"Monk" Season 7 Thread - Page 4

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

Well, I finally saw the most recent episode. And, I thought I had called it (but ended up being wrong due to some wonderful misdirection). Around twenty-five minutes into the episode, I thought the neighbor (the drummer) was the woman's son, and that her real son had not in fact died at age three, and that the two of them had conspired in the murder and robbery. When I learned later that Monk believed the same thing, I was giving myself high fives. Then, I found out that Monk was wrong, and as a result, so was I.

Although I love misdirection (and in this episode, it really worked as far as I am concerned), they have done the "Here's what really happened" at least twice now, perhaps three (or is it four?) times. When I heard that line again, it was a bit of a letdown. I think if push comes to shove, I don't like the tactic, although it certainly works well in throwing off the viewer a bit. I think what I don't like about it is that in my view it lessens Monk's intuitive and/or case-solving (short-term) abilities just a tad. But that's really not all that bad all things considered, I suppose.

BTW, did anyone else notice the use of the number 12 in the episode? For a moment, I thought it was a cryptic allusion to Mr. Monk and the 12th Man. Seriously, the woman mentioned 'twelve years ago,' the drummer's house had the digits '12' in the first two places, and the newspaper headling read '12%.' (It would have been a scream had the man been playing in 12/8 time. ) I think someone is just having a bit of fun with things like this in Monk, whether or not it actually has anything to do with the episode. After all, it is a show based quite highly on observation.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

The first two episodes of this new "season" were a mixed bag for me. The latest one (with Gina Rowlands) was classic Monk for me, but the first episode, where Monk got shot in both knees slapped of slapschtick and was too far over the top to be enjoyable as far as I was concerned. When Monk's idiosyncracies are played out in a natural way it works for me, but when they overblow things it smacks of shark-jumping. I literally cringed when he was trying to do his trade mark "hand radar" bit while in the wheelchair. His constant "to the left, no... to the right, a bit more, left...." to Natalie, who was steering the wheelchair, went on way too long to be effective in my estimation and transformed into being annoying.

None of this is a deal breaker for me, of course, and Monk is still on my "must watch" list. In fact the USA trifecta of Monk, Psych and Burn Notice are some of my weekly favorites.



And In Plain Sight comes back in the spring.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

I must say the second shooting caught me off guard. I assumed that Monk broke Natalie's foot when he ran it over, and they were both going to end up in wheelchairs at the end. And I certainly thought that Monk, rather than Natalie, would have found a silver lining in the fact that his legs at least matched at the end. But for all the silliness I probaby laughed out loud at this episode more than I have and I know my mother did, as well. (She lives with my sister and brother-in-law and she was laughing so hard they came to her room to check on her. )

Regards,

Joe

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

I also suspected the Gena Rowlands character was involved in the crime. This suspicion was based on the fact that Monk had found a "friend" and a motherly figure, and you know those things never pan out well for Monk in the end. But then when he did his "here's what happened" thing and accused her I knew that couldn't be correct because it was too early in the show to wrap things up, plus he hadn't tied in the robot robbery. So then I figured she was actually innocent after all, but we just had to see how it played out with Monk being separated from his new friend in the end.

I guess it's okay for Monk to be wrong on occasion, but in some ways that diminishes part of the appeal of the show which is based on the fact that he's hardly ever wrong and can discern things nobody else can. Not that I'm going to stop watching at this point. I've seen all the episodes and intend to see it through to the end now.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

Agreed. You knew that she either had to 1) die; 2) be put away as a result of having committed the crime; or 3) move away. (Okay, I didn't think of moving away until I saw the entire episode.) But that works as well.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

At first I too suspected Gena's character of no good but as it wore on I began to suspect that she was genuine and really cared for Adrian, which made it all the more heartbreaking when Adrian became nasty with her because I knew that he was making a terrible mistake.

As Adam pointed out it shows how damaged he's become from his past experiences.

I liked the slapstick, it was a bit outside the safety zone but it still made me laugh.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

I like slapstick comedy as much as the next guy or gal, but it has to be played judiciously in my opinion. Once it is too overdone it loses its effectiveness to me. That's why I carefully used the word "slapschtick." One of the charms of Monk is the occasional slapstick comedy, playing off of his quirkiness. However, too much of a good thing doesn't always work. It reminds me of the time that my daughter, many years ago, was in high school and worked at an Ice Cream parlor. You would think that this would be a dream job. But being around the products all day made her actually hate ice cream after a year or two.

One double dip cone of Monk a week is fine by me.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

That was just not a good episode.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

Just saw on Hulu that the next four Monk episodes would be delayed on next day streaming by a week. Wonder why.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

Oh my god, they killed Kevin, you bastards!

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

I really liked Kevin as a character, so I was sad to see him killed off, I didn't see it coming at all. I especially enjoyed Kevin as Sharona's fill-in in "Mr. Monk and the Gameshow"... that was some funny stuff. I do think think that his death gave Monk a bit of growth... he was able to feel loss for someone other than Trudy and actually felt bad about the way he treated Kevin. Overall a really good episode.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

There's a tiny thing bothering me re: next week's episode. I could have sworn there was a flashback early in the series that showed Trudy's car parked on the street when it blew up. No big deal if they decided to change that detail for purposes of this story, more that I'm trying to figure out if I actually saw that or am misremembering.

Kevin's end was a surprise, but I thought they gave him a nice send-off. Steve Valentine once again plays a somewhat sleazy magician and is out-smarted by one of TV's most brilliant detectives. (Valentine lists magic as one of his interest on his official site, which is why he was so fluid with the cards, and there's a good chance he did some of the coin tricks and close-up stuff himself.)

Oh, I can't finish this without mentioning the funniest moment in the episode, when he spits the handcuff key away! It was just such a perfectly Monk thing to do.

Regards,

Joe

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

I know lol, especially when said key was in the mouth of someone as hot as Peyton List...



I have no memory of Trudy's car blowing up on the street, there was another episode when it was referanced that her car blew up in a parking garage.

I like Valentine, he's the host of that new Sci-Fi channel game show Estate of Panic.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

I didn't watch the promos myself, but I had assumed something like that would happen myself.

I think my disappointment was more because of the order I watched shows in last night too.

I watched Terminator, which was great, and then Dollhouse, which was even better, and then Psych, which I thought was one of its best episodes, and then watched Monk, which was a bit of a letdown from the quality level of the others.

I agree, that it was well-done, and I liked at the end how they named the playground after her, but it just never advances the big picture storyline, and honestly the new case every week is starting to get old and tiresome to me.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

Actually, the promos didn't really do that. They were certainly made in such a way as to suggest something along those lines, but I happened to see one of the promos while watching my recording of Psych after I watched Monk, and I have to admit it was less misleading than I remembered. Part of the reason I "saw" it as referring to a revelation in Trudy's case is that I was already expecting that.

I thought it was a very good and very funny episode. As for "not advancing the plot" - Monk is not the kind of huge, complicated serialized story that Lost is, with many mysteries that can be introduced and solved over time. It is more like The Fugitive or Voyager. Yes, there is a long-term story thread, but it is one that, by definition, will end the series. So if you want to run for more than one season, you really can't have every episode advance the so-called "main plot."

Besides, this episode did advance "the main plot" - if you understand the main plot to include Monk becoming functional enough to return to the force, as well as solving Trudy's murder. He came to accept the demolition of the parking lot, in the end. He's starting to let go of Trudy - which is the necessary pre-condition for getting his life back. (If he merely solves her murder and isn't reconciled to the fact of her death, he'll be worse off. For now, solving her murder gives him a reason to get out of bed in the morning.)

BTW, I have a feeling that the parking lot will play a role in solving her murder, so this episode is more set-up than throw-away. I think they're going to find a clue in the rubble, something hidden all this time that could only be exposed by tearing the place down.

Regards,

Joe

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

Oh don't get me wrong, I realize that finding out Trudy's murderer is a show-ender, but some of these episodes lately have felt really formulaic and so part of me wonders if one more season was one too long. This was a good episode, but finding some hint to push him along would've been good. I mean, for example, I know Dr Bell pointed out that he had looked a million times at the garage, and hadn't found anything, but wouldn't you expect him to look another time after finding out he might only have another week left before its torn down?

And I agree, that it's not some long arcing plot like Lost, but clearly here is an opportunity to show something, that he's not making the effort entirely in vain to keep the garage up. And I don't expect something like that every episode, no, but this WAS the season finale.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

I lost it in the scene where Monk verbally demolished the clerk/proxy. Much to his chagrin.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

I was waiting for them to find a clue under the sewer cover/in the sewer while attempting to retrieve the padlock key.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

But he did find something. He found lots of things, including a killer. He just didn't find what you expected him to find. But, again, the promo itself, even with the dialogue, didn't particularly promise anything having to do with Trudy's murder.


Actually, it is, at least in a well-crafted story. The plot of Moby Dick is inseperable from the character of Ahab. Put Capt. Steubing from The Love Boat in command of the Pequod and you have a completely different story. Casablanca only has the ending it does because of the journey Rick Blaine has made from during the course of the film bitter cynic to selfless idealist. A good story is one that can only happen to the character it happens to, and which plays out the way it does because of who he is at the start, and who he has become by the end.

And that's why the other thing Monk "found" - that he could let go of this piece of Trudy - is important. Look, the last set of episodes is going to be a sprint towards the series finale. There was nothing wrong with fiinishing this part of the story by having some fun, then taking a little bit of a breath and dealing with the inner story that parallels the external story of Trudy's murder.

Regards,

Joe

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

I thought this was a very solid episode. The tribute at the end was very fitting. And I like how certain elements of the episode were left open. After all, we've got sixteen more episodes, and a lot can happen in those.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

Speaking of the episode "Mr. Monk Fights City Hall", I just finished watching it. The bit with the hot dog vendors was a classic.

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

Sharona will return (for an episode) in Season 8.

'Monk' exclusive: Bitty Schram says 'Hi, Sharona!' | Monk | Ausiello Files | EW.com

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

I think this is great. Although I'm one of those who has come to prefer Natalie to Sharona (especially given the way the character and her relationship with Monk have developed), Sharona was a big part of the show's early success and of Monk's life and it is only right that she be included in the final season. I feel sorry for all the folks in the Ausiello comments section who stopped watching when Bitty left, or gave up on Traylor Howard after only an episode or two. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face!

Regards,

Joe

Re: "Monk" Season 7 Thread

It took me all of an ep or two for me to fall for Traylor hook line and sinker.

I rewatched the first 6 seasons at work and I must say that after getting so used to Natalie I really noticed just how bitchy and impatient Sharona was with Adrian.

Still, happy to know i'll get to see that spectacular rack of hers for an episode.