Monk - General Discussion

[chessiegal]

Monk came around to dogs in "Mr. Monk and the Dog".

[andromeda331]

3 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Monk came around to dogs in "Mr. Monk and the Dog".

I always wished Monk got a dog after that episode. 

[chessiegal]

Hallmark Movies and Mysteries is doing a Monk marathon Saturday starting at 11 am ET.

[fishcakes]

Fun fact about Mr. Monk and the Dog: In that episode, Natalie gives him a pooper scooper called the Shapoopie, which is a real device invented by Tony's brother Dan. It's no longer on the market, which ... well, you can kind of see why:

 

[chessiegal]

@fishcakes Thanks for sharing. That was hilarious. And indeed, a fun fact.

[Bastet]

I ... I don't even know what to type.  I'll just stick with Tony is a very kind brother.

[rejnel]

I’d put off watching the movie because I’d heard it was very dark. Having just finished a series rewatch, I didn’t want to be jolted out of my Monk happy place. But watched Mr. Monk’s last case yesterday and enjoyed it. 

Question: several of you have mentioned Adrian moving on with the dog Watson as his companion as if it’s canon, but the movie I watched never made that explicit. Did I miss or inadvertently skip something?

[fishcakes]

22 hours ago, rejnel said:

Question: several of you have mentioned Adrian moving on with the dog Watson as his companion as if it’s canon, but the movie I watched never made that explicit. Did I miss or inadvertently skip something?

I think it's just that when Monk saw Natalie had left Watson in his apartment he smiled a little, so the assumption is that he's going to keep him. And maybe we just want him to have a dog since everyone else is leaving again.

[rejnel]

Quote

 . . . when Monk saw Natalie had left Watson in his apartment . . . 

Thanks! I actually did miss this. Must have been folding laundry and just listening to audio at that point. Glad  he's got that sweet dog. 

ETA oh good lord--I see what I did, missed the very final 20 seconds of the movie. That'll teach me! Glad I got to see that little dog again. He and Adrian look like a perfect match.

Edited January 17 by rejnel
adding new information

[Bastet]

I settled in to finally watch the reunion movie last night, but wound up falling asleep pretty quickly, so I'll have to give it another go tonight.  Unfortunately, I didn't like much of anything about the little bit I saw. 

First, Monk was upset about having to return his advance because Molly had asked him to pay for the wedding.  What?!  You don't as an employed adult ask someone to pay for your wedding, and certainly not the guy who used to be married to the biological mother you never knew.  It would have made so much more sense for Monk to have offered, she declined, he made a big deal about insisting so she agreed, and now he can't bear the thought of having to back out. 

Then Molly showed up, and I found the actor distractingly bad -- clunky delivery and no presence.

Natalie arrived, and it made all the sense in the world to me that Molly had become close with her while Natalie worked for Monk and stayed in touch with her after Natalie moved.  Then Randy showed up.  Huh?  He moved across the country at the same time Molly came into Monk's life.  To whatever extent Monk kept in touch with Randy in the first place, which I don't think would have been extensive, I have a hard time imagining Randy having any relationship with Molly beyond her joining the two of them occasionally if Randy had lunch with Monk when he came back to San Francisco from time to time -- certainly not "fly out for my wedding" close.  It would have made more sense - because of course they have to come up with a reason to have Randy there, as this is a reunion movie - if Monk had invited his few friends to show off (in a sweet, proud way, not an obnoxious way) his stepdaughter rather than playing Molly's own reaction to him the same as hers to Natalie.

That's as far as I got; Stottlemeyer hadn't even arrived yet (they'd mentioned him).  So I have almost the whole thing left to go, and I hope it improves (I also thought the pacing of the opening scene was off, even though it's always fun when they put Brooke Adams in there somewhere).

Edited February 8 by Bastet

[Bastet]

I finally watched the movie last night - meh.  Something that amateur hour would have been bad enough in the middle of a season, cranking out episodes week after week, but with all the time they had to write this one?  There were two funny moments, but I can only remember one of them -- Randy's bridge-lowering theory.  That was classic.  (Although, keeping with one of the movie's recurring flaws, they stepped on it with another pacing error, where his up and down demonstration went on too long.)

Pretty much everything about the crime was poorly written, to the point of ridiculous several times, but I liked Monk's personal storyline.  I love him telling the dog not to listen to Natalie, go ahead and give up all the hope he wants.  I shudder to think how much plastic Monk is going to use to dispose of Watson's poop, or what shenanigans he's going to go through to pick it up, but it's good for him to have a pet.  He'd do better with a cat, since they clean themselves and bury their waste (well, some of them, but at least they do it in a box and it's easy to scoop out; he could even get one of those automatic boxes -- although since he'd probably buy a new litter box routinely rather than scrubbing one out, so that would add up), but at least this dog opposes clutter.

I'm glad Molly is going to have a fresh start in NY; it seems clear she and Monk need some physical space so he can't rely on her so much and she doesn't feel so obligated.  He has Watson and the renewed interest in the consulting gig, so it's a fresh start for him, too.

I definitely could have done without this, like 99% of reunion specials, but it was nice to see everyone together again, even though Stottlemeyer was mostly on his own.  I liked when they were at the new police station, and someone calling for the captain caused Stottlemeyer to look up.  I'm not sure I buy him in that particular private security job, but it makes perfect sense he'd have immediately struggled with retirement.  I also liked him messing with Randy by having the gate guards pretend they were fans. 

[chessiegal]

I got a surprise this morning. I was expecting Hallmark Movies and Mysteries to bring Monk back after their October to January 24/7 airing of sappy Christmas movies, but didn't see it. I checked their web site and saw they were airing 2 episodes at 6 and 7 am ET. This morning, I was scrolling through channels and saw they are now airing 3 hours weekdays starting 9 am ET. I wonder what prompted that change?

[shapeshifter]

My oldest daughter is visiting, who hadn’t watched Mr. Monk’s Last Case.
She LOL’d at all the jokes.

At about 1:14, Monk is running off with the Villian-aire’s laptop, and has managed to get out of the mansion, when he is distracted by a set of switches because one is down while the others are up:

 

Of course, when Monk obsessively moves the down switch into the up position, floodlights illuminate the dark tennis courts, revealing Monk’s position.

Monk lowers the switch again, giving him a chance to escape into the night with the evidence-filled laptop, but, of course, he can’t resist pushing it up again, at which point the villain-aire spots Monk.

My daughter and I wondered why Monk didn’t just move all the switches to the down position.

[HyeChaps]

Did you LOL out loud?

[Bastet]

On 2/26/2024 at 6:52 AM, shapeshifter said:

My daughter and I wondered why Monk didn’t just move all the switches to the down position.

Because everyone involved in that undercover op had their brain removed prior to planning it.  It was doomed from jump, when Stottlemeyer had him actually work as a bartender, and put that stupid "disguise" on him.

Stuff like the light switch is why it drove me nuts when there were episodes during the series where people advocated for Monk's reinstatement.  No.  He cannot control his 873 compulsions, even with a life on the line.  He never actually got anyone killed, but he came within seconds a couple of times, and he let suspects get away.  Here he gave himself away, and would have got himself killed if not for this being TV, where you can fall off a cliff into the ocean and survive thanks to an inflatable doll.

But, yeah, since symmetry is his requirement, not that switches must be up, he should have been smart enough to turn all the others off (not that I noticed any lights actually on despite all those switches in the on position, but whatever) once he realized that by turning that one switch on he was giving his location away.  (I don't remember if the killer had already seen it from the first time, though.)

Edited February 28 by Bastet

[fishcakes]

Someone posted all ten episodes of the Little Monk web series on YouTube. These are also on the Best of Monk DVD.

 

[HyeChaps]

Just like Encyclopedia Brown

[BetterButter]

‘Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie’ Might Not Be His Last Case After All, Tony Shalhoub Says

[andromeda331]

1 hour ago, BetterButter said:

‘Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie’ Might Not Be His Last Case After All, Tony Shalhoub Says

That's good.

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, BetterButter said:

‘Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie’ Might Not Be His Last Case After All, Tony Shalhoub Says

Tony looks great in that picture.
He must still run or at least jog.

Quote

And good news, Monk fans: Breckman is totally game to “explore another chapter.” “This is my retirement plan,” he cracked.

🙌❤️😃👏

It could be fun for Monk to be a mentor to a younger sleuth if they cast it right.

[DoctorAtomic]

Being a mentor would be a good take for another movie. I don't think there needs to be another reunion, and a new story would be a good direction to go. 

I thought the new chief was good. I'd like to see her back. 

[MisterGlass]

I've been rewatching the show from the beginning now that it is on Netflix.  It's been a nice bit of nostalgia as I haven't watched it all the way through since the original run.  I've just made it to the departure of Sharona/arrival of Natalie.

Two things have struck me.  First, some of my favorite episodes of the series are in the first three seasons.  It always surprises me when I remember that Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale was only the third episode of the series.  It is so sharp, with all the characters dialed in.  Another favorite of mine, Mr. Monk Takes a Vacation, is only the ninth episode.

Second, it is fun to look back at all the guest stars, especially those who became better known to me afterward.  Seeing Michael Hogan in the pilot before he became Saul Tigh on Battlestar Galactica.  Or Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jane Lynch, Ken Marino, and Todd Stashwick.  It's a game of spot the character actor.

[chessiegal]

Hallmark Mystery Channel airs Monk weekdays from 9 -12 am ET. Unlike Cozi, they air them in the order they were originally aired. Hallmark is starting the series over again, tomorrow April 22.

So many favorites! I appreciated when the writers poked fun at themselves. I enjoyed the episodes with Tony's wife Brooke Adams. She was in 5 episodes.