Monk

2002 • USA
4.8
1.76K reviews
TV-14
Rating
Eligible
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Season 2 episodes (16)

1 Mr. Monk Goes Back to School
6/20/03
It's Saturday morning at Ashton High School, and the SAT exams have just begun. As the students settle in to their seats, cracking open their exam booklets, everyone is startled by a loud crash and the wail of a car alarm. Rushing to the window, they are shocked to find the body of beloved English teacher Beth Landow strewn across the hood of a car parked at the base of a clock tower. It appears to be a suicide. But school principal Arlene Cassidy isn't so sure. That's why she calls on the services of detective Adrian Monk to investigate. Andrew McCarthy guest stars.
2 Mr. Monk Goes to the Ballgame
6/27/03
Lawrence Hammond, a high-powered corporate CEO, is driving his wife to a weekend getaway using the directions given by their car's GPS system when the electronic voice goes haywire, leading them not to a resort hotel but to a deserted lot - a lot where a killer lies in wait. Monk quickly realizes that Erin, the CEO's trophy wife, was the killer's primary target. Her husband was shot only once, and survived just long enough to give a cryptic clue: "Girls Can't Eat Fifteen Pizzas." No one knows what it means. Monk pursues the wife angle, and soon discovers that Erin had been having an affair. When Monk sees a sports magazine, he notices that Scott Gregorio, a baseball star, had taken an art class that Erin was also in, and deduces that he was her secret lover.
3 Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico
7/11/03
While on spring break vacation in Mexico, Chip Rosatti, the son of a prominent San Francisco businessman, wins a free skydiving jump. Watching from the ground, two of his friends gaze up in horror as Chip leaps from the plane but fails to open his chute and plummets to his death. When Chip's body is examined at the morgue, local coroner Dr. Madero discovers some perplexing news: Chip Rosatti didn't die from hitting the ground -- rather, he drowned in mid-air. A call from the Mayor of San Francisco sends Monk to the Mexican vacation spot in order to figure out just what happened during that fall.
4 Mr. Monk Goes to the Circus
7/18/03
At a quaint sidewalk cafe, Serge Cluvarias and his young date Ariana sit enjoying a late dinner. Their quiet evening is suddenly interrupted when a mysterious masked figure dressed as a ninja leaps down into the cafe from the rooftops above, and, without warning, shoots Serge dead. The ninja then makes a quick escape by leaping onto the restaurant awning, performing an amazing in-air somersault, and diving into the street to run away. When the police arrive at the scene with Monk in tow, it only takes the obsessive compulsive detective a moment to tie together a handful of clues. Sugar cubes missing from the tables, sawdust on the ground, a somersaulting ninja, and an elephant gun... is there a circus in town? Lolita Davidovitch guest stars.
5 Mr. Monk and the Very, Very Old Man
7/25/03
As the elderly residents of the Malden Retirement Home relax after dinner, just down the hall, Miles Holling, who is the world's oldest man and just one day shy of his 115th birthday, is being suffocated by a shadowy figure. Captain Stottlemeyer's wife Karen (Glenne Headly), who once profiled Holling in a documentary film she made, suspects that the elderly man's death was no accident. But Captain Stottlemeyer, citing Holling's age, believes he likely died of natural causes. Monk is brought in to settle the dispute, and he agrees with Karen.
6 Mr. Monk Goes to the Theatre
8/1/03
Sharona's sister, Gail (Amy Sedaris), is starring in a play bound for New York, and Monk and Sharona are in the audience. During a scene, Gail uses a fake knife to "stab" another actor. The actor gasps and wheezes before falling to the floor -- but then doesn't get up. A doctor rushes onstage from the audience and determines that the actor was stabbed in the chest. Gail is immediately arrested and charged with murder. As if things weren't stressful enough for Sharona, her mother arrives for a visit. Sharona tries to push aside her feelings to prepare her mother for the news of Gail's arrest. As expected, Mrs. Fleming is beside herself -- her daughter is being accused of murder! She asks Monk and Sharona to help clear her daughter's name.
7 Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect
8/8/03
It's a quiet afternoon in the San Francisco suburbs. Amanda Babbage chats on the phone as she retrieves her mail, confiding to her friend a recent series of difficulties between she and her brothers. Little does Amanda know that the package she's just carried into the house is in fact a bomb. This oversight is made clear a few moments later when, as she attempts to open the package, it explodes, killing her instantly. Though Monk is in the middle of a personal crisis -- his psychiatrist, Dr. Kroger, has left town for vacation, leaving Monk to deal with his obsessive compulsions on his own -- Captain Stottlemeyer nevertheless brings him in to consult on the bombing.
8 Mr. Monk Meets the Playboy
8/15/03
Elliot D'Souza, Chief Financial Officer for a high-powered publishing company, is working out in his private gym alone when suddenly the weight of his barbell overwhelms him and it comes crashing down violently on his throat. He's killed instantly, choked to death by his own workout equipment. Is it just an unusual accident, or something more sinister? Elliot's secretary, Miss Luden, is certain that Dexter Larsen (Gary Cole), the infamous publisher of the gentlemen's magazine Sapphire, somehow orchestrated her boss' death. As it turns out, Elliot was planning to close the doors of the infamous swinging party palace, the Sapphire Mansion. Not satisfied by the results of the police investigation, Miss Luden asks Monk and Sharona to take the case.
9 Mr. Monk and the 12th Man
8/22/03
A tollbooth operator is killed at work. Across town, a woman is killed in a movie theatre. Those are just two more victims the police have added to the growing number of bizarre homicides that have been sweeping the city in recent weeks. Immediately, Monk is suspicious of the details surrounding both murders and by the clues -- or lack thereof -- left at the various crime scenes.
10 Mr. Monk and the Paperboy
1/16/04
After Nestor and Jose Alverez deliver the morning paper to their most demanding customer, Adrian Monk, they notice someone trying to steal it. While trying to stop the thief, Nestor is pushed to his death. Monk's apartment is soon turned into a hub of disorder and distractions as the police search the crime scene. Monk's nerdy neighbor Kevin stops by to check out the commotion, and also introduces his hot new girlfriend, Vicki. With no crime scene clues and no obvious suspects or motive, Monk is convinced that there must be something in the newspaper that the killer did not want him to see.
11 Mr. Monk and the Three Pies
1/23/04
An elderly woman wins a cherry pie at a town raffle. Before she can drive home with her prize, a man approaches, demanding she give him the pie. She refuses, so the man kills her and drives away with her body. Captain Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Disher consider the case a routine carjacking, but Monk suspects there may be more to it. However, before Monk can get too involved, he gets a surprising phone call from his brother Ambrose (John Turturro), who wants to discuss a matter of "life or death". The brothers haven't spoken in seven years, ever since Ambrose failed to contact Monk after the death of Monk's wife Trudy.
12 Mr. Monk and the TV Star
1/30/04
Monk and Sharona are called to the home of Susan Molloy, the ex-wife of popular TV star Brad Terry. Once there, they learn that Susan was stabbed inside the house while Brad was out front dealing with the paparazzi -- that is, until everyone heard Susan's screams. The evidence points to a break in, but Monk thinks otherwise. Monk and Sharona pay a visit to the set of Brad's hit TV show, "Crime Lab S.F." There, they learn that the show is celebrating its 100th episode, which in turn means a VERY big payday for Brad -- a payday he's likely unwilling to share with his ex. Monk thinks he's got him, but when the TV star volunteers for a lie detector test and passes with flying colors, it's Monk who's been had.
13 Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny
2/6/04
An elderly woman is strapped to her chair and kidnapped from her home by two masked intruders who leave a spray-painted lightning bolt on her wall. Captain Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Disher immediately suspect a 1970's radical group, the Lightning Brigade. Dissatisfied with the police investigation, the victim's granddaughter, Julie Parlo (Rachel Dratch), asks for Monk's help. In exchange, Julie, a law student, promises to get Monk reinstated to the police force with a clever legal strategy. Eager to get back on the force, Monk agrees to help.
14 Mr. Monk and the Captain's Wife
2/13/04
After a sniper's bullet kills a tow truck driver, the truck careens into Karen Stottlemeyer's car as she is making her way to work, sending her to the hospital. As Captain Stottlemeyer grapples with the possibility of losing his wife, Lieutenant Disher speculates that an ongoing local union dispute may be behind the shooting. Eager to find the person responsible for nearly killing his wife, Stottlemeyer confronts union leader Harry Bolston at a union rally. Bolston denies any wrongdoing, and Monk believes him, suspecting something just isn't right. But Stottlemeyer's clouded judgment has made him obsessed with nailing Bolston and the union.
15 Mr. Monk Gets Married
2/20/04
San Francisco antique dealer Raymond Toliver reads aloud from an old, yellowing confession written by 19th century prospector Joshua Skinner. It describes how Skinner murdered his mining partner Gully Watson during the gold rush of 1849, built an enormous house on the site of the gold strike, then hid Watson's share of the mother lode -- a cache worth millions that has never been found to this day. "Where is the gold?" Stemple's letter asks. "The answer is in my journals." As Toliver ponders aloud how anyone could murder their partner for a cache of gold, his own partner, Dalton Padron, bludgeons him to death with a sewing machine. A few days later, Monk is entreated by a very drunk Lieutenant Disher to look into the whirlwind nuptials of his unglamorous, 50-something mother, Maria, to a dark, mysterious and much younger antique dealer named Dalton Padron -- whom Disher doesn't trust.
16 Mr. Monk Goes to Jail
3/5/04
Just 45 minutes away from his scheduled execution, death row inmate Ray Kaspo dies in his cell from a poisoned last meal. Monk is brought in to investigate, but turns down the case -- until he receives a call from his old nemesis, Dale "The Whale" Biederbeck (Tim Curry), who is locked up in the same prison as the murdered Kaspo. It seems that Dale is a prime suspect in the murder, and he needs Monk to find the real killer in order to get the authorities off his back. In exchange for Monk's help, Dale promises to provide information relating to the death of Monk's wife, Trudy.

About this show

Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) was once a rising star with the San Francisco Police Department, legendary for using unconventional means to solve the department's most baffling cases. But after the tragic and still-unsolved murder of his wife, Trudy, the devastated Monk becomes obsessive-compulsive. His psychological disorder has caused him to develop an abnormal fear of virtually everything: germs, heights, crowds... even milk. Monk's condition costs him his job, but he's back as a police consultant despite the unique challenges he encounters in his everyday life. These challenges lead Monk to hire a personal nurse, Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), who is always there to offer her assistance, even with the simplest of tasks (like organizing his sock drawer). Sharona is Monk's own "Girl Friday," an unlikely Dr. Watson to his Sherlock Holmes. Her less-than-subtle prodding keeps the "defective detective" on track in his investigations, as well as in his efforts to convince Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) to allow him to return to the force.

Ratings and reviews

4.8
1.76K reviews
Helen Read
April 6, 2014
I saw most of Monk on its original USA Network run, and when I got a Chromecast last summer, it was the first thing I looked for. I chased it across Netflix and Hulu Plus (both of which yanked it after I got part way in), and finally to Google Play, where I bought all 8 seasons and watched start to finish over a period of about 6 months. I just love this show. Tony Shalhoub is simply brilliant in his portrayal of the heroic and very human Monk, who struggles with his OCD, phobias and grief over the death of his wife, while carrying on as best he can and solving crimes that stump everyone else. The show is touching or heartbreaking one minute, funny the next, and you are always rooting for Monk, who can be nearly paralyzed by fear, but when the chips are down he does what needs to be done to catch the bad guys. I am OCD enough to be bothered by continuity errors here and there (and especially with a major error in the timeline in the finale), and one or two (out of 126) episodes were downright clinkers, but I just loved this series. After watching obsessively, I'm sad it's over. I'll probably wait a while then start over.
107 people found this review helpful
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Amanda Pancake
January 31, 2021
Love this show I do wish the ending was different. (So no spoilers) the way he loved Trudy the ending of series made me both mad and happy i have mixed feelings I guess u could say about ending but for every other episode was amazing I laughed cryed I bought the DVD box set and I watch it all the time. As far as family friendly shows this one is one of the best. You can watch with your children without worrying. Monk will always be one of my favorite shows of all time
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msfabre'82 allday
August 26, 2017
This show was hilarious! He was afraid of everything, accept solving a crime. His phobias were so ridiculous that you couldn't help but laugh. This was by far one of the best comedy detective shows I've ever seen. I saw every rerun on the ION channel before they took it off for criminal minds.
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