Monk - General Discussion

[VCRTracking]

On 4/14/2020 at 3:45 PM, icemiser69 said:

Monk has a mental illness, I don't think any of that is funny.   Randy Disher acting goofy is what I consider comedy.

The OCD though is played for laughs a lot. The only thing that is always serious is his relationship with Trudy and her death.

Edited April 30, 2020 by VCRTracking

[shapeshifter]

On 4/14/2020 at 6:06 PM, Bastet said:

There's a thread for letting the forum organizers know you think a show is placed in the wrong genre.

@icemiser69, the weekly H&I network Monk Marathon (7 episodes) is on today. Monk is really a dramedy, in that it has more comic relief than, for example, Lennie Briscoe's snide asides on L&O, but, since PreviouslyTV doesn't have a dramedy category, I think you're right, that there is usually at least a tiny bit more drama than comedy, and often the comedy is pretty dark. However, many episodes have comedian guest stars (Sarah Sliverman is on right now), so maybe that's why it landed in the Comedy category.

[LexieLily]

For whatever it's worth, Jason Gray-Stanford (Randy) has been getting a few questions on Twitter lately about a Monk reunion and he doesn't seem opposed to the idea.

[LexieLily]

Jason Gray-Stanford posted some screenshots on Instagram. I don't have Instagram so I can't post them here, but one of them is of a new script with the title Mr. Monk Shelters In Place and the other is what looks like a Zoom meeting with Natalie, Randy, Stottlemeyer, Monk, and two other guys who are apparently the producers of the show.

So we are getting some form of a reunion 🙂

[Door County Cherry]

43 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Jason Gray-Stanford posted some screenshots on Instagram. I don't have Instagram so I can't post them here, but one of them is of a new script with the title Mr. Monk Shelters In Place and the other is what looks like a Zoom meeting with Natalie, Randy, Stottlemeyer, Monk, and two other guys who are apparently the producers of the show.

I don't see them on Instagram.  I wonder if they were taken down.

[LexieLily]

3 hours ago, Door County Cherry said:

I don't see them on Instagram.  I wonder if they were taken down.

There were screengrabs on the Monk reddit. 

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, LexieLily said:

There were screengrabs on the Monk reddit. 

links? TIA

[LexieLily]

59 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

links? TIA

 

 

My main takeaway from this? For the most part, the Core Four (Monk, Natalie, Stottlemeyer, Disher) look the same as they did in 2009. 

Edited May 11, 2020 by LexieLily

[LexieLily]

Mr. Monk Shelters In Place (Quarantine Special)

 

[shapeshifter]

43 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Mr. Monk Shelters In Place (Quarantine Special)

 

Thank you, @LexieLily, for posting that link!!! 
I was a little concerned at the end when Tony S said he and his wife had been sick because he looked so much thinner than in Maisel. 😞

[LexieLily]

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Thank you, @LexieLily, for posting that link!!! 
I was a little concerned at the end when Tony S said he and his wife had been sick because he looked so much thinner than in Maisel. 😞

You're welcome!! I haven't watched it yet, but I am hoping it gets good traction/reactions/attentions so we might get more of these or an actual reunion in the future.

[Door County Cherry]

At first I thought it was going to be awkward but then I found myself laughing quite a bit.  And it even had the pathos of a Monk episode.

We do need a movie.  

And that poor dog looked so annoyed when Tony got up at the end. 

[LexieLily]

I think my favorite part was a tie between Monk running away and poking the computer with a stick because Randy sneezed, and Monk putting his mail in the microwave for, of course, ten seconds.

Edited May 12, 2020 by LexieLily

[christie]

On 5/12/2020 at 4:20 AM, LexieLily said:

Mr. Monk Shelters In Place (Quarantine Special)

 

Thank you for posting the link.

That was really cute; "We're all Monk now," "I'm living the dream except it's not mine." 

[catlover79]

On 5/11/2020 at 1:35 AM, LexieLily said:

For the most part, the Core Four (Monk, Natalie, Stottlemeyer, Disher) look the same as they did in 2009. 

Definitely!! Everyone looks and sounds great.

[catlover79]

More screen caps of our Fab Four:

[LexieLily]

Thanks, @catlover79!

Of course Randy would have misread the email and donated sperm. Lol. 

[catlover79]

I love how a guitar is in Randy's (rather, Jason Gray-Stanford's) background. Remember The Randy Disher Project? 😂

[LexieLily]

Part of me wanted to know if Randy and Sharona were still together...

Edited May 15, 2020 by LexieLily

[catlover79]

Good for Monk that he learned how to use Zoom. Remember this? 😉😂

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Part of me wanted to know if Randy and Sharona were still together...

I choose to take the lack of anyone asking Randy about her to mean she quickly snapped out of the temporary insanity the writers inexplicably put her in as the series came to a close, and they haven't been together since about five minutes after that.

I thought it was just okay, but Monk microwaving his mail for ten seconds was made of win.

My favorite part was at the end, the dog's look when Tony Shalhoub disturbed him by removing his lap to go clap for healthcare workers.

Was this special the first time it was publicly reported that Shalhoub and Adams had the virus?  I don't remember reading it anywhere.

[LexieLily]

18 hours ago, Bastet said:

Was this special the first time it was publicly reported that Shalhoub and Adams had the virus?  I don't remember reading it anywhere.

It must have been the first time because I, too, didn't remember reading it anywhere, and once Tom Hanks/Rita Wilson were the first big-name celebrities to confirm that they had it, it seems like we heard about every celebrity. Not that we are entitled to know anything about them, of course.

I always assumed that Randy and Sharona fizzled out a couple of months after the finale, once he moved to Summit.

Edited May 15, 2020 by LexieLily

[VCRTracking]

Or Sharona's helping out at hospitals.

ETA: I think the producers always intended for Randy and Sharona to become a thing but those plans were scrapped when Bitty left.

I wish the actor playing Dr. Kroger was alive because you know Monk would constantly calling him during this!

Edited May 17, 2020 by VCRTracking

[LexieLily]

3 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Or Sharona's helping out at hospitals.

ETA: I think the producers always intended for Randy and Sharona to become a thing but those plans were scrapped when Bitty left.

Looking back at the Sharona years there were moments between them that could have been foreshadowing (they did have some nice scenes together when she wasn't snarking on him), but it wasn't anything entirely obvious. Could you imagine how Monk would have reacted if Sharona started dating Randy when she was still working for him? 😂

[andromeda331]

Mr. Monk and Little Monk was on earlier today I do like that not everyone was a jerk to Monk in school. Sherry and Jimmy were both nice to him and so the cafeteria lady who even was nice enough to send some cookies home for him and his brother. The Principal listened to and believed Monk and even the janitor that helped him out of his locker. 

[shapeshifter]

Because I am even more Monk-like than usual these days, I just want to point out that in "Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees," when Disher writes on the old-style, CRT (glass) TV screen with the permanent marker, it is not ruined. Permanent marker can be removed with rubbing alcohol. 

[LexieLily]

51 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Because I am even more Monk-like than usual these days, I just want to point out that in "Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees," when Disher writes on the old-style, CRT (glass) TV screen with the permanent marker, it is not ruined. Permanent marker can be removed with rubbing alcohol. 

In Stottlemeyer's defense I am sure his natural reaction (and probably the best one) is to always yell at Randy for being dumb. 

[shapeshifter]

Monk marathon day on H&I.

In 6.13 "Mr. Monk and the Three Julies" (in which 2 of 3 other Julie Teegers are murdered to cover up 1 murder)  —
 

When Julie (daughter of Monk's assistant, Natalie) is at her driving lesson and the instructor reminds her that she forgot to signal for her turn, she does a classic teenage sass ("don't really need to"), but then immediately a bunch of cop cars with sirens blaring surround the drivers training car, Natalie frantically tells Julie to get out of the car, and, as Natalie pulls Julie into the back of a cop car, we hear Julie whining, "It was just a blinker! It was just a blinker! It was just a blinker!"
LOL 😄

Edited June 18, 2020 by shapeshifter

[LexieLily]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Monk marathon day on H&I.

In 6.13 "Mr. Monk and the Three Julies" (in which 2 of 3 other Julie Teegers are murdered to cover up 1 murder)  —

I loved the episode for how much the men were shown to care about Natalie and by extension Julie, but I also loved the running gag of Natalie constantly running off with Leland's new car and bringing it back in increasingly-worse condition (and how increasingly annoyed Leland got!)

Edited June 19, 2020 by LexieLily

[andromeda331]

21 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Monk marathon day on H&I.

In 6.13 "Mr. Monk and the Three Julies" (in which 2 of 3 other Julie Teegers are murdered to cover up 1 murder)  —
 

When Julie (daughter of Monk's assistant, Natalie) is at her driving lesson and the instructor reminds her that she forgot to signal for her turn, she does a classic teenage sass ("don't really need to"), but then immediately a bunch of cop cars with sirens blaring surround the drivers training car, Natalie frantically tells Julie to get out of the car, and, as Natalie pulls Julie into the back of a cop car, we hear Julie whining, "It was just a blinker! It was just a blinker! It was just a blinker!"
LOL 😄

 

13 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I loved the episode for how much the men were shown to care about Natalie and by extension Julie, but I also loved the running gag of Natalie constantly running off with Leland's new car and bringing it back in increasingly-worse condition (and how increasingly annoyed Leland got!)

I love that episode. Julie and the blinker was hilarious. Natalie running off with Leland's car, his poor car, Randy dressed up as the elderly woman and her son crawling into his lap. Then when he escapes and goes running towards Julie trying to protect her, Monk's emergency appointment with Kroger who's wearing his pjs and asking him if his wife has Tourette's.

[shapeshifter]

25 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

 Julie and the blinker was hilarious. Natalie running off with Leland's car, his poor car,

Not quite as hilarious but worth mentioning:

At the end of the episode when the Captain’s new car is in the shop (because of Natalie wrecking it 3 times), the Captain is waiting at a bus stop, Julie pulls up with a girlfriend and offers him a ride. The Captain accepts a ride, and, as Julie pulls away from the curb, we hear the Captain admonishing her to use her blinker. I can’t make out what she says, but it’s something about using the blinker not really being necessary because of no traffic, heh. 

[LexieLily]

21 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Not quite as hilarious but worth mentioning:

At the end of the episode when the Captain’s new car is in the shop (because of Natalie wrecking it 3 times), the Captain is waiting at a bus stop, Julie pulls up with a girlfriend and offers him a ride. The Captain accepts a ride, and, as Julie pulls away from the curb, we hear the Captain admonishing her to use her blinker. I can’t make out what she says, but it’s something about using the blinker not really being necessary because of no traffic, heh. 

I think Stottlemeyer also said something to Julie about how she's a much better driver than her mother, and then we hear him saying to Julie "Don't tell her I said that." 

Hee. 

 

[Salzmank]

I’ve been rewatching whatever episodes have popped up on TV recently; one channel has been doing a Monk marathon one day a week (Tuesday, I think?—so that’s tonight).

My list of favorites, posted here a while ago, hasn’t changed, though I got to rewatch “…and the Sleeping Suspect” and think it’s my #1 episode now. At least plot-wise: the stuff with the ketchup bottles makes up for the weak acting and clichéd scriptwriting with Sharona’s ex.

Also, have to say again: Natalie > Sharona. A million times over. Am I the only Monk fan to think that?—though I often have weird opinions on characters in mystery shows (I prefer Richard Poole to Humphrey Goodman in Death in Paradise and can’t stand Caroline Quentin’s much-loved character in Jonathan Creek).

Anyone seen the recent coronavirus “special”? It was neat to see the gang again—they slipped back into their roles like a glove!—but it wasn’t funny. At all. I know it was supposed to raise awareness for the virus when Tony Shalhoub and his wife had it, but—c’mon. Monk’s a comedy, and the clip tried for comedy; there just wasn’t a single good joke in the thing.

EDIT: Oops, I missed the discussion on the “special” above. Agreed with @LexieLily: all four of the main cast look pretty much the same as they did in 2009. If they do a revival (more likely after this?), though, God knows they have to figure out a way to make the Disher character less stupid. It grates! 😉

Edited June 23, 2020 by Salzmank

[LexieLily]

6 hours ago, Salzmank said:

If they do a revival (more likely after this?), though, God knows they have to figure out a way to make the Disher character less stupid. It grates! 😉

There is a compilation video on YouTube of scenes from the show on Randy's best theories and I don't quite think anything can beat the one from the astronaut episode where the murderer could have created an escape pod from space to come back down to earth, do the murder, and then go back up into space, hence maintaining his alibi. 

Randy, coming into Stottlemeyer's office with a cup helpfully labeled as SHIP and taking the globe from the Captain's desk: Let's use this globe and pretend it represents the earth.

Stottlemeyer: Randy...it's a globe, it does represent the earth.

[Salzmank]

5 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

There is a compilation video on YouTube of scenes from the show on Randy's best theories and I don't quite think anything can beat the one from the astronaut episode where the murderer could have created an escape pod from space to come back down to earth, do the murder, and then go back up into space, hence maintaining his alibi. 

Randy, coming into Stottlemeyer's office with a cup helpfully labeled as SHIP and taking the globe from the Captain's desk: Let's use this globe and pretend it represents the earth.

Stottlemeyer: Randy...it's a globe, it does represent the earth.

BRILLIANT! 😄

What’s weird is I have a cousin who looks exactly like Jason Gray-Stanford. Every time I see my cousin, I want to tell him (though I don’t know if he ever watched Monk…)—but I don’t want to insult him with the comparison!

[LexieLily]

19 minutes ago, Salzmank said:

BRILLIANT! 😄

What’s weird is I have a cousin who looks exactly like Jason Gray-Stanford. Every time I see my cousin, I want to tell him (though I don’t know if he ever watched Monk…)—but I don’t want to insult him with the comparison!

I taped a Lifetime movie a few weeks ago because Jason Gray-Stanford was in it and it was quite the mind-trip to watch dumb but harmless Randy Disher being an abusive husband.

And that's not even getting into the mind-trip once I realized that Ted Levine (Stottlemeyer) was the psychopathic serial killer that kidnapped women and skinned them in Silence of the Lambs.

[Bastet]

15 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

And that's not even getting into the mind-trip once I realized that Ted Levine (Stottlemeyer) was the psychopathic serial killer that kidnapped women and skinned them in Silence of the Lambs.

Ha!  That was me when I saw Levine - who does a wonderful, nuanced job - in the indie comedy/dramedy (several years before Monk premiered) You Can Thank Me Later and about halfway through the film realized, "Ack!  It's Buffalo Bill!" 

[LexieLily]

20 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Ha!  That was me when I saw Levine - who does a wonderful, nuanced job - in the indie comedy/dramedy (several years before Monk premiered) You Can Thank Me Later and about halfway through the film realized, "Ack!  It's Buffalo Bill!" 

Monk: You'll thank me later.

Sharona: You've been saying that for years, Adrian, and not once have I thanked you later.

[Salzmank]

10 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I taped a Lifetime movie a few weeks ago because Jason Gray-Stanford was in it and it was quite the mind-trip to watch dumb but harmless Randy Disher being an abusive husband.

And that's not even getting into the mind-trip once I realized that Ted Levine (Stottlemeyer) was the psychopathic serial killer that kidnapped women and skinned them in Silence of the Lambs.

😄

Never seen the Lifetime, but when my mother found out Capt. Stottlemeyer was Buffalo Bill, her reaction was “What? What? WHAT!”

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

I noticed that Monk is no longer on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel starting next week.

Is it really necessary for that channel to air so many hours of Diagnosis Murder?

Monk is still on the Sundance schedule, airing on Tuesdays.

Especially as, despite Dick van Dyke’s perpetual charm, Diagnosis Murder is a much weaker show than Monk—especially script-wise.

[Salzmank]

Oh, and as much as the writers’ decision to make Disher an imbecile irritates me, I just have to paste that video @LexieLily mentions above. It’s a hoot:

 

[LexieLily]

Thanks for posting, @Salzmank!

I love how Stottlemeyer reacts to Randy with perpetual irritation, but they left out quite possibly the greatest line in the Opposite Killer theory.

Stottlemeyer: Randy, there is no such thing as the Opposite Killer! If there was you would have been killed by a falling rocket scientist years ago!

Edited June 24, 2020 by LexieLily

[Salzmank]

Just now, LexieLily said:

Thanks for posting, @Salzmank!

I love how Stottlemeyer reacts to Randy, but they left out quite possibly the greatest line in the Opposite Killer theory.

Stottlemeyer: Randy, there is no such thing as the Opposite Killer! If there was you would have been killed by a falling rocket scientist years ago!

EVEN MORE BRILLIANT! 😄

[Salzmank]

On 6/19/2019 at 5:14 PM, Salzmank said:

So, this is the only Monk thread now, right? Anyone interested in writing a favorite episode list, as clichéd as that is?

Here’s mine:

OK, reducing this long list from a year ago to a Top 5, as I’ve done with Columbo in its thread. I tend to prefer the mystery stuff over the soap-opera stuff—though Monk usually did the soap operatics well, largely because Shalhoub is such a good actor.

“Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger” (S1:E7)—the kneepads are one of the best clues in any mystery TV show. One of the handful of Monks that demonstrate that, at the show’s best, its plots could be just as clever as anything from Death in Paradise or Jonathan Creek.

“…Goes to the Ballgame” (S2:E3)—another ingenious cryptic clue: “Girls Can’t Eat 15 Pizzas”! Perhaps the best usage of the much-used-in-Monk Six Napoleons trick.

“…and the Sleeping Suspect” (S2:E7)—some of the show’s best plotting, and its trickiest alibi. The trick is a bit unbelievable, but the sheer audacity of it is a delight, and it is fair-play.

“…and the Garbage Strike” (S5:E2)—hilarious! One of the show’s funniest episodes, and the Alice Cooper cameo comes out of nowhere in the best possible way. Plot’s not half bad either. Just great.

“…Is Up All Night” (S6:E9)—brilliant. The identity of the killer is not the shocker, but every element on which we thought the plot turned is wrong, with a hidden narrative underlying the narrative we saw.  The last twist, about the woman with whom Monk is obsessed, is a bit unbelievable but emotionally and dramatically satisfying. Also: again, hilarious.

Gah, but what about such gems as “…Takes a Vacation,” “…and the Airplane” (the Wings stuff is a hoot), “…and the Three Pies,” “…and the Secret Santa,” “…Goes to the Dentist,” and “…and the Genius”? This is hard.

Edited July 1, 2020 by Salzmank

[andromeda331]

48 minutes ago, Salzmank said:

OK, reducing this long list from a year ago to a Top 5, as I’ve done with Columbo in its thread. I tend to prefer the mystery stuff over the soap-opera stuff—though Monk usually did the soap operatics well, largely because Shalhoub is such a good actor.

“Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger” (S1:E7)—this one’s ingenious, and the kneepads are one of the best clues in any mystery TV show. One of the handful of Monks that demonstrate that, at the show’s best, its plots could be just as clever as anything from Death in Paradise or Jonathan Creek.

“…Goes to the Ballgame” (S2:E16)—another ingenious cryptic clue: “Girls Can’t Eat 15 Pizzas”! Perhaps the best usage of the much-used-in-Monk six Napoleons trick.

“…and the Sleeping Suspect” (S2:E20)—some of the show’s best plotting, and its trickiest alibi. The trick is a bit unbelievable, but the sheer audacity of it is a delight, and it’s fair-play.

“…and the Garbage Strike” (S5:E63)—hilarious! One of the show’s funniest episodes, and the Alice Cooper cameo comes out of nowhere in the best possible way and is brilliant. Plot’s not half bad either. Just great.

“…Is Up All Night” (S6:E86)—brilliant. The identity of the killer is not the shocker, but every element on which we thought the plot turned is wrong, with a hidden narrative underlying the narrative we saw.  The last twist, about the woman with whom Monk is obsessed, is a bit unbelievable but emotionally and dramatically satisfying. Also: again, hilarious.

Gah, but what about such gems as “…Takes a Vacation,” “…and the Airplane” (the Wings stuff is a hoot), “…and the Three Pies,” “…and the Secret Santa,” “…Goes to the Dentist,” and “…and the Genius”? This is hard.

I could never narrow it down to just 5 favorites. There's just too many great and funny episodes. But the Garbage Strike is my favorite after that its about a twenty or thirty in second place. I love the Alice Cooper here's how it happen from beginning to end, his Mayor how it happened, Monk mailing his trash to Kroger, commandeering a trash truck, one bag at a time, Randy seeming to follow along with Monk's Alice Cooper story, Monk suggesting to the Mayor they burn the city down, and the Mayor's reaction to it.

The other four are great episodes as are the ones at the bottom you mentioned. I loved Bronwyn and all her references like they really happened, I love the murder scene in the Dentist seeing that big tooth picked up and carried over through Randy's groggy eyes cracks me up every time. I love the Secret Santa the fun of the Christmas party but also like murder wasn't what you thought it was similar to Up All Night. I like when that happens.  

[LexieLily]

10 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

I could never narrow it down to just 5 favorites. There's just too many great and funny episodes. But the Garbage Strike is my favorite after that its about a twenty or thirty in second place.

I have a hard enough time narrowing it down to a Monk-approved list of ten, and I'm sure my list has changed from last year. But I'm with you in that Garbage Strike will always be on the list and will always be hilarious. 

Also, @Salzmank, there is a Columbo thread?!

[Salzmank]

18 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Also, @Salzmank, there is a Columbo thread?!

Yup! 

 

Edited June 25, 2020 by Salzmank

[shapeshifter]

19 hours ago, Salzmank said:

OK, reducing this long list from a year ago to a Top 5...

Gah, but what about such gems as...? This is hard.

LOL, I'm pretty sure that all of us Monk fans are at least a little OCD. 
"Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever" is on right now. I love all the plays on number words. 
"Mr. Monk and the Game Show" is similarly enjoyable. 

We should feel free to change our minds about our favorites. Drs. Kroger and Bell would agree.

[Salzmank]

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

LOL, I'm pretty sure that all of us Monk fans are at least a little OCD. 
"Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever" is on right now. I love all the plays on number words. 
"Mr. Monk and the Game Show" is similarly enjoyable. 

We should feel free to change our minds about our favorites. Drs. Kroger and Bell would agree.

🤣

Touché, touché!

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Salzmank said:

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

LOL, I'm pretty sure that all of us Monk fans are at least a little OCD. 
"Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever" is on right now. I love all the plays on number words. 
"Mr. Monk and the Game Show" is similarly enjoyable. 

We should feel free to change our minds about our favorites. Drs. Kroger and Bell would agree.

🤣

Touché, touché!

And, posting as someone who once got out of jury duty because of writing a letter that included a caution that if I was on a jury that it would likely be a hung jury because I would keep changing my mind (not sure if I had already seen "Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty"),  I now might have to add "Mr. Monk Takes a Punch" to my favorites, even though I always tune out episodes of any show that are boxing-themed. During today's H&I marathon, I was won over by the scenes between the endearingly portrayed (by James Lesure) boxer and Tony Shaloub's Monk, especially his "beast" mode, LOL.

[LexieLily]

I've always had a soft spot for Ambrose and one of my favorite scenes was Ambrose's confession of why he'd stayed away from Monk all these years (because he felt guilty about Trudy being out getting him cough medicine when she was murdered), but what did you guys think of Jack Jr? Personally I always thought Jack Jr. was just like his father and not in a good way - both of them only sought out relationships with Monk when they wanted something from him. I was surprised that in, Mr. Monk Meets His Dad, that it was Stottlemeyer that was the main one pushing Monk to go on the trip and reconnect with Jack Sr.