Archive for Monk News
Tony Shalhoub was in the formative stage of creating the series character who would give him a long, award-winning run when he made these two rounds of the detective series, previously available as separate sets.
Private detective and widower Adrian Monk has numerous quirks that can be attributed to obsessive-compulsive disorder, but he manages to cope with them enough to be an excellent sleuth; Bitty Schram co-stars as Sharona, Monk’s original assistant on the show. *** (Not rated: AS, P, V)
Download ‘Monk: Season One & Two’ on DVD.
Tony Shalhoub was interviewed about the end of Monk and it was interesting that as an actor, he waited till he filmed the end before learning Monk’s fate. He said, “I think it’s a good send-off. At the beginning of the season, the writers asked me if I wanted to know how everything [ended] and I said, if it was okay with them, I’d rather wait.”
If you would rather wait, too, don’t read below because I’m going to postulate a couple of ideas about what we saw on Friday and what might be coming. These aren’t spoilers, because I don’t know. However, if I stumble upon the right answer, I wouldn’t want to be accused of spoiling it for you.
Okay, based on what Randy told Leland, the poison in Monk’s body is lethal and it’s too late to find an antidote. If that’s true, Monk is like Edmund O’Brien in the movie D.O.A. (or Dennis Quaid in the remake of D.O.A.), and he’s going to solve the murder before he dies. In Monk’s case, he’ll solve his own murder and Trudy’s at the same time.
If Monk were to die like that, the fanciful finale could be that he and Trudy are reunited in the afterlife. Some readers think that’s wholly appropriate. Some think that the producers wouldn’t kill off Monk because they’d want to bring hm back for TV movies. Some just can’t imagine Monk being killed.
My mind keeps going back to Trudy’s tape to Monk. If Trudy knew she was in danger, if — as the tape suggests — she sent it to Adrian because she knew she was going to die, is it possible that Trudy’s not really dead? Did she want him to believe that she was dead for his own protection?
Suppose she had uncovered information that was so explosive that she had to go into Witness Protection? Suppose she had to keep the information from Adrian to save his life? Or did she determine that she couldn’t take him into Witness Protection with her because of his OCD? (By the way, if this were the case, it would be great to see Mary Shannon — actress Mary McCormack — from In Plain Sight as her WITSEC agent!)
What makes me think that Trudy’s not really dead? Well, watch her run through the parking garage from the last episode. She has the keys in her hand, but then reaches into her purse for something else. Could she have had a device to signal someone else to create the “bomb” diversion? Also they showed the six-fingered man, but there was another man’s head shown? Or it could have been the same guy, who knows?
Maybe all the evidence was manufactured to make it appear that Trudy was dead? The evidence would have to appear completely consistent with her death because not only did it have to convince Monk, it had to convince the judge who ordered her murder.
Watch a sneak peek of MONK on USA “Mr. Monk and the Badge” Season 8 Episode 14 airing Friday November 20 at 9 pm on USA.
Episode Synopsis: MONK “Mr. Monk and the Badge” Season 8 Episode 20 – Upon being reinstated, Monk is put in charge of tracking down a serial killer.
About the Show
Tony Shalhoub (“Big Night,” “Wings,” “Men in Black,” “Cars”) has earned three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two SAG Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Adrian Monk, a brilliant detective who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. In the critically acclaimed original series “Monk,” Monk’s psychological disorder costs him his position as a legendary homicide detective on the San Francisco Police force. Due to the tragic unsolved murder of his wife, Monk has developed an abnormal fear of germs, heights, crowds and virtually everything else, which provides an unusual challenge to solving crimes … not to mention his day-to-day existence. Traylor Howard (“Two Guys and a Girl,” “Me, Myself and Irene”), Ted Levine (“Heat,” “Moby Dick”) and Jason Gray-Stanford (“Taken,” “A Beautiful Mind”) also star.
Also watch any Monk Episode Here
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Watch Sneak Peek of Monk Season 8 Episode 11 “Mr. Monk and the Dog”
The USA Network is gearing up for the series finale of its beloved hit series Monk, which will air on Friday, December 4, and they’re bringing back some beloved past characters from the series. Bitty Schram will make her return as Sharona Flemming on this week’s episode on Friday, October 23 at 9 PM ET on the USA Network. Both Shalhoub and Schram participated in a conference call to discuss the series, and here’s what they had to say.
To prepare for your role as Adrian Monk on the USA series, Monk, it’s reported that you did a substantial amount of research with a Los Angeles psychotherapist specializing in obsessive-compulsive disorder. What was that experience like? Did you have to study someone with OCD?
Tony Shalhoub: Well, the psychologist that I spoke with and had sessions with just gave me a lot of information and a lot of reading material. And that combined with some videos that I was able to find, videos of people who suffer from OCD, I was able to kind of build the character off of that information. It was really kind of standard research that you would do for prepping for any role, really.
What can you tell us about the upcoming series finale?
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After eight seasons, Tony Shalhoub will be saying goodbye to his Monk character forever when the season finale of Monk airs on December 4 on USA. Although Monk has given fans quirky, private eye comedy and drama for eight seasons, the Monk character has also helped shed light on the condition of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which now has been demystified in the mainstream thanks in some special way to Tony Shalhoub and the creators of Monk. 
With Monk bidding fans farewell for a final time in slightly under two months, and special guest star Bitty Schram returning to her role as Sharona in the Friday, October 23 episode, “Mr. Monk and Sharona,” we spent a few minutes with Tony Shalhoub to talk the final season of Monk, how he feels about Monk after so many years, and whether Tony Shalhoub feels he’s had an impact on the OCD community with his memorable character.
THE DEADBOLT: When you look at Monk now, what feelings do you have for the character as compared to day one?
TONY SHALHOUB: Well, day one I had no idea what I was doing. And I didn’t really have an understanding of where the writers or where I was going to take this character, how it was going to evolve. But now of course, having done 124 episodes, I was really really gratified to see that we made this character really multifaceted and full of contradictions and I think pretty well rounded. So, as an actor, that is something you always look for.
THE DEADBOLT: Is it easier or more difficult going into a season knowing it’s the last?
SHALHOUB: It’s both. You know, it sort of alternates back and forth. On the one hand, it’s easier because you understand that there’s going to be resolution and there’s going to be a finish line, an end point. And then on the other hand it just becomes such a family and you’re going to miss these people and these relationships, a sort of collective creative energy.
THE DEADBOLT: Do you have a sense that you made an impact in the OCD community?
SHALHOUB: You know, based on mail that we received from people who suffer from this disorder, and from various other people in academia, “impact” is kind of a big word. But I definitely think it’s a positive character and maybe even in some ways Monk has become a poster boy for those who suffer. But the feedback has all been so positive. I hope that it’s some effect in maybe demystifying the disorder and allowing people to see it as something not as a completely debilitating mental illness that this character suffers, but can still do his job well and can still contribute and is sort of a contributing member of society. I hope that people can see other sufferers in that same way.
THE DEADBOLT: What has Monk taught you on a personal level?
SHALHOUB: I guess it’s made me a little bit more – You know, I tend to take my time with examining things. I feel it’s made me somewhat more observant and less quick to jump to conclusions or to make snap judgements. It’s kind of slowed down my processes in that way, just allowing me kind of pour over something for longer periods, and I think that seems to have been helpful.
Download “Mr. Monk and Sharona” Episode
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2lmYnitUgQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2lmYnitUgQ
Episode 8.12 – 6th Nov 2009 – Mr. Monk is the Best Man
Episode 8.13 – 13th Nov 2009 – Mr. Monk and the Badge
Episode 8.14 – 20th Nov 2009 – Mr. Monk and Sharona
Episode 8.15 – 27th Nov 2009 – Mr. Monk and the End (1)
Episode 8.16 – 4th Dec 2009 – Mr. Monk and the End (2)
Monk’s phobias threaten to undermine a murder case when an aggressive defense attorney targets Monk’s unconventional methods in court.
Airs: 11th September 2009
source: spoiler tv
