property. That brings up a much bigger fault which has the Lebanese Shaloub play Hispanic. It takes Belmont all of five minutes to figure it out but that is after Monk is somehow hired, done quickly for the second week in a row. The writers try to salvage it, but it is an old Hollywood practice that was already outdated when this premiered let alone decades later.

It is a generally good hour and Ricardo Chavira does his usual best.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Really, Really Dead Guy"
Season Five Episode Fifteen
Directed by: Anthony R. Palmieri and Draco Savage
Written by: Joe Toplyn
Original Air Date: February 23, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: Cyrus is having a bad night playing music on the street, not making enough to get bus fare back. Things get worse when someone strangles, suffocates, poisons, stabs and crushes him in that order, thanks to a handy list.

A gas station is the scene of pharmaceutical representative Jean Garrett’s murder. Per her brother, she had a date, and the gentleman wore glasses. They are called away on the case of Cyrus, who may have been put to death by a serial killer. The mayor calls in federal resources and a shiny black van comes down with F.B.I. Agents Keao and Thorpe. Thorpe quickly puts everyone else in their place and Keao has a doohickey that can reset traffic lights.

In the medical examiner’s office, Monk is told by Thorpe to work the Cyrus case, not the Garrett one. While Monk helps to identify the victim, Keao’s doohickey already has that based off the fingerprints and churns out a photo ID. There is a time crunch since a note reveals that the killer will strike again in thirty-six hours. While there is an admiration for Monk by Thorpe, it is eroded by him not being up with the latest technology.

Monk gets a technology tutorial from Resident Young Person Julie in which he gets an e-mail account (“Welcome to 1998.”) That night, he wins at solitaire and uses the CD tray as a cup holder.

With three hours to go, Monk brings Julie’s laptop to a briefing. The killer calls and they are able to do a trace. A squad is assembled but they are at Julie’s sleepover due to … technology? Agent Thorpe dismisses Monk with a large amount of disdain. Dr. Kroger helps remind Monk that he solved a lot of cases without using technology.

In the van, Stottlemeyer sticks up for Monk, even in the presence of half a billion dollars worth of technology. The agents determine the killer has a vendetta against street musicians and orders them all off the street but one, an undercover Disher. Monk and Natalie wander by the San Francisco Natural History Museum where Monk thinks he should go. Natalie comments that everyone is working the case, leading Monk to realize that was the plan. A time check reveals they have fifteen minutes to put things right.

Someone approaches Disher, but after they are approached by six armed agents, it was just someone who wanted to jam. Agent Keao gets a text from Natalie that Monk solved the case. Garrett went out with someone and ate something that could be traced back to a specific restaurant. The killer paid with a traceable credit card. Later, things went awry causing him to kill her. He needed to stall the authorities while the food dissolved so he created a serial killer operation to distract. They confront the killer who makes a break for It, but Stottlemeyer throws Agent Keao’s doohickey, knocking the assailant out.

Monk hand writes apology notes to each of Julie’s friends.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk confuses a plasma screen TV with a blackboard. He attempts to clean the screen but uses hydrochloric acid, ruining the screen.

White Courtesy Phone: Needing to use a restroom, Natalie uses one in the gas station much to Monk’s chagrin.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer is impressed Monk can figure out a victim’s name and occupation. Then he sees Monk saw the victim’s nametag, making him a little less impressed.

Dishing It Out: At a crime scene in the wee hours of the morning, Disher comments that these things never run on schedule.

Let’s Talk It Out: Dr. Kroger talks about John Henry as inspiration for Monk. He also mentions singing in a collegiate folk band.

The Innocence of Youth: Julie sets Monk up with an e-mail account for his friends to get in touch with him, then corrects it to Natalie.

Let’s Up the Rating: Natalie is waiting to hear from a co-pilot. Disher thinks a co-pilot has lesser responsibilities than a pilot and Natalie throws it right back at him.

One More Time: “How do you not know about cell phones? Everyone has a cell phone. How do you function in the world”
Natalie saying decades old dialogue that is still true to this day.

Trivial Matters: Disher reprises his dong “Don’t Need a Badge” From Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist.

Tony Shaloub needed to bite his lip to keep from breaking character when Stanley Kamel sang.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “I guess we’re going to be working in tandem.” “I guess so. Let me tell you my definition of tandem, captain. I say something, you do it.” It is easy to forget that good old fashioned detective work is useful. This episode aired before C.S.I. was a religion, but is a clear spoof, nonetheless.

Thorpe wastes no time sidelining our cast but has admiration for Monk which erodes over the course of the episode. It is not followed up on, at least onscreen. The agents just kind of leave and are not heard from. Odd that the episode itself concerns filler. Still, Chris Williams has more than enough arrogance as Agent Thorpe. It helps that a lot of his conclusions are wrong. There is enough technobabble for him to come across just right.

There are some liberties that are taken with technology through the hour, not uncommon for tech procedurals. Monk is able to get an armed team to Julie’s party in which a dozen teenage girls are sleeping in the middle of the day somehow. Plus, there is a huge time jump where suddenly there are three hours left, filled with not one but two musical interludes. Also, the stomach contents are pulled and only Monk is grossed out. If their digestion is a plot point, it should not be so easy to find that specific ingredient, though Natalie can pin it down to the specific restaurant. Frequent writer Joe Toplyn should know better by now.

A good message but this is held back by going with it a little too hard.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk Goes to the Hospital"
Season Five Episode Sixteen
Written by: Jonathan Collier
Directed by: Wendey Stanzler
Original Air Date: March 2, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: It is a late night at St. Mark’s Medical Center, but a man on a ventilator goes into the office of Dr. Grayden Whitcomb and brutally murders him with the oxygen tank before walking out with his cane.

Natalie takes Monk to the hospital for a nosebleed. He considers it a head wound, but the staff do not. Natalie fills out the paperwork then leaves for a date which she rescheduled three times. After mistranslating for a Vietnamese patient while not knowing that the intake staff is fluent in the language, a patient tells Monk that a relative got a cerebral hemorrhage from a nosebleed. A doctor treats the injury, offering to take Monk to Dr. Whitcomb if the treatment does not work. The doctor leaves for another appointment …

… right before Monk’s nose starts to bleed again. Left without staff, Monk takes it upon himself to find Dr. Whitcomb, eventually finding him dead. When the police arrive, Monk realizes it was meant to look like a junkie but was not. Also, the perpetrator was a patient, and they find a tag from the oxygen tank, room number and all.

Room 623 is occupied by Hank Johansen, who has some form of narcolepsy. He was in the room all night, confirmed by the heart monitor. Someone could have taken his tank but why bring it back? Johansen’s physician, Dr. Davis Scott, has also admitted himself, on the same floor as it happens. Dr. Scott gives Monk a look (something that takes three months, usually) and gives him a clean bill of health. Dr. Scott has a wound on his knee consistent with bumping into Dr. Whitcomb’s table and has talcum powder, found at the scene but common in the hospital. Dr. Scott is discharged but still wants to do his rounds. Disher does some digging and finds out that Dr. Whitcomb was going to testify against Dr. Scott in an upcoming trial. Unfortunately, the heart monitor confirms Dr. Scott was in his room all night.

Monk is discharged but goes back to question Dr. Scott. There are some irregularities in the EKG but those are normal, appearing whenever a patient changes position. Going back to the room formerly occupied by Dr. Scott, Monk finds it is connected to Johansen’s room. Monk pieces together that Dr. Scott hooked up his monitor to Johansen while committing the murder, which would mean that their heartbeats would be the exact same for that time period. After Monk leaves, Johansen realizes there are still ten minutes of screen time to fill so he calls Dr. Scott worried about Monk’s mental state.

Natalie cuts her date short, and Monk is captured by Dr. Scott who knows what Monk is allergic to thanks to intake papers, setting up a nurse to administer the dose and take the fall due to an accident. Natalie goes to his room and apologizes after seeing him in the intensive care unit. The nurse administers the dose, but Natalie catches it in time.

Disher vows to write down more detailed notes for the record and Monk injures himself while getting in the car. Despite the bleeding, He insists on leaving.

This Week’s Compulsion: While holding his head back for the nosebleed, Monk notices two lights out on the ceiling.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie navigates the people at the hospital for Monk, including specifying which finger the nurse holds up when she asks them to wait.

Captain Moustache: Disher first suggests that Dr. Scott faked the heart monitor but is more accepting of the idea when Monk says it.

Dishing it out: Disher is told that the oxygen tank came from the geriatric ward, causing Disher to speed up his plans to investigate.

Let’s Up the Rating: The nurse at intake presumes Natalie and Monk are married. When Natalie corrects that misconception, the nurse gives a dry congratulations.

One More Time: “Do you have any idea how many lives these hands have saved? How many they will save? Hundreds. Thousands. That’s my mission. That’s why I’m here.”
Dr. Scott, twirling his moustache.

Dear Genre: The late great Charles Dunning is Johansen and has been seen in several works of stage and screen. His turn in O Brother, Where Art Thou? is among your humble rewatchers favorites.

The Rainbow Treknection: Dan Butler was Steth in Vis-à-Vis but is better known as Bulldog Briscoe from Frazier, rather than Dr. Scott here.

Trivial Matters: One of the doctors is named Dr. G. W. Bush.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “No you can’t come here, we’re out of beds. Where am I gong to put them, on the roof?” This is the day and age of the explosive season premiere and finale. Monk cannot do that, but they have had great starts and ends to the season. Sometimes it is the guest star, sometimes it is the location.

This is the former, though the writers get their mileage out of Monk being at the hospital. With a nosebleed. He is quickly abandoned by Natalie but navigates things well. He has good chemistry with both major co stars. Particular kudos to Svetlana Efremova who is magnificent as the deadpan nurse. She has an expression that says it all.

In terms of guest stars, Dan Butler has the arrogance of a brilliant doctor, down to excusing his actions with needing to save patients. But it is Charles Dunning who steals every scene he is in with the cast, particularly Shaloub. When his character is awake, he is biting, verbally at least.

The rest of the cast gets moments to shine, befitting the finale. Disher misunderstands when Stottlemeyer asks to see his leg and while the two are together exclusively, they give a good taste of what you will be missing over the break.

Natalie realizes how much Monk needs her and cuts off a date. The timing does not work amazingly well, and he must be really into her to cancel twice and still be up for it. The boundaries of friendship and duty have been a theme this half of the half season, but Natalie navigates the two. Surely Monk will (and has?) given her time off.

No recurring guests, a focus on the title character and the mains get a chance to shine. What better way to end the season?

[Faithful Reader]

Monk Fifth Season Overview
Original Ari Dates: July 7, 2006 – March 2, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: In the fifth season, Monk found an actor a little too good at his job, met someone who got a bit too friendly to over a murder, met and had a heartwarming adventure with his estranged father, and got temporarily blinded. His reputation extended to the garbagemen and the FBI. He does things billions of dollars worth of technological doohickeys cannot.

Natalie accompanied Monk to all sort of places from a class reunion to the airwaves to the hospital. She hired Monk to investigate a childhood chum and made up with her mother.

Stottlemeyer got a new girlfriend after connecting with his estranged son, Jared, at a rock concert.

Disher took leave to work on a farm.

Dr. Kroger continues to treat Monk through the loss of a sense, getting a friend, and considered retiring after a brutal attack in his office. We also met his family, including goth son, Troy.

Julie and her team hired Monk to look into a murder, Dorfman continued to randomly visit Monk and Krenshaw’s obsession with Dr. Kroger turned out to be useful.

Favorite This Week’s Compulsion: From Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion: Monk’s nickname was Captain Cool. He does not know that people gave him that nickname because he would defrost his refrigerator every weekend.

Favorite White Courtesy Phone: From Mr. Monk and the Big Game: Natalie explains several times that Monk cannot take Julie’s money, probably because of basic morals but also because part of it is money he paid Natalie.

Favorite Captain Moustache: Mr. Monk and Can’t See a Thing: Stottlemeyer handles an empathy test, in which blindness is simulated, with more professionalism than Disher, though when he is called out for cheating, asks how Disher knows Stottlemeyer is cheating unless Disher is (which he totally was!)

Favorite Dishing it Out: From Mr. Monk Goes to a Rock Concert: Upon hearing they have to stay and solve a murder, Disher and Jared fist bump. Then look crestfallen as Stottlemeyer checks.

Favorite Let’s Talk it Out: From Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink: In the teaser, we see something we have never seen; Dr. Kroger yelling at someone. Twice.

Favorite The Innocence of Youth: Mr. Monk and the Leper: Julie was told she was babysitting Monk, not the other way around. After finding out her rate, he concedes.

Favorite It Recurs to Me: From Mr. Monk in On the Air: Dorfman makes an impactful reappearance and Trudy makes one less impactful but enough to get an onscreen credit.

Favorite Let’s Up the Rating: From Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion: Monk thinks a tie on the doorknob means one is reorganizing their closet. Natalie asks if his roommate’s girlfriend ever helped, and Monk does not take the hint.

Favorite Here’s What Happened: From Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike: We get not one, not two but three sequences this episode. though the middle one not only has color. There is a fancy schmancy motion sequence in a magazine.

Favorite One More Time: from Mr. Monk, Private Eye: “Adrian Monk, investigations, how can I help?” “I’m being kept in a room against my will.” “You’ve been kidnapped? Do you know who did it?” “Yes, it’s my assistant, Natalie Teeger.”
The first call taken in the office of Adrian Monk, Private Eye.

Dear Genre Highlights: Stanley Tucci of several works, including Captain America: The Frist Avenger, Chi McBride of Hawaii Five-0, Jim ‘O’Heir of Parks and Recreation, Jennifer Lawrence of The Hunger Games, Graham Beckel of Battlestar Galactica, Reginald VelJohnson of Family Matters, Kiernan Shipka of Mad Men, Paul Blackthorne of 24, Andy Richter of Conan O’Brien, Sean Astin of The Lord of the Rings and 24 franchises, Mickey Abbott of Sienfeld, Ricardo Chavira of Desperate Housewives, Charles Dunning of stage and Screen all make appearances.

The Rainbow Treknection Highlights: Greg Grunberg of the Kelvinverse, Peter Weller from the Demons/Terra Prime two parter, Sharon Lawrence as Amelia Earhart from The 37’s, Steven Webber as Colonel Day, and Dan Butler who was Steth in Vis-à-Vis all make appearances.

Favorite Trivial Matters: Mr. Monk and the Garbage Stike: A favorite episode of Shaloub’s with some cool callbacks.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “Is there something I can do? That your mother can’t.” In the fourth season, it seemed as though the series was leaning away from the central mystery of Trudy’s death, doing more standalone episodes while letting the characters breathe.

Much the same can be said for season five.

There ewer reminders of Trudy, with the season opener and the class reunion being the two main reminders. But by and large, that took a back seat as the characters took steps forward, allowing more of a spotlight on their secondary characters. Heck, the rock concert is a continuation of what happened to his son Jared. Disher even got his own episode. The Monk family moved forward a bit with Monk meeting his dad, so while the overarching plot had little room to move forward, other plotlines were able to advance, especially those no one was clamoring for, but they pulled off.

If any series is to expand, they need to give more to their recurring characters. Krenshaw and Dorfman are in one episode each and while Dorfman is kind of there, Krenshaw has great scenes with Tim Bagley making the character more his own.

This is all well and good, but for those of us who like the longer story, it is wanting. Nothing against the actors who are really coming into their own and the writers who do not mind poking fun at themselves though they need to remember not to poke fun at the title character. The week-to-week stories are fun, bringing in some amazing guest stars, particularly in the back half,, but at some point, we need to get back to the central focus.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan"
Season Six Episode One
Directed by: Randall Zisk
Written by: Andy Breckman
Original Air Date: July 13, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: Marci Maven is making adjustments to her early 2000’s Monk fanpage. Particularly, she cuts out Natalie’s face and substitutes her own.

John and Brian Ringle are coming back from a run but Debbie, John’s wife, is dead in their back shed. The police approach Maven to take custody of her dog, Otto, a suspect. Maven complies and takes the officers to Otto’s grave in her backyard.

Natalie is trying to convince Monk to go to the police auction. She proposes Monk give her six hundred dollars so if someone bids on him, she can counter. Maven comes to get Monk’s help, but they are not in the mood, particularly since Maven one kidnapped Monk and tried to take him to Corpus Christi for Thanksgiving.

Disher is auctioned to a mother whose son, Sam, wants to be a police officer, to which Disher agrees even though that violates several rules and ethics. Maven bids eight hundred dollars on Monk. Natalie accompanies Monk on the ‘date,’ and they find a shrine to Monk. There was also a restraining order, but it expired, though one look at Maven’s residence would convince anyone otherwise. They find out that Otto died on Monday but apparently killed Debbie three days later.

Disher gives Sam a tour, but it turns out nine-and-a-half-year-old Sam hasn’t been interested in being a cop since he was nine. Stottlemeyer tells Monk that the teeth marks match and the theory is that Otto killed Debbie and Maven put Otto down lying about the death date. In the Ringle garage, Monk wonders why Debbie didn’t try fighting back with a tool. There is also a tulip petal on a shovel but there are no tulips in their garden. There is one on Maven’s side of the fence, though. Also, the dirt on the hole Otto supposedly dug to get under the fence is on the wrong side.

Monk asks Maven about anything unusual that happened recently and it seems that Otto went missing for a day and came back with wood chips. Monk examines the clue, and they go to local lumberyards. Maven manages to perform fairly well (and is willing to work for free) as an assistant, prompting Natalie to give Monk alone time with Maven.

Stottlemeyer enjoys his date with Fusco, who bought him so that they could have a quiet evening. Disher is too absorbed in a not-Jenga game with Sam to work.

The final lumberyard is owned by John. There Is evidence that Otto was there. John walks in on them the goes to call his lawyer and the police. While he is away, Monk notices molding materials, determining that John took a mold of Otto’s teeth and used that to kill Debbie. While Monk is telling Maven this, John sneaks up on them with a gun. Monk is able to distract him and make a run for it with Maven in tow.

At dinner, Sotttlemeyer realizes that the bite marks are suspicious, ending his date. He calls Disher who stops his game even though Sam is long gone, along with most of the day shift. After getting grazed, Maven tries to leave but John holds her hostage and Monk eventually acquiesces. They are saved after Disher knocks John out with by pushing a piece of lumber out from a stock.

Maven moves on from Monk and sends back all his old stuff. Natalie has fun with some figures from a diorama.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk is cutting up his lettuce as we open the first act.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie needs to outbid Maven, so she goes to her purse.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer goes for two thousand dollars, courtesy of his girlfriend, Linda Fusco

Dishing it out: Disher goes for a paltry eight hundred dollars but has a better show involving rock and karate.

It Recurs to Me: Maven has Monk’s old stuff that he threw away, including garments. And they still let the restraining order expire. Also, Fusco jumped from eight hundred straight into the thousands in the auction.

Let’s Up the Rating: Monk wonders why the police widows can’t just move on.

Here’s What Happened: Unseen but per dialogue, Maven hugs Monk during Here’s What Happened, giving the sequence a formal name.

One More Time: “Don’t you want to be a team player?” “No.” “Don’t you want to appear to be a team player?” “Sure.”
Natalie telling Monk there’s no I in team.

The Rainbow Treknection: Maven moved on to F. Murry Abraham, the famed actor who was Ru’afo in Star Trek Insurrection.

Trivial Matters: Shaloub and Abraham would appear in the film Thirteen Ghosts.

After Mr. Monk and the Panic Room, this is the second episode in which the suspect is an animal.

Monk has moved on from Sierra Springs as seen in Mr. Monk Bumps his Head and others. He now likes Summit Creek.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “It’s like Mr. Monk and the Astronaut or Mr. Monk Goes to School. Remember that?” “Marci, where are you getting these names?” Generally, when you have a large role for a guest star, you need a strong guest star to fill the role. Sarah Silverman was not well known when she guest starred in Mr. Monk and the TV Star, but had a meteoric rise to fame and appeared on a bunch of shows including headlining her own series.

Silverman delivers a great performance as Maven. There was a lot of fun both in the set dressing to the writing, including callbacks to prior episodes, They had a blast making a room of someone obsessed with Monk with dioramas, pictures old props and costumes. The dialogue is great but is even better with Silverman and Shaloub. Monk is justifiably uncomfortable, but they are a great double act. Every line from Silverman is a love letter to the series. Best of all, the writers had a clever way to get her out of Monk’s life at the end.

Natalie is no slouch standing up for Monk even accompanying him on the date. She is a sounding board when they are alone, and she even lets Monk take his chances with Maven alone for a bit.

We also have some good scenes with Stottlemeyer, reestablishing his relationship with Fusco and Disher getting a little too obsessed with the game, which may look like the copywritten Jenga, but is totally different! It pays off in the end but adds a bit to his buffoon status when he stays at the office late to play. Also, does Sam’s mom leave him alone for an entire day?

This is how you start a season with a great guest star, building on your own mythology, and it is also a fun way for the show to poke fun at itself.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Rapper"
Season Six Episode Two
Directed By: Paris Barclay
Written by: Daniel Dratch
Original Air Date: July 20, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: Rapper Xtra Large is interviewed by a reporter while awaiting his limo. There is a rivalry with fellow rapper Murderuss, but Xtra Large considers himself bulletproof. Unfortunately, there is a bomb on the limo.

Monk’s gift for Natalie on Secretaries Day is not received well, mainly due to Natalie being an assistant, not a secretary. Murderuss and his entourage (one of whom is armed) approach Monk in his apparently unlocked apartment. Murderuss is a suspect due to the rivalry and a song called Car Bomb. Monk is in a daze but winds up taking the case when his brain goes on autopilot.

There is little in favor of Murderous at the crime scene. In fact, one of his trademark watches was used in the bomb. The interview does not go well, though Murderuss does say if he were to kill Xtra Large, he would have done so face to face. A serial number connects the general location to Murderuss plus the limo driver will be conscious soon and will identify anyone who came to the vehicle that night.

At the Fresh Rhymes recording studios, where Xtra Large had just started recording, there are alibis. One of the managers, Denny Hodges, comes forward saying that he saw someone tall by the limo. Waiting until the following day to interview the driver proves a mistake as someone chokes him that evening. There is enough evidence to indict Murderuss, so Stottlemeyer accompanies Monk to the residence. Things do not go well as Monk goes on autopilot again and is head of security.

Monk is packing to head out of town but wonders why Hodges just happened to be looking at his watch the night before the crime, giving Monk what he needs to break the case. At a concert honoring Xtra Large, Monk explains what happened; Xtra Large wasn’t the target but Murderuss was the fall guy. Hodges tried to take out a business partner but mistimed it due to daylight savings time. Monk tries to explain on stage, but Murderuss helps by rapping out the crime, with an accompanying music and vocals. Stottlemeyer asks Disher to stop promoting his band and arrest Hodges, whose bomb making work they found via search warrant.

Murderuss tells Monk to appreciate Natalie more and invites Monk on tour, but Monk is able to decline the invitation.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk is meticulous about setting the clocks for daylight savings time, down to the second.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie is hip with the lingo the kids use, yo. Because of course.

Captain Moustache: Sensing Monk might not be all right at a crime scene involving a car bomb, Stottlemeyer asks Monk if he wants to sit the case out.

Dishing it Out: Jay-Z, Little Naz, 50 Cent, Disher is a fan of them all. He is also a better rocker than he is a rapper.

The Innocence of Youth: Natalie gets Murderuss’s music for Julie because of course.

Let’s Up the Rating: Monk is asked to choose between cracking and popping.

Here’s What Happened: Murderuss raps out the sequence.

One More Time: “They seemed to take that well, don’t you think?” “Take what well?” “When I turned down the case because I was too busy.” “Mr. Monk, you said yes. You took the case. He wrote you a check, it’s right there.”
Monk coming out of a trance.

Dear Genre: Famed rapper Snoop Dog played Murderous. Which means there is one degree of separation between Tony Shaloub and Martha Stewart.

Trivial Matters: In addition to playing Murderuss, Snoop Dog rapped most of the lyrics to the theme song. For this, he gets a Special Performance By credit in addition to the coveted Special Guest Star credit. Someone had fun with the former since it came before the credit for the music overall.

Portions of the Here’s What Happened rap include lyrics by Soul Bossa Nova.

Monk makes reference to The Wizard of Oz to an associate of Murderuss saying “I’ll miss you most of all.”

It’s a Jungle Out There: “Plus, about a month ago, I made a song about how I want to kill him, and how I plan to do it.” First Mako, now Snoop Dog. Shaloub has great chemistry with people he would otherwise not interact with.

This was the token rap episode and Snoop Dog knocks it out of the park. This series is at the best when it takes Monk out of his familiar environment and Monk does not do well in the rap culture. His autopilot is done well and there are enough sequences of him in an odd setting where Shaloub sells it. Snoop Dog made a great double act with Shaloub and it says a lot that Monk’s reputation got the ear of Murderuss. There is a mutual respect that develops between the two over the course of the hour. For all the credit Snoop Dog gets as a musician, His Acting chops are nothing to sneeze at.

Natalie gains more appreciation from Monk, something that will happen every so often as Monk should be aware of exactly how much Natalie does for him. Lots of people are on her side, including Murderuss who only met her this week. Plus, she bought the music for Julie because we need to know how famous Murderuss is.

Disher is also a fan of Murderuss and rap because why not? It’s not like there is a gap between rock and rap. Disher does plug his group’s site rather than arresting a criminal. Stottlemeyer is there to bring him down to Earth. There is also a nice moment when Stottlemeyer is concerned about Monk, both at the crime scene and at the Murderuss estate. It is a nice way to remind us of their history and relationship in a subtle yet provocative manner.

The season is two for two on great guest appearances.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Naked Man"
Season Six Episode Three
Directed by: Randall Zisk
Written by: Tom Gammill and Max Pross
Original Ari Date: July 27, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: Vickie Deline approaches the gated residence of Peter Magneri. Unfortunately, he isn’t there. Even more unfortunate, an assailant is there, claiming her life and a folder she was trying to give Magneri. The camera pans up to reveal she is on a clothing optional beach.

Everyone tries to keep Monk distracted at the crime scene. Monk determines that she was clutching something, and she has a paper cut on her finger. Deline’s fingernail landed on the door of local resident Chance Singer, but they are not known to each other. Singer was also in prison overnight and likes to not be clothed.

Very Rich Asshole Magneri lives nearby as well but was asleep. He knew Deline came but does not bother to answer the door every time someone calls. It turns out there is bad blood between Signer and Magneri when one threw a microphone at the other during a zoning meeting. Monk suspects Singer.

Arlene Boars, Deline’s roommate is questioned and Deline has a new man in her life though Boras did not know him.

Needing proof, Monk and Natalie go to Singer’s van and find nothing. Singer returns with some friends who have a talk about the upcoming zoning meeting. There is a frantic search for a pen which Monk solves by tossing one out from the closet he is hiding in. Singer mentions needing to ‘go textile’ at the meeting and one guy literally does not have anything to wear. Singer remembers a suit in his closet and Monk hits the lights causing chaos. He runs out with Natalie but seems to have grabbed Singer by accident.

Certain Singer escaped jail, Monk inspects the cell but there is a guard on duty plus twenty officers in the building. Stottlemeyer tells Monk about bigotry and how there is no place for it in the department right before he kicks Monk off the case.

Outside the meeting, Singer’s group is protesting when Magneri arrives, throwing in their face Monk’s suspicions which Singer finds unwarranted given recent events.

Monk talks with Dr. Kroger about being naked and covered in blood while his mother was not doing anything nearby, recalling his own birth. Monk is happy to give the revelation to Natalie who tells Monk that she went to Greece and frequented topless beaches. She wonders if she could work for Monk, but he is over it, having walked through the park and seeing the statue of a nude person. He finds a note from Boras’ stationary, also the same medical center where Magneri just got a clean bill of health.

At the Boras apartment, Monk confronts her with knowledge that Magneri is not in good health; Boras was a lab technician and switched the records, quit her job, then began to sell short stocks to make a small fortune. Deline figured it out and took the goods to Magneri, causing Boras to kill her. But Magneri is teetering on the brink of life and is at a zoning meeting that will undoubtedly stress him to death.

The zoning board unanimously grants the nudists the beach in perpetuity angering Magneri. Monk calls Singer who withdraws the petition which gets Magneri even more worked up. Stottlemeyer and Disher arrive with paramedics.

Natalie and Monk visit Singer so that the latter can apologize. Turns out Magneri bought the nudists their own private island. Singer forgives Monk and gives a hug which causes Monk to walk into the ocean.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk insists that Signe put on a shirt before realizing that will be the only article of clothing he is wearing.

White Courtesy Phone: Thinking that sneaking into the van is a bad idea, Monk asks Natalie for a better one and she recommends not doing it.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer wonders why Disher’s gun is in the back pocket rather than the holster.

Dishing it out: Disher is having problems with a magnapod working. Maybe if he bought an iPod, it would work. The piece of crap is the star for the first third of this episode.

Let’s Talk it Out: Before realizing Monk is recalling his birth (and being impressed that he is able to do so) Dr. Kroger gives Monk time to process and verbalize his thoughts.

The Innocence of Youth: Julie is unseen but calls Natalie asking for a pickup time which Natalie has to delay due to Monk seeing a naked man.

Let’s Up the Rating: Several extras are au natural but at least one is in a flesh-colored halter top.

One More Time: “Oh man, all that negative energy. That’s the last thing the world needs right now.”
Singer’s reaction to the news of murder.

Dear Genre: Doc Ock himself, Alfred Molina guest stars as Magneri. The Office’s Angela Kinsey is Boras.

The Rainbow Treknection: Diedrich Bader was a regular on the Drew Carey show after his turn on Star Trek as a technician and before appearing as Singer.

Trivial Matters: Alfred Molina was one of the finalists for Monk. He and Howard were on a short lived sitcom called Bram and Alice.

Stottlemeyer and Disher race through the streets to save Magneri but no cars seem to be giving way to the siren.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “I’m worth three hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars a minute.” This episode wants to be so much better than it is. The Austin Powers bits, for lack of a better term, are a blast. Lots of strategically placed things that only a couple times give way to a Bart Simpsons moment, to borrow from another movie. It is great that several members of all genders were ready to bare it all for the art.

Alfred Molina is never not a joy to watch. He has the arrogant asshole down pat. In the end, he gives the nudists an island and we do not know if it is gratitude or just to buy the away from his viewpoint. He has a nuanced performance all the way around and is unapologetically himself. When you are that rich, you can afford to not be nice.

Bader is not great as Singer, but the character has a heart of gold. Some of the bits are a little too hippie-ish, sounding better in the sixties that the early millennium. There are a lot of nuances required in his performance as well, including the climax where he has to rescind the petition he submitted. If you can even do that after it is passed.

Speaking of the petition, the whole episode rides on it and we have no idea what it is about. We can infer it has something to do with the ownership of the beach but not the particulars. We don’t need a full blown reading but it is the crux of the episode and we know almost nothing about it.

Worse, the script has Monk be a bigot and calls him out on it. Our hero can have a flaw, and he does, but this goes too far. Stottlemeyer and Natalie both call him out on it and there is an open debate as to whether he is cured at the end, but that does not excuse a huge turn in his character, especially when people dislike him or his quirks.

Disher’s magnapod takes up far too much screentime and is mainly there to give Disher something to do. There are great performances but too much time is spent watching our hero fumble around in crappy filler.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend"
Season Six Episode Four
Directed by: Wendey Stanzler
Written by: Joe Toplyn
Original Air Date: August 3, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: Natalie and Monk stop by to get some paperwork signed by Stottlemeyer and find him web chatting with Fusco. She is uptown closing some deals on a house but the two have a web date every night at 6:30.

Fusco’s business partner, Sean Corcoran, is showing a house but is shot by an armed assailant. The next morning, Stottlemeyer is sprucing up the yard when Fusco gets the news. She wants him by her side, so Monk and Natalie are sent. They but heads with Lieutenant Hendrix and determine that the killer was a woman based on cosmetics (of a masked killer?) and the point of entry was a smashed window but none of the glass was cracked. The killer either stepped over the glass (per Hendrix) or had a key (per Monk).

Fusco says it could not have been anyone at the company. There was a woman Corcoran sold a house to that didn’t take it well, sending him threatening letters. There is also a picture of her with her late grandfather who left her a shotgun. As they leave, Monk suspects Fusco as Corcoran was about to leave and take part of the business with him. Plus, she has the same brand of lipstick. They talk to Disher, but Fusco was so far away she would have needed to go faster than a hundred miles an hour to do it. It might have been a jetpack, but Disher knows they do not work and asks them not to inquire how he knows.

Monk and Natalie do a field test and find that even on Fusco’s new motorcycle she could not have made it to commit the murder. While they are at the house, Monk finds some flowers growing on site that match the ones Fusco had in her hair that night. Stottlemeyer does not buy it even after Monk tries to break it to him, believing that Monk is jealous of what he has: a badge, girlfriend and life.

Stottlemeyer questions Helen Hubbert, the woman with beef against Corcoran and while she is an ideal suspect, she has no alibi which is a good thing in this case since the killer made sure there were witnesses.

Natalie tries a friendlier approach asking Fusco to show her a house. Fusco gets a call from Stottlemeyer and heads out to confront Monk, who is snooping around her house. Monk finds a receipt for truck rental, the same company who had a truck towed from her residence earlier, and gun accessories. The gun was stolen, and she has the paperwork from when she reported it to the police, per the law. They go to her bedroom to locate it, but Fusco tries seducing Monk. As he avoids looking at her, he sees the site where she chats with Stottlemeyer and figures it out.

At the going away party for the couple, Disher has bad luck explaining Hawaiian culture to the squad. Monk was not invited by Monk webcams his way in from what looks like Fusco’s place but is actually a truck she rented and dressed up to look like her residence. Monk knew something was off when a pen rolled off the desk in the video but not in her house. Stottlemeyer orders Fusco arrested.

Stottlemeyer takes Disher on a vacation to Hawaii.

This Week’s Compulsion: While on the motorcycle, a fellow hog gives him a thumbs up and Monk returns thumbs down.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie is familiar with the expensive lipstick brand.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer hires people to tear down a dead tree that might fall on Fusco’s house. It is both sweet and foreshadowing.

Dishing it out: When Monk and Natalie tell Disher that he cannot tell the captain the information they are about to give him, Disher guesses that Natalie is in love with him.

It Recurs to Me: Sharon Lawrence has her fourth and final appearance as Fusco.

Let’s Up the Rating: Monk believes that with a webcam, you can’t answer the phone in your underwear. Natalie does not.

Here’s What Happened: When getting into the elevator, the doors wait for Monk and Natalie to stop speaking before they close.

One More Time: “Stottlemeyer worked here twenty years ago and there was one guy that was, what’s the word” “A hammerhead.” “Yeah, a hammerhead. Just one guy.”
Monk and Natalie talking to Hammerhead

Trivial Matters: Fusco’s treachery was foreshadowed in Mr. Monk and his Biggest Fan when Fusco wonders if she has to kill someone to get Stottlemeyer’s attention.

Hal Tucker from Mr. Monk Makes a Friend is mentioned as someone who is not what they appear to be.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “Monk, I’m fifty-one. This is all I have left.” Setting your main characters against each other gets harder as the series progresses. The Monk versus Stottlemeyer feud dominated the first season but has diminished since. Attempts to revive it have often led to mixed results, since they have reconciled and work together regularly. In this case, it winds up working out.

Ted Levine has a great role to play as he realizes this is his last attempt at having a life. This speaks poorly of his family, including the estranged son we saw last season. Ted Levine gives a great performance as his best friend is pitted against his lover. This is a rare case where he takes sides against Monk, something he knows not to do by this point several times over.

This is not a Stottlemeyer focused episode, his relationship with Monk is put to the test and Stottlemeyer failed. The two have worked together for years and it is sad to watch Stottlemeyer decide to not take the better choice.

The writing was on the wall for Fusco. Sharon Lawrence cannot continue on the series, and she did a great job in the role. By the nature of a series, she had to be written out, or just forgotten, and this was as good a way to get her off the board as any within the framework of the series. It is an open question as to why the police did not check the impounded truck they towed, thought that would lead to a short show.

As wonderful as Levine did, it is not a good look when we know Monk is right. There are some distractions but, in the end, the title character will not be wrong and for Stottlemeyer to throw away their friendship is hard to watch and does not always work. It is plausible but not something we are eager to see.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees"
Season Six Episode Five
Directed by: Michael W. Watkins
Written by: Peter Wolk
Original Air Date: August 10, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: Dewey Jordan breaks into a house to burgle, after wiping his feet of course. The homeowner, Rob Sherman, should be out. But Sherman is there and is an accomplice though things go south for Jordan when Rob shoots him. Rob’s wife, Pam shows up and is also shot by Rob who calmly calls the authorities to get some help.

Natalie is at the scene along with Julie and her beau Tim who are both late for school. Natalie writes a note begging forgiveness due to a double homicide (!) and admonishes Julie for wearing a t-shirt with a picture of her and Tim at the pier. She hopes to wear it until her death.

The case seems pretty clear, though Rob insists that people wipe their feet due to the tens of thousands of dollars rug he has. There are some questions from the bedroom such as the gun box being closed, which would not have happened in an emergency. Rob meets Julie and Tim outside, taking an interest in Julie’s shirt.

Most of the irregularities can be explained away, as the handcuffed material witness to a knife fight Lovely Rita explains. Jordan was a career criminal while Rob had only one arrest, but Monk finds a connection between the two.

At school, local heartthrob Clay Bridges openly flirts with Julie and totally disses Tim.

Natalie and Monk visit the funeral parlor where Rob works. Natalie talks about Mitch’s death while Monk can’t wait to be buried next to Trudy. Monk points out to Rob that he and Jordan met at traffic court though Rob says Jordan got a look at him and decided to rob him later.

Bridges gets tutoring from Julie supervised by Natalie and when things get a little too friendly, Natalie cockblocks Bridges out of the house. Bridges gets a call from Rob’s assistant/mistress to confirm that Julie is hooked. This is confirmed when we see Julie planning on going to a party with Bridges and burning stuff from Tim, including her t-shirt.

Monk and Natalie investigate Jordan’s apartment and find a different caliber weapon and no ammo for the one used at the crime.

Natalie is worried that Julie is growing up too fast and asks Monk to talk to her, Monk being the prefect role model in this situation as he waited for Trudy. Monk tires to half ass the talk, but Julie asks about Trudy to which Monk opens up and tells her that she can wait for her true love.

Disher shows some security footage to Stottlemeyer also using a permanent marker to demonstrate an inconclusive point on the department owned TV.

While picking up shirts, Natalie compliments Monk on his talk with Julie. As they walk, they spot Bridges making out with a friend of Julie’s. Bridges claims Natalie’s Aunt Karen paid him to break them up, but Natalie does not have an Aunt Karen. Bridges has the envelope the money came in which matches one of Rob’s and Monk figures it out.

At the pier, Natalie tells Tim to wait for Julie’s call while Monk trails Rob. It seems Rob needed to flesh out the details and met Jordan at the pier. They were there at the same time Julie and Tim got their picture and it would not take too long to figure it out if she wore the shirt. There are backups at the photo booth, but Rob gets there ahead of Monk and throws the pictures off the pier. Fortunately, Tim is on the swim team and saves the pictures.

Rob is arrested and Natalie lets Julie and Tim hang out at the pier a bit, but not before Julie gives Monk a thankful peck on the cheek.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk arranges the urns in order before knocking a couple over and frantically refilling them. Rob catches them doing this and does not go apeshit on them.

White Courtesy Phone: Because we as an audience need to know what Natalie is writing on the note to excuse Julie and Tim, she speaks it out loud as she writes.

Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer compliments Rob on purchasing a weapon and says he would have emptied the gun in a home invasion.

Dishing it out: At Rob’s house, Disher and Stottlemeyer wear white tennis shoes, implying that Rob did not consider their shoes clean enough for his house.

The Innocence of Youth: Julie is having difficulties Defining the Relationship with Tim early on. Ahhh, young love!

Let’s Up the Rating: High school senior Bridges invites Julie to a party which will have college guys and is worried about what will happen after the party.

Here’s What Happened: Natalie gets to not only explain but say the phrase to Tim, and she is happy to do so.

One More Time: “What do you think?” “I think he’s the man.,” “It don’t think he’s the man., I think he’s the guy.”
Monk and Stottlemeyer discussing Rob

Dear Genre: If Bridges voice sounds familiar it is because he is played by Matt Lanter who voiced Anakin several times in various media.

Trivial Matters: Looking at blurry security footage, Stottlemeyer says they can be Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers but there is debate as to whether the latter is alive.

Lovely Rita is played by Gail O’Grady who appeared in the pilot as Miranda St. Claire, making her the second actress to portray multiple characters on this series after Brooke Adams, wife of Shaloub.

The original plan was for the picture to take place in the Tunnel of Love but that proved too costly, as opposed to a public pier with hundreds of extras.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “The years between fourteen and thirty-two are very confusing for a young girl.” We’ve had a Julie centric episode before. You can tell the success when they write more.

Emmy Clarke is more than up to the task. It does not hurt that a teen girl can play romantic drama and Peter Wolk wrote the kiddie parts of this episode perfectly. The actors handle the material well and you can see why Matt Lanter remains in the business to this day.

The highlight is having The Talk with Julie and both actors play it well. Natalie makes a good point about Monk bring a male role model but both Shaloub and Clarke are great in the scene. It is the best performance we have had from Clarke thus far and the most grown-up we have seen from her. It does not take a talented actor to play well off Shaloub, but Clarke gives him a run for his money.

This being a sexy time episode, the second in a row after Fusco last week, we have mention of Trudy. We have seen her brought up unnaturally but here, it flows well. Wolk has great writing for it to come up and even Mitch is brought up. Natalie has to go in Mom Mode several times and while she is protective, she also pushes Tim to get back together with Julie in the end.,

Stottlemeyer and Disher are pretty good but the scene with the security footage is great with Stottlemeyer being very disapproving.

Vincent Ventresca gives a great performance as Rob. He is very slow and calculating, having most things planned out. He is hoisted by his own petard as no one would have recognized him from the picture. He had a lot figured out and is very calm throughout, particularly in the teaser where he carries the story in a cold, calculating manner.

A great episode all around for a lesser used character.

[Faithful Reader]

"Mr. Monk and the Buried Treasure"
Season Six Episode Six
Directed by: Sam Weisman
Written by: Jonathan Collier
Original Air Date: August 17, 2007

We’ll Need Some Help: Monk is distracted in a session with Dr. Kroger about a watch another client purchased as a gift. Soon, Dr. Kroger gets a text about his delinquent son, Troy., who is truant from school. It turns out Troy and company are skateboarding around when they come across a car with a corpse in the front seat. The car was involved in some sort of robbery recently and while there is no money in or around the vehicle, there is a treasure map.

Troy and his two buffoonish friends cannot get their act together in the hallway but try to pass off the map as being drawn by their English teacher. Natalie thinks something is fishy, but Monk wants to score points with Dr. Kroger. They find a lead and are off to find the treasure.

Stottlemeyer and Disher are investigating the scene and determine that the driver had a heart attack, but there is a missing accomplice. Stottlemeyer figures some skateboarders took the personal effects before they got there.

The buffoons do a horrible job of keeping their funds secret and Troy says that Dr. Kroger talks but doesn’t actually talk to him. He asks Monk to send regards at the next session, hinting he may come into some money soon. They find a clue to where the treasure might be.

At the bank, Manager Steve Connelly is surprised to see colleague Karen back so quickly. Privately, he calls one of the robbers but winds up speaking to a buffon who grabbed the cell phone. The call ends without a clue but with Connelly being suspicious. The interview with Stottlemeyer and Disher gives him more information.

Through no fault of their own, the group finds the spot on the map. Troy and the buffoons will come back later to get the treasure, but they do not see Connelly poking around with a shovel after they leave.

Monk can barely hold himself together at the next session but hears reports that Troy is in a much better mood. pocketing through the treasure, Monk realizes that Troy and company went through the pockets of the criminals and goes off alone to talk to Troy, offering a chance to turn in the money anonymously. The issue is at the location of the treasure, they found five thousand dollars, not millions as was reported. Monk quickly realizes they are not alone, but the car does not get in gear swiftly enough to prevent them from being buried alive.

Monk does not handle being in the buried car well and Troy does not handle Monk well. They try to use the pilfered cell phone but find calls to Connelly, giving Monk a break in the case. Desperate beyond belief, Natalie approaches the buffoons to find Monk. For his part, Monk determines that the robbery was an inside job, but Connelly’s brother was killed. The map was to a body, not treasure. Connelly dug up the body and left a few bucks to be found. Natalie, Stottlemeyer and Disher go to the site rescuing the pair, after Troy blasts some music.

Disher asks Stottlemeyer to leave out the part where he needed to relieve himself from the report but is not that lucky. Connelly is picked up off screen. Dr. Kroger is impressed with Monk getting through to Troy who might take up being a psychologist and is reinterested in school. It is much better than a watch which Monk is sure was given by Krenshaw.

This Week’s Compulsion: Monk is eager to see Troy but not so eager as to forego the plastic tarp on the couch.

White Courtesy Phone: Natalie’s main suspicion of Troy and his friends is the fact that they are teenage boys.

Captain Moustache: After hearing a crazy theory from Disher, Stottlemeyer acquiesces to a request on condition he never speak of it again.

Dishing it out: Disher is preoccupied with a contest to get free soda for life.

Let’s Talk it Out: Dr. Kroger openly asks Monk not to get him a present and not to help with Troy. He also believes (correctly) that Troy is playing hooky and listening to rock.

Let’s Up the Rating: One of Troy’s friends hits on Natalie. She tells him she is old enough to be his mother and he replies that she isn’t.

Here’s What Happened: When Monk flashes back to the cell phone, it is in red, not black and white like the rest of the image.

One More Time: “No way you’re forty-seven.” “You can’t prove I’m not.” “I’m in your homeroom, man.”
A youngster trying to use a fake ID.

It’s a Jungle Out There: “We’re reading Treasure Island. It’s about pirates.” “I think it was written by a pirate.” This is a series that lives and dies by the guest talent. Already this year we have had Sarah Silverman, Snoop Dog, Diedrich Bader and Sharon Lawrence, the first three of whom have shared screen time with Shaloub. You can tell how good an actor is by how well they work with the leads.

Cody McMains, Sean Marquette and Jered Dauplise are perfect in their guest roles for this episode. The latter two are the buffoons as needed in the script, but McMains brings more to Troy than we saw last time in Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink. There, he was one note annoying Dr. Kroger but here, he has to work with Monk. We get the sense that Monk knows Troy and the two work well together. It will be the last we see of Troy, but McMains has a great performance. In the scene with Monk buried in the car, we see him go from frazzled to taking control of the situation. The ending is a bit too clean in that regard, but it is a good showing for all three.

Natalie plays the adult in the room several times, particularly when Marquette’s character repeatedly flirts with her. A mother herself, she tries to let him down gently. She gets stuck between the two buffoons in the back seat and her face says it all.

Dr. Kroger has one of his best showings in a while. The scenes with Shaloub are down to perfection at this point and while the therapist shouldn’t be that open to a patient, Stanley Kamel gives a great performance as he is touched by his son.

Disher is once again regulated to crappy comic relief, but he managed to come out on top for the second time this season. It is a good script by Jonathon Collier and a good hour directed by Sam Weisman. A lot of the heavy lifting is done by the buffoons, but they know their roles and give us a great time.