Monk (TV series)

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Monk
Monk Title Screen
Format	Dramedy Police Procedural
Created by	Andy Breckman
Starring	Tony Shalhoub Traylor Howard Ted Levine Jason Gray-Stanford
Opening theme	Instrumental theme by Jeff Beal (season 1) "It's a Jungle out There" by Randy Newman (season 2-Present)
Ending theme	Instrumental theme by Jeff Beal (season 1) "It's a Jungle out There" (instrumental) (season 2-Present)
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	92 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Andy Breckman David Hoberman Tony Shalhoub Rob Thompson Tom Scharpling
Running time	42-45 minutes (approx.)
Broadcast
Original channel	USA Network
Picture format	480i
Original run	July 12, 2002 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Monk is an Emmy Award-winning American dramedy series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the title character.

The show debuted on July 12, 2002, on the USA Network; it completed its sixth season on February 22, 2008 and has been renewed for a seventh season.^[1]^[2]^[3]

[edit] Plot

Adrian Monk is a brilliant detective who worked for the San Francisco Police Department until his wife, Trudy, was killed by a car bomb, which Monk believed was intended for him. Trudy's death led Monk to suffer a nervous breakdown. He was discharged from the force and became a shut-in, refusing to leave his house for over three years. With the help of Registered Nurse Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), he was finally able to leave the house. The breakthrough allowed him to work as a consultant for the homicide unit despite remaining limitations rooted in his obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Monk's compulsive habits are numerous, and an unknown number of phobias compound his situation. The OCD and plethora of phobias inevitably lead to very awkward situations and cause problems for Monk, and anyone around him, as he goes about investigating the cases. However, these same personal struggles, particularly the OCD, are what aid him to solve cases, resulting in his catchphrase, “It’s a gift, and a curse.”

Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Lieutenant Randall "Randy" Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) call on Monk when they have trouble with an investigation. Stottlemeyer is often irritated by Monk's disorder, but respects his friend and former colleague's amazing observational abilities, as does Disher. Ever since childhood, Monk's obsessive attention to detail allowed 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.

When Sharona decides to re-marry her ex-husband and moves to New Jersey, Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard), a widow and mother of an eleven-year-old daughter, is hired as Monk's new assistant. Monk has a brother, Ambrose, and a half-brother, Jack, Jr.^[4]

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Monk characters

[edit] Main characters

Name	Occupation	Portrayed by
Adrian Monk	Former SFPD detective and current crime consultant	Tony Shalhoub
Natalie Jane Davenport / Teeger	Second Assistant to Adrian Monk, after Sharona	Traylor Howard
Captain Leland Stottlemeyer	SFPD Police captain: Robbery, Homicide	Ted Levine
Lieutenant Randy Disher	SFPD Police lieutenant: Robbery, Homicide	Jason Gray-Stanford

[edit] Former main characters

Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram): Adrian's first assistant. Last TV appearance - Season Three: "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine"; Last book appearance - Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants

[edit] Secondary characters

Julie Teeger (Emmy Clarke): Teenage daughter of Natalie Teeger.

[edit] Former secondary characters

Benjamin "Benjy" Fleming (Kane Ritchotte during pilot episode and second and third seasons, Max Morrow during first season): Sharona's son. Last appearance - Season Three: "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine".

Dr. Charles Kroger (Stanley Kamel): Adrian Monk's psychiatrist. Actor Stanley Kamel died of a heart attack on April 8th, 2008 between production of seasons six and seven.^[5] Last appearance - Season Six: "Mr. Monk Paints His Masterpiece".

[edit] Minor characters

Ambrose Monk (John Turturro): Monk's brother. He doesn't leave the house for over 32 years due to agoraphobia, until his next door neighbor sets it on fire. Ambrose also blames himself for Trudy's death because he asked her to pick him up some cough medicine the day she was murdered.

Kevin Dorfman (Jarrad Paul): Monk's talkative upstairs neighbor. He is often seen cooking (with Monk). He won a fortune in the lottery, then lost it all through gambling and relationships.

Harold J. Krenshaw (Tim Bagley): Another patient of Dr. Kroger's. Harold and Adrian Monk have an ongoing feud, mostly over who they feel is liked the most by Dr. Kroger.

Trudy Anne Ellison Monk (Stellina Rusich / Melora Hardin): Monk's deceased wife. She was murdered in a car bombing. The murderer was Warrick Tennyson, who built and planted the bomb that killed her, but he was hired by a six-fingered man. Monk was later framed for this man's murder, shortly afterwards learning that the six-fingered man was hired by someone else, referred to only as "The Judge."

[edit] Guest stars

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

The show has featured many guest stars over its six seasons, including Brooke Adams^[6] (who is Tony Shalhoub's wife), Adam Arkin^[7], Jason Alexander, Krista Allen, Sean Astin^[6], Diedrich Bader, Danny Bonaduce, James Brolin, Brooke Burke, Dan Butler^[6], Nestor Carbonell, Emma Caulfield, Michael Cavanaugh^[6], Rosalind Chao, Ricardo Antonio Chavira^[6], Enrico Colantoni, Gary Cole, Alice Cooper, Brett Cullen, Tim Curry, Tim Daly, Polly Draper, Rachel Dratch, Charles Durning^[6], David Eigenberg^[6], Carmen Electra, Fred Ewanuick, Jim Gaffigan, James Gammon^[6], Greg Grunberg, Jon Favreau, Willie Garson, Joy Giovanni, Bob Gunton, Dan Hedaya, Brian Kerwin, Angela Kinsey, David Koechner, Korn, Brooke Langton, Donal Logue, Howie Mandel, Garry Marshall, Chi McBride, Andrew McCarthy, Malcolm McDowell, Laurie Metcalf, Larry Miller, Glenn Morshower, Alfred Molina, Charles Napier, Niecy Nash, Kevin Nealon, Willie Nelson, Judge Reinhold, Andy Richter^[6], Amy Sedaris, Michael Shalhoub, Sarah Silverman, Snoop Dogg, Nicole Sullivan, Holland Taylor^[6], Heather Tom^[6], Danny Trejo, Stanley Tucci, Susan Ward, Steven Weber^[6], Chris Williams^[6], Mykelti Williamson, Brian Tee and Rainn Wilson

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Monk episodes

Every episode's title begins with "Mr. Monk..."; while solving a murder is the plot for most episodes, there are several episodes in which Monk helps investigate other crimes, such as a kidnapping in the Season 2 episode, "Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny."

[edit] Production

According to an interview with executive producer David Hoberman^[8], ABC first conceived the series as a police show with an Inspector Clouseau-like character suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Hoberman said ABC wanted Michael Richards for the show^[8], but Richards turned it down. 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 handed it off to the USA Network. USA is now owned by NBC (NBC Universal).^[9] Monk was the first ABC Studios-produced show (formerly Touchstone Television) aired on USA Network instead of ABC. 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."^[10] Season 5 premiered Friday, July 7, 2006, at 9 p.m. Eastern time. This marked the first time change for the program, which aired at 10 p.m. during its first four seasons. The change allowed the show to work as a lead-in to a 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.

Previously aired episodes of Monk began airing on NBC Universal sibling network NBC April 6, 2008. NBC eyed the show because its block with Psych could be plugged into NBC's schedule intact. The shows are being used to increase the amount of scripted programming on the network as production of its own scripted programming ramp back up following the writers' strike.^[11] Ratings for the broadcast debut were well below NBC averages for the time period. The show came in third behind Big Brother 9 on CBS and Oprah's Big Give on ABC.^[12]

The seventh season will premiere on USA Network July 18, 2008 in its season six timeslot.^[13] According to TV Guide, Hector Elizondo will replace the late Stanley Kamel as Monk's psychiatrist for the new season.^[14]

[edit] Location

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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, Stottlemeyer's precinct house, Dr. Kroger’s office and Natalie’s house).

[edit] Theme music

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.^[15] The theme won the 2003 Emmy Award for Best Main Title Music.^[16] When the second season began, the series had new theme music, a song entitled "It's a Jungle out There", by Randy Newman. Reaction to the new theme was mixed. A review of the second season of Monk in the New York Daily News included a wish that producers would revert to the original theme.^[17] Shalhoub expressed his support for the new theme in USA Today, saying its "dark and mournful sound,...[its] tongue-in-cheek, darkly humorous side.... completely fits the tone of the show."^[18] Newman was awarded the 2004 Emmy Award for Best Main Title Music for "It's a Jungle Out There."^[19] This debate was referenced 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 is also heard in episode 8 of season 3 as Monk drives to Los Angeles with his neighbor and father-in-law.

For the season 6 episode, "Mr. Monk and the Rapper," guest star Snoop Dogg performed a hip-hop version of "It's a Jungle Out There" as well as accompanied Monk with "here's what happened" in rap form.

[edit] Sharona vs. Natalie

During Season 3—after appearing in her 37th episode—Bitty Schram left the show, possibly as a result of a contract dispute.^[20] Schram's replacement was Traylor Howard (as Natalie Teeger). Some fans were unhappy with the change,^[21] while others in debates appear to prefer Natalie.^[22] As of the episode first aired on February 23, 2007, Natalie has appeared in more episodes than Sharona. One notable difference between the two assistants is that Sharona calls Monk by his first name, Adrian, while Natalie calls him Mr. Monk. Also, Natalie seems to trust Monk's ideas more than Sharona used to. Otherwise, the producers have not seemed to make an attempt to greatly differentiate the two characters, perhaps in a tacit acknowledgment of the common tropes employed by television shows which replace a major character mid-run.

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.

[edit] Other media

[edit] Soundtrack

The show's soundtrack features its original music score.

[edit] Novels

Lee Goldberg has written several novels based on the show.^[23] The novels are written through the eyes of Natalie, Mr. Monk's assistant. The first novel, Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse, was the basis for the fifth season episode "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing."

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		ISBN 0-451-21900-7	30 June 2006
Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu		ISBN 0-451-22013-7	January, 2007
Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants		ISBN 0-451-22097-8	3 July 2007
Mr. Monk in Outer Space		ISBN 0-451-22098-6	30 October 2007
Mr. Monk Goes to Germany		ISBN 0-451-22099-4	1 July 2008

[edit] DVD releases

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released the first five seasons of Monk on DVD in Region 1 & 2 for the very first time.

Season 6 DVD cover

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	July 8, 2008	September 8, 2008	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)

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Awards won

Emmy Awards:

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub (2003, 2005, 2006)
Outstanding Main Title Theme Music Jeff Beal (2003)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series John Turturro (2004)
Outstanding Main Title Theme Music Randy Newman (2004)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series Stanley Tucci (2007)

Golden Globe Awards:

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy Tony Shalhoub (2003)

Screen Actors Guild:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub (2004, 2005)

[edit] Award nominations