Charles Kroger
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| Dr. Charles Kroger | |
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| First appearance | Mr. Monk and the Candidate |
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| Occupation | Psychiatrist |
| Relatives | Madeline Kroger (Wife), Troy Kroger (Son) |
Dr. Charles Kroger was a fictional character (played by Stanley Kamel) in the hit TV detective show Monk. Stanley Kamel died at the age of 65 in 2008 after suffering a heart attack, and as Monk was on hiatus as of April 2008 (Due to the WGA Strike). In May 2008, it was announced on the official Monk website that Hector Elizondo would portray Adrian's new psychatrist.
[edit] Role in the series
Perhaps the most tolerant of all of Adrian Monk's friends (and seemingly the only one who recognizes Monk's inability to ignore his obsessions), Kroger is a psychiatrist who serves as the closest thing to a rock for Monk. While he does engage in talk therapy, he does not prescribe an SSRI medication, which is commonly used by psychiatrists to treat OCD, because when he did, in the episode "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine", Monk lost his ability to solve crimes. Kroger is instrumental in trying to get Monk reinstated as a detective, while discussing his problems and progress as a person. Most of Kroger's scenes help move Monk's character forward. Similarly, Dr. Kroger has also (usually unintentionally) helped Monk solve several cases. In "Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink" he temporarily quit after his maid was murdered, since the police thought that one of his patients was responsible.
[edit] Relationship with Adrian Monk
Kroger is also the subject of an ongoing feud between Monk and Harold Krenshaw, another patient with similar problems. While very forgiving, even Kroger gets fed up with Monk from time to time, most heavily demonstrated in one episode (Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect) where Kroger came back from vacation and saw Monk standing outside his home. Kroger simply instructed the cab driver to just keep driving and kept his head low to avoid Monk. On another occasion in Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike, when the city stopped collecting garbage, Monk sent his garbage to Dr. Kroger's house. When questioned about it, Monk denied it before Kroger told him it was specifically sorted, boxed, and written in his handwriting.
There have also, on the hand, been several cases in which Dr. Kroger has been the only person capable of getting through to Monk during difficult situations, such as when Monk was brainwashed by a duplicitous cult leader (Mr. Monk Joins a Cult).
[edit] Family
It was revealed in the 15th episode of Season 3 ("Mr. Monk and the Election"), that Kroger is married and has children (a son), and is also Jewish. In the first episode of Season 5 ("Mr. Monk and the Actor"), Monk wants to take up the entire week with therapy sessions. Kroger says he does not like working on the weekends so he can spend time with his wife and kids. In the episode "Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink", it is revealed that he has a wife, Madeline, and a rebellious adolescent son, Troy, who denies that he is their child.
Kroger has a stormy relationship with his son, and was forced to take a paternity test three times by the "request" of his son. Troy calls his parents by their first names and knows Lt. Randy Disher from possibly being arrested. Disher asked if Troy had kept out of trouble, to which Troy said "no". Troy later appears in the Season 6 episode "Mr. Monk and the Buried Treasure". In this episode, while skateboarding with two friends, he finds a map leading to what he assumes is money. He and his friends ask Monk to help them, saying it is a school project. Monk agrees to help them, and they eventually find it. Monk, however, later discovers he's been tricked and tells Troy to come with him back to where the buried treasure was, leading to them temporarily being trapped in Troy's car. By the end of the episode Troy has a better relationship with his father.
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