Monk (TV series)

Monk is a television show about an obsessive-compulsive detective named Adrian Monk (played by actor Tony Shalhoub). The show, which is currently in its fourth season, debuted in 2002 and is produced by the USA Network. Created by Andy Breckman, writer of Rat Race, the critically acclaimed series has been a popular hit. It has won several major awards (see below) despite the fact that it airs on basic cable. The show is also credited with significantly raising USA Network's profile.

Contents

1 Series overview

2 Monk's phobias

3 Awards and nominations

3.1 Emmy Awards
3.2 Golden Globes
3.3 Screen Actors Guild
3.4 Edgar Award

4 Monk in other countries

5 See also

6 External links

Series overview

Adrian Monk was originally a detective of the San Francisco Police Department. After the murder of his wife, Trudy, a case which he could not solve (indeed, perhaps the only case he has never been able to solve), Monk caved in to his obsessive-compulsive tendencies which previously his relationship had helped him deal with. He refused to leave his house for three years. Monk's personal nurse, Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), helped get him back on his feet. Occasionally, Sharona's son Benjy (Kane Ritchotte) helps Monk with cases, albeit unintentionally. Bitty Schram left the show during third season due to "creative differences". Traylor Howard plays Monk's new assistant, Natalie Teeger.

After his three years in seclusion, Monk began consulting work for the department, helping the police solve difficult cases. Police Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Lieutenant Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) call on, and spar with, Monk when they have a case they can't crack. Stottlemeyer is often infuriated with Monk's disorder, but respects his observational abilities. Monk continues to search for information about his wife's death as he works on other cases.

His truly obsessive attention to detail allows him to spot tiny discrepancies, find patterns, and make connections that everyone else in the investigation misses. He notices things such as the absence of a red pen (the color used to write a purported suicide note) in a victim's apartment, which tells him that someone else wrote the note. The pilot episode, "Mr. Monk And The Candidate," contains a prime example of Monk's photographic memory: He glances at a board with hundreds of colored pins, and after accidentally knocking them out, places them all back perfectly within five minutes.

Monk's mental and emotional problems extend beyond the boundaries of obsessive-compulsive disorder; he also suffers from a variety of crippling phobias (such as acrophobia (fear of heights), claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces), ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), and mysophobia (fear of dirt), among many others). He may also have Asperger's Syndrome.

In one episode, the viewers are introduced to Monk's brother Ambrose (John Turturro), who is even more intelligent than Adrian, but has been confined to his house for many years due to crippling agoraphobia. The character of Ambrose might have been inspired by the character of Mycroft Holmes, the rarely-seen "smarter brother" of the famous fictional detective genius Sherlock Holmes.

The show is widely acclaimed for its excellent guest stars, which in addition to Turturro have included Olek Krupa, Sarah Silverman, Tim Daly, Willie Nelson, Carmen Electra and Tim Curry.

The original two hour pilot was commissioned by ABC. Afterward, they weren't certain about the series and handed it off to USA Network. As part of the deal, ABC got the right to air repeats of the series after the episodes ran on USA. ABC used some episodes to fill in its summer schedule and got respectable ratings. Technically, the deal is still in place, but with USA Network being bought by NBC/Universal, the odds of episodes showing up on broadcast TV are very slim.

Sharona left in the middle of the third season. The character's absence was explained as she remarried her ex and took off to the East Coast. She was replaced by Natalie, another single mother (with a daughter instead of a son) who worked as a barmaid before becoming Monk's assistant. She is also a recovering gambler who lived in Las Vegas for two years. Her husband was a test pilot shot down in the Persian Gulf War, and was suspected of working with the enemy. Natalie maintains a tough exterior to make sure her daughter is strong enough to handle whatever facts come out. Just before his fatal flight, the husband gave his daughter a goldfish dubbed Mr. Henry. Natalie has been substituting the fish for years, providing the illusion that the fish is the same one to help her daughter cope.

Season 4 will premier Friday July 8 2005 at 10 PM Eastern time, and new episodes will be shown every Friday at 10 PM Eastern time after that until Season 4 is over.

Monk's phobias

Bridges (Gephyrophobia, Gephydrophobia, Gephyrdrophobia, Gephysrophobia)
Childbirth (Lockiophobia, Maieusiophobia, Parturiphobia)
Crowds (Agoraphobia)
Disorder (Ataxophobia)
Driving
Dogs (Cynophobia)
Elevators
Enclosed spaces, including caves, and tunnels (Cleithrophobia, Cleisiophobia, Clithrophobia)
Flying (Aviophobia, Aviatophobia, Pteromerhanophobia)
Germs (Misophobia, Molysmophobia, Molysomophobia, Mysophobia, Verminophobia)
Heights (Acrophobia, Altophobia)
Lightning (Astraphobia, Astrapophobia, Brontophobia, Keraunophobia )
Milk (Lactophobia)
Needles (Aichmophobia, Belonephobia, Enetophobia)
Public speaking (Glossophobia)
Snakes (Ophidiophobia)
Spiders (Arachnophobia)

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

2003 award for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub)
2003 award for outstanding main title theme music (Jeff Beal)
2004 nomination for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub)
2004 award for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series (John Turturro)
2004 award for outstanding main title theme music ("It's a Jungle Out There" by Randy Newman)
2004 nomination for outstanding casting for a comedy series

Golden Globes

2003 award for best performance by an actor in a television series - musical or comedy (Tony Shalhoub)
2004 nomination for best television series - musical or comedy
2004 nomination for best performance by an actor in a television series - musical or comedy (Tony Shalhoub)
2004 nomination for best performance by an actress in a television series - musical or comedy (Bitty Schram)

Screen Actors Guild

2003 nomination for outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub)
2004 award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series (Tony Shalhoub)

Edgar Award

2003 nomination for best television episode teleplay ("Mr. Monk Takes A Vacation", Teleplay by Hy Conrad)
2004 nomination for best television episode teleplay ("Mr. Monk and the 12th Man", Teleplay by Michael Angeli)
2004 nomination for best television episode teleplay ("Mr. Monk and the Very, Very Old Man", Teleplay by Daniel Dratch)

Monk in other countries

Monk is broadcast in the UK on BBC Two. It usually appears as part of a Saturday-afternoon strand alongside other detective dramas, such as The Nero Wolfe Mysteries and the 1980s/90s Granada Television adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes stories.