TV-Reviewed

"Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door" proved to be a welcomed change when it comes to Adrian Monk's friendships. Adrian has never had an easy time of making friends. Sure, he's a little quirky, but all of the people who try to befriend him want something from him. There's always a catch, but not this week. Adrian had become friends with an older woman (Marge) who helped him across the street. Marge (Gena Rowlands) is known as the ... Read More

I've fallen behind with Monk (and a few other shows) yet again. I guess work has kept me busy and being sick certainly doesn't help. I don't particularly like the idea of Natalie being tortured by being there for Adrian Monk's ever need. It can be very trying to watch on a week to week basis, but to have it all lumped into one episode, it's almost unbearable to watch. When Natalie unwittingly helps a local man steal a bicycle, ... Read More

Monk's post-Christmas return was a bit of a disappointment. I was really looking forward to Steve Zahn's performance as Adrian Monk's half-brother, Jack Jr. I'm a big fan of Zahn's comedic films, but found this episode of Monk to be quite light in the comedy department. I did like the introduction of Jack Jr. It wasn't all that long ago that we learned of his existence in the episode from 2006 entitled "Mr. Monk Meets His Dad." Adrian did ... Read More

I've never quite understood the reasoning behind airing the Christmas specials during the same week as Thanksgiving. It's an entire month before Christmas and well, I guess I'll never really understand holiday programming decisions. They've never made sense to me. Going into this Christmas special, I was a little skeptical because Christmas episodes are rarely all that good. They typically take the typical episode and add a Christmas tree to Monk's home and call it a Christmas episode. Much to my ... Read More

The premise for this episode of Monk was very intriguing. Seeing Adrian revert to the actions and maturity level of a child is rather funny to see. I was skeptical of it, though, as I wasn't sure how much it would impact the episode's crime-solving plot. As it turns out, it just made it a little more entertaining. I was pleased to see Harold return after his brief appearance in the 100th episode recently. He doesn't usually add a ... Read More

This past week's episode of Monk was more of a tribute to the character Adrian Monk. It was a fairly unusual episode because of the tribute. Adrian's 100th case was profiled by a Dateline-like news program, hosted by Eric McCormack. I've seen a few shows get an episode like this... the other being CSI, which had a camera crew follow them around during an episode. I just don't quite get the appeal of these types of episodes. ... Read More

The plot idea of Adrian Monk falling in love with another woman has been tried already, so I was hoping for something new and exciting this go-round. I had a difficult time trying to muster up some enthusiasm for this episode. I'm not opposed to the idea of Adrian moving on, but it just doesn't seem to be happening. He's stuck thinking about Trudy, so in my mind, there's no chance for him to fall for the woman. It wasn't that long ... Read More

Adrian Monk trapped on a submarine - now that sounds like a little adventure, but not one I'd choose to accompany him on. This week's episode too us to the Pacific Ocean, a location Adrian doesn't often find himself too often. After an officer on a submarine reportedly commits suicide, a friend of his recruits Adrian and Natalie to look into the death. One of the things I liked most about this episode is that Natalie played a semi-important role. ... Read More

I'm a little late getting around to this (and a few other episodes, of which reviews are coming along soon), but in this episode, Adrian found himself in quite a pickle. Due to a lawsuit, he and every other civilian contractor working with the city has to meet basic physical fitness tests in order to continue working. It didn't come to be any sort of surprise when Adrian said he hadn't been working out recently (last 20 years). Due to his ... Read More

I have to hand it to the writers for coming up with a better than average episode of Monk for the first time in a little while. When this series first began, I was always a little slow to figure out who did it and how. But seven seasons in, I'm able to figure out the story within the first 15-30 minutes. I wasn't so quick on this one, however. The opening scene showed quite a contrast in character with ... Read More