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"Monk" (2002)

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97 comments in total

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90 out of 103 people found the following comment useful :-
Absolutely AMAZING, 5 June 2004
Author: Nicole Matson from NY, NY, USA

Tony Shalhoub is a genius in inhabiting the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of this character. I myself am an obsessive-compulsive, and he gets the experience of suffering from this disease exactly. I watch this show regularly. It's therapeutic (partly because I get all the OCD jokes and get to laugh at myself) - and HILARIOUS, even if you don't know anything about OCD! Shalhoub completely deserves the Best Actor Emmy and SAG Awards he's won for this role. Shalhoub's sweet, anxious genius, Adrian Monk, is dead-on. And Bitty Schram as his nurse is also hilarious and so marvelous! I highly recommend you watch this show!

Thank you Tony Shalhoub, Bitty Schram, and everyone else involved in this show!

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85 out of 97 people found the following comment useful :-
Best and Funniest Show in Years, 22 August 2004
Author: michealmce from U.S.A.

Seriously, what shows have been that great in the past few years, that could appeal to just about any person? Monk delivers laughs and mysteries to a wide range of audiences. Experts on O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) say that the show does a credit to all patients in this field, instead of insulting and making fun of them, as many shows and movies do.

I'm so glad I discovered this show for my whole family. Now we refer to Friday night as "Monk Night", just because we love this show so much. Everyone should give this show a chance because it deserves at least that much. I almost felt sorry for it, seeing how ABC canceled it and all. But then, luckily, USA saw the promise in it and picked it straight up. Now most people feel sorry for ABC! Of course, if they weren't so quick to, as I say, "Judge and Cancel" all new shows, maybe they could have some decent programs on. 2 episodes just isn't enough.

This isn't one of those shows where I'll say "Well, if you have some extra time one Friday night and you're feeling bored..." No, trust me, this is a show you want to MAKE time for. Let me include a brief overview:

Adrien Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is a Detective with O.C.D. (see above), whose wife died 6 years ago when a car bomb killed her. Monk believed that the bomb was meant for him, and blames himself for her death. For the main part, Monk is going around solving crimes of all shapes and sizes (although they are all homicide), although every once in a while Monk, on one of his cases, will uncover something about the murder of his wife, which is a top goal for him. He is accompanied by his nurse/assistant Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), and just about every episode has the police captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Lt. Randal Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford), who is an absolute riot at times, because he has a heroic sense. In other words, he's watched too many episodes of "Cops" and likes to imitate major police films. He also seems to have a "thing" for Sharona, even though they act like they hate each other. One last character that finishes off a great cast is Doctor Charles Kroger, Monk's Psychiatrist.

Overall, this is a must see for all, and if you miss this show, you're missing out on a great entertainment opportunity.

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75 out of 86 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best shows around..., 27 August 2002
Author: Rattrap007 from Evansville, IN

Monk is one of the best new shows around.

Tony Shalhoub plays Monk perfectly. Monk isn't your average detective. His wife was killed in a car explosion 3 year ago. He suffered a major breakdown and is now trying to get reinstated on the police force with the help of his private nurse. Monk's got lots of problems. He is Obsessive Compulsive, has fear of crowds, heights, the dark, and milk. Yes milk. Yet he is the greatest detective around. In one episode he even tried to straighten up the crime scene because the mess was driving him crazy.

Here is a sample story. The chief described Monk's first day on the job in one ep. It was as follows:

They were called to a run down hotel. A prostitute had ODed on some pills. Over a dozen cops said suicide. Monk said murder. They all thought he was crazy. The chief asked "why murder?". Monk points out that if she was commiting suicide where was the glass of water needed to get the pills down..

He notices little thing no one else would.

I give this show a 10/10.

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62 out of 74 people found the following comment useful :-
Charming, intelligent and hilarious, 6 July 2004
Author: Templeton Moss from Kentucky

This is written in direct protest of a user comment on this site which called this remarkable series "drivel," "awful," and other things that made me think the jerk was accidentally watching "Law and Order."

This is one of the best shows on TV. I say that because it shares one common trait with every show I have ever loved: Heart. Behind the ominous tinge of death, the cynical barkings of Captain Stottlemeyer, the Barney Fife-esque antics of Randy Disher, the equal parts maternal nagging and New Jersey attitude of Charona Flemming and the fact that it's basically a show about poking fun at one guy's mental problems is love. We LOVE Adrien Monk. We join him in mourning his wife's death, and we live and die with each step he takes toward being reinstated.

This is more than a cop show. This is more than a detective show. This is more than a comedy. This is more than a drama. Given the slightest amount of cosmic justice, this show will go down in history alongside "Sports Night," "Freaks and Geeks," and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (I apologize for nothing) as a show that did not give in to the horrors of professional television, but rose above them to produce pure art.

As for the last guy's comment that Monk should've been reinstated a long time ago...you want to give Adrien a gun and set him loose in your neighborhood? Fine by me, and sleep tight.

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60 out of 71 people found the following comment useful :-
Mystery/Comedy...who knew?, 31 March 2005
Author: jwhale9382 from Maryland

I used to watch Murder She Wrote with my parents, but I never really got into the stories. Mysteries just weren't my thing back then. Then, a few weeks ago, my parents introduced me to this show on USA network about a neurotic detective. So I watched it and after one episode I had a new favorite show.

Adrian Monk is a detective with an obsessive compulsive disorder that apparently enhances his perception skills. Most of his friends at the station think he's just weird.

Tony Shalhoub portrays the nutty sleuth. Before this, I did not know that Tony could act...well. I had only ever seen him in Men in Black as Jeeves. But a role like Monk proves to me that Tony can carry a story.

But it's the humor in the show that keeps makes the show entertaining. If the jokes and zingers weren't there, Monk would probably be just another boring mystery where I'm trying, futilely, to solve the case before the hero. So, thank you Tony Shalhoub for making mysteries fun.

If you're a mystery fan, a comedy fan, or a combination of the two, you will love Adrian Monk.

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40 out of 51 people found the following comment useful :-
Monk Mania Is Upon Us, 27 January 2006
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Here's a cable television that, by word of mouth, is really gaining in popularity..... and it's easy to see why. It scores a bullseye by combining interesting crime stories with humor. When you have that combination and it works, you have a winner.

Monk's comedy, despite what the producers say, is really making fun of people who have compulsive-obsessive disorders (OCD)., but not in a mean-spirited manner. Adrian Monk (Tony Schaloub) and his many phobias are what make us laugh. That's what makes this show unique and sets it apart from every other "whodunnit" show, from Sherlock Holmes to Det. Robert Goren on Law And Order: Criminal Intent.

Shalhoub excels in his comedy, in large part, to his body movements, his reactions to situations and to his deadpan deliveries of hilarious lines. He is a master at all of it, and always entertaining.

I did have trouble, unlike most people, with his sidekick, "Sharona," played by Bitty Schram. I'm sorry but I found her extremely annoying with her OMG's every other sentence and her horrible nasal New Jersey accent. I was glad to hear she left the show midway through the following season but, as others have pointed out: the shows have gone downhill since she left. However good Scrham was in her role, (and she was effective) the show getting weaker by the fourth year is due to the writers, not the appearance of "Natalie Teeger."

The two other main characters and good and bad, too. Levine is good as the no-nonsense, gruff and tough police captain. He looks the part and acts it, but Gray-Stanford is ludicrous as his main detective. He's portrayed as someone totally stupid and immature, and no lieutenant would act like him. He's an insult to the viewers' intelligence. Oddly, he was pictured much more realistically the first season of the show but by the second season he was made into a goof-ball.

Story-wise, each episode is entirely different so it never gets stale. Most shows feature surprising twists and clever plots. That's the idea of the show - odd cases that nobody but the extremely observant Monk could figure out. All his phobias wound up costing him his badge, but he's so smart, the police have to call him in to solve the difficult mysteries.

It's beautifully filmed and occasionally you get a travelogue-type glance at the San Francisco scenery. This show is picking up new viewers each week because it's addicting. Once you've seen a show or two, you have to see more....and it rarely disappoints. After watching this, I purchased the first and third seasons. The first season is outstanding, particularly the opening episode. I'm now looking forward to viewing the third season.

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38 out of 53 people found the following comment useful :-
Law and Order Witha Comedic Twist, 5 June 2005
Author: asam3122 from United States

Meet Adrian Monk. He's a detective solving crimes in San Francisco. He is also obsessive compulsive. Being obsessive compulsive, Monk pays attention to small details, which helps him solve the crimes.

Monk is hilariously played by Tony Shaloub. I don't think they could've gotten anyone better to play Monk.

Traylor Howard plays Monk's assistant, Natalie. I really do miss Bitty Schram as Sharona, but she moved on, and Monk needed another assistant. Overall, this show deserves a 9/10. It's basically Law and Order with only one detective, a group of cops, and his assistant. (And sometimes his brother, Ambrose.)

I would recommend this show to anyone who likes Law and Order. You'll get a kick out of watching Monk solve all these cases.

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25 out of 32 people found the following comment useful :-
Best New Show, 3 December 2002
Author: Jim Menke from Buffalo, NY

It isn't often that a series on a cable network turns out to be the best new show of the season, but that is just what happened with "Monk". It is off beat, delightfully acted and very humorously written. Monk, himself, is outrageous and unpredictable. The viewer never knows what Monk will find to obsess over. However he is as observant or even more so than Sherlock Holmes. Tony Shaloub is really great in bringing this difficult character to life. The whole cast is exactly right. It is no wonder that ABC picked up this show to repeat the original episodes on broadcast TV.

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19 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
A Fun, Funny, and Entertaining Show, 1 August 2004
Author: Spooky2001 (btvsfan@gmail.com) from Woodinville, Washington

I don't have cable but I was happy when the first season of Monk came on DVD. I always wanted to see that show because I heard good things about it. I finally got to see the show. I loved it. It was funny and entertaining. There was never a dull moment in any of the episodes. It held my interest. I have heard bad things about the second season but I will still watch it. For anybody who said murder isn't funny(like the last reviewer) it is not the murder that makes the show funny but Monk himself and the other characters help too. I can't wait to see what the writers will think of next. If you like detective mysteries and you like comedy then this show is for you. I can't wait for the second season to come out on dvd.

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23 out of 38 people found the following comment useful :-
Original,Funny / Great Ensemble, 15 March 2003
Author: Edgar L. Davis (luludavis@aol.com) from Hardwick, Vermont

Tony Shaloub is great like the old-school comic actors (Bob Hope, Alan King, Jerry Stiller). Bitty Schramm is funny, tough and very sexy. She gives that Seinfeld chick a run for her money. She's also the most realistic single mom on T.V.(What actually happened to her in Miami? Did I miss that episode?) Captian Stotlemeyer is a refreshing break from the creeps that that actor(Tally)usually plays.

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