Review again monk 15 years later, the series finale reveals some interesting truths about the show, from how it handles Sharona's performance to whether the formula of the week ever gets too repetitive. monk It ran for eight seasons, airing from 2002 to 2009. Tony Shalhoub and the cast monk recently reprized their roles Mr. Monk's Last Stand: The Monk Moviean original Peacock film that revisits the beloved detective 14 years after the events of the show. monk is one of the greatest detective TV shows of all time and has aged surprisingly well.
Crime shows where the detective has a quirk or a trick are nothing new and continue to be part of the television landscape. However, monk Despite his Sherlock Holmes-like powers of deduction, he took things to the next level by making the titular character extremely relatable. monk it was also a very funny series, with Shalhoub's performance stealing the show every time. monk As good as ever in 2024but some aspects of the show stand out on rewatch.
7 Monk Was A Formulaic Show With Too Many Repeated Episodes
Almost Every Section of Monk Was The Same
monk never tried to be more than a detective procedural with pros and cons. On the one hand, mystery lovers and fans of the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie can enjoy Adrian solving a creative case every week. monk there were rarely two-part episodes or overarching storylines, ie Adrian and his friends dealt with new characters and hung out in a different location each episode. This approach was central to the show, but it felt too repetitive at times. As interesting as Adrian was, watching the same episode every week could get boring.
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He was nominated for 18 Emmy Awards and won eight.
Showing that a cold-case crime has been solved “Here's what happened…” the moment almost every episode monk followed a very well-defined whodunit formula. After the cold case was opened, Adrian would arrive at the crime scene, be briefed on the case by Leland or Randy, and begin talking to the suspects. monk then he would piece it all together and figure out who did it, usually followed by a confrontation with the killer, after which the detective would be told he had no evidence to back up his case.
6 Sharona's departure is still upsetting 20 years later
Sharona Was One Of The Pillars Of The Show
It's over The scar is gone monk Due to a contract dispute in season 3. Shaw wrote Sharon to say that Adrian's assistant intended to return to New Jersey and remarry her ex-husband. Sharona's departure from the story is too abrupt, and while Natalia is a great replacement, it marks the end of an era for the show. monk It was never the same without SharonaA character whose dynamic with Adrian is almost impossible to replicate. Having worked with Adrian for years, Sharona had no trouble calling him out or telling him what to do.
Leland respected Monk so much that he would never speak to him like that, while Natalie was a more traditional assistant who treated Adrian as her boss above all else. There was a sibling energy between Sharona and Monk that made their relationship hilariousScar was completely lost after he left the show. For those in love monk The show was certainly hard to watch after season 4 for the first three seasons. However, the series bounced back and continued for five more great seasons without Sharona.
5 Despite Some Flaws, The Monk Emphasized The Importance Of Mental Health
Adrian Monk Was A Solid, Human Character
while monkWhile the portrayal of OCD was flawed, especially with how it was sometimes written as weird and part of the detective's gimmick, the show did a pretty good job of bringing attention to mental health on television more than 20 years ago. monk Due to OCD or trauma, Adriana never looked downinstead, it focuses on how the character moves on with his life and finds a new way to do his job despite no longer being a police detective.
Stanley Kamel as Dr. Kroger
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He sadly passed away on April 8, 2008.
monk's therapists—Dr. Kroger and Dr. Bell—were recurring figures on the show and helped Adrian every step of the way. “Mr. Monk Is Underwater” emphasized how important treatment is to Adrianhe was able to go through one of the scariest experiences of his life thanks to what he learned from Dr. Bell. The monk the film also explores the character's mental health, even touching on how Adrian entered a severe depression phase after developing OCD following the COVID-19 pandemic.
4 Natalie Replaced Sharona Surprisingly Well
Replacing Sharona was not easy, but Natalie did
TV shows that replaced beloved characters often struggled to come up with a new name that viewers could relate to. From reboots to new characters, it's no exaggeration to say that often important characters are written out of the show, and replacements don't work. This is usually not because of a new character or actor, but simply because the audience was used to the previous one. For this reason monkIt's admirable in retrospect that 's Sharona was replaced by doing so well.
It was Natalie monkHe became a sidekick from seasons 4 to 8 and became an important part of the show's legacy. It is impossible to talk about monk Without bringing Natalie up, it shows how well her character works. Natalie is cleverly written to be the opposite of Sharona Instead of a new version of Adrian's previous assistant. It took a while for Natalie and Adrian to become family rather than just co-workers, which made their relationship interestingly different monk and it was Sharona.
monk It never really replaced Sharon, as can be seen from how fans of the show were disappointed that Adrian's original sidekick didn't appear. Mr. Monk's Last Stand: The Monk Movie. But looking back monk After season 4, it's safe to say Natalie's introduction helped the show find a new identity after Sharon's departure. If Natalie's character didn't work, monk's future past season 3 could have been very different and maybe not have lasted so long.
3 Some of the monk's jobs were either too easy or had no twists at all
The Monk Is Not a Traditional Whodunit
monk's premise was that Adrian could handle things no one else could, so it could be frustrating when the work of the week wasn't all that interesting. The show took a risky approach by showing that a crime had been committed at the beginning of most episodes, ie monk It's often not the identity, but the “how did they do it?” to show It was a lot monk Episodes where we the audience know who did it but went after Adrian as he tried to prove how it was done.
While this is a clever take on the crime-procedural genre, it led to a few anticlimactic episodes where there wasn't much to discover. Some episodes even show or at least tease how the crime was committed in the beginning, leaving us with nothing to figure out. Watching Adrian come up with his theories was fun, but so was solving the case with Tony Shalhoub's character. The best monk episodes were ones that struck a balance between teasing what happened and letting us figure out the rest.
2 The Most Important Event in Adrian Monk's Life Was Very Anticlimactic
Monk Didn't Actually Solve Trudy's Case
The most frustrating part of rewatching monk knows that Adrian never solves Trudy's case on his own. Issued, “Mr. monk and the End” ends with Adrian finally bringing justice to the man who killed Trudy and finding the package he needs. But on closer inspection, Adrian didn't solve the case. He just found a tape of Trudy explaining everything, including her past with Judge Rickover. monks most important case was not solved by him rather in a very anticlimactic way through an external factor.
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's final episode went for a more surprising twist, revealing that the key to solving the case has been in Adrian's house all along.
Even though solving Trudy's murder will never be considered another case, the lack of a proper “What Happened” moment in the series finale is very frustrating. still, I would like Adrian to find out the truth himself and only then discover the tape It could have been used as evidence against Rickover. monk's final episode went for an even more surprising twist, revealing that the key to solving the case has been in Adrian's house all this time – and he just wasn't ready to face it.
1 The Monk Movie Is Not Much Different From Most Episodes Of The Show
Mr. Monk's Last Stand Felt Like an Extended Monk Episode
While I love Mr. Monk's Last Stand: The Monk Movie and I'd like to see a sequel, the movie wasn't too different from most episodes of the show. Once again, at the beginning of the story, we saw how the crime was committed and we knew without a doubt who the murderer was. The monk the meeting felt like one big extended episode of the showonly with a wider scope and more space. However, the most interesting difference between the film and the show is how the former incorporates COVID-19.
Each one monk A fan who watched the show when it first aired in the early 2000s or in reruns asked how Adrian would cope with the pandemic and quarantine. The monk The cast even held an online, scripted reunion in 2020 where Adrian's friends checked in on him. The film builds on this and shows how the quarantine affects Adrian's mental health. It's definitely the best thing about the movie, and it made up for a not-so-special job that Adrian handled with relative ease.