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Daredevil: Penny and Dime (2016)
A Stunning Hour of Entertainment
This episode is brilliant in the way it acts as a finale for the first act of season 2. After lots of teasing, we finally get to learn the reasons behind Frank Castle's spree of violence. That scene of Frank doing a Thousand Yard Stare at the carousel where his family died is so haunting, because it conveys the trauma of his family's death more than the scenes of Karen searching Frank's house could possibly do.
This episode also proves Jon Bernthal was the perfect casting choice for Frank, a man who is broken in spirit and, in this episode, in body. That torture scene was nightmare-inducing, and like Wilson Fisk decapitating Anatoly with that car door last season, brilliantly demonstrates how this show is not afraid to subject characters to more gruesome violence than most shows would dare go for. And that graveyard monologue and talking about what his family meant to him broke my heart. I'd be as attentive as Matt was if I were there.
When the episode is not focusing on Frank Castle or the search for him, it's focusing on Matt and Karen's relationship. Karen helping Matt with his tie as he gets dressed for Grotto's funeral. Matt providing Karen support when Foggy has little interest in entertaining her insistence on getting to Frank before Reyes can. And finally, capping off the stressful day by sharing a very passionate kiss in the rain that, although clichéd, feels right out of a fairy tale. It's great to see how Matt and Karen have come a long ways since that night she spent in his apartment after she got framed up for murder, and that Matt is eager to explore his feelings for Karen now that Fisk is off the streets. And it helps that Charlie Cox and Deborah Ann Woll have believable on-screen chemistry (and in interviews, the two actors can't help but ship their characters as well). I was officially sold on them being a thing with their kiss. Which of course also gives me anxiety given that we are introduced to Elektra in the last shot of this episode, and her return will have unforeseen consequences for the characters.
In all, this episode probably is one of the best episodes of television to ever be produced, up there in the vein of "Ozymandias" from Breaking Bad. The Punisher's monologue? Check. Matt and Frank sorta partnering up? Check. Matt and Karen's relationship taking a step forward? Check.
Blue Bloods: Rush to Judgment (2015)
With the stuff going on in real life, this episode hits close to home
Video surfaces of Jamie appearing to commit police brutality at a demonstration when he knocks down a biker who would've otherwise hit some other assembled gatherers. Subsequently, Frank's battles with the Rev. Potter return to the spotlight.
Part of me thinks that the plot of the episode was written as the Blue Bloods answer to documenting the issues that have been brought up by the Black Lives Matter protests in real life.
The result of this is an episode that seems fairly realistic, highlighting the amount of distrust that the black communities and the police are dealing with, and the cause of the movement. All in all, it makes a pretty entertaining episode.
Monk: Mr. Monk Is the Best Man (2009)
A great wedding
This is one of the better episodes of the series.
In it, we have essentially two different plots: the first plot is Stottlemeyer's impending marriage to his girlfriend T.K. Jensen, which is being ruined by some mysterious stalker. In the other plot, Monk investigates the murder of a man who was shot once and then burned.
That being said, I had some pros and cons about this episode: Cons: 1. The episode could have focused more on the murder than on the marriage. Having Monk at the crime scene and making deductions would have been fine for me.
Pros: The episode is riddled with so much great humor that you wonder how they packed it all into the course of a 45 minute episode:
1. Monk tells T.K. out loud the things he's noticed that make him figure that Stottlemeyer is planning to propose to her. Everyone tries to hide it as Stottlemeyer comes out, but he immediately wonders why everyone is crying.
2. Monk promises to Stottlemeyer to be the best best man a best man could possibly be (tongue twister). He also promises that he won't lose the ring and Stottlemeyer tells him that he's probably bending it by clamping it in a fist.
3. Disher notes that the only thing they know about a murder victim is that he was flammable.
4. Disher plans to take Monk's new clues to the lab and Stottlemeyer tells him that they're already in the lab.
5. Monk's bachelor party was hilarious all the way through! I could not stop laughing there! First, he's ordered pizza that has nothing on it (not even cheese or sauce!), and secondly, the bathroom is taken up by a port-a-potty.
6. Monk's choice of entertainment: Bachelor Party ("Shocking, Shameful, Sinful, And the Party Hasn't Even Begun Yet").
7. Monk breaks out the beers and Stottlemeyer realizes that they have a situation - there are 12 beers and with each being 12 ounces. That's enough beer that each of them is bound to get a little sleepy, or enough that one of them can get good and polluted. Disher becomes the Designated Drunk for the night.
8. Disher asks the cops at the bachelor party if any of them own the Ford Crown Victoria police unit parked out front - specifically, the one that is painted a charcoal gray with flames on the roof and on the windshield. Everyone runs out and find Stottlemeyer's car on fire.
9. The entire bit with the floral soulmates at the flower shop was a riot. Matching Monk to a plastic flower is just pathetically funny. Monk saying "I like it" makes it even twice as funny.
10. Natalie tells Monk that T.K.'s father should be walking his daughter down the aisle at the wedding rehearsal.
11. Stottlemeyer disarms the culprit by tricking her into firing the last round in the chamber of her gun.
12. Stottlemeyer has his way of a simple beach wedding.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees (2007)
Clever, funny, and brilliant!
Those are as few words as I can sum this episode up in.
We start the episode by watching as sports agent Rob Sherman kills his wife and makes it look like she was killed by Dewey Jordan, a career criminal who has had several arrests for bad checks, drugs, and burglaries. Adrian Monk is soon on the investigation, and quickly pokes holes in the cover story that Sherman tells the police. Meanwhile, Natalie's daughter Julie is having a troubled love life, and these troubles are tied with the murder case - at least, we know that when we see Julie's new boyfriend contact Sherman's girlfriend.
Cons: 1. The murder could have probably been a lot more clever, and result in Monk having to do a lot more digging to find the holes in Sherman's story.
2. I'm pretty sure that Stottlemeyer and Disher could have been given some more scenes.
Pros: 1. The scene where Monk talks to Julie about her love life and how her dreams don't have to come true overnight is a very powerful, and very touching scene, representing true character development. I actually developed some tears watching this scene as he talks about what it was like to fall in love with Trudy every day.
2. There is an awful lot of good humor in the episode. Some of these moments were so funny that I couldn't resist bursting into laughter:
1. Dewey Jordan notices Sherman conjure a gun. Sherman says that it's Dewey's gun. He pulls out another one, which he says is his. This one, he says, is the one he's going to use to kill the intruder - just as Dewey realizes what Sherman means by "intruder", Sherman shoots and kills him.
2. Monk tries to explain some logic about why Sherman's lockbox is closed to Disher, noting that if he heard his wife screaming, he'd not close the box - Disher says he's not married.
3. Monk and Natalie are at the morgue, trying to intercept Sherman. Monk starts to reorganize the urns on the table, and soon there is a small cat fight as they each try to re-match the urns up with their name tags, and one of them falls over. They scramble to put the ashes back into the urns, and Monk actually tries to even one of them out by pouring some ashes into another urn! Natalie says "Those are people, maybe they weren't the same size." Monk replies, "Well they are now." Purely funny! Reminds me of one of the 'Monk' webisodes where Monk altered a blood test so that both a husband and a wife were declared pregnant.
4. During his "talk" with Julie about love, Monk tries to get Julie to play along as Natalie is outside listening through the door.
5. Disher shows Stottlemeyer a security tape that proves that Sherman and Dewey Jordan did meet at the courthouse. Stottlemeyer can't see anything, and Randy starts marking on the TV with a marker. Stottlemeyer points out that he just circled two blurs who are for blurs very blurry, claiming that it could be Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (both of whom are dead). He then asks Randy if he just used a permanent marker, and Randy denies it until Stottlemeyer tries to wipe the marks off the screen without success. He says to Randy that he's obviously "worse than Monk."
6. Monk attempts to cross a moving bumper car floor while chasing Sherman through an amusement park. It's funny, even though in reality, I don't think they would start the ride until people had cleared the ride area.
7. As Stottlemeyer and Disher admire the incriminating photograph of Sherman, Disher says he put the photo on a mug as well. When asked why, he says "Well, I figure the jury might appreciate it. They're human, they get thirsty. 'Exhibit A. Thank you very much.'" (pretends to take a sip) "Mmmmm, *guilty*."
Monk: Mr. Monk Is on the Run: Part 2 (2008)
This part was pretty good
Stottlemeyer has helped Monk fake his death. Now Monk must go into hiding until they can find a way to clear his name of the charges that have been laid against him. So Monk disguises himself as a car wash employee in Nevada.
This episode has several highly emotional moments, including Natalie realizing that Monk is alive, and when she finds Monk at the car wash. And it also represents improvement for Monk, as he knows he has to get over a lot of phobias just to maintain his cover. And this part also is suspenseful, especially as we see the gang try to foil an assassination plot on the governor (though I always wondered something during the episode: if Monk had figured that someone was going to kill the governor, he should have gone to the FBI, even though technically he was a wanted man, and he could have easily cut a deal).
Of course, sometimes, I always thought that if Monk were going into hiding, he'd want to be as far out of California as he could, possibly hiding in the Midwest or the Northeast. And it also would have made more sense that Natalie and Randy would also be aware that Monk was alive.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Bully (2009)
Monk confronts his childhood nemesis
Would you feel uneasy about meeting a childhood bully you haven't seen in 35 years? Then you know that that's how Monk feels about speaking to Roderick Brody, whom gave Monk "swirlies" every day for several years in school.
And why has Roderick contacted Monk? He thinks his wife Marilyn might be stepping out on him, and he'd like to be reassured that he wasn't imagining things.
Monk is too eager to get revenge on Roderick, and he offers to take the matrimonial case. When the person Monk has seen with "Marilyn" is murdered, Monk is too eager to accuse Roderick of the crime, and Marilyn seems to confirm that story. But when Monk quickly finds several holes in Marilyn's story of the events of the night of the murder, he quickly figures that there is a murder plot in the making.
Cons:
1. No offense, but I would have been okay if they'd shown the murder taking place.
2. I think Monk's desire to exact revenge on Roderick could have been toned down a little bit.
Pros:
The episode has a nice amount of humor, and although the mystery is a little bit corny, at least the good work of the actors makes up for it. I do believe that Tony Shalhoub and Traylor Howard have very excellent performances in this episode. It is nice to have an episode where Natalie gets her share of screen time, especially as she didn't get much in the previous two episodes, "Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door" and "Mr. Monk Makes the Playoffs."
Like I just said, the humor also makes up for it and my favorite moments show just that:
1. Monk puts his bare hand on a hot oven tray while having a flashback to middle school. He lifts the tray and says that his hand hurts!
2. Monk tries to get Dr. Bell to sign a note, without success. Then he tries to wrestle the note back from him after assuring Dr. Bell that he's not going to commit forgery.
3. Monk and Natalie walk into a bar while tracking down Roderick's wife. To get information, Monk attempts to ask a bartender, and then resorts to bribing him with a $1 bill, saying that perhaps General Washington can refresh the man's memory. When this doesn't work, Monk puts a dime on top of the bill and says that maybe there are "two General Washingtons".
4. Monk takes out his old film camera, and comments that it was a gift from his Nana. Natalie asks him if it was from Thomas Edison (referring to the fact that camera is so old). Monk takes a picture with a blinding flash, and then Natalie tricks a businessman into taking a picture of their target (the guy comments that he's got the same one, a "gift from his Nana").
5. Monk expresses his continuing urge to follow Marilyn as being "pro bono comeuppance," and Natalie berating him for this.
6. Monk makes an attempt to do a cartwheel, but he can't bring himself to do it, as he feels remorse for the arrested Roderick. Then he decides to try to do it again, then decides against it, calling himself a ghoul. When he can't decide, he tries to get Natalie to do one for him.
7. Monk, Natalie, Stottlemeyer and Disher stop Marilyn's identical twin from drowning her. To try and tell them apart, Randy tries to get Marilyn to say "aunt," but Stottlemeyer suggests that they arrest the twin that wasn't drowning.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend (2007)
Funny and still very dramatic
Here, the producers of Monk have decided to take a little turn on things and make murder strike closer to home for the main characters, figuratively. In this case, a realtor has been shot dead in Marin County. When Adrian Monk and Natalie Teeger inspect the crime scene, Monk figures that the killer had to have had a key to the house. Quickly, he and Natalie begin to suspect that Captain Stottlemeyer's own girlfriend Linda Fusco is the killer. Imagine that! And yes, Stottlemeyer thinks they are jealous about the fact that he has what Monk doesn't have. But even with Stottlemeyer and Disher looking into other suspects, Monk and Natalie continue to suspect Linda.
One thing that makes the episode so great is the fact that Monk and Natalie actually have some chemistry between each other. Natalie's little diversions and traps that she handles herself so that Monk can find evidence are really brilliantly done. Especially at the end when Monk uses Natalie and a webcam communication to lure the going away party to Linda's alibi. All in all, one of the best episodes in season 6.
This episode features some of my favorite Monk moments:
1. Monk comments that one could not be naked when talking on a webcam.
2. The entire scene where Stottlemeyer tells Linda about her dead tree and how he's called a buddy of his to cut it down, and also has had the rental truck across the street towed for blocking her fire hydrant, making him a "full service boyfriend".
3. Monk and Natalie arrive at the police station to give news to Randy. Natalie says that the information she is about to give is confidential. Randy thinks she means to say she is in love with him, which annoys her to the point that she brings it up a few moments later when Monk asks Randy for theories on how to beat Linda's alibi.
4. Monk falls off a motorcycle when Natalie floors it, because he refuses to hold on by grabbing her shoulders.
5. Two moments in the motorcycle ride: one is when while stopped at a red light, Monk attempts to reach over and wipe the dirty window of a van that says "WASH ME". Later, he gives the thumbs down to a motorcycle who is pacing them on the highway.
6. Monk sabotages Stottlemeyer's interrogation by claiming to be an FBI agent and also picking apart Helen Hubbert's personal life.
7. Linda shows Natalie an apartment, and Linda asks her about where Monk is. Natalie says he does something every Wednesday, but Linda points out that it's Thursday.
8. Linda tells Stottlemeyer about Monk wanting to sleep with her.
9. Monk crashes the party by talking to them on the webcam from the impounded truck.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Three Julies (2008)
I cut across the creek to watch this
The producers of 'Monk' have really gone in with a bang and produced this awesome episode. How would you react when you find that someone is killing women with the same name as your daughter? Watch the episode and you'll find out. Natalie is immediately terrified to find a serial killer stalking women with the name "Julie Teeger." However, is her own daughter at risk? The episode perfectly blends humor with investigation, and the scenes themselves were done flawlessly.
Cons:
1. The writers should have issued Stottlemeyer another car while his was in the shop. No offense, but this is how it would really happen.
Pros: The episode has a lot of excellent humor and every scene inserts it very cleverly:
1. Monk picks up some underwear, and he mistakes it for a VERY big handkerchief! His reaction is just priceless!
2. Natalie impulsively "borrows" Stottlemeyer's new Dodge Charger.
3. Stottlemeyer examines his car, which has had its hood heavily crumpled. He asks Natalie for an explanation, and she says "I took a shortcut. I cut across the creek." He says that there's no bridge across the creek. She replies "I know." Stottlemeyer is still very confused, and still reminding her that there is no bridge across the creek.
4. After Julie misses a stop sign, her driving teacher says "I can understand it. They hid it so cleverly... on top of that big post."
5. Julie is exasperated when three police cars block her in after she starts a three point turn without using her blinker. She is more confused as Natalie gets out of one car and quickly puts Julie in the back of the patrol car.
6. Monk's discovery of the dead body of Matthew's mother is a really clever spoof of Psycho. His "Are you dead?" line is just funny.
7. Randy dresses in drag to pose as the dead mother, and he complains about his bra itching. His entire discussion over his wire about what phrase to use if he's in trouble really cracks me up: "I wish there were ten of them." This episode promises many returns.
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
I haven't seen other Sherlock Holmes films, but I know that this is the best!
I give this film a 10 out of 10 rating for just that reason. It's so perfect in every way. It has supernatural events and cases that only Holmes would solve. The action of the film is mixed in with quite a lot of humor as well, including these moments:
1. Holmes thinks of a way to overcome a boxer in a ring in a few seconds. Then we see the events play out in real time.
2. Holmes wakes up naked in Irene Adler's room, chained to the bed. A maid comes in, and he tells her that beneath the pillow covering his groin is the key to his release.
3. Dialogue between Holmes and Dredger during the fight that starts in Reordan's laboratory.
4. Holmes attempts to make a silencer for a gun, which is obviously not working! Watson tells his patient that Holmes is probably nailing a picture up.
5. Holmes gives a turn by turn account of a carriage ride in which he was blindfolded the whole time.
6. The entire scene in which we see Holmes follow Irene Adler, especially when he (disguised as a homeless bum) rams the side of her employer's carriage.
7. Mrs. Hudson remarks that it looks like Holmes has killed Gladstone again.
8. A gypsy woman (paid by Holmes) tells Watson that marrying Mary Morstan is a bad idea.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Really, Really Dead Guy (2007)
An okay episode
Not the best of the series. I mean, I have to agree with the last poster that Agent Thorpe is kind of harsh, but the point is this episode proves that Monk is smarter than the smartest supercomputer (I sometimes even wonder if he's smarter than Deep Thought. That is, he can tell us what the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything is, and not give us the vague answer of "42"). I could agree that Thorpe could have been made the killer. Sometimes, in my ideas, I often imagine a different concept that makes the Six Way Killer an actual serial killer, not just a diversion from an earlier murder, and which has Monk and Co. tracking out clues by themselves and sabotaging the FBI's side of things.
I do have to point out some other big issues with the episode: the first is Monk's ignorance to technology. He doesn't know how to use a computer. Given that he served on the SFPD for several years, Monk probably would have had to use a computer to submit arrest reports. Also, Monk has seen Natalie and Sharona use cell phones but when he tries to use one he can't do anything with it? Monk is a master of observation, and yet he can't recall one tiny thing about the operation of a cell phone? That's something I have a hard time believing.
The second thing is that in the tech van, Agent Thorpe and Agent Keao treat Monk as if he was a complete moron. They act like everyone would know that what Monk was writing on was a plasma screen TV. Well if it was off it looked like a clear blackboard, so Thorpe and Keao either have no respect for Monk or they are just plain stupid. Then they scream at Monk for using hydrochloric acid on the screen. Why in the world was it just sitting out in the open like that and why wasn't it clearly marked?
Also, all through this episode, Agent Thorpe constantly bellows at Monk, talks down to him, and in general treats him like a dog who just went poo on a white carpet. If I were in Monk's position, I would probably accuse Agent Thorpe of discrimination based on preexisting psychological disabilities. He would have as a result probably been fired and would have also been fined.
Monk: Mr. Monk Gets Hypnotized (2008)
I must say that this is a good episode!
Actress Sally Larkin has vanished in the middle of a VERY messy divorce, and her husband is the primary suspect. Monk is called in, but when an unusually upbeat Harold Krenshaw shows up at the crime scene, Harold reveals that he's been seeing a hypnotist, a Dr. Lawrence Climan. Monk goes to this Dr. Climan and comes out acting like a six year old! His hypnotic state might impact the investigation, but it turns out helping him solve the case when the actress turns up alive, after having killed her husband, who held her hostage in a cabin for a few days. And the truth is in a piece of Lieutenant Disher's own homemade "Disher Mint" chewing gum.
The entire business about a famous actress's disappearance makes for a good plot. The hypnosis adds a layer of humor to the episode. I mean, when I see this episode, I sometimes feel an urge to run around and climb trees! The supporting cast, which includes Richard Schiff from 'The West Wing' as the titular hypnotist, Dina Meyer (Allison Kerry from the ''Saw'' film franchise) and Henry Czerny (Norfolk in ''The Tudors'') make for an excellent supporting cast.
Even though the entire theme about Monk trying to solve a crime after doing something that relieves him of his fears and phobias but limits him of his detective abilities has been used before ("Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine"), I don't really care.
All in all, it makes for a great episode!
Monk: Mr. Monk on Wheels (2009)
Wheels of Steel
Monk has gotten himself into trouble again, and it isn't his fault. It's because Natalie has unintentionally helped a thief steal a bioengineering CEO's bike. They track down the thief, and when knocking on the door, Monk gets shot in the leg. Outrageously silly humor results as Monk turns Natalie into his virtual slave. It's the wheelchair that sometimes helps make the plot better, for a number of reasons: 1. Monk mentions to their thief that he is Encylcopedia Brown, and that he and Sally want their blue bike back, and their decorator's name.
2. Stottlemeyer's line of "New plan!" when he wheels Monk out of his apartment.
3. Natalie, Stottlemeyer and Disher attempt to get Monk out of the car. Then Monk eventually gets up, but the others are so busy trying to get the wheelchair unfolded, so they are ignorant of Monk hopping around on one foot for a few minutes.
4. Natalie "apologizes" to a buried woman while pushing Monk through a crime scene at the graveyard.
5. Natalie has a nervous breakdown while pushing Monk up a hill, and hence she does not see the brakes on Monk's wheelchair release, nor does she see him rolling away for a few seconds.
6. Monk accidentally pulls out the joystick for his automated wheelchair, and chaos ensues as his wheelchair goes haywire and knocks into everything, even Natalie's toes.
7. Natalie accidentally shoots Monk in his other leg while pursuing a suspect.
I'm amazed that the actors could do these scenes without cracking up! They're so funny!
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Daredevil (2007)
One episode for the sixth season that really hits the spot
It's yet another round of Monk vs. Harold Krenshaw in this exciting episode. Monk's world has been turned upside down, since Harold has been revealed to be a daredevil called the Frisco Fly who has scaled several renowned landmarks in the city. But is Harold really the Fly? Or is the Frisco Fly really a man who died in a car accident in the woods, and whose car was set on fire a few days later? David Koechner makes an excellent performance in this episode as Harold's cousin Joey. Watching Monk as he is encouraged by Natalie and Julie to overcome even one of his fears is rather funny and ridiculous. This episode proves to be one of the higher quality episodes of the sixth season.
Monk: Mr. Monk Is at Your Service (2007)
The only way one can view this episode is to view it "the Monk way"
Considering that many people have had to say negative things about season 5, I find this to be a great trip off the normal track.
It seems the SFPD has issued another hiring freeze, and Monk has been deeply hurt by this, until Dr. Kroger suggests that he go into another career. Monk accompanies Natalie on a trip out to her parents, and learns about the apparent accident that took the lives of Ralph and Camilla Buchanan, who lived just up the road. While the police say Camilla hit her head on the big rock and that Ralph died of a heart attack, Natalie thinks that Ralph's son, Paul, who stalked her all through high school, killed them, and so she sends Monk to look around the Buchanan estate. Monk is taken up by Buchanan, and he goes undercover as "Adrian Melville," a brilliant butler with a close eye for detail, and Monk realizes that he has found his dream job.
All in all, one of the greatest episodes of the season.
Monk: Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink (2006)
A Decent and Funny episode
My favorite part was Monk's reaction to Dr. Kroger's notice of retirement (he gets stuck in a recursive loop of the five stages of grief). His rapid stage changes are the funniest, especially when he goes through them the second time around. He probably goes through the cycle a few more times.
Then again, I feel that Natalie, the Captain, and Randy could have been given some more screen time, and a few more gags could have been built in. But, all in all, a great episode and must see, if only to see Monk attempt to bring Dr. Kroger back to work, even to the point of staking out his house.
Monk: Mr. Monk Goes to a Rock Concert (2006)
Mr. Monk Goes to An Environment Where He Is Not Naturally Comfortable
The defective detecitve Adrian Monk has found himself at the San Francisco Band Jam, biggest rock concert of the year, because he is looking for Captain Stottlemeyer's son. Of course, wherever Monk and Natalie Teeger go, murder comes up, in this case, a roadie found dead of an apparent drug overdose in a port-a-john. Sure enough, Monk and Natalie focus on the murder instead of on finding the Captain's son, getting some help from a roadie who was a friend of the victim. The uncomfortable detective suddenly gets a lot more comfortable with the environment when his investigative impulses kick in.
It proves that Monk can still be sent to a lot of places he is NOT comfortable going to, and there are many more to take care of (like football tailgate parties, but I'll tell you later).
There is a perfect blend of investigation and slapstick humor that makes this episode great.
Some of my favorite moments in this episode:
1. Monk walks into a port-a-john, thinking it's a payphone, and mumbling to himself as Natalie walks him away.
2. Stottlemeyer calls Randy from a few feet away on his cell phone and is "embarrassed" to learn that he has woken Randy up!
3. Monk tries to compulsively touch a very hot lamp even as Natalie holds down one of his arms. He touches the heat lamp with his free hand, then uses his restrained hand to touch it again so that his two hands are even (with regards to the burns).
4. Monk touches an acupuncture needle in an attempt to straighten it, causing the patient to have an obviously painful reaction (needles must go in a certain way).
5. Monk attempts to control rowdy concertgoers without success.
6. A woman asks Stottlemeyer how long he is going to take inside the port-a-john, and Stottlemeyer replies "As long as it takes, miss. This is a crime scene." The woman is not convinced, so Stottlemeyer has to gesture both to Monk (who is analyzing the crime scene from a hillside and communicating with Stottlemeyer on a walkie-talkie) and to Disher.
This episode balances humor with drama. Although the teaser does kind of give away the who and the why, at least we have to figure out how the culprit did it. All in all, this episode is an example of a higher quality episode for the season.
Monk: Mr. Monk Fights City Hall (2009)
This is one decent "episode"
There are parts I don't like in this episode, but what I really like is the entire business about the "hot dogs." See, they are required by law to put "meat" in "quotes," and hence it is easy to make fun of "that".
Another of my favorite moments is when Harold is trying to guess Monk's therapist's name, and when he says "Dr. Bell," Natalie spits in his face.
This episode does kind of make season 7 end on a little bit of a less cheerful note, in contrast to other seasons. But it is made up for with the brilliant other episodes of the season. A little bit more humor would have made up for it, but it's still good.
Monk: Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever (2008)
Excellent Drawing
In this rather excellent episode, we see Natalie stepping into the spotlight as a lottery hostess when the previous occupant of the job is murdered. But dividing her time between this job and being Monk's assistant is the hardest part.
What makes this episode great is the constant use of running gags throughout the plot:
1. During the initial investigation, Monk signs an autograph for a police officer, using Natalie's back as a writing desk. Later, Natalie signs an autograph for a fan, using Monk's back for the same thing.
2. People say things that are normally other peoples' lines.
Randy writes down a zinger: "It looks like her number came up." The same police officer whom Monk has just signed an autograph for then says the same thing (Randy gets very angry hearing this).
Monk says "You'll thank you later," which is how Natalie signs off as a lottery hostess.
3. Monk twice mocks Natalie's drawing of lottery numbers, first while in session with Dr. Bell, and later while investigating a lottery fanatic's death.
All in all, a great episode!
Monk: Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing (2006)
Unoriginal and Original plot elements
Our star detective has lost his eyesight for a few days because someone attacked him at his local firehouse.
This story is based on Lee Goldberg's novel 'Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse.' In fact, I have found that at least four characters in the episode are based off of novel characters:
1. Captain Stockton, the fire captain, analogs to Captain Mantooth from the novel.
2. Stefanie Preston, the fire victim, analogs to Esther Stoval and Lizzie Draper from the novel.
3. Peter Breen analogs to Lucas Breen.
4. Rusty, the murdered firefighter, analogs to Sparky, the murdered firehouse dog.
5. There is no analog to Eddie Murdoch.
This is actually one of my favorite episodes. Sometimes, I've even tried imagining tying some of the elements of this story in with the novel 'Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop' by Lee Goldberg, not that that would ever happen.