Monk: Season 1 [DVD]

The story begins 4 years after the death/murder of Monks wife Trudy (an ongoing story that is picked up in various episodes, but by the end of the series has hardly had the surface scratched from it). Monk has been in a serious state since his loss and has had the help of a nurse, Sherona, who now works full time for him, and that is 24/7 as Monk in some ways is the boss from hell.
Monk's toe in the door to getting back on the force, from which he has been suspended, is the Mayor, who holds him in high esteem and asks for his help to solve a couple of crimes. At first the police do not like his intrusion, but as the series progresses, genuine respect bordering ever so slightly on friendship develops.

What made this series stand out for me from your run of the mill cop shows, is just the quirky nature of it. The comedic elememt of the show is never allowed to get out of hand, mostly due to Ted Levines Police Captain character, who is always focusing Monk to the job at hand, and Bitty Schram's Sherona who badgers away at him to act normal. But. the show sucks you in and before long you enter Monk's world (if only to a degree) so that when he is interviewing a suspect, and possibly moments away from cracking the case, you will suddenly notice that there are a few pencils on the desk and they are different lengths, and before long he will have to even them out if he's going to continue.

I cant imagine who could have played it like Tony Shalhoub (who for me is one of those actors that you see time and time again in movies but never really remember who he is, same as Luis Guzman or Danny Trejo). At times he just drives you mad, letting suspects escape because he's afraid to touch a dirty fence and other times you really feel for the guy as peoples prejudices blind them to his brilliance.

Some of the stand out episodes were , Mr. Monk And The Psychic and Mr. Monk Goes To The Asylum.

Overall, a very consistently entertaining series with great rewatch value.

Basically, Adrian Monk is a former San Fran detective who suffers from OCD = Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He's obsessed by neatness and detail, as well as being phobic to just about everything (germs, heights, etc). Whenever the SF police get really stuck on a case they call on Monk as a consultant, because his obsessive attention to details makes him an unbeatable detective.

Each episode is a form of murder mystery, some of which are filmed in a Columbo-fashion - i.e. We, the Audience know at the beginning who dunnit.

The show is a quirky mix of mystery and humour, with good acting and an excellent chemistry between the main cast, particularly between Tony Shalhoub (Monk) and Bitty Schrab (Sharoun, Monk's nurse and assistant). You'll enjoy trying to spot the little details when Monk does and figure out their meaning. I'm now addicted and am waiting for season 2.

The boxset extras consist of short featurette interviews with the cast and creators of the show, titled: Mr Monk and his origins (4.20), Mr Monk and his OCD (3.01), Mr Monk and his Fellow Sufferers (4.15), Mr Monk and his Emmy Award-Winning Performance (3.55) and Mr Monk and his Partners in Crime (4.35).

Monk's many phobias intensified on hearing of the murder by car-bomb of his wife four years previously - so much so that he is suspended from duty on psychiatric grounds, and becomes obsessed with working out who was responsible. He is coaxed back to a state where he can leave his house by his saintly but outwardly trashy nurse and assistant Sharona, played superbly by Bitty Schram. His former colleagues still call on his amazing powers of recall and observation of the tiniest details to help them solve the very trickiest murder cases, but now only as a civilian consultant. The plotlines are almost unerringly excellent (and as intricate as, say, Jonathan Creek) - and a neat balance is struck between slapstick and black humour to keep just about anyone entertained. Everyone I've told about the programme has enjoyed it just as much as I did myself.

Right, I'm off to order the second series box set...