Monk (TV series)

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Monk
Image:MonkSeason5DVDCover.jpg
Season Five DVD cover
Format Comedy-drama
Police Procedural
Created by Andy Breckman
Starring Tony Shalhoub
Traylor Howard
Ted Levine
Jason Gray-Stanford
Stanley Kamel
Opening theme Instrumental theme by Jeff Beal (season 1)
"It's a Jungle out There" by Randy Newman (season 2-Present)
Ending theme Instrumental theme by Jeff Beal (season 1)
"It's a Jungle out There" (instrumental) (season 2-Present)
Country of origin Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 86 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Andy Breckman
David Hoberman
Tony Shalhoub
Rob Thompson
Tom Scharpling
Running time 42-45 minutes (approx.)
Broadcast
Original channel USA Network
Original run July 12 2002 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Monk is an Emmy Award-winning U.S. television show about the private detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub). Monk is afflicted by obsessive-compulsive disorder and multiple phobias.

The show premiered on July 12, 2002, on the USA Network, and began its sixth season on July 13, 2007. Monk was created by Andy Breckman and is produced by the USA Network.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Monk is a brilliant homicide detective who worked for the San Francisco Police Department until his wife Trudy died in a car bomb attack that Monk believed was targeted for him. Trudy's death led Monk to suffer a nervous breakdown. He was discharged from the force and became a shut-in, refusing to leave his house for over three years. With the help of practical nurse Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), he was finally able to leave the house, allowing him to perform consulting work for the police, despite having to deal with his OCD.

Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Lieutenant Randall "Randy" Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) call on Monk when they have trouble with an investigation. Stottlemeyer is often infuriated by Monk's disorder, but respects his friend and former partner's amazing observational abilities, as does Disher. Monk's obsessive attention to detail allows him to spot tiny discrepancies, find patterns, and make connections that others fail to make. Monk continues to search for information about his wife's death, the one case he has been unable to solve.

In the third season, Sharona decides to re-marry her ex-husband and moves to New Jersey. Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard), a single mother with an eleven-year-old daughter, is hired as Monk's new assistant.

Monk has a brother, Ambrose, and a half-brother, Jack, Jr.[1]

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Monk characters

[edit] Main characters

Name Occupation Portrayed by
Adrian Monk Former SFPD detective and current crime consultant Tony Shalhoub
Natalie Jane Davenport Teeger Assistant to Adrian Monk Traylor Howard
Captain Leland Stottlemeyer SFPD Police captain: Robbery Homicide Ted Levine
Lieutenant Randy Disher SFPD Police lieutenant: Robbery Homicide Jason Gray-Stanford
Julie Teeger Young daughter of Natalie Teeger Emmy Clarke
Dr. Charles Kroger Adrian Monk's psychiatrist Stanley Kamel

[edit] Former main characters

[edit] Minor characters

  • Ambrose Monk (John Turturro) : Monk's Brother. He hasn't left the house in over 20 years and still believes his father is coming home after leaving over 30 years ago.
  • Kevin Dorfman (Jarrad Paul): Monk's annoying, talkative upstairs neighbour. He is often seen cooking (with Monk).
  • Harold J. Krenshaw (Tim Bagley): Another patient of Dr. Kroger's. Harold and Adrian Monk have an ongoing feud, mostly about who they feel is liked the most by Dr. Kroger.
  • Trudy Anne Ellison Monk (Character Deceased) (Stellina Rusich seasons 1-2, Melora Hardin seasons 3-4, Hannah Contrucci and Lindy Newton)

[edit] Guest stars

This section is missing citations or needs footnotes.
Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (December 2007)

The show has featured many guest stars over its six seasons, including Brooke Adams (who is Tony Shalhoub's wife), Jason Alexander, Sean Astin, Diedrich Bader, Danny Bonaduce, James Brolin, Brooke Burke, Dan Butler, Emma Caulfield, Rosalind Chao, Enrico Colantoni, Gary Cole, Alice Cooper, Brett Cullen, Tim Curry, Tim Daly, Polly Draper, Charles Durning, Carmen Electra, Fred Ewanuick, Jon Favreau, Willie Garson, Joy Giovanni, Bob Gunton, Dan Hedaya, David Koechner, Korn, Brooke Langton, Chi McBride, Andrew McCarthy, Malcolm McDowell, Laurie Metcalf, Larry Miller, Glenn Morshower, Alfred Molina, Charles Napier, Kevin Nealon, Willie Nelson, Judge Reinhold, Andy Richter, Amy Sedaris, Michael Shalhoub, Sarah Silverman, Nicole Sullivan, Holland Taylor, Danny Trejo, Stanley Tucci, Steven Weber, Mykelti Williamson, Rainn Wilson, Janet Wright, and, most recently, Snoop Dogg. In an upcoming episode, Howie Mandel is a guest star as a member of a cult.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Monk episodes

USA Network planned an unusual re-broadcast of the episode "Mr. Monk and the Leper," first broadcast on December 22, 2006, in black and white and then rebroadcast immediately afterward in full color. Tony Shalhoub introduced the episode as having "all the elements of a timeless film noir movie" and thought it would be interesting to present it in that way.[citation needed]

The episode "Mr. Monk and the Rapper", which aired July 20, 2007, featured a special version of the theme song performed by Snoop Dogg, who also guest starred in the episode. Snoop Dogg's version was also used in commercials promoting the sixth season.

[edit] Production

According to an interview with executive producer David Hoberman,[2] ABC first conceived the series as a police show with an Inspector Clouseau-like character suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. According to Hoberman,[2] ABC wanted Michael Richards for the show, but Richards turned it down (Hoberman doesn't mention whether these events took place before or after the failure of The Michael Richards Show, which also featured Richards as a detective). Hoberman brought in Andy Breckman as creator, and Breckman, inspired by Sherlock Holmes, introduced a Doctor Watson-like character as Monk's nurse and an Inspector Lestrade-like character which eventually became Captain Stottlemeyer.

Although ABC originated the show, the network eventually handed it off to the USA Network. USA is now owned by NBC (NBC Universal).[3] Monk is the first ABC Studios-produced show (formerly Touchstone Television) aired on USA Network instead of ABC. Psych was the second ABC Studios show to air on USA, four years after Monk's debut. On January 12, 2006, USA Network announced that Monk had been picked up through at least season six as one of the "highest-rated series in cable history."[4] Season 5 premiered Friday, July 7, 2006, at 9 p.m. Eastern time. This marked the first official time change for the program, which aired at 10 p.m. during its first four seasons. The change is due to its popularity and to work as a lead-in to the new USA Network series Psych, another offbeat detective program. Monk has followed a consistent format of airing half of its 16 episodes in the summer and the second half in the winter.

[edit] Location

This section is missing citations or needs footnotes.
Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (December 2007)

Although set in San Francisco and its area, Monk is for the most part shot elsewhere except for occasional exteriors featuring city landmarks. The pilot episode was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the subsequent Season 1 episodes were shot in the Toronto, Ontario, area. Most of the episodes in Seasons 2-5 were filmed in the Los Angeles, California, area, including on-stage at Ren-Mar Studios (these include Adrian’s apartment, Sharona's house, Stottlemeyer's precinct house, Dr. Kroger’s office and Natalie’s house).

[edit] Theme music

During the first season of Monk, the series used a jazzy instrumental intro to the show by songwriter Jeff Beal, performed by guitarist Grant Geissman.[5] The theme won the 2003 Emmy Award for Best Main Title Music.[6] When the second season began, the series had new theme music, a song entitled "It's a Jungle out There", by Randy Newman. Reaction to the new theme was mixed. A review of the second season of Monk in the New York Daily News included a wish that producers would revert to the original theme.[7] Shalhoub expressed his support for the new theme in USA Today, saying its "dark and mournful sound,...[its] tongue-in-cheek, darkly humorous side.... completely fits the tone of the show."[8] Newman was awarded the 2004 Emmy for Best Main Title Music for "It's a Jungle Out There."[9] This debate was referenced in the episode Mr. Monk and the TV Star, which features an actor who plays a detective in a TV show, and several characters mention an in-story controversy over the change of that show's theme music, including obsessed fan Marci Maven, played by Sarah Silverman. In the epilogue of the story, she implores Monk to promise her that he will never change the theme music if he ever gets his own show. When Monk agrees to the promise (only so he can go back to bed), the original music is heard as the scene fades to credits.

For the season 6 episode, "Mr. Monk and the Rapper", guest star Snoop Dogg performed a hip-hop version of "It's a Jungle Out There" as well as accompanied Monk with "here's what happened" in rap form.

[edit] Sharona vs. Natalie

During Season 3—after appearing in her 37th episode—Bitty Schram left the show, possibly as a result of a contract dispute.[10] Some fans were unhappy with the change.[11] Schram's replacement was Traylor Howard (as Natalie Teeger). While others in debates appear to prefer Natalie [12]. As of the episode first aired on February 23, 2007, Natalie has appeared in more episodes than Sharona.

The 2007 novel Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants had Sharona returning to get her job back after her husband was arrested for murder, thus clashing with Natalie. When both are framed for murder, they share a talk in their jail cell and bond over their feelings about working with Monk. Eventually, Monk clears both of them, and Sharona goes back to New Jersey with her husband, knowing Monk was in good hands with Natalie.

[edit] Other media

[edit] Soundtrack

The show's soundtrack features its original music score.

[edit] Novels

Lee Goldberg has written several novels based on the show.[13] The novels are written through the eyes of Natalie, Mr. Monk's assistant. The first novel, Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse, was the basis for the fifth season episode "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing."

Title Author ISBN Release date
Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse Lee Goldberg ISBN 0-451-21729-2 January, 2006
Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii Lee Goldberg ISBN 0-451-21900-7 30 June, 2006
Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu Lee Goldberg ISBN 0-451-22013-7 January, 2007
Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants Lee Goldberg ISBN 0-451-22097-8 3 July, 2007
Mr. Monk in Outer Space Lee Goldberg ISBN 0-451-22098-6 30 October, 2007
Mr. Monk Goes to Germany Lee Goldberg ISBN 0-451-22099-4 1 July, 2008

[edit] DVD releases

Title Region 1 Region 2 Region 3
Season One June 15 2004 December 27 2004 January 20 2005
Season Two January 11 2005 July 18 2005 September 19 2005
Season Three June 5 2005 February 27 2006 March 7 2006
Season Four June 27 2006 September 18 2006 TBA
Season Five June 26 2007 September 17 2007 TBA
Season Six June 2008 N/A N/A
Seasons 1-4

(The Obsessive Compulsive Collection)

June 27 2006 November 20 2006
(R2 has different cover art)
Seasons 1-5 N/A October 22 2007
(Only available in R2)

[edit] Awards and nominations

As of 2007, Tony Shalhoub has been nominated for an Emmy Award five times, once for each season.

[edit] Awards won

Emmy Awards:

  • Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub (2003, 2005, 2006)
  • Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series John Turturro (2004)
  • Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series Stanley Tucci (2007)

Golden Globe Awards:

  • Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy Tony Shalhoub (2003)

Screen Actors Guild:

  • Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub (2004, 2005)

[edit] Award nominations

Emmy Awards:

  • Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub (2003-2007) 5 nominations
  • Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine" Randall Zisk (2005)
  • Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Laurie Metcalf (2006)

Golden Globe Awards:

  • Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy (2004)
  • Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy Tony Shalhoub (2003-2005, 2007) 4 nominations
  • Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy Bitty Schram (2004)

Screen Actors Guild:

  • Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub (2003-2005, 2007) 4 nominations

[edit] Broadcasters

Country Alternate title/Translation TV Network(s) Series Premiere Weekly Schedule
Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States USA Network (original airing)
and Universal HD (syndication) 		July 12 2002 Fridays 9:00 p.m.
Image:Flag of Australia.svg Australia Network Ten (first run)
and TV1 (re-runs)
Image:Flag of Austria.svg Austria ORF 1 Tuesdays 10:55 p.m.
Image:Flag of the Basque Country.svg Basque Country ETB2 From Monday to Sunday, except Fridays, 8:10 p.m.
Image:Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bosnia and Herzegovina FTV Tuesdays 1:10 p.m.
Image:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil Monk, um detetive diferente (Monk, a different detective) Universal Channel
and Rede Record 		Sundays (Universal) and
Fridays at midnight (Record).
Image:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria Монк (Monk) bTV January 3 2007 Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays
and Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (seasons 1 and 2)
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays
and Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. (seasons 3 and 4)
Sundays at 12:30 a.m. (repeats of season 1 and 2)
Sundays at 3:00 p.m. (repeats of season 3)
Image:Flag of Canada.svg Canada A-Channel, Citytv, TVA (French)
Image:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia Monk HRT 2 Thursdays 10:00 p.m.
Image:Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus Ντετέκτιβ Μόνκ("Detective Monk") CyBC October 8 2006 Fridays 11:00 p.m.
Image:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic Můj přítel Monk
("My friend Monk") 		TV NOVA Sundays 5:00 p.m.
Image:Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark Canal+ (first run), TV 2 Charlie (re-runs)
Image:Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia TV 3 September 6 2003 Sundays 8.30 p.m.
Image:Flag of Finland.svg Finland YLE September 11 2004 Saturdays 7:45 p.m.
Image:Flag of France.svg France Monk TF1 March 22 2003 Sundays 3:05 p.m.
Image:Flag of Germany.svg Germany Monk RTL June 29 2004 Tuesdays 10:15 p.m.
Image:Flag of Greece.svg Greece Ντετέκτιβ Μονκ
("Detective Monk") 		Star Channel Sundays 6:45 p.m.
Image:Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong 神探阿蒙
("Detective Monk") 		TVB (Season 5)
and Cable TV Entertainment Channel (Season 3) 		September 18 2003 Thursdays 10:35 p.m. (seasons 1 & 2) Mondays 10:35 p.m. (seasons 3 & 4) Wednesdays 10:35 p.m. (season 5)
and Monday to Friday 7:00 a.m./ 7:00 p.m. / 9:30 p.m. (season 3)
Image:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Monk, a flúgos nyomozó ("Monk, the nutter detective") TV2 Monday to Friday 5:30 p.m, except Thursdays when it starts at 5:00 p.m.
Image:Flag of India.svg India STAR World
Image:Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia Indosiar
Image:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland RTÉ (Finished showing Season 5) Monday to Friday 3:00 p.m.
Image:Flag of Israel.svg Israel Israel 10
and Hallmark
Image:Flag of Italy.svg Italy Detective Monk Rete 4 June 9, 2005 Thursday, 9:10 p.m. (two episodes)
Image:Flag of Japan.svg Japan 名探偵モンク [Meitantei Monk]
("Great detective Monk") 		NHK BS-2
Image:Flag of South Korea.svg Korea 탐정 몽크 [Tam Jeong Monk]
("Detective Monk") 		KBS2
Latin America Universal Channel
Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico Universal Channel Sundays 7:00 p.m.
Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands Monk SBS6 December 6 2007
Image:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand Channel 3 and SKY 1
Image:Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines StarWorld Tuesdays 10:00 p.m.
Image:Flag of Poland.svg Poland Detektyw Monk
("Detective Monk") 		TVN (free-tv-premiere), TVN Siedem (re-runs)
Canal+ (first run), Canal+ Film (re-runs) 		TVN: Tuesdays 8:55 p.m.; TVN Siedem: Sundays 10:00 p.m.
Canal+: Thursdays 9:30 p.m., Canal+ Film: different
Image:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal TVI and FX
Image:Flag of Macedonia.svg Republic of Macedonia Kanal 5 Wednesdays 8:00 p.m.
Image:Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia Monk RTS Sundays 11:00 p.m.
Image:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia Markíza
Image:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia Monk POP TV September 8 2004 Wednesdays 9:40 p.m.
Image:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa SABC 3
Image:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden Canal+ Film 1 (first run)
and Kanal 9 (re-runs) 		April 8 2003 Mondays 10:00 p.m.
(Canal+ Film 1)
Tuesdays 8:00 p.m. (Kanal 9)
Image:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand Star World Mondays 9:00 p.m. (THAI/WIB)
Image:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey Dizimax
Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom BBC and Hallmark Channel
Image:Flag of Switzerland.svg Switzerland 3+/ TSI 1/ TSR 1
Image:Flag of Russia.svg Russia Дефективный детектив
("Defective detective") 		Channel One (Russia)
Middle East MBC 4 Wednesdays 8:00 p.m. GMT
Asia Star World Mondays 10:00 p.m.

[edit] Trivia

  • Monk has been parodied on Adult Swim's animated sketch comedy Robot Chicken, crossing the character of Monk with the character "Corky" from the television series Life Goes On. The skits feature a character called "Cork," as retarded private eye.
  • As of Mr. Monk and the Big Game, Adrian Monk has solved 104 murders (though he only has 100 trophies because he prefers the number 100).
  • The show's writers occasionally satirize Monk's near-perfect memory. For example, in "Mr. Monk Goes Back to School" he can't remember if a crime scene on a roof is his 4th or 5th worst nightmare, since he "didn't bring the list".
  • The sponsoring network used the term "Monkish" to publicize the series. The word describes Adrian's odd behavior but also is a play-on-words that relates to his monklike isolation.
  • The characters of Captain Leland Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Randall Disher (named Randall Deacon in the pilot episode) serve much the same function in Monk as did Inspector Lestrade in the Sherlock Holmes stories. This relationship may have inspired these characters' names: taking the first two letters of each name in order – LE from "Leland", ST from "Stottlemeyer", RA from "Randall" and DE from "Deacon" – spells out "Lestrade".
  • Most of the episode "Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas" was filmed on the set of the NBC show "Las Vegas".
  • Some of the sets were used to film the Academy-Award winning film Crash.
  • Tony Shalhoub's real wife (Brooke Adams) acts in "Mr. Monk and the Airplane"; "Mr. Monk and the Kid"; "Mr. Monk Visits a Farm". And his brother (Michael Shalhoub) acts in "Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny" and "Mr. Monk Bumps His Head".

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Mr. Monk Meets His Dad". 'Monk'. November 17, 2006. No. 9, season 5.
  2. ^ a b "Mr Monk and His Origins", a special feature packaged with the Season One DVDs
  3. ^ Monk FAQ. USA Network (September 21, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-29.
  4. ^ USA orders seasons 5 and 6 of Monk. USA Network (January 12, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
  5. ^ Grant Geissman - Biography. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
  6. ^ Monk - The Show: Theme Song. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
  7. ^ Bianculli, David. "Detective's defective, show isn't", New York Daily News, 2003-06-17. Retrieved on 2006-09-16. (English) 
  8. ^ The Monk Fun Page. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
  9. ^ Chronology — Randy Newman. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
  10. ^ Wallenstein, Andrew. "No Sharona — Bitty Schram leaves Monk", MSNBC News, 2004-08-31. Retrieved on 2006-09-16. (English) 
  11. ^ Byrne, Bridget. "'Monk' madness", 'The Portsmouth Herald', 2006-07-09. Retrieved on 2006-09-16. (English) 
  12. ^ http://www.tv.com/monk/show/9130/sharona-vs-natalie/topic/5377-153249/msgs.html
  13. ^ http://www.leegoldberg.com/monk.html

[edit] External links

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Monk


v • d • e
Monk (official website)
Main charactersAdrian Monk | Natalie Teeger | Sharona Fleming | Captain Leland Stottlemeyer | Lieutenant Randy Disher
Secondary charactersCharles Kroger | Trudy Monk | Ambrose Monk | Dale "The Whale" Biederbeck | Julie Teeger | Jack Monk | Benjy Fleming
Related articlesList of episodes | List of novels | Monk soundtrack
bg:Монк

cs:Můj přítel Monk de:Monk (Fernsehserie) es:Monk eu:Monk fr:Monk ko:탐정 몽크 hi:मोंक it:Detective Monk he:מונק (סדרת טלוויזיה) hu:Monk – Flúgos nyomozó mk:Монк ja:名探偵モンク pl:Detektyw Monk pt:Monk sq:Monk sk:Monk fi:Monk (televisiosarja) tr:Monk zh:神探阿蒙

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