"It's a Jungle out there." - A retrospective on the TV show Monk

Socially distancing, compulsively washing hands, and the early 2000s. Looking right now in 2020, he was right all along.

Monk is a television series about Adrian Monk a widower and former police detective, now a private investigator working with the police to solve difficult crimes. Adrian Monk has a laundry list of mental illnesses that according to the show existed before but was magnified after the death of his wife. The crimes are often dense but short enough to fit in one episode, with Monk prefacing with "Here's what happened" or "Here's what I think happened"

I think the statement pretty much sums up Monk and his motivations: "He can solve any case but the case he can't solve is the murder of his wife."

Even though I am still watching through the series, currently on season 4. I definitely give this my wholehearted recommendation.

This is because although we have other shows like Psych or even more comedic ones like Brooklyn Nine-nine. I think there is a lot of things that Monk brings to the table that makes me want to continue watching.

The Characters

The show features a recurring cast just like any other show of this nature. There's the smart lead as Adrian Monk and his companions, first his nurse Sharona Fleming and second his more "spunky" assistant Natalie Teeger. Their interaction and chemistry together are what bring out the human side of Adrian Monk. Nobody understands him as well as his nurse/assistant.

Saying that Adrian Monk is a difficult person would be an understatement. There is a lot of things that you have to take note of and that caring for him will need a boatload of patience. This is why a well-developed relationship between the two is necessary. This is why I disliked the few episodes of Natalie because the actress that played Sharona Fleming left the show due to issues with the contract. So a few episodes that were meant for Sharona was booted in for Natalie. Making Natalie seem like a more whiny character than she actually is.

As Adrian Monk works on various cases, he works with Captain Leland Stottlemeyer the current Captain of the detectives, and his Lieutenant Randy Disher (which somehow reminds me of Captain Darling from Blackadder). They have a sort of friendly-rival like-relationship with Monk. Lieutenant Disher frequently sucking up to Captain Stottlemeyer to receive his approval and feed the Captain's ego. Although as time goes on they start to defend and depend on Adrian Monk from other people who try to diminish Monk as a person.

The show takes place in the early 2000s but as you can see in the show the treatment of Mr. Monk is very different from how he would be treated today. The awareness of different mental illnesses was not common thus people would treat him as a weird person or even crazy.

The Dramedy

The characters are well-developed enough to engage me in a very heart-wrenching story. There are times when the show has humor though the contrast can be seen between Season 1 and 2. Season 1 has a more dark overtone compared to Season 2 and forwards which is small bits of comedy preparing for some kind of reveal in Monk's personality, history, or relationship with Trudy (Monk's late wife). Definitely, Season 2 and 3 had a few times when I was at the end of the episode just crying.

I think overall this is why I would recommend other people to watch Monk. Adrian Monk is a tortured soul. He lost his wife and everything came spiraling after. Now, people outcast him because of the trouble within himself. We do see a glimpse of how Monk would act as if he wasn't troubled with fears and his various compulsions when he decided to take meds. Though, he gave it all up because he was looking for Trudy. He couldn't imagine or "see" Trudy when he was taking his medicine. He is a person who wants nothing more than just one thing. The companionship of his wife.

The show even creates some sort of foreshadowing to Monk's life when he sees a parrot that is silent and unhappy when the parrot lost a female parrot inside, aside from the many others scattered in the show. I won't spoil any but from what I watched so far the worst ones for me involved, Willie Nelson, A candle in a coffin, and a toddler.

The Cases

In it's most basic sense. Monk is a crime dramedy so I am pleased to report that Monk has a phenomenal set of cases. I would say in every season there is one weak case but usually, that's because it wasn't really the focus of the episode. Most likely it was an episode looking more into the character of Monk and the solving would be an afterthought. Like Monk will just be sitting there and suddenly calls the captain to say he solved the case. Definitely, the show has it all. From a Chimpanzee being framed for murder to a hotel cleaning crew doing insider trading sometimes, I would laugh not because of something funny but because it was so satisfying to solve the case and to see Monk summarize everything in a neat package. The cases can happen anywhere. Much so that even the writers acknowledged the fact that crimes seem to happen whenever Monk is around. May it be a plane, on vacation, or while in witness protection.

Conclusion

It really has to be said that the acting of Tony Shaloub and in extension the cast of Monk has done a phenomenal job bringing to life these various characters to make a believable and heart-tugging experience.

I think if Monk was made today with the popularity of streaming and season-long story arcs. They would have definitely benefited from it. Imagine how complicated a case would be to become 2 or 3 Monk episodes long. Although, I fear it might fall victim to anime-style cliffhangers.

But that's the beauty of Monk, he's so smart that he can solve it in just one episode. Ready to solve the next crime.

For anyone who wants to empathize with a troubled soul, I tell you to search no further watch the TV show Monk.

Love, peace, and more solved crimes.