Lieutenant Randy Disher
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Lieutenant Randall "Randy" Disher is a fictional character on the television show Monk.
Disher, played by Jason Gray-Stanford, is Captain Leland Stottlemeyer's second-in-command and employed at the San Francisco police force. He is characterized as a naïve, loyal, overly ambitious but not necessarily bright assistant to Stottlemeyer. His far-fetched theories and comments about the cases Monk works on are a running gag of the series. Apart from his truly ridiculous theories, which often involve defying the very laws of physics, Disher appears rather competent within his own range of abilities. He has proven himself to be trustworthy, courageous, and capable of providing valuable insights into the cases they tackle. Also a running gag is the awkwardly ceremonial way in which he delivers news to Stottlemeyer, asking him to guess what it is or sit down for it.
Like Stottlemeyer, Disher used to be wary of Monk's abilities, but as the series progressed, he came to admire and respect them.
During the series, Disher lost his entire life savings during a trip to Las Vegas (which prompted Monk and Stottlemeyer to come to his rescue, using Monk's abilities to win the money back), acted once as Natalie Teeger's bodyguard, and helped Monk find clues for the Trudy Monk case by travelling to New York with him. His lack of luck getting dates is so notorious that, when he does get a girlfriend, nobody believes him. Randy used to argue regularly with (but was secretly attracted to) Monk's first assistant, Sharona Fleming, and maintains a friendly, professional behavior towards Monk's second assistant, Natalie Teeger.
In high school, he was part of a rock band, the Randy Disher Project, which he resurrected with his fellow bandmates in the episode "Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist". The band created a music video entitled "Don't Need a Badge", trying to justify Randy's leaving the police force. The band broke up and Disher returned to the SFPD shortly afterwards. The song was reprised in the February 23, 2007, episode, The Case of the Really, Really Dead Guy. Disher was placed as a decoy to try to attract the attention of the perpetrator, playing the erstwhile rock song with the instruments of a one-man band.
It was revealed in the episode "Mr. Monk and the Leper" that as a teenager he suffered from an extreme case of acne.
[edit] Trivia
- In the pilot episode, Lieutenant Disher is called Lieutenant Deacon. The character in the pilot episode envies Monk and is more serious than Lieutenant Disher.
- Disher is usually seen driving a 2003 Tan Ford Crown Victoria with a Red Light attached to the inside rearview mirror, but he has mentioned owning a Ford Festiva.
- In the episode Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever, Randy Disher clearly states that he has two aunts, but no uncles. In the episode Mr. Monk Visits a Farm, Randy inherits a farm from his recently deceased uncle, which is impossible given the chronological order of the episodes.
[edit] References
| MONK | |
| Current Main Characters | Adrian Monk | Natalie Teeger | Captain Leland Stottlemeyer | Lieutenant Randy Disher |
| Secondary Characters | Charles Kroger | Trudy Monk | Ambrose Monk | Dale "The Whale" Biederbeck | Julie Teeger |
| Former Characters | Sharona Fleming | Benjy Fleming |
| Related Articles | Episode List | Monk soundtrack | Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse | Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii | Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu |
| Official Website | Official site |
