"Monk" TV Series 2002-09

[Goodfella86]

Did anybody watch Monk, the TV series?

I'm bit snobby when it comes to TV. My favorite shows are almost all HBO shows. But I loved Monk. It's pretty tame when you've seen the Mountain crush Oberyn's head like a grape or Tony Soprano murder his cousin. But for a PG show, it's very funny and always fun.

The episodes are formulaic snd stand alone without really pushing the story forward. But it's a great formula. Who doesn't love a murder mystery?


Tony Shalhoub KILLED it as Adrian Monk. It's worth watching just for his performance. It's gotta be one of the best TV acting jobs that I've ever seen.

A few of my favorite episodes:

"Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike" 502

"Mr. Monk and The Astronaut" 414

"Mr. Monk and the Genius" 702

Any "Monk" fans? Favorite episodes?

 

[Te Huna Matata]

I watched it whenever it was on. I loved it when it first came out but I think as I got older, the time slot didn't jive with my schedule so I stopped watching. I think I would like to watch the whole series some day to see who actually killed Trudy.

 

[Horse Style]

I liked it a lot at first but after a while, I got tired of the characters. The episodes started to get too formulaic and they moved far away from the mystery behind his wife's murder which I was genuinely interested in.

Plus, his gimmick of a super OCD clean freak who spots clues because it of got old after a few seasons.

I stopped watching for a few years, then I heard the show ended and looked up what happened to his wife. The way they concluded that mystery didn't seem that interesting.

 

[Goodfella86]

I liked it a lot at first but after a while, I got tired of the characters. The episodes started to get too formulaic and they moved far away from the mystery behind his wife's murder which I was genuinely interested in.

Plus, his gimmick of a super OCD clean freak who spots clues because it of got old after a few seasons.

I stopped watching for a few years, then I heard the show ended and looked up what happened to his wife. The way they concluded that mystery didn't seem that interesting.

I agree. I wish the show concluded a little more dramatically. There were "clues" to Trudy's killer, but it should've beendone more carefully instead of just wrapping it up in the finale.

The show has many flaws, and it can't be compared to great TV dramas, but I've rewatched it recently and it always brings the laughs and has some really great moments.

 

[syct23]

No pics of his partner yet...

 

[Son of Jamin]

I loved Monk and actually felt sad when it ended!

My main criticism was that the main arch could have been more thoroughly incorporated in the episodes and how they wrapped it up in the end felt hurried.

The main character was brilliantly played by Shalhoub and Captain Stottlemeyer had his great share of moments.

 

[JosephDredd]

My fave episode... one of the best episodes of any mystery show... is when Stottlemeyer is in Vegas, drunk out of his mind, and solves a murder... then calls Monk the next day because he doesn't know what mystery he solved.

Apparently Michael Richards was supposed to play Monk.

 

[Goodfella86]

My fave episode... one of the best episodes of any mystery show... is when Stottlemeyer is in Vegas, drunk out of his mind, and solves a murder... then calls Monk the next day because he doesn't know what mystery he solved.

Apparently Michael Richards was supposed to play Monk.

That's another one of my favorites. That was a great Ted Levine episode, and because it was in Vegas, it had a different feel to it.


Interesting. Michael Richards was amazing as Kramer (still the least funny of the 4 characters, imo), but I truly doubt his Monk would've been better than Tony Shalhoub's. Like I said, I rewatched Monk recently and was/am in awe of his performance.

 

[JosephDredd]

That's another one of my favorites. That was a great Ted Levine episode, and because it was in Vegas, it had a different feel to it.


Interesting. Michael Richards was amazing as Kramer (still the least funny of the 4 characters, imo), but I truly doubt his Monk would've been better than Tony Shalhoub's. Like I said, I rewatched Monk recently and was/am in awe of his performance.

I might be getting my trivia confused. Someone who wasn't Shalhoub was intended to be Monk and it wound up going to Shalhoub and I'm pretty sure it was Richards, but I remember Richards did have his own (brief) show where he was a private eye. He wanted to play it straight to take his career in new directions, but the suits wanted him to play it like Kramer as a P.I. so he would always be jerking his head around and falling over for no reason.



A quick google tells me that it was Richards that ABC wanted for Monk, but he turned them down.

 

[JosephDredd]

Huh. I always thought this was a mystery show, but clearly it's a sitcom.

 

[Goodfella86]

Huh. I always thought this was a mystery show, but clearly it's a sitcom.

I remember this existing, but I never saw it. I just skimmed through it, and it seems pretty awful lol. Has a lot of great character actors in its cast, though.

Yeah, he had to know he was typecast after playing Kramer, for a while anyway. At least he had standup comedy to fall back on...

 

[JosephDredd]

I remember this existing, but I never saw it. I just skimmed through it, and it seems pretty awful lol. Has a lot of great character actors in its cast, though.

I just skimmed it, too. A young Don Cheadle?!

Yeah, he had to know he was typecast after playing Kramer, for a while anyway. At least he had standup comedy to fall back on...

lmao

 

[BEER]

I loved Monk. Show had a lot of heart.

 

[Goodfella86]

I just skimmed it, too. A young Don Cheadle?!

That was actually Tim Meadows from SNL (The Ladies' Man).

 

[Archie Goodwin]

One of my Top 5 favorite tv shows ever. I own all 8 seasons on DVD.

My (ex)wife got me an autographed Tony S pic (as Monk). I have it framed right next to my Peter Falk one.

 

[Archie Goodwin]

No pics of his partner yet...

Love me some Traylor Howard (Natalie Teeger):

 

[Goodfella86]

Love me some Traylor Howard (Natalie Teeger):

I love her. I thought she fit the show 10x better than Bitty Schram did. Natalie > Sharona.

 

[Archie Goodwin]

I love her. I thought she fit the show 10x better than Bitty Schram did. Natalie > Sharona.

I was against it at first, but I got over it in short order. She did well, the character was good, and Traylor is fine AF.

 

[GSP_37]

Always watched the marathons. Natalie with Sharona's boobs and personality would have been better.

 

[Fedorgasm]

Just found out this show is free for prime members!

Can't wait to watch every episode again.

This is one of the few shows in history that got better as it went on.

Unlike the others here, I actually loved the finale, but that was the first episode I ever saw. I loved it so much that it made me go back and watch the whole series from start to finish.

The show is formulaic, but it comes from an era where that was normal. I know nowadays most shows try harder to have a central plot that moves forward throughout the series, because we can choose to watch them in order, but back before streaming, people would always miss episodes so shows were designed to be formulaic so you could pick it up anywhere in the season.

I also think both of his assistants were hot. Natalie moreso, but I liked sharona too. From certain angles she looked like Gillian Anderson from X-files.

And Natalie was hot in a different way. Super slim and fit, and one of the most adorable faces ever.