Monk (TV series)
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| Monk | |
|---|---|
| Image:MONK Season4Cover.jpg Season four DVD cover </small> | |
| Genre | Dramedy Mystery |
| Running time | 42-45 minutes (approx.) |
| Creator(s) | Andy Breckman |
| Executive producer(s) | Andy Breckman David Hoberman Tony Shalhoub Rob Thompson |
| Starring | Tony Shalhoub Bitty Schram 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 2) "It's a Jungle Out There" (instrumental) (season 3-Present) |
| Country of origin | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Original channel | USA Network |
| Original run | July 12 2002–Present |
| No. of episodes | 69 (List of episodes) |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Monk is an Emmy Award winning television show about the obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub). It originally aired on July 12, 2002 on the USA Network. The show is currently near the end of its fifth season, and has been renewed for a sixth season.<ref>USA Network (2006-01-12). USA Orders Seasons Five and Six of Monk. Press release.</ref> Monk is produced by the USA Network and was created by Andy Breckman. It airs Friday nights at 9/8 Central.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main
- Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub)
- Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram) (2002–2004)
- Natalie Jane Davenport Teeger (Traylor Howard) (2004–present)
- Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine)
- Lieutenant Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford)
[edit] Recurring
- Dr. Charles Kroger (Stanley Kamel)
- Benjy Fleming (Kane Ritchotte during pilot episode and second and third seasons, Max Morrow during first season): Sharona's son. Often uses Adrian and his skills as a "toy."
- Julie Teeger (Emmy Clarke)
- Trudy Anne Ellison Monk (Stellina Rusich seasons 1-2, Melora Hardin seasons 3-4)
- Karen Stottlemeyer (Glenne Headly): Environmentally-conscious wife of Leland and mother of their two children. A documentary filmmaker whose artistic pursuits frequently belittle and sometimes frustrate her husband, she has often played a crucial role in her four episodes regarding a case. In "Mr. Monk and the Captain's Marriage", a fed-up Karen files for divorce, much to Leland's surprise and hurt.
- Harold J. Krenshaw (Tim Bagley): Another patient of Dr. Kroger's, Harold and Adrian Monk have an ongoing feud that begins the minute they see each other (this can be seen most clearly in the episode "Mr. Monk and the Election" where Krenshaw also defeats Natalie Teeger for a slot on the San Francisco 5th district school board). Both are similar in phobias and mannerisms, their biggest differences being that Harold seems to prefer patterns, (such as a 1-2-3 pattern of magazines on a 3-tiered rack), while Monk requires them to be even, (a 2-2-2 pattern); and that Harold seems more able to function in everyday life, (he has no mention of an assistant/nurse, and even wins a school board election). In the episode "Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink", Harold may have one-upped Monk by taking a bullet for Dr. Kroger.
- Kevin Dorfman (Jarrad Paul): Monk's upstairs neighbor.
[edit] Guest characters of note
- Ambrose Monk (John Turturro)
- Dale "The Whale" Biederbeck (Adam Arkin, Tim Curry): The series' most significant criminal, after the Six-Fingered Man. He appears in two episodes, and gives Adrian the name of the man who built the bomb which killed Trudy. Dale had been engaged in a year-long legal battle with Trudy within three years of her death because she called him "The Genghis Khan of world finance." Arrogant Dale is called "the Whale" because he is extremely heavy (around 800-900 lbs.) and cannot leave his bed, which is attributed to the death of his mother. Strongly hated by Monk.
[edit] Plot
Adrian Monk was a brilliant homicide detective working for the San Francisco Police Department. Monk grew up with obsessive-compulsive disorder, including a variety of quirks and tics. Following the death of his wife Trudy in a car bomb attack in 1997, Monk suffered a nervous breakdown and became catatonic, refusing to leave his house for three years.
With the help of registered nurse Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), Monk was finally able to leave the house, and 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 have a case they can't crack. Stottlemeyer is often infuriated by Monk's disorder, but respects his friend and former partner's amazing observational abilities, as does Disher.
Monk continues to search for information about his wife's death, which is the one case in his career that he has been unable to solve. Monk's obsessive attention to detail allows him to spot tiny discrepancies, find patterns, and make connections that everyone else in an investigation misses.
Sharona decided to re-marry her ex-husband in the third season, moving to New Jersey and leaving Monk alone again. However, Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard), a single mother with a daughter about twelve years old, was soon hired as Monk's new assistant.
The show has featured many guest stars over its five seasons, including Kevin Nealon, Malcolm McDowell, Joy Giovanni, Olek Krupa, Sarah Silverman, Mykelti Williamson, Tim Daly, Laurie Metcalf, Willie Nelson, Carmen Electra, Jason Alexander, KoЯn, Glenn Morshower, Amy Sedaris, James Brolin, Jon Favreau, Danny Bonaduce, Tim Curry, Bob Gunton, Nicole Sullivan, Rosalind Chao, Brooke Burke, Andrew McCarthy, Fred Ewanuick, Janet Wright, Larry Miller, Enrico Colantoni, Willie Garson, Dan Hedaya, Charles Napier, Brett Cullen, Stanley Tucci, Alice Cooper, and Chi McBride.
Although set in San Francisco and its area, Monk is actually for the most part shot elsewhere, with the exceptions of occasional exteriors featuring city landmarks. The pilot episode was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the subsequent 1st Season episodes were shot in the Toronto, Ontario area. Most of the episodes in subsequent 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).
[edit] Episodes
USA Network has planned an unusual broadcast of the next new episode, "Mr. Monk and the Leper," on December 22, 2006. The episode will first be broadcast in black and white and then rebroadcast immediately afterwards in full color. Those watching are then encouraged to go to the official Monk website and vote for the one they liked better.<ref>Official Monk Website. USA Network (December 2, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-02.</ref>
[edit] Production
According to an interview with executive producer David Hoberman,<ref name="hober">"Mr Monk and His Origins," a special feature packaged with the Season One DVDs</ref> the series was first conceived by ABC as a police show with an Inspector Clouseau-like character suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. According to Hoberman,<ref name="hober" /> ABC wanted the show for Michael Richards, but Richards eventually 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.[citation needed] ABC used some episodes to fill in its summer schedule, which received respectable ratings.[citation needed] USA is now owned by NBC, although the deal is still in place.<ref>Monk FAQ. USA Network (September 21, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-29.</ref>
On January 12, 2006, USA Network announced that the show had been picked up through at least season six as one of the "highest-rated series in cable history."<ref>USA orders seasons 5 and 6 of Monk. USA Network (January 12, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref> Season 5 premiered Friday, July 7, 2006 at 9 p.m. Eastern time. This marked the first official time change for the program, having aired at 10 p.m. its first 4 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.
The show has followed a consistent format of airing half of its 16 episodes in the summer, followed by the second half in the winter.
[edit] Theme song 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.<ref>Grant Geissman - Biography. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref> The theme won the 2003 Emmy Award for Best Main Title Music.<ref>Monk - The Show: Theme Song. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref> When the second season began, the series had a new theme song, entitled "It's a Jungle Out There," by Randy Newman. Many fans and critics were outraged that the adored theme song had 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 theme song.<ref>Bianculli, David. "Detective's defective, show isn't", New York Daily News, 2003-06-17. Retrieved on 2006-09-16. (in English)</ref> Others, however, enjoyed the new theme. Tony Shalhoub (who plays Adrian Monk) 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."<ref>The Monk Fun Page. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref> Newman was awarded the 2004 Emmy for Best Main Title Music for "It's a Jungle Out There."<ref>Chronology — Randy Newman. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref> This debate was acknowledged in the episode "Mr. Monk and the TV Star," where Monk encounters a young woman named Marcy, played by Sarah Silverman, who tells Adrian that if he ever receives his own TV show, to promise to "never, ever change the theme song." The original theme song was played in the end credits until season three, at which time it was replaced with an instrumental version of the current theme. Both theme songs can be downloaded on the official Monk site, and the lyrics to the current theme song are also recorded there.
[edit] Sharona vs. Natalie
Halfway through season three, Bitty Schram left the show for undisclosed reasons.<ref name="Bitty">Wallenstein, Andrew. "No Sharona — Bitty Schram leaves ‘Monk’", MSNBC News, 2004-08-31. Retrieved on 2006-09-16. (in English)</ref> She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the character.<ref name="Bitty"/> Many fans were unhappy with the decision, as they had become fond of her character.<ref>Byrne, Bridget. "'Monk' madness", Portsmouth Herald, 2006-07-09. Retrieved on 2006-09-16. (in English)</ref> 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.
[edit] In other media
Author Lee Goldberg's first original Monk novel, Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse (ISBN 0-451-21729-2), came out in January 2006 and was also the basis for the fifth season episode "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing", which he co-wrote. He has since written two more original Monk novels, Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii (ISBN 0-451-21900-7), which was released on 30 June 2006, and Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu (ISBN 0-451-22013-4), which will be released in January 2007. He is currently at work on the fourth book in the series, Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants, which will be published in July 2007.<ref>Mr. Monk and the New Deal. A Writer's Life. Retrieved on April 1, 2006.</ref>
[edit] DVD releases
DVD Name | Release dates
| ||
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 3
| |
| The Complete 1st Season | June 15 2004 | December 27 2004 | January 20 2005 |
| The Complete 2nd Season | January 11 2005 | July 18 2005 | September 19 2005 |
| The Complete 3rd Season | July 5 2005 | February 27 2006 | March 7 2006 |
| The Complete 4th Season | June 27 2006 | October 302006, November 162006(Germany) | N/A |
The first three Region 2 releases are Fullscreen but the release of the 4th season is Widescreen.
[edit] Awards and nominations
|
Emmy Awards<ref>Academy of Television, Arts, & Sciences. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref>
Screen Actors Guild<ref>SGA Awards. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref>
|
Golden Globes<ref>Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref>
Edgar Award<ref>Mystery Writers of America - Edgars and Other MWA Awards. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.</ref>
|
[edit] Reruns and syndication
- Universal HD (United States)
- Will air in weekly syndication in fall of 2008<ref>Ben Grossman, Broadcasting & Cable, "Monk Sales Soar", 9/5/2006. Retrieved December 1, 2006.</ref>
- Universal Channel (Latin America)
- In Australia, Channel Ten. Reruns of the show are featured on the TV1 channel on the Foxtel/Austar/Optus TV cable platforms.
- In the UK, Monk Season 4 is currently being shown Saturdays on BBC Two at around 3pm and Seasons 2 and 3 weekdays on Hallmark.<ref>The Monk Site. Retrieved on 2006-09-21.</ref>
- In Basque Country: ETB2
- In Greece, Seasons 2 & 3 air at the Star Channel, every Saturday at 4:30pm. The Greek title for the series is "Ντετέκτιβ Μονκ" (Detective Monk).
- In Brazil the show is being shown on Rede Record on Fridays at midnight.
[edit] Trivia
- In addition to a rapidly growing DVD collection, the show also has a soundtrack CD that features the original music score. The first season theme song by Jeff Beal is also available from USA Network as a free MP3 download. The current theme song can also be heard as a Real Media stream.
- A recurring gag is that Monk is almost never described as having OCD. Sometimes, the characters go out of their way not to mention it, even when an inconvenient misunderstanding could be avoided. An example is in one episode where 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 simply explaining his disorder. Natalie has referred to him as "particular" and "persnickety" rather than explaining the true extent of his problems.
- Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) was married to Karen Stottlemeyer (Glenne Headly), a documentary filmmaker, much as writer/producer Andy Breckman is married to Beth Landau, also a documentary filmmaker. (Landau's name was also used for the murdered English teacher in the season 2 episode "Mr. Monk Goes Back to School.")
- Adrian Monk's age is almost never mentioned. However, his age can be calculated as approximately 47, since he said in "Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist" (March 2006) that he was 12 when he first went to a dentist, then later said that he last went to the dentist "35 years ago." Also, in the episode "Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion" (August 2006), Monk attends his 25th college reunion, which is consistent with this age. In "Mr. Monk Meets His Dad" (November 2006), it was 40 years ago when his dad left, and Adrian was 8 at the time, showing that he is now 48, and therefore not unageing as many characters in other fictions are.
- 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).
- Despite the fact that Monk is frequently displayed as having near-perfect memory, there are instances where his memory fails when it is convenient for the writers, such as the occasion in "Mr. Monk Goes Back to School" when he can't remember if a crime scene on a roof is his 5th or 6th worst fear, since he "didn't bring the list".
- This is the first Touchstone-produced show aired on USA Network instead of ABC. Psych was the second Touchstone show to air on USA, four years after Monk's debut.
- Adrian Monk has two brothers: one full brother, Ambrose, and one half-brother, Jack, Jr. (named after Adrian's father).
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
| 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 |
| Tertiary/Quaternary Characters | Jack Monk | Jack Monk, Jr. | Warrick Tennyson |
| Former Characters | Sharona Fleming | Benjy Fleming |
| Related Articles | Episode List | Monk soundtrack | Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse | Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii | Randy Disher Project |
| Official Website | Official site |
fr:Monk it:Detective Monk hu:Monk – Flúgos nyomozó ja:名探偵モンク pl:Detektyw Monk pt:Monk sq:Monk sk:Monk fi:Monk (televisiosarja) zh:神探阿蒙
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | Articles with large trivia sections | 2002 television program debuts | 2000s TV shows in the United States | Comedy-drama television series | Crime television series | USA Network shows | Television series by Buena Vista Television | Television series by NBC Universal Television | Television shows set in San Francisco | Television series named after fictional characters
