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EspañolMONK (TV SERIES)
'''Monk''' is an Emmy Award winning television show about the private detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), afflicted by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and multiple phobias. ''Monk'' began airing on July 12, 2002 on the USA Network. The sixth season of Monk debuted on July 13, 2007 at 9/8c. The show has yet to be renewed for a 7th season. ''Monk'' is produced by the USA Network and was created by Andy Breckman.
Plot
Adrian Monk grew up with obsessive-compulsive disorder, including a variety of quirks and tics. He has a full brother, Ambrose, and a half-brother, Jack, Jr. (named after Adrian's father and referred to in "Mr. Monk Meets His Dad"). In the 2004 episode "Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan", his age was given as 45.
Monk was a brilliant homicide detective working for the San Francisco Police Department until his wife Trudy died in a car bomb attack in 1997 while picking up cough medicine for Ambrose. The news of Trudy's death caused Monk to suffer a nervous breakdown. He resigned from the force, and became a shut-in, refusing to leave his house for three years. With the help of practical nurse Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), he was finally able to leave the house. He began to perform consulting work for the police on particularly difficult cases.
Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Lieutenant Randall "Randy" Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) call on Monk when they can't solve an investigation. Stottlemeyer is often infuriated by Monk's disorder, but respects his friend and former partner's amazing observational abilities, as does Disher. Monk's obsessive attention to detail allows him to spot tiny discrepancies, find patterns, and make connections that others fail to make. Monk continues to search for information about his wife's death, the one case he has been unable to solve.
In the third season, Sharona decides to re-marry her ex-husband and moves to New Jersey. Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard), a single mother with an eleven-year-old daughter, is soon hired as Monk's new assistant.
Monk is almost never described as having OCD. Sometimes the characters go out of their way not to mention it, even to avoid an inconvenient misunderstanding. For example, in Mr. Monk and the Marathon Man, Monk shakes the hand of two white women, then a black man, then wipes his hands. Monk and Sharona allow this to be taken as evidence of racism rather than explain his disorder. Natalie has referred to him as "particular" and "persnickety" rather than explaining the true extent of his problems.
Characters
Main Characters
| Name | Portrayed by | Occupation/Status |
|---|---|---|
| Adrian Monk | Tony Shalhoub | Former police detective; crime consultant |
| Natalie Jane Davenport Teeger | Traylor Howard | Assistant to Adrian Monk |
| Captain Leland Stottlemeyer | Ted Levine | SFPD Police captain: Robbery Homicide |
| Lieutenant Randy Disher | Jason Gray-Stanford | SFPD Police lieutenant: Robbery Homicide |
Former
★ 'Sharona Fleming' (Bitty Schram): Adrian's former assistant and nurse. Last appeared in Season 3, after which Natalie Teeger replaced her.
Recurring
★ 'Kevin Dorfman' (Jarrad Paul): Monk's annoying, talkative upstairs neighbor. He is often seen cooking (with Monk). He first appeared in Mr. Monk and the Paperboy, where he won the jackpot, although his "girlfriend" Amber tried to hide it from him. He has two sisters.
★ 'Benjamin "Benjy" Fleming' (Kane Ritchotte during pilot episode and second and third seasons, Max Morrow during first season): Sharona's son.
★ 'Gail Fleming' (Amy Sedaris): Sharona's younger sister. An actor. She first appeared in Mr. Monk and the Earthquake, where Sharona, Benjy, and Monk stay at her house after an earthquake. Her second appearance was in Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater. In the episode, she is framed by her understudy for stabbing someone in a play. In "Earthquake" she remarks to Sharona that Sharona copies her (moving to San Francisco, buying the same purse).
★ ' Trevor Howe ' (Frank John Hughes): Sharona's ex-husband and Benjy's father from New Jersey. He appeared in two episodes: Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect and Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf. In "Sleeping Suspect" he shows up at Sharona's house for Benjy's birthday, seemingly a "different man." Benjy is happy to have a father, which is one of the reasons Sharona decides to quit being Monk's assistant and move back to New Jersey with Trevor. She later discovers, however, that he got plane tickets to where his rich uncle lives since his uncle cut him off when he got divorced.
★ 'Harold J. Krenshaw' (Tim Bagley): Another patient of Dr. Kroger's. Harold and Adrian Monk have an ongoing feud, mostly about who they feel is liked the most by Dr. Kroger. Much to the dismay of Adrian Monk, in the episode Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink Krenshaw takes a bullet to save Dr. Kroger's life. Harold Krenshaw first appeared in Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf. Harold won (against Natalie Teeger) to become a member of Julie's school board in Mr. Monk and the Election. In this episode it is also revealed he is married.
★ 'Dr. Charles Kroger' (Stanley Kamel): Adrian Monk's psychiatrist.
★ 'Trudy Anne Ellison Monk' (Character Deceased) (Stellina Rusich seasons 1-2, Melora Hardin seasons 3-4, Hannah Contrucci and Lindy Newton)
★ 'Karen Stottlemeyer' (Glenne Headly): Environmentally-conscious ex-wife of Leland Stottlemeyer and mother of their two children, Jared and Max. Films documentaries. She first appeared in Mr. Monk and the Very Very Old Man, where she begged her then husband to investigate the death of an old man. She later appears in Mr. Monk and the Captain's Wife, where she is temporarily put in a coma after being hit by a truck in her car, Mr. Monk Gets Fired, where she films a documentary of the San Francisco Police Department, and Mr. Monk and the Captain's Marriage, where Leland believes she is having an affair. It is revealed she was actually seeing a divorce lawyer. She has a sister.
★ 'Julie Teeger' (Emmy Clarke): Young daughter of Natalie Teeger.
Guest characters
★ 'Ambrose Monk' (John Turturro): Monk's brother, who also suffers from various phobias, most notably agoraphobia. Ambrose nearly perished when the Monks' childhood home was set ablaze in the episode "Mr. Monk and the Three Pies." Ambrose also appears in the Halloween episode "Mr. Monk Goes Home Again."
★ 'Dale "The Whale" Biederbeck' (Adam Arkin, Tim Curry): A seemingly powerful and very obese criminal whom Monk sent to prison for masterminding the murder of a retired San Francisco judge.
★ 'Jack Monk' (Dan Hedaya): Father of Adrian and Ambrose Monk. Also a father to their half-brother Jack Junior. Adrian meets his father for the first time in 39 years in the episode "Mr. Monk Meets His Dad."
★ 'Linda Fusco' (Sharon Lawrence): Leland Stottlemeyer's ex-girlfriend. Appears in "Mr. Monk, Private Eye," "Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan" and "Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend."
★ 'Marci Maven' (Sarah Silverman): originally an obsessive fan of TV star Brad Terry in "''Mr. Monk and the TV Star''" until Monk revealed he murdered his ex-wife. She returns in "Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan."
Guest Stars
The show has featured many guest stars over its five seasons, including Brooke Adams, Jason Alexander, Sean Astin, Diedrich Bader, Danny Bonaduce, James Brolin, Brooke Burke, Dan Butler, Rosalind Chao, Enrico Colantoni, Alice Cooper, Brett Cullen, Tim Curry, Tim Daly, Charles Durning, Carmen Electra, Fred Ewanuick, Jon Favreau, Willie Garson, Joy Giovanni, Bob Gunton, Dan Hedaya, Korn, Brooke Langton, Chi McBride, Andrew McCarthy, Malcolm McDowell, Laurie Metcalf, Larry Miller, Glenn Morshower, Alfred Molina, Charles Napier, Kevin Nealon, Willie Nelson, Judge Reinhold, Andy Richter, Amy Sedaris, Sarah Silverman, Nicole Sullivan, Holland Taylor, Danny Trejo, Stanley Tucci, Steven Weber, Mykelti Williamson, Rainn Wilson, Janet Wright and, most recently, Snoop Dogg.
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. Most of the episodes in Seasons 2-5 were filmed in the Los Angeles, California, area, including on-stage at Ren-Mar Studios (these include Adrian’s apartment, Sharona's house, the homicide office, Dr. Kroger’s office, and Natalie’s house).
Episodes
Main articles: List of Monk episodes
USA Network planned an unusual re-broadcast of the episode "Mr. Monk and the Leper," first broadcast on December 22, 2006, in black and white and then rebroadcast immediately afterward in full color. Tony Shalhoub introduced the episode as having "all the elements of a timeless film noir movie" and thought it would be interesting to present it in that way.
Those watching were encouraged to go to the official Monk website and vote for the one they liked better. Both versions are available on the Season Five DVD.
The episode Mr. Monk and the Rapper, which aired July 20, 2007, featured a special version of the theme song performed by Snoop Dogg, who also guest starred in the episode. Snoop Dogg's version was also used in commercials promoting the sixth season.
Production
According to an interview with executive producer David Hoberman,[1], ABC first conceived the series as a police show with an Inspector Clouseau-like character suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. According to Hoberman,1 ABC wanted Michael Richards for the show, but Richards turned it down (Hoberman doesn't mention whether these events took place before or after the failure of ''The Michael Richards Show'', which also featured Richards as a detective). 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 eventually handed it off to the USA Network. As part of the deal, ABC had the right to air repeats of the series after the episodes ran on USA. ABC used some episodes to fill in its summer schedule, which received respectable ratings. USA is now owned by NBC (NBC Universal), although the deal is still in place.[2]
Monk is the first ABC Studios-produced show (formerly Touchstone Television) aired on USA Network instead of ABC. ''Psych'' was the second ABC Studios show to air on USA, four years after Monk's debut. 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."[3]
Season 5 premiered Friday, July 7, 2006, at 9 p.m. Eastern time. This marked the first official time change for the program, which aired at 10 p.m. during its first four seasons. The change is due to its popularity and to work as a lead-in to the new USA Network series ''Psych'', another offbeat detective program. Monk has followed a consistent format of airing half of its 16 episodes in the summer and the second half in the winter.
Theme music debate
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.[4]
The theme won the 2003 Emmy Award for Best Main Title Music.[5]
When the second season began, the series had new theme music, a song entitled "It's a Jungle Out There," by Randy Newman. Many fans and critics were upset that the music had been changed. In the review of the second season of Monk in the ''New York Daily News'', the critic praised the show and Shalhoub's performance but wished that the producers would revert to the original recording.[6]
Others, however, enjoyed the new theme. Tony Shalhoub was quoted in ''USA Today'' as saying, "There's a certain thing Randy Newman has, it's the dark and mournful sound, and there's this tongue-in-cheek, darkly humorous side. It completely fits the tone of the show."[7]
Newman was awarded the 2004 Emmy for Best Main Title Music for "It's a Jungle Out There."[8]
This debate was acknowledged 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 can be downloaded from the official ''Monk'' site[1]. The lyrics and a link to listen to the current theme song are also published there.
For the season 6 episode, "Mr. Monk and the Rapper", guest star Snoop Dogg performed a hiphop version of "It's a Jungle Out There" as well as accompanied Monk with "here's what happened" in rap form.
Sharona vs. Natalie
Halfway through Season 3, Bitty Schram left the show due to a contract dispute.[9]
She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the character.
Many fans were unhappy with the decision, because they had become fond of her character.[10]
Schram's replacement, Traylor Howard (as Natalie Teeger), brings a different dimension to the role of Monk's assistant and naturally opens the debate among audiences. As of the episode aired February 23, 2007, Natalie has appeared in more episodes (38) than Sharona (37). The 2007 novel "Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants" had Sharona returning to get her job back after her husband was arrested for murder, thus clashing with Natalie. When both are framed for murder, they share a talk in their jail cell and bond over their feelings about working with Monk. Eventually, Monk clears both of them, and Sharona goes back to New Jersey with her husband, knowing Monk was in good hands with Natalie. This seemed to serve as closure for the character and her relationship with Monk that was not given in the series.
In other media
Novels
Lee Goldberg, a prolific television screenwriter and author, has written several novels based on the show. The novels are written through the eyes of Natalie, Mr. Monk's assistant.
| Title | Author | ISBN | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse ★ | Lee Goldberg | ISBN 0-451-21729-2 | January, 2006 |
| Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii | Lee Goldberg | ISBN 0-451-21900-7 | 30 June, 2006 |
| Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu | Lee Goldberg | ISBN 0-451-22013-7 | January, 2007 |
| Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants | Lee Goldberg | ISBN 0-451-22097-8 | 3 July, 2007 |
| Mr. Monk in Outer Space | Lee Goldberg | ISBN 0-451-22098-6 | 30 October, 2007 |
★
DVD releases
| Title | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season One | June 15 2004 | December 27 2004 | January 20 2005 |
| Season Two | January 11 2005 | July 18 2005 | September 19 2005 |
| Season Three | June 5 2005 | February 27 2006 | March 7 2006 |
| Season Four | June 27 2006 | September 18 2006 | TBA |
| Season Five | June 26 2007 | September 17 2007 | TBA |
| Season Six | June 2008 | N/A | N/A |
| Seasons 1-4(The Obsessive Compulsive Collection) | June 27 2006 | November 20 2006 (R2 has different cover art) | |
| Seasons 1-5 | N/A | October 22 2007 (Only available in R2) |
Awards and nominations
Years won in bold
'Emmy Awards'[11] ★ '2003' award for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub) ★ '2003' award for outstanding main title theme music (Jeff Beal) (WHOAW) ★ 2004 nomination for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub) ★ '2004' award for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series (John Turturro as Ambrose Monk) ★ '2004' award for outstanding main title theme music (''It's a Jungle Out There'' by Randy Newman) ★ 2004 nomination for outstanding casting for a comedy series ★ 2005 nomination for outstanding directing for a comedy series ★ '2005' award for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub) ★ '2006' award for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub) ★ 2006 nomination for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series (Laurie Metcalf as Cora) ★ 2007 nomination for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub) ★ 2007 nomination for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series (Stanley Tucci as David Ruskin) 'Screen Actors Guild'[12] ★ 2003 nomination for outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub) ★ '2004' award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub) ★ '2005' award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub) | 'Golden Globes'[13] ★ '2003' award for best performance by an actor in a television series - musical or comedy (Tony Shalhoub) ★ 2004 nomination for best television series - musical or comedy ★ 2004 nomination for best performance by an actor in a television series - musical or comedy (Tony Shalhoub) ★ 2004 nomination for best performance by an actress in a television series - musical or comedy (Bitty Schram) ★ 2005 nomination for best performance by an actor in a television series - musical or comedy (Tony Shalhoub) 'Edgar Award'[14] ★ 2003 nomination for best television episode teleplay ("Mr. Monk Takes a Vacation", Teleplay by Hy Conrad) ★ 2004 nomination for best television episode teleplay ("Mr. Monk and the 12th Man", Teleplay by Michael Angeli) ★ 2004 nomination for best television episode teleplay ("Mr. Monk and the Very, Very Old Man", Teleplay by Daniel Dratch) ★ 2005 nomination for best television episode teleplay ("Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf", Teleplay by Hy Conrad) |
International Broadcasters
| Country | Alternate title/Translation | TV Network(s) | Series Premiere | Weekly Schedule | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | USA Network ''(original airing)'' and Universal HD ''(syndication)'' | July 12 2002 | Fridays 9:00 | ||
| Arab World | MBC 4 | ||||
| Australia | Network Ten ''(first run)'' and TV1 ''(re-runs)'' | ||||
| Austria | ORF | Thursdays at 8:15pm | |||
| Basque Country | ETB2 | Monday to Saturday at 20:10 | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | FTV | Tuesdays at 13:10am | |||
| Brazil | 'Monk, um detetive diferente' (''Monk, a different detective'') | Universal Channel and Rede Record | Sundays (Universal) and Fridays at midnight (Record). | ||
| Bulgaria | Монк (Monk) | bTV | January 3 2007 | Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:00 (seasons 1 and 2) Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 20:00 (seasons 3 and 4) Sundays 00:30 (repeats) | |
| Canada | A-Channel, Citytv, TVA (French) | ||||
| Czech Republic | Můj přítel Monk ("My friend Monk") | TV NOVA | Sundays 5:00 p.m | ||
| Denmark | Canal+ ''(first run)'', TV 2 Charlie ''(re-runs)'' | ||||
| Estonia | TV 3 | September 6 2003 | Thursdays 10:35 p.m | ||
| Finland | YLE | September 11 2004 | Saturdays & Sundays 5:15 p.m | ||
| Germany | Monk | RTL | June 29 2004 | Tuesdays 10:15 p.m | |
| Greece | Ντετέκτιβ Μονκ ("Detective Monk") | Star Channel and The Greek | Sundays 4:30 p.m | ||
| Hong Kong | 神探阿蒙 ("Detective Monk") | Cable TV Hong Kong ''(re-runs)'' | Everyday 10:00pm (Cable) | ||
| Hungary | Monk, a flúgos nyomozó | TV2 | |||
| Indonesia | Indosiar | ||||
| Ireland | RTÉ (Finished showing Season 5) | Monday to Friday 3:00pm | |||
| Israel | Israel 10 and Hallmark | ||||
| Italy | Detective Monk | Rete 4 | June 9, 2005 | Thursday, 9:10 p.m. (two episodes) | |
| Japan | 名探偵モンク [Meitantei Monk] ("Great detective Monk") | NHK BS-2 | |||
| Korea | 탐정 몽크 [Tam Jeong Monk] ("Detective Monk") | KBS2 | |||
| Latin America | Universal Channel | ||||
| Mexico | Universal Channel | Sunday 19:00hrs | |||
| New Zealand | Channel 3 and SKY 1 | ||||
| Philippines | StarWorld | Tuesday 22:00 | |||
| Poland | Detektyw Monk ("Detective Monk") | TVN ''(free-tv-premiere)'', TVN Siedem ''(re-runs)'' Canal+ ''(first run)'', Canal+ Film ''(re-runs)'' | TVN: Tuesdays, 8:55pm; TVN Siedem: Sundays, 10:00pm Canal+: Thursdays, 9:30pm, Canal+ Film: different | ||
| Republic of Macedonia | Kanal 5 | Wednesday 20:00 | |||
| Serbia | RTS | ||||
| Slovakia | Markíza | ||||
| Slovenia | Pop TV | September 8 2004 | |||
| South Africa | SABC 3 | ||||
| Sweden | Canal+ Film 1 ''(first run)'' and Kanal 9 ''(re-runs)'' | April 8 2003 | Mondays 10:00pm (Canal+ Film 1) Wednesdays 10:05pm (Kanal 9) | ||
| Turkey | Dizimax | ||||
| United Kingdom | BBC |
Trivia
★ Monk has been parodied on Adult Swim's animated sketch comedy Robot Chicken, depicting him as "Cork," a retarded private eye.
★ In addition to a rapidly growing DVD collection, the show also has a soundtrack CD that features the original music score.
★ As of Mr. Monk and the Big Game, Adrian Monk has solved 104 murders (though he only has 100 trophies because he prefers the number 100).
★ The show's writers occasionally satirize Monk's near-perfect memory. For example, in "Mr. Monk Goes Back to School" he can't remember if a crime scene on a roof is his 4th or 5th worst nightmare, since he "didn't bring the list".
★ The sponsoring network used the term "Monkish" to publicize the series. The word describes Adrian's odd behavior but also is a play-on-words that relates to his monklike isolation.
★ The characters of Captain Leland Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Randall Disher (named Randall Deacon in the pilot episode) serve much the same function in ''Monk'' as did Inspector Lestrade in the Sherlock Holmes stories. This relationship may have inspired these characters' names: taking the first two letters of each name in order – LE from "Leland", ST from "Stottlemeyer", RA from "Randall" and DE from "Deacon" – spells out "Lestrade".
★ Most of the episode "Monk in Las Vegas" was filmed on the set of the NBC show "Las Vegas".
★ Tony Shalhoub's real wife (Brooke Adams) acts in "Mr. Monk and the Airplane"; "Mr. Monk and the Kid"; "Mr. Monk Visits a Farm". And his brother (Michael Shalhoub) acts in "Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny" and "Mr. Monk Bumps His Head".
★ As of 2007, Tony Shalhoub has been nominated for an Emmy Award five times, once for each season.
★ The show has also been nominated, in 2007, for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, Stanley Tucci as David Ruskin in the Season 5 episode, "Mr. Monk and the Actor".
References
1. "Mr Monk and His Origins," a special feature packaged with the Season One DVDs
2. Monk FAQ
3. USA orders seasons 5 and 6 of Monk
4. Grant Geissman - Biography
5. Monk - The Show: Theme Song
6. Detective's defective, show isn't David Bianculli
7. The Monk Fun Page
8. Chronology — Randy Newman
9. No Sharona — Bitty Schram leaves ‘Monk’ Andrew Wallenstein
10. 'Monk' madness Bridget Byrne
11. Academy of Television, Arts, & Sciences
12. SGA Awards
13. Golden Globe Awards
14. Mystery Writers of America - Edgars and Other MWA Awards
External links
★ USA Network official site
★ Monk on USA at TV Guide
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