#629244
"Mr. Monk and the Daredevil"
Season Six Episode Seven
Directed by: Jonathan Collier
Written by: Alan Zweibel
Original Air Date: August 24, 2007
We’ll Need Some Help: In the waiting room at Dr. Kroger’s, Natalie sees an article about the Frisco Fly, a daredevil who climbs the tallest buildings in the city but is never caught. Krenshaw ends his session, exchanging his version of pleasantries with Monk before departing. As they leave, Monk comes up with a great zinger.
Pedestrians watch the Frisco Fly climbing a building, but he loses his grip and falls. Thankfully he is saved by awning. He is unmasked, revealing Krenshaw.
There is a car crash that even Monk finds odd; the car was torched and identifying marks scratched off, but the crash was in the daytime though someone came back at night. It is also a week old and had an encounter with a deer. Natalie brings in news of Krenshaw and Monk is beside himself.
Natalie and Monk visit Krenshaw who is kind of a celebrity. His son is now proud of him as is a cousin Joey, who recounts childhood exploits to a reporter. The room is cleared so the Krenshaw’s bandages can be changed, but Monk has a private talk wherein Krenshawm shoving the situation in his face. Monk confronts the groupies outside giving out personal information and having a hard time disproving the situation when there are witnesses to Krenshaw falling.
Monk and Natalie go to the building to disprove public perception but find nothing to support that claim. Rather, they find Krenshaw’s missing glasses, monogramed with his name. Natalie thinks that if Krenshaw got over a fear of heights, so can Monk.
Julie and Natalie try to help Monk get over one of four fears: germs, milk, heights and bugs. A visit to Dr. Kroger does not improve matters with Monk going to the couch instead of staying in his usual chair. Dr. Kroger denies curing Krenshaw and Monk gives up, startling Dr. Kroger.
Stottlemeyer and Disher find some identification on the car, but are called away to Monk, who has items in his apartment all askew. Dr. Kroger is there removing knives as Monk is on a suicide watch. Stottlemeyer offers to go into the bathroom with Monk but neither will look. Monk decides to hold it in, his previous record being nine days.
As Krenshaw gains international attention (No other country had a daredevil?), he and Joey painfully criticize a kindergarten drawing … in front of the artists! Joey gets a call about their Uncle Ronny not doing so well though when Krenshaw asks, he claims it was an endorsement deal.
As Disher gets a call about the car owner, Monk and Stottlemeyer try to out hold the other. Why Stottlemeyer does so is an exercise for the viewer as Natalie can watch Monk while Stottlemeyer is out. Natalie comes in with news they want to hear. Disher located the owner of the car, a Hungarian acrobat who was the Frisco Fly. Natalie starts scratching from some poison oak found at the crime scene, remembering Joey scratching as well. Monk knows that Krenshaw is not the Frisco Fly, but someone is trying to kill him. Before they leave, Natalie gives Monk back his shoelaces.
Krenshaw goes off to the ‘shoot,’ but confesses to Joey he is not the Frisco Fly. Joey knows but does not care and pulls out a gun. Monk and Natalie realize they are on the roof and rush to save Krenshaw. Joey reveals the Uncle Ronny will die soon leaving everything to them both and Joey does not want to share. Natalie and Monk help subdue Joey. It seems Joey came across the acrobat and tried to throw Krenshaw off a roof. Krenshaw kept the ruse after seeing how much his son admired him.
Krenshaw tries to make amends with Monk, but it goes poorly, and Natalie is drawn into the fray. Krenshaw steps off the roof, but the parachute opens, and the crown goes wild.
This Week’s Compulsion: Monk tries to listen in on Krenshaw’s session, which is all sorts of wrong, both moral and legal.
White Courtesy Phone: Natalie wonders if the Frisco Fly has an assistant.
Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer takes issue with the invented phonetic alphabet of Disher.
Dishing it out: Disher reports what an expert found at the scene and most of it is wrong.
Let’s Talk it Out: Dr. Kroger is uncomfortable talking about Krenshaw and then proceeds to talk about Krenshaw.
The Innocence of Youth: Julie helps prepare fears for Monk to overcome, including playing the harmonica.
It Recurs to Me: Krenshaw says that the crying Monk heard was actually laughter. He also gives his regards to Natalie.
Let’s Up the Rating: Natalie wonders if the Frisco Fly has a girlfriend.
Here’s What Happened: Krenshaw and Natalie make rare vocal cameos in this section.
One More Time: “If I could relax, I wouldn’t be here, would I?”
Monk not getting the waiting room concept.
Dear Genre: David Koechner made a career out of playing jerks, most notably on The Office as Todd Packer and The Goldbergs as Bill Lewis, so his playing a jerk as Joey is not that surprising.
Trivial Matters: In a clever bit of timing, Monk asks how Krenshaw did it when the written by credit is onscreen.
The late famed stuntman Evel Knieval gets a name check. He passed away shortly after this episode aired.
When Krenshaw is talking to Monk about having ‘it,’ he mentions Buzz Aldrin and Rocky, one of whom is real and the other is Rocky.
Dr. Kroger suggests medication, forgetting what happened in Mr. Monk Takes his Medicine.
As Harold ruthlessly mocks the picture drawn by Kindergarteners, the teacher asks if Krenshaw is on the school board, which we saw in Mr. Monk and the Election.
Disher refers to his band, the Randy Disher Project, seen in Mr. Monk goes to the Dentist and Mr. Monk and the Really Really Dead Guy.
It’s a Jungle Out There: “Me and Uncle Ronny used to throw him down the stairs, off the roof, off the dock, remember?” Parts of this episode are wonderful. Actually, most of this episode is. A focus on Krenshaw is a no-brainer as we have seen Tim Bagley inhabit the role over the course of several seasons. There is even a callback to the school board election! The scenes with him and Monk seem to just write themselves and Shaloub is old hat at them by this point.
There is some sympathy for Krneshaw taking the credit as his son now adores him. The eternal praise from everyone else does not hurt either, but we know how Monk’s friends see him and Krenshaw is often Monk’s punching bag with that. It helps showing us more of Krenshaw’s humanity even if it is brief. Koechner does a great job at being the jerk he always plays.
This puts Monk in a tizzy, as he is placed on a suicide watch. That is going a bit too far, but we see Monk off his game and disturbed by Krneshaw. It does lead to a good moment when Natalie gives him back his shoelaces but seems to happen because the script wants it to and not something that would actually occur. It shows Stottlemeyer being a friend to Monk, putting aside casework to help out.
While this is very strong, there are some huge errors made. Although Dr. Kroger does not discuss Krenshaw’s file, Monk has no problem sharing it with the public. Shouldn’t his fears be out since hE is a public figure? Also, the nursing staff is a little too eager to have a celebrity in their midst. It would take some time to overcome a huge trauma, but he has reporters, relatives and random goobers in his room for the fun of it.
We also get Disher being a moron, something that Gray-Stanford does his best with, including name dropping his band, but is just more incompetence which he has to have six seasons in for some reason. Also, Monk conquers his fears of heights, presumably, and no one congratulates him.
This is a great vehicle for Bagley with great moments written by Alex Zweibel but has too much holding it back. The tag scene is a great example of telling and not showing, a rare victory for that.
Season Six Episode Seven
Directed by: Jonathan Collier
Written by: Alan Zweibel
Original Air Date: August 24, 2007
We’ll Need Some Help: In the waiting room at Dr. Kroger’s, Natalie sees an article about the Frisco Fly, a daredevil who climbs the tallest buildings in the city but is never caught. Krenshaw ends his session, exchanging his version of pleasantries with Monk before departing. As they leave, Monk comes up with a great zinger.
Pedestrians watch the Frisco Fly climbing a building, but he loses his grip and falls. Thankfully he is saved by awning. He is unmasked, revealing Krenshaw.
There is a car crash that even Monk finds odd; the car was torched and identifying marks scratched off, but the crash was in the daytime though someone came back at night. It is also a week old and had an encounter with a deer. Natalie brings in news of Krenshaw and Monk is beside himself.
Natalie and Monk visit Krenshaw who is kind of a celebrity. His son is now proud of him as is a cousin Joey, who recounts childhood exploits to a reporter. The room is cleared so the Krenshaw’s bandages can be changed, but Monk has a private talk wherein Krenshawm shoving the situation in his face. Monk confronts the groupies outside giving out personal information and having a hard time disproving the situation when there are witnesses to Krenshaw falling.
Monk and Natalie go to the building to disprove public perception but find nothing to support that claim. Rather, they find Krenshaw’s missing glasses, monogramed with his name. Natalie thinks that if Krenshaw got over a fear of heights, so can Monk.
Julie and Natalie try to help Monk get over one of four fears: germs, milk, heights and bugs. A visit to Dr. Kroger does not improve matters with Monk going to the couch instead of staying in his usual chair. Dr. Kroger denies curing Krenshaw and Monk gives up, startling Dr. Kroger.
Stottlemeyer and Disher find some identification on the car, but are called away to Monk, who has items in his apartment all askew. Dr. Kroger is there removing knives as Monk is on a suicide watch. Stottlemeyer offers to go into the bathroom with Monk but neither will look. Monk decides to hold it in, his previous record being nine days.
As Krenshaw gains international attention (No other country had a daredevil?), he and Joey painfully criticize a kindergarten drawing … in front of the artists! Joey gets a call about their Uncle Ronny not doing so well though when Krenshaw asks, he claims it was an endorsement deal.
As Disher gets a call about the car owner, Monk and Stottlemeyer try to out hold the other. Why Stottlemeyer does so is an exercise for the viewer as Natalie can watch Monk while Stottlemeyer is out. Natalie comes in with news they want to hear. Disher located the owner of the car, a Hungarian acrobat who was the Frisco Fly. Natalie starts scratching from some poison oak found at the crime scene, remembering Joey scratching as well. Monk knows that Krenshaw is not the Frisco Fly, but someone is trying to kill him. Before they leave, Natalie gives Monk back his shoelaces.
Krenshaw goes off to the ‘shoot,’ but confesses to Joey he is not the Frisco Fly. Joey knows but does not care and pulls out a gun. Monk and Natalie realize they are on the roof and rush to save Krenshaw. Joey reveals the Uncle Ronny will die soon leaving everything to them both and Joey does not want to share. Natalie and Monk help subdue Joey. It seems Joey came across the acrobat and tried to throw Krenshaw off a roof. Krenshaw kept the ruse after seeing how much his son admired him.
Krenshaw tries to make amends with Monk, but it goes poorly, and Natalie is drawn into the fray. Krenshaw steps off the roof, but the parachute opens, and the crown goes wild.
This Week’s Compulsion: Monk tries to listen in on Krenshaw’s session, which is all sorts of wrong, both moral and legal.
White Courtesy Phone: Natalie wonders if the Frisco Fly has an assistant.
Captain Moustache: Stottlemeyer takes issue with the invented phonetic alphabet of Disher.
Dishing it out: Disher reports what an expert found at the scene and most of it is wrong.
Let’s Talk it Out: Dr. Kroger is uncomfortable talking about Krenshaw and then proceeds to talk about Krenshaw.
The Innocence of Youth: Julie helps prepare fears for Monk to overcome, including playing the harmonica.
It Recurs to Me: Krenshaw says that the crying Monk heard was actually laughter. He also gives his regards to Natalie.
Let’s Up the Rating: Natalie wonders if the Frisco Fly has a girlfriend.
Here’s What Happened: Krenshaw and Natalie make rare vocal cameos in this section.
One More Time: “If I could relax, I wouldn’t be here, would I?”
Monk not getting the waiting room concept.
Dear Genre: David Koechner made a career out of playing jerks, most notably on The Office as Todd Packer and The Goldbergs as Bill Lewis, so his playing a jerk as Joey is not that surprising.
Trivial Matters: In a clever bit of timing, Monk asks how Krenshaw did it when the written by credit is onscreen.
The late famed stuntman Evel Knieval gets a name check. He passed away shortly after this episode aired.
When Krenshaw is talking to Monk about having ‘it,’ he mentions Buzz Aldrin and Rocky, one of whom is real and the other is Rocky.
Dr. Kroger suggests medication, forgetting what happened in Mr. Monk Takes his Medicine.
As Harold ruthlessly mocks the picture drawn by Kindergarteners, the teacher asks if Krenshaw is on the school board, which we saw in Mr. Monk and the Election.
Disher refers to his band, the Randy Disher Project, seen in Mr. Monk goes to the Dentist and Mr. Monk and the Really Really Dead Guy.
It’s a Jungle Out There: “Me and Uncle Ronny used to throw him down the stairs, off the roof, off the dock, remember?” Parts of this episode are wonderful. Actually, most of this episode is. A focus on Krenshaw is a no-brainer as we have seen Tim Bagley inhabit the role over the course of several seasons. There is even a callback to the school board election! The scenes with him and Monk seem to just write themselves and Shaloub is old hat at them by this point.
There is some sympathy for Krneshaw taking the credit as his son now adores him. The eternal praise from everyone else does not hurt either, but we know how Monk’s friends see him and Krenshaw is often Monk’s punching bag with that. It helps showing us more of Krenshaw’s humanity even if it is brief. Koechner does a great job at being the jerk he always plays.
This puts Monk in a tizzy, as he is placed on a suicide watch. That is going a bit too far, but we see Monk off his game and disturbed by Krneshaw. It does lead to a good moment when Natalie gives him back his shoelaces but seems to happen because the script wants it to and not something that would actually occur. It shows Stottlemeyer being a friend to Monk, putting aside casework to help out.
While this is very strong, there are some huge errors made. Although Dr. Kroger does not discuss Krenshaw’s file, Monk has no problem sharing it with the public. Shouldn’t his fears be out since hE is a public figure? Also, the nursing staff is a little too eager to have a celebrity in their midst. It would take some time to overcome a huge trauma, but he has reporters, relatives and random goobers in his room for the fun of it.
We also get Disher being a moron, something that Gray-Stanford does his best with, including name dropping his band, but is just more incompetence which he has to have six seasons in for some reason. Also, Monk conquers his fears of heights, presumably, and no one congratulates him.
This is a great vehicle for Bagley with great moments written by Alex Zweibel but has too much holding it back. The tag scene is a great example of telling and not showing, a rare victory for that.