"Mr. Monk and the Airplane" is the
first season finale of the American
comedy-drama detective 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 ...
'', and the show's 13th episode overall. The series follows
Adrian Monk
Adrian Monk, portrayed by Tony Shalhoub, is the title character and protagonist of the USA Network television series '' Monk''. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department. Monk has obsessive–compuls ...
(
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 ...
), a private detective with
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 ...
and multiple phobias, and his 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 ...
). In this episode, Monk is obligated to fly with Sharona and is faced with a murder case on the airplane.
The episode was written by
David M. Stern
David Michael Stern is an American television screenwriter. Among his first work in television was writing episodes of ''The Wonder Years'' in the late 1980s. He then proceeded to write several episodes of ''The Simpsons'' in the 1990s. In 2010, ...
and directed by
Rob Thompson. It guest starred several actors, including
Brooke Adams,
Tim Daly
James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom ''Wings'' and his voice role as Clark Kent/Superman in '' Superman: The Animated Series'', as well as his recurring role as ...
, and
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play '' The Odd C ...
. When the episode first aired in the United States on
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 ...
on October 18, 2002, it was watched by 4.2 million viewers. "Mr. Monk and the Airplane" was well received by critics, and earned Shalhoub a
Primetime Emmy Award in 2003.
Plot
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 ...
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 ...
) leaves to fly 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 ...
to visit her aunt. Her client and detective
Adrian Monk
Adrian Monk, portrayed by Tony Shalhoub, is the title character and protagonist of the USA Network television series '' Monk''. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department. Monk has obsessive–compuls ...
(
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 forced to go with her, as he fears not being able to live without Sharona. While at
San Francisco International Airport, a woman named Barbara Chabrol (
Jennifer Dale
Jennifer Ciurluini (born January 16, 1956 in Toronto), known professionally as Jennifer Dale, is a Canadian actress.
Biography
She is the sister of Canadian actress Cynthia Dale. From 1980 to 1986 she was married to Robert Lantos; they have t ...
) stands on her toes to kiss her husband Stefan (
Carl Marotte
Carl Marotte (born February 25, 1959) is a Canadian actor from Montreal, Quebec. He is a 1979 graduate of Dawson College's Professional Theatre Program and has received a Gemini Award nomination for his role in the television movie ''Net Worth'' ...
).
Aboard the plane, an annoying extension cord salesman named Warren Beach (
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play '' The Odd C ...
) does little to assuage Monk's fears. Monk quickly becomes suspicious of Stefan Chabrol after he notices that Barbara no longer needs to stand on her toes to kiss him, has "forgotten" that she ordered the vegetarian meal, knows nothing about air travel despite a frequent-flyer lapel, and claims to have "forgotten how to" speak
French when an old family friend, Bernard, meets them on board. More digging convinces Monk he is on to something. Monk quickly annoys everyone and a fellow passenger informs Stefan of Monk's suspicions.
Meanwhile, Bernard appears dead, probably because of a heart attack but Monk cannot guarantee it. So Monk asks Sharona to steal Bernard's wine glass and, with a lighter borrowed from Beach, proceeds to burn away the wine to reveal a mysterious liquid at the bottom. However, the flight attendant, Leigh Harrison (
Brooke Adams), is alerted to Monk's use of a lighter on board, and confiscates both the lighter and the glass, dumping the liquid down the sink.
Monk calls
Lieutenant Disher and explains what he thinks happened. Stefan and his mistress murdered Barbara and the mistress disguised herself as Barbara. Stefan, being a pilot, then used his valid identification card and its virtually unlimited access to hide the body at a
construction site
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and co ...
at the airport. The construction workers poured concrete over the corpse, unwittingly destroying the evidence.
When Monk and Sharona's flight lands at
Newark Liberty International Airport, Monk stalls Stefan's connecting flight to Paris by wittingly saying that the captain of the Paris flight is drunk. This allows Disher and the construction crew to excavate and find the body. The
Newark Police Department
Established in April 1857, the Newark Police Department (NPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving Newark, New Jersey, and the largest municipal law enforcement agency in New Jersey. As of December 2017 the force had 1,146 officers.
I ...
shows up, and Stefan and his mistress are led away in handcuffs.
Production
![TimDaly95](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/TimDaly95.jpg)
"Mr. Monk and the Airplane" was written by
David M. Stern
David Michael Stern is an American television screenwriter. Among his first work in television was writing episodes of ''The Wonder Years'' in the late 1980s. He then proceeded to write several episodes of ''The Simpsons'' in the 1990s. In 2010, ...
and directed by
Rob Thompson.
[ Both were credited for the second time in the series, as Stern previously worked on " Mr. Monk and the Other Woman" and Thompson on "]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 ...
". There were various discussions between series 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 ...
and writer Tom Scharpling
Thomas John Giuliano II (born February 9, 1969), known professionally as Tom Scharpling, is an American comedian, television writer, producer, music video director, voice actor, and radio host. He is best known for hosting the weekly Internet r ...
with USA Network's producers over the setting for the episode.[ The network required to have only half of the scenes on the plane, but the writing staff wanted it to be completely set on the plane.][ There was also discussion over the repetition of a "Pete and Repeat" joke; ultimately, USA's executives "were crying from laughing so hard" and agreed to include the scene.][
]Tim Daly
James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom ''Wings'' and his voice role as Clark Kent/Superman in '' Superman: The Animated Series'', as well as his recurring role as ...
guest starred as himself;[ he and Tony Shalhoub were in the NBC TV show '']Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
''.[ To further explore the in-joke of his casting, Monk's comment about ''Wings''—"Never saw it. Was it good?"—was added.][ Another guest star, ]Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play '' The Odd C ...
himself created Warren Beach's trademark line—"If it doesn't reach, call Warren Beach"—as he was allowed to improvise; Breckman further stated, "He was improvising all the way". Marshall appeared in the episode after telling ''Monk''s producer David Hoberman
David Elliot Hoberman (born September 19, 1952) is an American film and television producer, best known as the co-creator and executive producer of the USA Network television series ''Monk'', and the founder and co-owner of Mandeville Films. He h ...
that it was his wife's favorite show. Brooke Adams, the real-life wife of Shalhoub, also starred in this episode as the flight attendant Leigh.[ Breckman appeared as the passenger who enters the plane just ahead of Monk and Sharona, just as his credit as executive producer appears on screen.
]
Reception
"Mr. Monk and the Airplane" was first broadcast in the United States on the USA Network at 10 pm EST on October 18, 2002.[ According to ]Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
, the episode was viewed by an estimated number of 4.25 million viewers with a 2.5 household rating.
Jason Gray-Stanford
Jason Gray-Stanford (born May 19, 1970) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor. He is best known for playing Lieutenant Randy Disher in the Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe-winning TV program ''Monk'' and for voicing the role of Raditz in ''Dra ...
listed "Mr. Monk and the Airplane" among his three favorite episodes of the series. Moreover, it was positively received by critics. In The Futon Critic
''The Futon Critic'' is a website that provides articles and information regarding prime time programming on broadcast and cable networks in the United States. The site publishes reviews of prime time programming and interviews of people in the ...
's ranking of the fifty best episodes of 2002, it was placed 32nd, with Brian Ford Sullivan stating, "The title of the episode says it all for us." '' New York Daily News''s David Bianculli
David Bianculli is an American TV critic, columnist, radio personality, non-fiction author and university professor. Bianculli has served as the television critic for NPR's radio show ''Fresh Air'' since the Philadelphia-based show went national ...
declared "It seems that lots of people are getting on board with ''Monk'', which is as it should be", referring to the guest stars of the episode. The guests were said to be one of the "many subtle and silly pleasures" of the episode by Kevin McDonough, a critic for the United Feature Syndicate
United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along ...
, while a ''TelevisionWeek'' reviewer praised Marshall's performance as a " tour de force guest shot".[ Austin Smith of the ''New York Post'' deemed it "a true classic" and said it put "]Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan
"Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan" is the first episode of the third season of the American comedy drama detective television series ''Monk'', and the show's 30th episode overall. The series follows Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), a private detective wit ...
" "to shame". Chris Hicks from '' Deseret News'' qualified it as "perfection," and Bianculli stressed "the writing team for ''Monk'' made the most" of it. On the other hand, Joy Press
Joy Press (born 1966) is an American writer and editor. In the 1980s she was a music critic for American magazines and for the English weekly music paper ''Melody Maker''. In 1996 she became the editor of the ''Village Voice'' literary supplement, ...
of ''The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'' called it "a '' Seinfeld''-like device" in which Monk's fear of flying was explored "to the point of exhaustion."
At the 55th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 55th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 21, 2003. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox. The Sci Fi channel received its first major nomination this year for Outstanding Miniseries for '' Taken''; the series won the award.
Wi ...
, Shalhoub won a for this episode.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Monk and the Airplane
Monk (TV series) episodes
2002 American television episodes