Monk: Season 1

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Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews

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Universal acclaim based on 51 Ratings

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Monk

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Season Details & Credits

USA | Season Premiere Date: July 12, 2002

Starring: Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Bitty Schram

Summary: Former police detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), whose photographic memory and amazing ability to piece together tiny clues made him a local legend, has suffered from intensified obsessive-compulsive disorder and a variety of phobias since the unsolved murder of his wife, Trudy, in 1997. Now on psychiatric leave from the San FranciscoFormer police detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), whose photographic memory and amazing ability to piece together tiny clues made him a local legend, has suffered from intensified obsessive-compulsive disorder and a variety of phobias since the unsolved murder of his wife, Trudy, in 1997. Now on psychiatric leave from the San Francisco Police Department and working as a freelance detective/consultant on difficult cases, Monk hopes to convince his former boss, Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine), to allow him to return to the force. Stottlemeyer, who wavered between admiration for Monk and annoyance at his eccentricities during the first season, becomes more of a friend to Monk as the series develops, frequently calling him in to help, as much for Monk's benefit as for his own. However, he knows Monk's limitations as well as his strengths and still harbor doubts about the wisdom of allowing Monk to carry a gun or subdue a perpetrator. Stottlemeyer's second-in-command, Lieutenant Randall Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford), also develops both admiration and compassion for the man he once labeled "the defective detective."

Despite flaws and inadequacies all around, the three become an increasingly effective team, with additional help from Monk's personal assistant. From the double-episode pilot through the first half of season three, Monk was aided by his nurse, Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram). But in the tenth episode of the third season, Sharona was replaced by a new assistant, Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard). Like Sharona, a divorcee with a son named Benjy, Natalie is a single parent, a widow with a daughter named Julie (Emmy Clarke). Unlike Sharona, Natalie is not a nurse but a former bartender with a fresh perspective on "Mr. Monk," as she still addresses her new boss. … Expand

Creator: Andy Breckman and David Hoberman

Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, Suspense

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Season 1 Episodes

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S1:E13. Mr. Monk and the Airplane
Air Date: October 18, 2002
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S1:E12. Mr. Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger
Air Date: October 11, 2002
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S1:E11. Mr. Monk and the Earthquake
Air Date: October 4, 2002

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Linda Stasi

Jun 25, 2013

The best detective show to come along in, well, decades...It is so clever, that it makes you remember how good TV used to be - and still can be when they use actors who didn't train at Ford Models. And when they hire writers who can actually put two words together...I promise you, you've never seen anything quite like it. [11 July 2002, p.73]

Diane Werts

Jun 25, 2013

This playful hour gets under your skin with its quirky personality humor, at the same time it's spinning a pretty fair murder yarn. [12 July 2002, p.B51]

Anita Gates

Jun 25, 2013

Tony Shalhoub is not the only reason to watch Monk, a smart new detective series on USA, but the intriguing character he and the show's writers have created might have been enough. Read full review

Tim Goodman

Jun 25, 2013

There are moments when events become too pat or get too cute. Occasionally the show mysteriously falls into a rut of old cop-show cliches. But those times are few, fading from memory because there's enough potential and quality elsewhere to make you forgive and forget. Read full review

Robert P. Laurence

Jun 25, 2013

The rest of the cast lends excellent support, particularly Bitty Schram as Sharona, Ted Levine as the admiring police Capt. Leland Stottlemeyer and Gail O'Grady ("NYPD Blue") as the politician's wife, who sizes up Monk's more obvious hang-ups. [7 July 2002, p.TV-6]

Alan Sepinwall

Jun 25, 2013

Nobody likes a know-it-all - especially when he starts pointing out something you could have figured out by yourself. Let's hope this unusual man gets some equally unusual puzzles in the coming weeks. [11 July 2002, p.35]

Phil Rosenthal

Jun 24, 2013

Neither smart nor witty enough to sustain itself. Ted Levine and Bitty Schram are no help in by-the-numbers roles as the crusty cop who doesn't want to give Monk his due and the nurse-turned-Girl Friday, respectively. [12 July 2002, p.39]

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Film_Fanatic_15

Nov 22, 2010

In the first season, you get to know one of the most interesting characters in TV history, Adrian Monk. Audienced will soon love to know his brilliance as a clever detective, and the ultimate case that it seems like he will never decode: finding the murder of his beloved wife Trudy. "Monk"In the first season, you get to know one of the most interesting characters in TV history, Adrian Monk. Audienced will soon love to know his brilliance as a clever detective, and the ultimate case that it seems like he will never decode: finding the murder of his beloved wife Trudy. "Monk" is one of the best shows on cable.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Garfoodle

Sep 12, 2014

One of the best shows to date. Every Episode is interesting and suspenseful. All the characters amazing.Its just so....so...good.You really need to watch this shows,right now.Ill wait