Question: When Jay is about to shoot Monk on the boat, the boat dips in the water (almost the way a car would dip when hitting a pothole). What would cause this? It almost looks like it was done deliberately by a stunt driver. And if it's from hitting a wave or wake, I would think the boat would bounce up first.
Answer: The dip was the bounce.
Mr. Monk and the Leper - S5-E10
Question: At the end, when the doctor is pulling Monk up, the camera pans down well past Monk's feet, but was there a reason for that? Was there something on the cliff side the audience was supposed to see? It felt like the camera was about to linger on the weeds growing out, but then the camera angle cuts back to Monk's feet. Was there something I missed, or was it just bad/odd camera work?
Answer: From an editing background, I think it was likely to cover up the shot once Monk is being pulled up. The shot was panning down, and they likely extended the shot in the editing. The fact he was pulling up Monk with one hand is very tough to do, so they may not have had a clean shot of him pulling Adrian onto the ground. Additionally, it may have not looked right so cutting to the shot panning for a couple more seconds before showing Monks shoes would likely fit the time it would take to pull him all the way up.
Question: Is it ever stated (in-universe or otherwise) if Natalie has a second job, or how she can afford everything, including all her new cars (I've seen her in at least 5 new cars, including an Audi)? She's always complaining she's broke, even after it's revealed she's a Davenport. But she also claims she doesn't take money from them. Plus, she's always trying to get Monk to pay her and/or pay her the full amount she's owed.
Answer: Through the entire show, I don't recall her ever mentioning another job. The two explanations I had for being able to afford those cars, was there might have been a life insurance policy after her husbands death (or Mitch left her quite a bit after he died). The other may have been she had accepted some money from her family willingly or unwillingly asked for it. But in truth, I would imagine it was for product placement in the show. Most shows like Monk tend to keep the characters moderately wealthy or financially healthy, so they can insert products or items for the characters to use. Phones, food items, cars etc.
Answer: In one of the episodes it shows her going back home and that she came from money. Her parents are wealthy. Maybe that is the answer.
But in the show after it's revealed she comes from money, she states she doesn't take money from her parents, despite still visiting them.
Question: How exactly does Monk afford to pay Natalie? Would he still get a pension after being discharged for psychiatric reasons? Is it ever mentioned (in-universe or otherwise) if he's independently wealthy or something? On several occasions Natalie tried to get the department to pay Monk more and tells Monk he can't afford things at times or his check will bounce, like he's broke.
Answer: Like a certain Poirot, he is paid by the case and thus has a lot of cases = lots of income.
Answer: He gets paid by the city on a case by case basis, and she gets paid out of that.
Answer: He would have received a disability check, suffering from a mental illness qualifies you, the same as a physical injury, but would be limited to his therapy and living expenses.
Except he would be limited in what he could earn to receive payments and that wouldn't be enough to pay a full time employee.
Mr. Monk and the Critic - S8-E6
Question: When they entrap the suspect is that legal?
Answer: It seems like a good lawyer could tear that to shreds. "When I said I'd never seen her before, I meant up close, in the same room. Look, a teenager had just falsely accused me of rape, you can't blame me for panicking a little bit."
Answer: Entrapment in and of itself is not legal. Entrapment entails the police (or agents of the police/government) forcing or tricking an otherwise law-abiding citizen into committing a crime; the person would lack the necessary intent to be convicted. However, merely providing (an already willing) person with the opportunity to commit a crime is not entrapment. Without knowing the specifics of the case you are referring to, it is impossible to know if there was entrapment. At the same time, the police know what does and does not constitute true "entrapment", so are not likely to try entrapping anyone - they would lose the case, defeating their efforts.
Mr. Monk Goes to Jail - S2-E16
Question: I think this is a mistake, but I'm asking as a question because I don't know enough about the TV in question. In the prison library, the inmates are looking for the remote, which the librarian had hidden. But the TV looks like one where the channels can only be changed by turning the dial. It appears to be a TV with VHF and UHF dials. Can a remote be used with that type of TV?
Answer: Normally no but it could have a cable box that we can't see.
Question: Monk's psychiatrist died of a heart attack - Why didn't Monk investigate the death of his shrink more thoroughly?
Answer: Because there was nothing suspicious about it. These things just happen and Monk is smart enough to know it was just one of those things.
Answer: In addition to the in-universe answer, an out-of universe answer (i.e. real life), since Stanley Kamel died in real life, it wouldn't be possible to film him in flashback scenes, like Monk's "here's what happened" summation. So setting an episode around solving his death, would be somewhat limited or require a stand-in.
Question: Just how effective can Dr. Kroger be if Monk's been seeing him for ten or more years?
Answer: Given Monk's state of mental health and that Monk's been able to continue to function as well as he does, pretty effective. Therapy isn't about "fixing" someone, it's often about helping the person be able to accept themselves. Some people need regular therapy as part of their life. Even a regular person who doesn't get into all the antics Monk does can be in therapy for decades. A few years ago, TV host Billy Bush revealed he had been seeing the same therapist for 30 years.
Answer: Imagine how much worse Monk would be *without* regularly seeing a good therapist.
Mr. Monk Paints His Masterpiece - S6-E14
Question: How come Monk's Painting of Natalie isn't shown for the rest of the scene?
Answer: It was apparently embarrassing and ridiculous, enough that Natalie tried to burn it. It's funnier if you let the viewer image what it looked like.
Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike - S5-E2
Question: Why would it have been political suicide if it was discovered that Mayor Nicholson was secretly meeting with Cusack to end the garbage strike? If anything, if the people found out that they were meeting to find a way to end the garbage strike, wouldn't that have made everybody happy considering how much garbage was piling up all over the city?
Answer: The two men are trying to work out a secret deal between them without involving the union, which means the workers' interests aren't being represented and defeats the whole purpose of a union. The mayor would lose labor's support and Cusack's union troubles would just be starting.
Mr. Monk and the Election - S3-E15
Question: Mr. Monk, given all his quirks, is apprehensive to enter the voting booth and even comes back out due to his anxiety. My question is; do you have to be in the booth to vote? He had a paper ballot and there was no voting machine inside the booth. I saw a table and chairs in the background, so if Monk chose to, could he (or anyone) fill out the ballot at the table, in the open?
Answer: Yes, with a paper ballot, Monk (or anyone) can choose to fill it out at the table as long as they are not concerned about the lack of privacy.
Mr. Monk and the Genius - S7-E2
Question: When Stottlemeyer is informed of Linda's death, why did he throw his coffee mug out the window?
Answer: Stottlemeyer was already upset after the phone call. He was trying to get "Kevin" (who would have to be a judge, but no further character information is given) to issue a restraining order with no evidence of needing one, except that Adrian Monk said she needs one. Kevin said he would need to "sleep on it." So it's clear they've been trying to provide protection and unable to get the results they need, which seems to be based on no one trusting Monk the way Stottlemeyer does. He's just angry that they failed to protect Linda despite all their work. Although it does feel like a scene was cut, or altered, from the show that shows the futile attempts to protect Linda which built up to his outrage.
Answer: While walking upstairs in the victims house randy starts messing with his out of place tennis shoes. When he gets upstairs to monks he has on other shoes. Could have to do with the expensive rug.
Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum - S1-E6
Question: Why did Dr. Lancaster have to dress up as Santa when retrieving the gun he used in the murder four years ago? And what was the purpose of Manny being given the room considering if he told people that he saw Santa everybody would just shrug off his claim?
Answer: Dr. Lancaster gave Manny the room because Manny believed Santa was real. Thus, by dressing as Santa, Manny thinks he's seeing the real Santa and not someone in a costume. If any other patients were given the room, then they would have simply said they saw a man dressed as Santa on the roof. Additionally, Dr. Lancaster had to retrieve the gun from the chimney and dressed as Santa, Manny would naturally think Santa was climbing down their chimney to deliver presents. And then when Manny says he saw Santa climbing down the chimney, everyone would think he's making up a story and that there was nobody on the roof.
Question: Why aren't there any more Monk reruns on TV after the 5 day marathon last Dec? I can't find a show anywhere.
Answer: There are so many TV shows in syndication now, that not all old series can be regularly shown. It also depends on ratings. A TV channel will not continue running a show if it does not garner enough viewers for them to charge higher prices for advertising time. Often channels show different series in cycles, so it may well be that Monk will be on again in the future.
The entire series is available on Amazon Video. That's where I discovered it and am now a major fan.
I am on season 6 started from 1st on Apple.
Monk is currently airing weekday afternoons on Cozi TV.
Answer: It's on Heroes and Icons channel every day at 3 and 4.
Answer: It is available to stream on Peacock now.
Answer: You can watch it on the air channel Heroes and Icons, H&I. It's on Thursdays 10:00 am to 7:00 pm.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Monk - S8-E9
Question: At his birthday party, Monk realises that Pressman is the murderer and when he looks at his ice cubes, he sees that they are square while everybody else's is round. He then realises that the poison was in the ice cubes and now his ice cubes were filled with poison. Why would Pressman try to kill Monk? He never did anything that gave Pressman the indication that he was on to him. All Monk did was want his self-cleaning vacuum fixed.
Answer: When Natalie and Monk took the vacuum cleaner to Pressman, Pressman asks about the cases they're working on, and after Pressman mentions the janitor cases, Natalie says that Mr. Monk always says "it's a work in progress" when he's close to solving the case. Pressman was afraid Monk would figure out the connection of the two cases soon.
Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion - S5-E6
Question: In this episode, Monk discovers that Kyle intends to murder his wife Dianne and then make it look like suicide. Why would he do that? I've watched the whole episode and still can't figure out the reason.
Answer: You can hear Kyle talk to his "mistress" on the phone when he is at the ice cooler in the hotel, thereby making it clear he has an "extramarital" affair, thereby outing his motive to get rid of the wife who brought the money into the marriage...plus her life insurance, supposedly.
Answer: When Dianne was in college, she had attempted to commit suicide and even wrote a suicide note. Dianne saved the note this whole time and Kyle had found it. If Kyle killed Dianne and made it look like a suicide, the suicide note would be authentic (rather than having to try and forge a suicide note that could be proven to be fake). This is why Kyle arranged for specific activities to occur that seemed odd to Monk, the dog having the same name, the missed pass that broke the glass, etc. These were all mentioned in the original suicide note.
Answer: It speaks for your character that you cannot relate to his reasons. But he wants her dead, because he is having an affair and since all their money is coming from her father and his high paying job is also not his gain but another grant of her father he would very likely loose everything if he divorced her for another woman. And as the other answer mentions already he sees his opportunity to get away with it by re-enacting the circumstances as described in her 25-year old suicide note.
Question: Why was Sharona written out of the show? If it was Bitty Schram's choice then why did she quit?
Chosen answer: As with most "he-said she-said" situations, we might never know. USA Network spokesman said the show was already planning on going a different direction with some characters. That said, Schram was trying to renegotiate her contract terms, but USA Network did not give in. For more of the story; here's an older news story http://www.today.com/id/5875714.
Question: If Monk is afraid of germs, then why does he keep touching things that could possibly have germs on them like parking meters or books?
Answer: Notice also that in the opening credits scene when he is touching parking meters her also wipes his hand on his clothes each time he does it.
Answer: That's the thing about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It's not something rational. He just has to touch things like that. It's not something he can rationally think through. However, since part of his disorder includes an obsession with cleanliness, he also has an assistant walk around handing him wipes periodically. It's like when he gets a cold and uses both a humidifier (because that's what you use when you're congested) and a dehumidifier (to counteract the effects of the humidifier). He may spout rationalizations after he does something, but his compulsions exist outside of any rational thought whatever.
Answer: I couldn't find any info on the name "Teeger," but Monk got his name because they wanted to come up with a simple, single-syllable name for the protagonist that could easily stick in your head. They eventually settled on "Monk," which seemed to fit the character.
TedStixon
Just learned Bitty Schram's middle name is Natalie. Of course I'm overthinking it, but it's interesting.
Jlglassett
Obviously without confirmation from a writer that's where they got the name, you can't be sure. But it is an interesting fact that makes it seem plausible that the writers used her middle name as a tribute when she was let go from the show.
Bishop73