 |
I still remember
when the name Tony Shalhoub was known to
only a handful of TV fanatics. I was an
avid watcher of “Wings” and
loved his character on the series. He was
obviously very talented and often stole
the show whenever he appeared with his droll
delivery. After that series ended, I would
occasionally see him pop up in various films,
most notably “Men in Black”
and “Galaxy Quest” and in both
instances he created very memorable characters.
I often wondered when someone would wise
up and give the guy a show of his own, so
when I first heard about the premiere of
“Monk,” you would have thought
I’d tune in.
When “Monk” premiered on the
USA Network a few years ago, it came at
a time that I was still on a self-imposed
abstention from as much TV as possible.
I had spent so many years getting hooked
on TV shows that I hardly had time for anything
else. I opted to limit myself to just a
few, those of which I usually recorded in
order to watch later.
|
While “Monk” should have made the
list… it didn’t, so I opted to wait
for the eventual DVD release. In the meantime
I kept hearing what a great show it was, and even
shocked some of my friends who learned that I
wasn’t tuning in. “DVD,” I reminded
them…
Unfortunately, when the 1st season of the series
was released, Universal Home Video wasn’t
on our roster of studios (well, rather we weren’t
on their roster) so I missed having the opportunity
to review the set. On the bright side, things
changed and were getting to review some of Universal’s
DVD titles so a couple of years back the 2nd season
showed up on my doorstep. That’s when I
had a decision to make. I knew I wouldn’t
have time to buy and watch the 1st season, so
this marks the first time that I’ll ever
start to review a show halfway in. (Usually I’m
very anal retentive about starting from the beginning.)
I imagine some of you may be unfamiliar with the
series and the character of “Monk”,
so I’ll tell you what I’ve learned.
Shalhoub plays Adrian Monk, a former police detective
who now does his detective work on is own. Sounds
like any other detective show out there right?
Wrong. You see, Monk has been on psychiatric leave
from the San Francisco police force ever since
the murder of his wife in 1997. He already had
a photographic memory and paid an incredible amount
of attention to even the smallest details of a
case, but since the death of his wife these details
became obsessions, and these obsessions led to
an acute case of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).
I’ve known people with this disorder and
it can become a bit frightening. Add to this a
ton of phobias, and you can imagine Monk is one
messed up character.
After I watched the first couple of episodes from
the 2nd season of “Monk”, I told myself
that I was going to have to go and buy the 1st
season set. The series is hysterically funny,
and Shalhoub is amazing. He is so adept at juggling
Monk’s obsessive behavior with his detective
skills that he makes it seem effortless. I can’t
imagine the character in any other actor’s
hands. I was equally impressed by actress Bitty
Schram, who plays Monk’s nurse/assistant
Sharona. The two of them make a perfect team.
When I received the 3rd season of “Monk”,
I couldn’t wait to catch up with the character.
I had heard that Schramm left the show part way
into the 3rd and was going to be replaced and
I was concerned as to how that was going to effect
the quality of the series. Stepping into some
really big shoes was actress Traylor Howard, who
became Monk’s new partner in crime (solving),
Natalie Treager. I was shocked to find that she
filled the role admirably by making her character
very different from that of Schram’s. Where
Sharona would often mollycoddle Monk and his compulsive
behaviors, Natalie opts to challenge him. It brings
a whole new dynamic to the show, and one that
was a lot more welcome than I expected.
As it turned out, all the episodes from the subsequent
season sets have been terrific. The mysteries
themselves continued to be quite clever, and it
was easy to see how Shalhoub was able to walk
away with both Emmy and Golden Globe Awards (though
I’m sure he wiped them off completely before
handling them…)
Now we're venturing into the 7th season set, which
Universal just recently released and again I was
pleased to see that the series was not losing
any momentum. What seemed at first to be a one-trick
pony has become a staple for the USA Network and
is showing no signs of slowing down, though I
understand that the 8th season is to be the last.
Like the seasons before, the 7th season of “Monk"
is a joy each and every episode. The writers have
been able to continue writing creative situations
to put Monk's OCD to the test and Shalhoub's performance
just never seems stale. In this season, Monk has
to deal with the death of his therapist and the
anxiety of replacement, which comes in the form
of actor Hector Elizondo (who is terrific in the
role). As for cases, he faces everything from
a murdered councilwoman (with whom he happens
to be battling over the demolition of the site
of his wife’s murder), suicides on a submarine
and the murder of a neighbor.
As for extra features, there are a handful of
video commentaries as well as a closer look at
the episode, “Mr. Monk Makes the Playoffs.”
“Monk”, I’m thrilled to say,
continues to live up to its hype and is an enormously
entertaining series. I still just wish I had gotten
to see the 1st season first!!!
Episodes:
Mr. Monk Buys a House
Mr. Monk and the Genius
Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever
Mr. Monk Takes a Punch
Mr. Monk is Underwater
Mr. Monk Falls in Love
Mr. Monk 100th Case
Mr. Monk Gets Hypnotized
Mr. Monk and the Miracle
Mr. Monk’s Older Brother
Mr. Monk on Wheels
Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door
Mr. Monk Makes the Playoffs
Mr. Monk and the Bully
Mr. Monk and the Magician
Mr. Monk Fights City Hall
Starring: Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Ted
Levine, Jason Gray-Stanford
Extras: Video Commentaries, Anatomy of an Episode
– Mr. Monk Makes the Playoffs
Specifications: Widescreen (1:78.1), English Dolby
Digital 2.0
Studio: Universal
Release Date: 7/21/2009
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
http://www.great-tv-shows.com
We'll give Monk: Season 7 an A.
|
