Adrian Monk, portrayed by
Tony Shalhoub
Anthony Marc Shalhoub ( ; born October 9, 1953), is an American actor. His accolades include five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, six Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award nomination.
He played Adrian Monk in the USA N ...
, is the
title character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
and
protagonist of the
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
television series ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
''. He is a renowned former homicide
detective for the
San Francisco Police Department. Monk has
obsessive–compulsive disorder
Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental and behavioral disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts and/or feels the need to perform certain routines repeatedly to the extent where it induces distress or impairs general ...
(OCD) and multiple
phobias, all of which intensified after the murder of his wife Trudy, resulting in his suspension from the department. He works as a private police homicide consultant and undergoes
therapy
A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis.
As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...
with the ultimate goal of overcoming his grief, taking control of his phobias and disorder, and being reinstated as a police detective.
Series co-creator David Hoberman says that he based Monk partly on himself, and also on other fictional detectives, such as
Lt. Columbo,
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
and
Sherlock Holmes. Other actors considered for the role included
Dave Foley
David Scott Foley (born January 4, 1963) is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and ...
,
John Ritter
Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor. Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ...
,
Henry Winkler,
Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. Involved in acting from a young age, he made his film debut in John Huston's '' Prizzi's Honor'' (1985), and continued to play a variety of supporting roles in fil ...
,
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...
and
Michael Richards. The network eventually chose Shalhoub because they felt he could "bring the humor and passion of Monk to life".
Stanley Tucci and Alfred Molina had guest appearances on ''Monk'', with Tucci appearing in season 5 episode "
Mr. Monk and the Actor", and Molina appearing in season 6 episode "Mr. Monk and the Naked Man".
Both ''Monk'' and Shalhoub have garnered many accolades. ''Monk'' was included in
Bravo's list of The 100 Greatest Television Characters of All Time, and Shalhoub has won various awards for his portrayal, including a
Golden Globe Award, three
Primetime Emmy Awards and two
Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Character development
Creation
Monk was originally envisioned as a "more goofy and physical"
Inspector Clouseau
Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical '' The Pink Panther'' series. He is portrayed by Peter Sellers in the original series, and also by Alan Arkin in ...
type of character.
However, co-creator David Hoberman came up with the idea of a detective with obsessive–compulsive disorder.
[.] This was inspired by his own bout with self-diagnosed obsessive–compulsive disorder; in a ''
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...
'' interview, he stated that, "Like Monk, I couldn't walk on cracks and had to touch poles. I have no idea why—but if I didn't do these things, something terrible would happen."
Other fictional inspirations include
Columbo and
Sherlock Holmes, and his obsession with neatness and order may be an homage to
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
.
Like Holmes, and occasionally Poirot, Monk is accompanied by an earnest assistant with little or no detective ability, similar to
Doctor Watson
John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel '' A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle ...
and
Captain Hastings
Captain Arthur J. M. Hastings, OBE, is a fictional character created by Agatha Christie as the companion-chronicler and best friend of the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. He is first introduced in Christie's 1920 novel ''The Mysterious Aff ...
, respectively;
[.] Monk's two major allies from the police department,
Captain Stottlemeyer
The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal cas ...
and
Lieutenant Disher (credited as "Deacon" in the pilot episode), are reminiscent of
Inspector Lestrade
Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel '' ...
and
Chief Inspector Japp
Inspector James Japp (later Chief Inspector Japp) is a fictional character who appears in several of Agatha Christie's novels featuring Hercule Poirot.
Creation
Inspector Japp was inspired by the fictional police detective Inspector Lestrade fr ...
, Holmes's and Poirot's well-meaning but ineffectual respective police counterparts. In addition, Monk has a brother whose abilities of deduction are even more amazing than his, yet much more geographically limited due to his own personal problems, somewhat in the style of
Mycroft Holmes
Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character appearing in stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1893 to 1908. The elder brother (by seven years) of detective Sherlock Holmes, he is a government official and a founding member of the Diogene ...
(who is more adept than Sherlock but also notoriously lazy).
[.]
When trying to think of a possible name for the character, co-creator
Andy Breckman
Andrew Ross Breckman (born March 3, 1955) is an American television and film writer and a radio personality on WFMU. He is the creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series ''Monk'' on the USA Network, and is co-hos ...
decided to look for a "simple monosyllabic last name".
Casting
![Tony Shalhoub](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Tony_Shalhoub.jpg)
Co-creator David Hoberman revealed that the casting sessions were "depressing".
[.] USA Network's executive vice president Jeff Wachtel stated that looking for the right actor to portray Monk was "casting
hell".
[.] After two years of developing, the producers still had not found an actor to play the part.
Although
Michael Richards was considered, distributors of the show
ABC and
Touchstone worried that the audience would
typecast
In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...
him for more comedic roles after his previous work as
Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998) played by Michael Richards.
The character is loosely based on comedian Kenny Kramer, Larry David's e ...
on the
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
series ''
Seinfeld''.
After Richards dropped out of the project, he went on to star in another series about a private detective, ''
The Michael Richards Show
''The Michael Richards Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Spike Feresten, Gregg Kavet, Andy Robin and Richards, that debuted on NBC from October 24 to December 19, 2000. The show starred Michael Richards as socially awkward but t ...
'', which was cancelled after six episodes.
Personality
Phobias
In the script for the pilot, "
Mr. Monk and the Candidate
"Mr. Monk and the Candidate" is the two-part television pilot, pilot episode of the American comedy drama detective television series ''Monk (TV series), Monk''. It introduces the character of Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), a private detective with o ...
", Monk is described as being "a modern day
Sherlock Holmes", only "nuts".
In the introductory scene of the episode, he is examining the scene of Nicole Vasques' murder, and picks up several important clues, but frequently interrupts himself to wonder aloud whether he left his stove on when he left the house that morning. In the season 6 episode "Mr. Monk and the Naked Man", Monk mentions that he has 312
phobias. The strongest of these phobias are:
germs,
dentists
A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial comp ...
,
sharp or pointed objects,
vomiting
Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose.
Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteri ...
,
death and dead things,
snakes,
crowds
Generally speaking, a crowd is defined as a group of people that have gathered for a common purpose or intent such as at a demonstration, a sports event, or during looting (this is known as an acting crowd), or may simply be made up of many ...
,
heights,
fear
Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...
,
mushrooms
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...
, and
small spaces, as Monk also mentions in the season 2 episode "Mr. Monk and the Very Very Old Man". In addition, new phobias develop at seemingly random intervals, such as a temporary fear of
blanket
A blanket is a swath of soft cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through convection.
Etymology
The term ...
s at the end of the season 5 episode "
Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink
"Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the American comedy-drama detective television series ''Monk'', and the show's 68th episode overall. The series follows Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), a private detective wi ...
". Though it is impossible to determine his strongest phobia, there does appear to be some form of hierarchy between them: in the series finale "
Mr. Monk and the End", it is made clear that his fear of vomiting is greater than his fear of death. He has also stated, "Snakes trump heights!".
Due to his overpowering
fear of germs, Monk refuses to touch door handles and other common objects with his bare hands, avoids contact with anything dirty, and always uses sanitary wipes after human contact, including basic handshakes.
He is also unable to eat food that other people have touched—as shown in the season 7 episode "Mr. Monk Falls in Love" when he and Leyla Zlatavich go out to a Zemenian restaurant—and tends to throw away household items after people touch them, such as ladles and plastic storage containers.
Assistants
Monk's phobias and anxiety disorders make him depend on personal assistants, who drive him around, do his shopping, and always carry a supply of wipes for his use, as shown in episodes like "Mr. Monk Meets the Playboy", "Mr. Monk Goes to the Carnival", etc. They also take active roles in organizing his consultancy work, and sometimes investigate cases themselves.
His first assistant, Sharona Fleming (
Bitty Schram
Elizabeth Natalie Schram (born July 17, 1968) is an American actress best known for playing Sharona Fleming in the television series ''Monk'' and for playing Evelyn Gardner in the film '' A League of Their Own'' (1992).
Early life
Born in Mountai ...
), is a single mother and
practical nurse
A licensed practical nurse (LPN), in much of the United States and Canada, is a nurse who cares for people who are sick, injured, convalescent, or disabled. In the United States, LPNs work under the direction of physicians, mid-level practition ...
by profession, hired by the police department to help Monk recover from the three-year catatonic state he lapsed into after Trudy's death.
After several years of loyal service, Sharona leaves the show in season 3 to return to
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and remarry her ex-husband Trevor.
After her abrupt departure, Monk has a chance meeting with
Natalie Teeger
The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal cast ...
(
Traylor Howard
Traylor Elizabeth Howard is an American actress. Her roles include Sharon Carter on the television series ''Two Guys and a Girl'', and Natalie Teeger on the USA Network series ''Monk''.
Early life
Howard was born in Orlando, Florida, to Peg ...
), whom he hires as his new assistant starting in "
Mr. Monk and the Red Herring".
Fixations
Monk carries out futile and endless attempts to make the world "balanced".
Monk is fixated with symmetry,
going so far as to always cut his pancakes into squares.
He strongly prefers familiarity and rigorous structure in his activities. Monk only drinks
Sierra Springs water throughout seasons 1–5 and a fictional brand (Summit Creek) throughout seasons 6–8, to the point that in the season 2 episode "Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico", Monk goes without drinking for several days because he cannot find any Sierra Springs. Monk also has great difficulty in standard social situations, so much so that he must write down common small talk phrases on note cards in an attempt to successfully socialize. While his obsessive attention to minute detail cripples him socially, it makes him a gifted detective and
profiler.
He has a
photographic memory
Eidetic memory ( ; more commonly called photographic memory or total recall) is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only onceThe terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''pho ...
,
and can reconstruct entire crime scenes based on little more than scraps of detail that seem unimportant to his colleagues.
His trademark method of examining a crime scene, which Sharona used to call his "
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
Sherlock Holmes thing", is to wander seemingly aimlessly around a crime scene, occasionally holding up his hands, as though framing a shot for a photograph.
Shalhoub explained in an interview that Monk does this because it "isolates and cuts the crime scene into slices" and causes Monk to look at parts of the crime scene instead of the whole.
Monk's delicate mental condition means that his ability to function can be severely impaired by a variety of factors. One example is shown during the season 5 episode "Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike", in which the smell of garbage prevents Monk from being able to easily identify the murderer of sanitation union boss Jimmy Cusack, eventually causing him to have a psychotic break. Another example is when entering a chaotic murder scene in the episode "
Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale
The first season of ''Monk'' originally aired in the United States on USA Network from July 12 to October 18, 2002, which consisted of 13 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Bitty Schram, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford were introduced as portraying the ...
", his first impulse is to straighten the lamps, though he is frequently able to hold off his fixations when examining bodies or collecting evidence.
Even though Monk's mental state in the series is said to be a result of his wife's death,
he shows signs of OCD in flashbacks dating back to childhood.
To deal with his OCD and phobias, Monk visits a psychiatrist – Dr.
Charles Kroger
The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal ca ...
(
Stanley Kamel) in the first six seasons and Dr.
Neven Bell (
Héctor Elizondo
Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021) ...
) in the last two seasons – weekly, and at several points, daily. Moments of extreme stress can cause Monk to enter a
dissociative state
Dissociation, as a concept that has been developed over time, is a wide array of experiences, ranging from a mild emotional detachment from the immediate surroundings, to a more severe disconnection from physical and emotional experiences. The m ...
, as seen in the Season 1 episode "Mr. Monk and the Earthquake"; he begins speaking in gibberish during these periods, severely hindering his investigative skills.
Over the course of the show (roughly 8 years), Monk overcomes many of his phobias and some aspects of his OCD. Though he has not been cured of many of them, if any at all, he has been able to put them in the back of his mind when involved in case work. One breakthrough is shown in the season 8 episode "
Mr. Monk Goes to Group Therapy", when Adrian is locked in a car trunk with his fellow OCD patient and personal rival, Harold Krenshaw. During the terrifying trip, both men overcome their longstanding
claustrophobia
Claustrophobia is the fear of confined spaces. It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms wit ...
(fear of small spaces), as well as their own differences, resulting in them becoming friends. Possibly due to this, as well as the many cases Monk has solved over the years, he is reinstated as detective first class by Stottlemeyer in the season 8 episode "
Mr. Monk and the Badge". Though he is very excited about his reinstatement initially, Monk realizes that becoming a detective again did not mean that he would be happier. In a session with Dr. Bell, Monk realizes he was always happy as a private detective and consultant to the SFPD as his own boss. After overcoming his fear of heights and singlehandedly capturing a killer window-washer, Monk turns in his badge. In the series finale, he learns that his late wife, Trudy, had given birth to a daughter before they had met. The knowledge and events of the episode lead to him becoming more cheerful.
Character background
Childhood and family
Monk was born October 17, 1959. This is shown in the episode "Happy Birthday, Mr. Monk", which takes place during the week of October 16, 2009 (It is stated that his 50th birthday is the next day, October 17, 2009).
It is known he was born in the fictitious Marin County town of Tewksbury, to parents Agnes (
Rose Abdoo
Rose Marie Abdoo (born November 28, 1962) is an American actress and comedian, known for her roles as Stars Hollow's local mechanic, Gypsy, on ''Gilmore Girls'' and as Spanish teacher Señorita Rodriguez on ''That's So Raven''.
Life and career
...
) and Jack Monk, Sr (
Dan Hedaya
Daniel G. Hedaya (born July 24, 1940) is an American actor. He established himself as a supporting actor, often playing sleazy villains or wisecracking supporting characters. He has had supporting roles in films such as '' True Confessions'' (198 ...
). His parents were very strict and over-protective, although his mother was emotionally distant and seemed to have difficulty expressing affection.
Adrian's father,
Jack Monk, abandoned the family when Adrian was eight years old when he went out for
Chinese food
Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Overseas Chinese, Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ha ...
and did not return.
Adrian has an
agoraphobic
Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can ...
brother named
Ambrose (
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...
), from whom he was estranged for seven years following Trudy's death.
Monk states that his mother died in 1994. The episode "Mr. Monk and the Marathon Man" reveals that Monk ran track in high school, but quit when he entered college. The episode "Mr. Monk and the Other Detective" reveals that his alma mater is the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. In "Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion", it is revealed that Monk had the nickname "Captain Cool" in college, and Natalie is amused to find that he got it from the fact he spent every weekend defrosting the student lounge refrigerator in his dormitory. His dorm room was number 303.
In the episode "
Mr. Monk and the Three Pies", it is revealed that Monk was angry at his brother for never contacting him after Trudy's death.
When the two are reunited, Ambrose admits he did not call Adrian because he believed that he was responsible for the incident. Trudy was getting Ambrose
cough medicine
Cold medicines are a group of medications taken individually or in combination as a treatment for the symptoms of the common cold and similar conditions of the upper respiratory tract. The term encompasses a broad array of drugs, including ...
and was in the store's garage when she was killed. Adrian hugged Ambrose, and told him he is not responsible for Trudy's death.
Their father, Jack, remained
unseen in the series until the season 5 episode "
Mr. Monk Meets His Dad
The fifth season of ''Monk (TV series), Monk'' originally aired in the United States on USA Network from July 7, 2006, to March 2, 2007. It consisted of 16 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised thei ...
".
Jack explains that he did not return to his family because the message in his
fortune cookie
A fortune cookie is a crisp and sugary cookie wafer usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a piece of paper inside, a "fortune", usually an aphorism, or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chine ...
read "Stand by your man", which he interpreted to mean that he should follow his own path.
Adrian does not forgive his father at first, but warms up to him while assisting him on his duties as a truck driver.
Jack mentions reading
Sherlock Holmes stories to Adrian, who eventually learned to solve the mysteries before hearing the stories' endings.
At the end of the episode, Jack teaches Adrian how to ride a bike—something he was not there to do when Adrian was a child.
Jack also mentioned that he has a son from another wife, named
Jack Jr. (
Steve Zahn
Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include ''Reality Bites'' (1994), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken Li ...
).
Monk later meets Jack Jr. in the episode "
Mr. Monk's Other Brother", and helps to clear him of murder.
Trudy's death
Throughout the series, Adrian mourns his wife
Trudy (
Melora Hardin
Melora Hardin (born June 29, 1967) is an American actress, known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's ''The Office'' and Trudy Monk on USA Network's ''Monk'', and Tammy Cashman on Amazon Prime Video's '' Transparent'', for which she received ...
/Stellina Rusich), who was killed on December 14, 1997 by a
car bomb he believes was meant for him.
The death of his wife exacerbated Monk's already existing
obsessive–compulsive disorder
Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental and behavioral disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts and/or feels the need to perform certain routines repeatedly to the extent where it induces distress or impairs general ...
(OCD).
One year later, the
San Francisco Police Department granted him a psychological discharge.
Monk calls it "a temporary suspension" and hopes to be reinstated.
His grief over Trudy's death is intense and with him every day of his life; he has stated more than once that he is never truly happy and never expects to be truly happy ever again. Since Trudy's death, Monk has been consulting with
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
police detectives on various cases.
As the series progresses, Monk makes several discoveries in his ongoing search for the man who killed his wife.
He discovered that the car bomb was indeed meant for Trudy and was built by a man named Warrick Tennyson (
Frank Collison
Frank Collison (born February 14, 1950) is an American actor known to television audiences as the hapless telegrapher Horace Bing in the series ''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman''.
Early life
Collison was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Peg, ...
), who was hired by a
six-fingered man named Frank Nunn (
Courtney Gains
Courtney Gains (born August 22, 1965) is an American character actor best known for his portrayal of Malachai in the 1984 horror movie ''Children of the Corn''.
Career
Gains achieved success during the 1980s with a variety of roles in films such ...
).
[Two-part episode:
*
* ] In the sixth-season finale, he finally catches up with Nunn, who claims to be yet another pawn with no idea why Trudy was killed.
This turns out to be part of a larger plot to have Nunn set up another bombing and then frame Monk for killing him; he is shot before Monk can have him arrested or convince him to surrender the name of his employer in Trudy's murder.
Once Monk is cleared in Nunn's death, the police find correspondence from Nunn dating back to the era of Trudy's death.
There are no names discovered, but there is a reference to the person responsible, referred to as "The Judge".
In the two-part series finale, "
Mr. Monk and the End", it is revealed that "The Judge" is Ethan Rickover, an actual courtroom
judge portrayed by
Craig T. Nelson
Craig Theodore Nelson (born April 4, 1944) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Hayden Fox in the sitcom ''Coach'' (for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series), Deputy Ward Wilson in the 19 ...
.
Trudy gave birth to a daughter, Molly Evans, on January 2, 1983. Had she not been adopted out, Adrian would have been Molly's stepfather.
Music
In the
pilot episode "
Mr. Monk and the Candidate
"Mr. Monk and the Candidate" is the two-part television pilot, pilot episode of the American comedy drama detective television series ''Monk (TV series), Monk''. It introduces the character of Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), a private detective with o ...
," Monk plays the
clarinet during his visit to Trudy's grave. His musical abilities show up again in "Mr. Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger," when he is invited to sit in with
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...
's band and later plays "
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is a song written by songwriter Fred Rose. First recorded by Elton Britt in 1946, then made more popular by Roy Acuff in 1947, the song has been covered by many artists, including Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Russell, ...
" with Nelson at Trudy's grave. Though Monk is not seen playing the clarinet afterwards, it occasionally is brought up in conversation (such as during a conversation with Kris Kedder in "Mr. Monk Goes to a Rock Concert").
Monk describes himself as Nelson's second-biggest fan and Trudy as his biggest.
Reception
Critical reception
Critical reviews of character Adrian Monk have been positive. Howard Rosenberg of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' called Monk "TV's most original sleuth ever".
In a review of the show's pilot, Tim Goodman of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'' stated: "With his history and his sympathetic but funny 'problems', he
onkbecomes one of television's most likable characters and floats a show that is, to be frank, riddled with improbability and simplicity". Monk is ranked number 99 on
Bravo's list of The 100 Greatest Television Characters of All Time. He was named one of TV's Smartest Detectives by AOL.
Shalhoub's performance in the series has also been praised. Michael Sauter of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' called Shalhoub's performance "original and splendid". Nancy Franklin of ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' said that Shalhoub is "brilliant at conveying the tension between Monk’s desire to conquer his disorder and his dug-in defense of his behavior". Michael Abernethy of ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' describes Shalhoub's performance as "exceptional",
and Melanie McFarland of the ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The newspaper was f ...
'' states that Shalhoub is a "careful and nuanced actor". Alan Sepinwall of the ''
Star-Ledger'' described Shalhoub as "the perfect fit" for the character.
Awards
Shalhoub has earned various awards and nominations for his work in ''Monk''. He has been nominated for the
each year from 2003 to 2010, winning in 2003, 2005 and 2006. In 2003, Shalhoub won the
; he was nominated for the same category in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009. He received the 2004 and the 2005
, with nominations in the same category in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Monk, Adrian
Fictional American people
Fictional characters from San Francisco
Fictional characters with eidetic memory
Fictional characters with obsessive–compulsive disorder
Fictional characters with post-traumatic stress disorder
Fictional consultants
Fictional police officers in television
Fictional private investigators
Fictional San Francisco Police Department detectives
Fictional Welsh people
Monk characters
Television characters introduced in 2002