 [Larger view] | Monk - Season One
| ||||||||||||
| |
Average user rating:  | |
| Truly original, truly hilarious! | |
| One of the more clever television creations of the new millennium, Monk combines the high-grade suspense of a traditional TV drama with the quirky humor of a big screen comedy. Originally developed for ABC, the show became an instant prime-time lynchpin for the USA network, proving itself one of the more successful shows on cable TV...
In Monk, Tony Shalhoub stars in the title role of Adrian Monk, a former San Francisco detective placed on psychiatric leave. A true legend in the community, Monk solves unsolvable crimes via his towering intellect, photographic memory, and meticulous observations. But the one case that alludes Monk is the 1997 murder of his wife Trudy, which forever altered Monk's capacity to perform his job. Suffering from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and a number of odd phobias, Monk requires a personal assistant, Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), for even his most basic daily activities. Yet Monk remains a police consultant on difficult cases, and he hopes to persuade Capt. Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) to give him his old job back. But Stottlemeyer and colleague Lt. Randall Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford), harbor doubts about Monk's mental faculties. As Monk solves cases though, those doubts dissipate and Stottlemeyer and Disher learn to appreciate Monk's special talents - despite his inability to cope with the day-to-day activities of a normal detective... Nevertheless, he remains a de facto investigator as he and Sharona aid the San Francisco police department in solving numerous high profile cases... The Monk (Season 1) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "Mr. Monk and the Candidate" in which the audience first learns the background of Adrian Monk, a modern day Sherlock Holmes beset by mental problems. After Monk solves a mysterious murder simply by looking at the crime scene, Capt. Stottlemeyer enlists him to help in the investigation of a failed assassination attempt of mayoral candidate Warren St. Claire...Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger" in which Monk investigates the death of a billionaire shot while trying to mug a police officer, and "Mr. Monk and the Earthquake" in which Monk investigates the murder of a wealthy businessman (which occurred during an earthquake) while suffering verbal difficulties as a result of the earthquake's numerous aftershocks... Below is a list of episodes included on the Monk (Season 1) DVD: Episode 1 (Mr. Monk and the Candidate: Part 1) Episode 2 (Mr. Monk and the Candidate: Part 2) Episode 3 (Mr. Monk and the Psychic) Episode 4 (Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale) Episode 5 (Mr. Monk Goes to the Carnival) Episode 6 (Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum) Episode 7 (Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger) Episode 8 (Mr. Monk and the Other Woman) Episode 9 (Mr. Monk and the Marathon Man) Episode 10 (Mr. Monk Takes a Vacation) Episode 11 (Mr. Monk and the Earthquake) Episode 12 (Mr. Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger) Episode 13 (Mr. Monk and the Airplane) The DVD Report | |
| There is only ONE Monk -- it's a gift -- and a course! | |
| This is a formula light-drama detective series with a few new ingredients: The master detective is neither a sleepy-eyed, poorly groomed slob, nor a classy old lady mystery writer, but a middle-aged man with a severe case of obcessive-compulsive disorder. Formerly a brilliant detective with the SFPD, Monk goes "off the deep end" after his wife is murdered, rendering Monk more impaired than ever. His failure to solve the murder of the wife he deeply mourns is an obcession in itself.
A single-mom nurse, assigned to help Monk adjust to life outside of mental hospitals, quickly doubles as his side-kick in the venture of private consultation to solve unique murder cases. Many elements in the original premise become "running jokes": Almost every episode has the 30-something side-kick single mom persuing a new love-interest, always ending in disappointment. Munk's fear of shaking hands, and his obcessive annoyance with anything asymmetrical is genuinely amusing. The viewer knows what the "problem" is with a scene, waiting for Monk to "do something about it". A crooked picture frame will throw Monk's whole world out of balance. The most minute details, meticulously memorized by this incredible crime-solving genius, at times become somewhat far-fetched. The motives offered for certain murders are sometimes unbelievable. That aside, Monk can hold his own among the best of the Prime Time Crime Fighters. He's right up there with Ltd. Columbo, Jessica Fletcher or even good old Miss Marple and Sherlock himself. This delicious crime drama series makes viewers cross their fingers, wishing for many more happy seasons. This looks like an easy contender for longevity, achieved by only a few of the programs in this genre. | |
| Highly Recommended | |
| I'm a new Monk fan, and since I loved the last episodes of Season 3 so much, I just had to buy the Season 1 and 2 DVDs -- and they are, quite simply, wonderful. The writers manage to interject just the right mix of humor, mystery, drama and OCD so that none of the elements overpower one another. This makes for an honest-to-goodness well rounded show. Further, Monk is one of the few shows on television that can still be considered "family friendly" -- which is nice deviation from the majority of the "stuff" on TV.
If you like a detective mystery without all the fluff and glimmer of CSI or other shock-dramas, Monk is a perfect way to spend an evening. I highly recommend it! |
