Monk

[tarotgal]

Tonight's episode of Monk... am watching now... it's the Jury Duty episode. There's a juror with a cold. Many sneezes. Good sneezes. Go watch. It repeats on the USA channel several times over the weekend, for those of you with cable. Guuhhhh. Good sneezes. *goes all wobbly*

Comments

[ladykorana.livejournal.com]

Oooh, thanks for the heads up! Thank goodness for Tivo... *G*

[ladykorana.livejournal.com]

So I watched the ep this weekend, and I have a couple questions that maybe you can answer, being more familiar with this show than I am.

How on earth was this man ever a cop? *G* He's very lucky to have Natalie to help (and put up with) him, but I have to wonder how that happened. Did he hire her, is she just a friend, was she appointed to help him after being declared slightly mental, etc.? I'm very curious.

Also, you were right about the sneezes. Very nice indeed, and nice touch with the pile of crumpled, nearly useless tissues, and the red nose. He's definitely not all that attractive otherwise, but I still kept my eyes on him just the same. My thanks to the makeup dept!

[tarotgal]

To answer your questions...
How on earth was this man ever a cop? *G*
Good q! Well, he never used to be *this* bad. He had some phobias, and some habits... but wasn't really so incredibly OCD until his wife died (i.e. was mysteriously murdered and he was/is unable to solve said case). Then he went completely off the deep end and was dismissed from the Force almost immediately thereafter. His nurse from that time period (Sherona) became his assistant and was very supportive about trying to ease him back into the job because the detective work is something he has a gift for and something he loves (and, heck, it's good for him). But then Sherona's actress demanded more money and they let her go and he found Natalie.
So, yeah, the short of it is, when he was a cop he was MUCH better. And then he went REALLY bad and now he's slowly improving only enough that he still has a show. LOL

Did he hire her, is she just a friend, was she appointed to help him after being declared slightly mental, etc.? I'm very curious.
After Sherona left, he was assistantless for an episode or so. Natalie was working at a bar that he was visiting in conjunction with a case and she was nice and understanding and HATING her job there. So he decided she'd work out as his assistant. She's a single mom (husband died) and she's very sweet. And even though it's still the same sort of situation (detective & assistant) it's a different sort of dynamic. Sherona knew him at his worst and called him Adrian. Natalie is newer on the scene and doesn't know much about his history (which is a very good thing most times) and calls him Mr.Monk. She really enjoys being able to help him out... but she also really admires him and is fascinated by his detective work. She can also hold her own when around him (like Sherona) but she does so in a nicer sort of way.

*sigh* I love the show. Makes me feel better about myself... and makes me feel not so stupid about doing things like straightening paintings on walls of cafes or eating donuts out of a box so that the columns stay even.
But, more importantly, I watched the first episode several years ago when my grandfather and cousin were visiting me. Grandpa really enjoyed the show and watched it every week thereafter. The day he passed happened to be the day the new season started (the no more Sherona, enter Natalie episode). Grandpa said he didn't want to see it because it was just *wrong* without Sherona (LOL) but I watched it that night, thinking of him. And all my relatives who went out to California got together and watched it with him in mind as well. So it definitely holds a special place with me, even apart from the fact that the show totally rocks :-) What I like most is that it's one of those shows that doesn't take itself seriously. There's a formula they created for it, but they end up breaking that frequently and calling attention to it. They build the mystery and then give you a commercial break to figure it out. Then they do "here's what happened" summation part. But now the joke is how creative they make that portion, etc. And the whole cast (Monk, Natalie, the Captain, and Randy) are just fantastic. They come so close to being really silly, but manage to pull it off so well. And the cases are totally solveable if you pay attention to the details (like the cup and Nat calling attention to the construction site at the beginning) but still so complex that I've only ever completely solved a case a handful of times! I'm really rambling and OT now, aren't I? LOL Point is, I enjoy the show :-)

Also, you were right about the sneezes. Very nice indeed, and nice touch with the pile of crumpled, nearly useless tissues, and the red nose. He's definitely not all that attractive otherwise, but I still kept my eyes on him just the same. My thanks to the makeup dept!
Absoultely! Glad you got to see them. You're right about the visuals... they were nice. But the sound... gah... apart from lack of build-up, those are soooo close to my perfect/favorite sneeze sounds. So... YUM! I loved them. Was hoping for more, but I suppose it made sense that they backed off as this took place over a few days.