Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A gift... and a curse, 24 Feb 2007
Sherlock Holmes, Columbo, Hercule Poirot -- genius detectives are usually a bit quirky. But no other is as quirky as Adrian Monk, the obsessive-compulsive detective.
"Monk: The Obsessive Compulsive Collection" compiles the first four seasons of this funny, likable little mystery series. Tony Shalhoub shines as everyone's favorite obsessive-compulsive detective, solving the case with his gift/curse and his willingness to go anywhere... that doesn't have germs.
Adrian Monk's wife Trudy was killed in a car-bombing, and the devastated detective fell apart completely. Years later, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is partially recovered, but he still is obsessive-compulsive and has dozens of phobias. The only way he manages is with his assistant Sharona (Bitty Schram) -- and later her successor Natalie (Traylor Howard) -- babysitting him.
When a politician is nearly killed in a mystery shooting, the police are baffled. So Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) reluctantly calls in his old pal to solve the case. From then on, Monk is called in for dozens of bizarre, baffling cases. His excellent memory and his OCD ("It's a gift.... and a curse") allow him to see patterns and details where other people see nothing.
Among Monk's cases are going undercover at a prison, a killer dentist, a deadly Christmas gift, an elephant used as a lethal weapon, a billionaire mugger, saving Willie Nelson from a murder rap, trapping a black widow, the death of a 115-year-old man, the Mafia, martial-artists, murdered models, and a guy who leaped out of a plane -- and died by drowning.
But as quirky and bizarre as the cases is, it never stops hitting the heartstrings. Monk is still passionately devoted to his dead wife; in the whole series, he goes on two dates (both disastrous). He also becomes attached to a little boy and even tries to adopt him, and it's a credit to this show's writers that the ending of that episode isn't maudlin or sappy.
"Monk" is the sort of show that usually gets cancelled after five episodes -- it's well-written, amusing, and smart. So by TV standards, lasting four seasons is nothing short of miraculous. Like any long-running show it has its duds ("Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine" always makes me cringe), but the overall series shows no signs of decline in all four seasons.
There are gunfights and SWAT teams, like on any cop show, but the main focus here is on detecting. And the writers are skilled at coming up with all sorts of bizarre or unsolvable crimes, which only Monk could unravel. Not to mention the dialogue, which leans heavily on dry humour ("There's an old saying: 'Don't change anything, ever." "That's an old saying?" "I've been saying it for years...")
But the series wouldn't be what it is without Tony Shalhoub. He played weird roles in movies like MIB and "Galaxy Quest," and so he knows how to balance out Monk's weirdness and genius without leaning too heavily on either. When told to sit on the ground, he says nervously, "I can't. Animals do things on the ground. Terrible, terrible things."
Schram and Howard are both good as his assistants, and they're similar without being TOO alike -- one was a hardened New York gal, and the other is a rebel rich girl with a checkered employment past. And Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford round off the cast as genial cop Stottlemeyer and his earnest (if slightly goofy) sidekick Disher.
"Monk: The Obsessive-Compulsive Collection" shows us all of this excellent show (so far), with its uniquely appealing hero. It's a gift... and a curse.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A feel good modern detective classic, 10 Jul 2007
First of all I would just like to say that (at the time of writing) this DVD boxset is an absolute bargain at just under £35 with 61 episodes to enjoy at your own pace.
I first saw this when it was first aired one saturday (can't remember exactly what year it started, time goes so fast) on BBC2 just because I thought the idea of a former detective with obsessive compulsive disorder sounded interesting but I didn't expect it to be this good, from that very first screening I was hooked although I have to say I get very angry at the way the BBC treats this programme. One week they show it, next week they don't, one week they show it, next two weeks they don't etc. This really gets me angry because they always make some excuse about not being able to fit it into their schedule but isn't it amazing how they never fail to be able to show a repeat of some quiz, lifestyle, learning, cooking, gardening, house buying, living in another country type programme etc. It really gets me angry that they can't spare just a forty minutes a week time slot for a programme of this high quality.
Sorry if I sounded like I was more interested in commenting on the BBC rather than Monk so I will get on with it now. I am sure you will know what Monk is all about, if you don't then it is like I have mentioned about a former detective (I say former because he still helps solve crimes in his spare time) who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, it is because of this that he is so good at solving crimes, a kind of blessing in disguise. When the right person is picked to play a particular part it can make all the difference to the success of a programme and Monk is another fine example of this, whoever chose Tony Shalhoub to play this part should be applauded, it was as good a choice as they could have made, imagine if they had chose some young extremely good looking but so wooden that they would be attacked by woodpeckers type instead, this would have been so different for the worse.
This is a really feel good type of detective programme but it can also be really dark and very moving without being over sentimental. There was one episode of this, I can't remember which series it was from but I can't forget the beginning of it, it involved somebody being chain sawed to death in a garage (if that is not dark then I don't know what is) and although you didn't see it, it was more effective because you could hear it from outside the garage and it was cleverly filmed.
Adrian Monk can be funny and irritating to watch, but at times the pain of him having to live with his obsessive compulsive disorder can be incredibly moving as it affects his whole lifestyle. There is one episode in particular that I can remember (but again I can't remember which series exactly) which involves him looking after or adopting a little boy and all I will say about this is that it is one of the most moving episodes of Monk that I have ever seen.
Columbo is still my favourite detective programme ever but this is not far behind and if like me you like Columbo but have never seen Monk, then I would recommend this very highly as well as the outstanding Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
monk complete series, 8 Jan 2007
If you love monk you must have this.I thought i had seen all the episodes but there are ones i had not.You can keep watching them over and over and still not get bored.Fabulous collection for any detective fan.
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