Monk is an
American police procedural comedy-drama, created by
Andy Breckman and starring
Tony Shalhoub as the titular
Adrian Monk. It is primarily a mystery series, although the show also features broad
comic touches. The show debuted on July 12, 2002 on the
USA Network. Its eighth and final
season began on Friday, August 7, 2009 and will end on December 4, 2009 with part 2 of the two-part
Monk series finale,
Mr. Monk and the End.
Plot
Adrian Monk was a brilliant detective for the
San Francisco Police Department until his wife,
Trudy, was killed by a car bomb in a parking garage, which Monk then believed was intended for him. Trudy's death led Monk to suffer a
nervous breakdown. He was discharged from the force and became a recluse, refusing to leave his house for over three years. He was finally able to leave the house with the help of his
nurse,
Sharona Fleming (
Bitty Schram). The breakthrough allowed him to work as a
private detective and a consultant for the homicide unit despite retaining limitations rooted in his
obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), which had grown significantly worse after the tragedy.
Monk's compulsive habits are numerous, and a number of
phobias compound his situation, such as his fear of germs. Monk has 312 fears, some of which are milk, ladybugs, harmonicas, heights, imperfection and risk. The OCD and plethora of phobias inevitably lead to very awkward situations and cause problems for Monk and anyone around him, as he investigates cases. These same personal struggles, particularly the OCD, are what aid him in solving cases such as his sharp memory, specific mindset and attention to detail.
Captain
Leland Stottlemeyer (
Ted Levine) and Lieutenant
Randall "Randy" Disher (
Jason Gray-Stanford) call on Monk when they have trouble with an investigation. Stottlemeyer is often irritated by Monk's disorder, but respects his friend and former colleague's amazing observational abilities, as does Disher. Ever since childhood, Monk's obsessive attention to detail allowed him to spot tiny discrepancies, find patterns, and make connections that others often fail to make. Monk continues to search for information about his wife's death, the one case that he has been unable to solve.
Sharona decided to re-marry her ex-husband and move back to
New Jersey, and
Natalie Teeger (
Traylor Howard) was hired as Monk's new assistant—a widow and mother of an eleven-year-old daughter (now 17). Monk has a brother
Ambrose (
John Turturro), and a half-brother, Jack, Jr. (
Steve Zahn), whose existence Monk discovered in the fifth season.
Characters
Main characters
[
of TV series Monk at Edwards AFB.jpg|thumb|325px|Jason Gray-Stanford, Traylor Howard and Tony Shalhoub sign autographs at Edwards Air Force Base after the filming of the episode, "[[Mr. Monk and the Astronaut]".]]
Character
Natalie Teeger made her entrance into the show partway through the third season when actress Bitty Schram, who played Monk's nurse Sharona Fleming, left "precipitous
[1]", reportedly due to a contract dispute. The new actress, Traylor Howard, had not yet seen the show and was not enthusiastic about her manager's urgings to audition for Sharona's replacement. However, she did try out and got the part. Despite the initial "cool" reception from fans, show co-creator Andy Breckman believes Howard quickly and successfully filled the void. "I will always be grateful to Traylor because she came in when the show was in crisis and saved our baby [....] We had to make a hurried replacement, and not every show survives that. I was scared to death."
returned as a special guest star on
Monk part of the 8th and final season October 23, 2009 (
Mr. Monk and Sharona), in order to give closure to her character, who departed from the show abruptly in season three after re-marrying her ex-husband and moving back to New Jersey. In this episode, Sharona confirms that she and her ex-husband, Trevor, are now separated for good and in the end, she actually falls for Randy, who obviously likes her enough to kiss her and drive her to the airport to head back to New Jersey. Sharona does tell Monk, however, that she will be coming back to San Fransisco a few weeks later to handle her law suit against the country club where she broke her arm after solving the case involving the murder of her Uncle Howie with him and Natalie. Still, this was
Sharona Fleming's final appearance on the show.
[http:/ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/03/24/monk-exclusive/]
Secondary characters
- Julie Teeger (Emmy Clarke): teenage daughter of Natalie Teeger. First appeared in "Mr. Monk and the Red Herring".
- Benjamin "Benjy" Fleming (Kane Ritchotte during pilot episode and second and third seasons, Max Morrow during first season): Sharona's son. Last appearance was in season three, "Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month", though he was mentioned in eighth and final season episode "Mr. Monk and Sharona".
- Dr. Charles Kroger (Stanley Kamel): Adrian Monk's psychiatrist. Actor Stanley Kamel died of a heart attack on April 8, 2008 between production of seasons six and seven.
- Dr. Neven Bell (Héctor Elizondo): Adrian Monk's new therapist. First appeared in "Mr. Monk Buys a House".
[Tony Shalhoub and Hector Elizondo talk about season seven of Monk][Monk TV Series News: Emmy Award-Winner Hector Elizondo to Appear in Monk]
- Kevin Dorfman (Jarrad Paul): accountant and next-door neighbor of Monk. First appeared in "Mr. Monk and the Paperboy". Dorfman was murdered in "Mr. Monk and the Magician".
- Harold J. Krenshaw (Tim Bagley): a rival of Adrian and another patient of Dr. Kroger with whom Mr. Monk supports constant disputes for his incompatible obsessions. Harold is constantly trying to find out who Monk's new psychiatrist is (Dr. Bell). However, he did uncover Monk's psychiatrist in the season seven finale, "Mr. Monk Fights City Hall". In the episode "Mr. Monk Goes to Group Therapy", Harold and Monk finally become friends by conquering claustrophobia together. Harold generously leaves the group at the end of the episode so that Monk can share private therapy with Dr. Bell.
- Ambrose Monk (John Turturro): agoraphobic brother of Adrian Monk. Seems to be based on Mycroft Holmes (smarter brother of Sherlock) First appeared in "Mr. Monk and the Three Pies".
- Jack Monk (Dan Hedaya): father of Adrian and Ambrose, abandoned the family when Adrian and Ambrose were young (left for Chinese food and never came back) and started another family. Appeared in "Mr. Monk Meets His Dad".
- Jack Monk Jr. (Steve Zahn): the other son of Jack Monk, Adrian's half brother. Appeared in "Mr. Monk's Other Brother".
- Dale "the Whale" Biederbeck (Adam Arkin, Tim Curry and Ray Porter): Adrian Monk's archenemy and most hated rival. A wealthy and morbidly obese financier whom Adrian blames for ruining the remainder of Trudy's life. Just as Adrian Monk is compared to Sherlock Holmes, it's possible that Dale Biederbeck (the "Genghis Khan of World Finance") is compared to Professor Moriarty (the Napoleon of Crime). First appeared in "Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale".
- Linda Fusco (Sharon Lawrence): Captain Stottlemeyer's girlfriend. First appeared in "Mr. Monk, Private Eye". She was later proven by Monk to be a murderer in "Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend".
- Trudy "T. K." Jensen (Virginia Madsen): Captain Stottlemeyer's love interest. First appeared in "Happy Birthday, Mr. Monk" and marries Stottlemeyer in "Mr. Monk is the Best Man"
Episodes
Most episodes have titles in the form of "Mr. Monk and (a person or thing)" or "Mr. Monk (does something)", much like novels in a series about a starring detective. While solving a murder is the plot for most episodes, there are a few episodes in which Monk helps investigate other crimes, such as a kidnapping in the season two episode "Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny". In season seven, in the 100th episode, Mr. Monk solved his 100th (and 101st) case since his wife's death, a milestone in his career.
Production
According to an interview with executive producer David Hoberman
["Mr Monk and His Origins", a special feature packaged with the Season One DVDs], ABC first conceived the series as a police show with an
Inspector Clouseau-like character suffering from
obsessive–compulsive disorder. Hoberman said ABC wanted
Michael Richards for the show
, but Richards turned it down. Hoberman brought in
Andy Breckman as creator, and Breckman, inspired by
Sherlock Holmes, introduced a
Doctor Watson-like character as Monk's nurse and an
Inspector Lestrade-like character which eventually became
Captain Stottlemeyer.
Although ABC originated the show, the network handed it off to the
USA Network. USA is now owned by NBC (
NBC Universal).
was the first ABC Studios-produced show (formerly
Touchstone Television) aired on
USA Network instead of
ABC. On January 12, 2006,
USA Network announced that
Monk had been picked up through at least season six as one of the "highest-rated series in cable history."
Season 5 premiered Friday, July 7, 2006, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. This marked the first time change for the program, which aired at 10:00 p.m. during its first four seasons. The change allowed the show to work as a lead-in to a new USA Network series,
Psych, another offbeat detective program.
Monk has followed a consistent format of airing half of its 16 episodes in mid-year and the second half early the following year. USA Networks announced that
Monk's final season will run during mid-2009.
Previously aired episodes of
Monk began airing on
NBC Universal sibling network NBC April 6, 2008. NBC eyed the show because its block with
Psych could be plugged into NBC's schedule intact. The shows are being used to increase the amount of scripted programming on the network as production of its own scripted programming ramp back up following the writers' strike.
Ratings for the broadcast debut were well below NBC averages for the time period. The show came in third behind
Big Brother 9 on CBS and
Oprah's Big Give on ABC.
Location
Although set in
San Francisco and its area,
Monk is for the most part shot elsewhere except for occasional exteriors featuring city landmarks. The pilot episode was shot in
Vancouver, British Columbia, and the subsequent Season 1 episodes were shot in the
Toronto, Ontario, area
[IMDB - Monk Filming Locations]. Most of the episodes in Seasons 2-6 were filmed in the
Los Angeles, California, area, including on-stage at
Ren-Mar Studios for seasons 2-5 and at
Paramount Studios for season 6 (these include Adrian’s apartment, Stottlemeyer's precinct house, Dr. Kroger’s office and Natalie’s house).
[Monk Set Visit II]
Many scenes in Season 4 were shot in San Francisco, in downtown Union Square and Chinatown (shown in "Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty", as the police chase Escobar up Jackson Street).
Theme music
During the first season of
Monk, the series used a jazzy instrumental intro to the show by songwriter
Jeff Beal, performed by guitarist
Grant Geissman.
The theme won the 2003
Emmy Award for Best Main Title Music.
When the second season began, the series had new theme music, a song entitled "
It's a Jungle out There", by
Randy Newman. Reaction to the new theme was mixed. A review of the second season of
Monk in the
New York Daily News included a wish that producers would revert to the original theme.
Shalhoub expressed his support for the new theme in
USA Today, saying its "dark and mournful sound,...
[2] tongue-in-cheek, darkly humorous side.... completely fits the tone of the show."
Newman was awarded the 2004
Emmy Award for Best Main Title Music for "It's a Jungle out There".
This debate was referenced in the episode "Mr. Monk and the TV Star", which features an actor who plays a detective in a TV show, and several characters mention an in-story controversy over the change of that show's theme music, including obsessed fan Marci Maven, played by
Sarah Silverman. In the epilogue of the story, she implores Monk to promise her that he will never change the theme music if he ever gets his own show. When Monk agrees to the promise (only so he can go back to bed), the original music is heard as the scene fades to credits.
The original theme is also heard in episode 8 of season 3 as Monk drives to Los Angeles with his neighbor and father-in-law. It is also heard in several other episodes as the show enters the credits and then kicks into the new theme's instrumental.
For the season 6 episode, "Mr. Monk and the Rapper", guest star
Snoop Dogg performed a hip-hop version of "It's a Jungle out There", and he accompanied Monk with "Here's What Happened" in rap form.
The June 16, 2008 re-airing of the first episode featured a new credit sequence with the Newman theme.
Little Monk
USA Network premiered a 10-episode online series entitled "Little Monk" on August 22, 2009. It includes Adrian Monk and Ambrose Monk during their middle-school years, bringing a back story to Monk's detective skills and phobias. However, as they would have been middle schoolers in the late 1960s and early 1970s, viewers will see anachronisms: The various cars seen in the episodes do not belong to the time-period. Moreover, the fashion of all the seen characters does not fit the times.
Other media
Soundtrack
The
show's soundtrack features its original music score, composed by
Jeff Beal.
Podcast
A "behind the scenes" audio podcast entitled "Lunch at Monk" is available for download through the USA website.
[3] In the podcast, cast and crew members of the show are interviewed over lunch.
Novels
Lee Goldberg has written several novels based on the show.
[The Official Website of Lee Goldberg] The novels are written in first-person narrative form, from the perspective of Mr. Monk's assistant Natalie. The first novel,
Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse, was the basis for the fifth season episode "
Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing".
DVD releases
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released the first six seasons of
Monk on DVD in Regions 1 and 2, and Season 7 in Region 1. The first five seasons have also been released in Region 4.
Monk episodes from seasons 1–8 are also available on iTunes. All seasons are also available in HD format.
[4]. It should be noted that the Region 2 DVDs of seasons 1-3 are in the 4:3 aspect ratio.
| Title
| Region 1
| Region 2
| Region 3
| Region 4
|
| Season One
| June 15, 2004[www.amazon.com/Monk-Season-One-Tony-Shalhoub/dp/B0001KL5IU/]
| December 27, 2004
| January 20, 2005
| January 18, 2005
|
| Season Two
| January 11, 2005[www.amazon.com/Monk-Season-Two-Tony-Shalhoub/dp/B0006B2A2O/]
| July 18, 2005
| September 19, 2005
| September 21, 2005
|
| Season Three
| June 5, 2005[/www.amazon.com/Monk-Season-Three-Tony-Shalhoub/dp/B00094AQZG/]
| February 27, 2006
| March 7, 2006
| March 22, 2006
|
| Season Four
| June 27, 2006[www.amazon.com/Monk-Season-Four-Tony-Shalhoub/dp/B000F0UUTG/]
| September 18, 2006
| TBA
| November 15, 2006
|
| Season Five
| June 26, 2007[www.amazon.com/Monk-Season-Five-Tony-Shalhoub/dp/B000OHZKZ4/]
| September 17, 2007
| TBA
| April 1, 2009
|
| Season Six
| July 8, 2008[www.amazon.com/Monk-Season-Six-Tony-Shalhoub/dp/B0016MOWNW/]
| September 8, 2008
| –
| TBA
|
| Season Seven
| July 21, 2009[www.amazon.com/Monk-Season-Seven-Tony-Shalhoub/dp/B001W79MHM/]
| TBA 2010
| TBA 2009
| TBA
|
| Season Eight
| TBA 2010[www.amazon.com/Monk-Season-Eight-Tony-Shalhoub/dp/B002N5N4GW/]
| TBA 2010
| TBA 2010
| TBA
|
| Seasons 1–4
|
(The Obsessive Compulsive Collection)
June 27, 2006[www.amazon.com/Monk-Obsessive-Compulsive-Collection-Seasons/dp/B000F2CADS/]
| November 20, 2006
(R2 has different cover art)
|
| Not Released
|
| Seasons 1–5
| N/A
| October 22, 2007
(only available in R2)
|
| Not Released
|
| Seasons 1–6
|
|
|
| Not Released
|
| The Best of Monk
| November 17, 2009[www.amazon.com/dp/B002NTDXS2/]
|
|
|
|
| Complete Series
|
|
|
| Not Released
|
Awards and nominations
Awards won
Emmy Awards:
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub (2003, 2005, 2006)
- Outstanding Main Title Theme Music Jeff Beal (2003)
- Outstanding Main Title Theme Music Randy Newman (2004)
- Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series John Turturro (2004)
- Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series Stanley Tucci (2007)
Golden Globe Awards:
- Best Performance by an Leading Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy Tony Shalhoub (2003)
Screen Actors Guild:
- Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub (2004, 2005)
Award nominations
Emmy Awards:
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub (2003-2009) 7 nominations
[cdn.emmys.tv/downloads/2009/61stemmys_noms.pdf]
- Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series Anya Colloff, Amy McIntyre Britt, Meg Liberman, Camille H. Patton, Sandi Logan, Lonnie Hamerman (2004)
- Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine" Randall Zisk (2005)
- Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Laurie Metcalf (2006)
- Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Sarah Silverman (2008)
- Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Gena Rowlands (2009)
Golden Globe Awards:
- Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy (2004)
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy Tony Shalhoub (2003-2005, 2007, 2009) 5 nominations
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy Bitty Schram (2004)
Screen Actors Guild:
- Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub (2003-2005, 2007-2008) 5 nominations
Broadcasters
| Country |
Series Title in Country |
TV Network(s) |
Series Premiere |
| | Hallmark Channel |
|
| | Network Ten (original run)
and TV1 (re-runs) |
|
| Austria | Monk | ORF 1 |
|
| Belgium | | VTM |
|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | | FTV |
|
| Brazil | Monk, um detetive diferente
(Monk, a different detective) | Rede Record
Hallmark Channel
Universal Channel |
|
| Bulgaria | Монк (Monk) | bTV
GTV
Diema
Diema 2 | January 3, 2007
August 19, 2008
September 22, 2008
April 14, 2009
|
| Canada | | A-Channel, Citytv, TVA (French), Canal Mystère (French) |
|
| Chile | | Hallmark Channel |
|
| Colombia | | Record |
|
| Croatia | Monk | HRT 2 |
|
| Cyprus | Ντετέκτιβ Μόνκ
("Detective Monk") | CyBC | October 8, 2006
|
| Czech Republic | Můj přítel Monk
("My friend Monk") | TV NOVA |
|
| Denmark | Monk (Canal+)/
Detektiv Monk (TV 2 Charlie/TV 2) | Canal+ (first run), TV 2 Charlie (re-runs), TV 2 (first run on national television) |
|
| Egypt | | MBC 4 |
|
| Estonia | | TV 3 | September 6, 2003
|
| Finland | Monk | YLE TV1 | September 11, 2004
|
| France | Monk | TF1, TV Breizh | March 22, 2003
|
| Germany | Monk | RTL | June 29, 2004
|
| Greece | Ντετέκτιβ Μονκ
("Detective Monk") | Star Channel |
|
Jamaica | Monk | Television Jamaica | May 2005-
| Holland | | SBS6 | | quited broadcasting mr.monk -->
|
| Hong Kong | 神探阿蒙
("Detective Monk") | TVB (Season 5) | September 18, 2003
|
| Hungary | Monk - Flúgos nyomozó
("Monk - Nutty detective") | TV2
and Viasat3 |
|
| Iceland | | Stöð 2 |
|
| India | | STAR World |
|
| Ireland | | RTÉ |
|
| Israel | מונק | Israel 10
and Hallmark
and Star World |
|
| Italy | Monk | Rete 4
Joi | June 9, 2005
May 1, 2008
|
| Japan | 名探偵モンク Monk
("Great detective Monk") | NHK BS-2 | March 30, 2004
|
| Country |
Series Title in Country |
TV Network(s) |
Series Premiere |
| Kenya | | Kenya Television Network |
|
| Lithuania | Detektyvas Monkas ("Detective Monk") | TV6 | September 6, 2003
|
| South Korea | 탐정 몽크 Jeong Monk
("Detective Monk") | KBS 2TV & Fox | KBS : Only Broadcast Season 3
|
| Mexico | | 4tv, The Hallmark Channel, Universal Channel |
|
| Nepal | Monk | Star World |
|
| Netherlands | | SBS6 | December 6, 2007
|
| New Zealand | | Television 3 and SKY 1 (Now Called "THE BOX") |
|
| Norway | | TV2 Zebra & Hallmark Channel | February 19, 2008
|
| Philippines | | Star World |
|
| Poland | Detektyw Monk
("Detective Monk") | TVN (free-tv-premiere), TVN Siedem (free-tv-re-runs)
Canal+ (first run), Canal+ Film (re-runs)
Universal Channel (re-runs) | April 11, 2003
|
| Portugal | | TVI and FX |
|
| Romania | | Pro Cinema |
|
| Republic of Macedonia | | Kanal 5 |
|
| Russia | Дефективный детектив
("Defective Detective") | Channel One | 2006, 1-3 seasons
|
Детектив Монк
("Detective Monk") | Telekanal Zvezda |
|
| Serbia | Детектив Монк
("Detective Monk") | RTS |
|
| Slovakia | Monk | Markíza |
|
| Slovenia | | POP TV | September 8, 2004
|
| South Africa | | SABC 2 |
|
| Spain | Monk | Calle 13 cable/satellite
Canal 9 (Valencian Community)
ETB2 (Basque Country)
8tv (Catalonia)
TVG (Galicia)
TV Canaria (Canary Islands)
Telemadrid (Community of Madrid) |
|
| Sweden | | Canal+ Film 1 (first run)
and Kanal 9 (re-runs)
and Comedy Central Sweden (re-runs) | April 8, 2003
|
| Switzerland | Monk | SF zwei, 3+, RSI La 1 (form. TSI 1), TSR 1 |
|
| Taiwan | Monk 神經妙探 | Videoland — W Movie Channel | July 14, 2004
|
| Thailand | | Star World |
|
| Turkey | | Dizimax, TNT Turkey |
|
| United Kingdom | | BBC, Hallmark Channel |
|
| | USA Network (original airing)
and Universal HD (syndication)
and NBC (syndication)
| July 12, 2002
|
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