"Monk" Season 8 thread - Page 3

I enjoyed it, but the mystery itself was even more obvious than usual.  (I'll admit I was still working out the mechanics of how she got the boxes post-marked ahead of time, but it was clear from the start that the dolls were made up after the deaths and immediately clear that the paramedic's uncle was the target even before we saw the inverted horseshoe.)

But the personal side of the story was great and I loved the tag where Natalie kept messing with Monk's head and he continued to lecture her on superstitions without any trace of irony.  And she just enjoys it.  I think scenes like this add a sweetness to the Natalie/Monk dynamic that was never really there, or at least not there in the same way, with Sharona.  

Regards, 

Joe 

Yes a very good episode.
Now isn't it about time to start getting into his wife's murder.
I'm just concerned they will just use only 2 or 3 episodes to wrap that all up.

I was hoping this would be more of a season long section of the show.

There are 8 episodes remaining on "Monk". They are running straight through the rest of the season without a break and should finish on Dec 4. I have not looked at episode descriptions so I have no idea how they will cover the process of Trudi's investigation. (fast - slow - bits and pieces ?)

I've read it's the last 4-5 episodes that will deal with it. (which is more than enough IMO) They should start after Sharona's guest spot.

I agree.  Two or three (or even one or two) would be plenty as well.  The Fugitive only needed two episodes to finally find the one-armed man and give Richard Kimble his life back, after all.   Chances have always been that one good break - a death-bed confession by someone involved, a missed or buried piece of evidence, or a new piece of technology applied to an old one, would propel Monk towards the solution.  And once he's got that, he's going to go for the solution like a rocket.  I don't see the point of string out the clues (and the stories) over 8 or 10 episodes when they can be better used to prep Monk for his life after he solves the murder, and for resolving some of his many issues and relationships.  (Hence this week's show with Harold, his "dark side" episode with the mob and the upcoming episode with Sharona.) 

I loved the Harold show, although the size of the group and the fact that the doc, Harold and Adrian could all be eliminated as suspects made it pretty easy to spot the killer.    The two of them in the trunk was priceless.  

Later,

Joe

Many funny moments in this episode. Loved the imaginary scenes of Monk as the killer.

The actors are so at ease and in sync with their roles at this point. Running like a well-oiled machine. It's a shame they are wrapping it all up soon.

Man, when Harold said "Here's what happened," I roared with laughter.  Harold Krenshaw is a wonderful character, and the part is portrayed beautifully by the actor!

Another good episode with the Birthday and the vacuum cleaner. I was on top of my game with this one. I figured out the scheme when I noticed the tool belt incident.

Yeah ... And next week "My Sharona"!  

My favourite bit of this episode was the "Dumpster or Porta-Potty" bit...

"Do you even know me!?"

Re: Stottlemeyer's new love interest, I also think this one will turn out well for him, since they're wrapping things up for good. Could the title of the episode scheduled for November 13 give us a clue?

I was disappointed. It's not that it was bad, though the mystery wasn't anything great. It just made me realize that while I like Sharona, she really never was that important. It's no wonder she was so easily replaced. 

On another note, I think Monk is a rare show that would lend well to "movie of the weeks." The cast, costs, and logistics of it all just work out. I was thinking tonight how they could sometimes do "Sharonas" and sometimes do "Natalies." 

^^Adam, did you watch "White Collar?" I know you did, go start a thread. 

I don't think there was anything "shoddy" about the way Schram's departure was handled on the part of the producers.  She basically pulled a MacLean Stevenson - holding the show up for more than it was willing or able to pay on the theory that she couldn't be replaced.  She was wrong and she paid the price.   If there was any "shoddy" behavior there I think it was in her breaking her contract and leaving the rest of the team in the lurch.  She's lucky the character wasn't just killed off-screen, which would have forever prevented her return.  Given the timing and the pressure to both continue producing the show and establish a new sidekick, I think they did as good as job as they could with what had to be a short and easy-to-grasp explanation in the dialogue.  And I think it was gracious of both parties to bury the hatchet for the good of the show and the benefit of the fans and agree to having her return. 

Her "Special Guest Star" billing is pretty standard in these situations, and is what her agent negotiated for her.  


So, you can't figure out what fits and doesn't for Natalie, because she is less of a personality, but you can simultaneously declare that what little personality she has has been distorted to fit the plot.  Maybe you just don't understand or appreciate Natalie's personality, which is a good deal subtler than Sharona's? 

Nor do I think it would have made any sense to get into guilt or resentment with Monk and Sharona.  While this episode is very much a gift to long-time fans of the show, it still had to be written so that someone who had never seen a frame of Monk would be able to tune in and follow the story.  They couldn't stop the story dead to explain the circumstances of Sharona's departure, which is the only way the ending you envisioned would have worked.  Especially not when you only have 40-some minutes of story time. 

The same objection applies to having Benjy and/or Julie in the episode - you'd have to divert valuable screen time away from the plot to basically name-check a couple of characters who don't contribute to the story, and you have to pay two more guest star salaries to do it.  The picture of Benjy accomplished most of what an appearance would have done and was a lot cheaper.  (Ditto when Sharona and Benjy were mentioned during Monk's memorial service in "Mr. Monk is on the Run".) 

The reason Sharona won't be around when Monk solves Trudy's murder is basically the same.  She'd be an expensive guest star unimportant to the plot, and valuable screen time would have to be devoted to reintroducing her to new viewers.  It made far more sense to deal with the character by giving her her own episode.  (And who knows?  Maybe Schramm did film a brief scene or one side of a telephone call to be used in the finale.  Before Michael O'Hare left Babylon 5 at the end of the first season, he recorded a couple of video-emails as Cmdr. Jeffery Sinclair that would be seen in season two as a way to keep his character alive and a part of the story before his final appearance in the third season.  OTOH the producers couldn't justify flying O'Hare in from New York and paying his expenses and salary to shoot one scene for the TV movie In the Beginning because it wasn't that central to the plot, and the Sinclair material that was already existed in the form of clips from various episodes.  So it all depends on budgets and what everybody wants to do.)

The Trudy story is and always has been more about Monk and Stottlemeyer, who knew Trudy,  than about anyone who came into Monk's orbit later.  Natalie will be with Monk because she is his assistant now.

All-in-all I thought they did a very nice job with the episode.  They didn't do what I feared, which was make Natalie and Sharona best buds from the beginning.  I liked the resentment and the competition and the "Mr. Monk" vs. "Adrien" bits.   But I also liked the ending, which was more about the actors and the characters and their place in the show than about the characters as people in a fictional universe.  That part really was a nod to the fans, and if anything I think they overstated Sharona's contribution to Monk's progress, probably as a way of placating the kind of die-hard Sharona fans who are still sending them hate mail.  (One of whom, I hasten to add, Adam is clearly not.  )

Regards,

Joe

That simply isn't true.  Nobody writes a "38 episode" contract.  Especially not for a show with 16 episode (originally 13 episode) seasons.  Standard series contracts are for seven seasons, with the studio (not the actor) having the option to continue or not after each season.  Schram left a little over halfway through the 16 episode third season.  Do you really think Shaloub's contract ran out halfway through season three?  Neither the network nor the studio is that stupid. 

SAG contracts also include automatic pay increases for each season, so Schram would have been making more in S3 than she did in S1, just not as much more as the other actors who were successful in renegotiating.

As a practical matter, on all successful shows, the actors try to renegotiate in mid-contract to get what they believe is fairer compensation for helping to make the show a hit.  Shaloub et. al. did exactly that.  Shaloub and Levine got raises, Schram didn't.  As was also the case with Jorja Fox and (possibly) George Eads on CSI, the studio had upped the salaries (or given producing credits) to some actors, but drew the line with others they thought expendable in order to keep the over-all budget where they needed it to be.

Officially Schram left over "creative differences" when the producers decided to take the assistant character in a different direction.  There was never any suggestion of Schram's contract being up and not renewed,  at least not that I can find.  I believe that's because it wasn't. 

Regards,

Joe

I definitely agree that it was like the episode you mention in a less intense way.  While he was still being himself and fretting about everything this time around, he definitely was much worse in the earlier episode.  The dog got away with much more than the kid did, which would be expected since this is the last season and he's given hints of recovering slightly (by pulling off things that he'd never have done in the past like has been mentioned before).

Except for the opening I really disliked this episode.
it was paint by number plot line #47 out of the book of generic plot lines.

Boring and saw it before in a dozens other sitcoms.
With only 5 shows left I was thinking this is what they could come up with to get Monk on the verge of reinstatement.

I didn't care for this one either.  I thought the ending was uninspired and unconvincing.  It seemed to me as though Monk was overacting a bit in this one -- something I've rarely seen prior to this episode.  I also thought the solution to the case was very weak.  I found the obligatory disrespectful children we see on many television shows, which was pretty much in full force for much of this episode, to be annoying.

One of the positive aspects of the episode for me was seeing Wade Williams.  His work on Charmed as a Seeker ("Death Takes a Halliwell") was frightening when I first saw it.

And a thoughtful tidbit on the part of the writers was having her referred to as 'T. K.' throughout the episode, with the one note of explanantion (Trudy) early on.

I didn't feel right about the blonde ('sister-like' friend) right from the get-go.  I couldn't put my finger on why, but there was something odd about her, especially with regard to how anxious she was to go along with everything.  And then that tuxedo was mentioned quite a few times....

Yeah, it was pretty obvious to me that it was going to be the 'sister' as soon as she got a little weird when Stottlemeyer took his tux back right near the beginning.  Other than that, good episode.  At this point, so near the end anyway, it's not so much the mysteries I care about as much anyway, so even though it was obvious, it didn't ruin the episode.

This season is better than the last two ,with a bunch of Fine shows at the start,the last one wasn't great
and the real sad thing is ONLY TWO MORE :(

The only thing that bugged me in a WTF way was that just two episodes ago he was denied his badge. The only explanation given was that the Captain went to bat for him. Whatever. I can't wait for the finale though.