Monk
Mr. Monk's Favorite Show
TV Flash files “Mr. Monk's Favorite Show” as the first listed hour of season 8 — Monk (2002–2009) on USA, season 8, episode 1, aired 2009-08-07, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S08E01: listed hour 109 of 124 in the Monk guide, first listed hour of season 8. It aired 2009-08-07 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Mr. Monk Fights City Hall” (S07E16). Next is “Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man” (S08E02).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Monk must reconcile reality with his fan-boy feelings toward an actress who starred as a child in a Brady Bunch-style sitcom in his youth after an attempt on her life.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Mr. Monk's Favorite Show sit in the Monk guide?
S08E01 is listed hour 109 of 124 — first listed hour of season 8, season 8 episode 1.
When did Monk S08E01 air?
Mr. Monk's Favorite Show aired 2009-08-07 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is Monk a joke about OCD?
No. Tics are treated as method, not a running gag at the detective's expense. Humor and pathos: he solves it between panics, and the grief does not close.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Tony Shalhoub's Adrian Monk wipes down the crime scene in his head, then solves it between panics and a grief he cannot close. Monk is USA's gentle-procedural mascot — feel-good mystery, Emmy pathos, and tics treated as method, not a running gag at the detective's expense.
Adrian Monk wipes the crime scene down in his head before the camera finishes the establishing shot. That is the silhouette: Tony Shalhoub in USA's gentle-procedural tailoring, OCD as method rather than a gag at the detective's expense, grief for Trudy as the garment he never takes off. Andy Breckman's Monk (2002–2009) is feel-good mystery with Emmy pathos — Bitty Schram's Sharona, Traylor Howard's Natalie, Jason Gray-Stanford, Ted Levine's Stottlemeyer, Stanley Kamel — tics treated as craft. Multiple Emmys for…
Filed against
- Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk
Tony Shalhoub’s Antonio Scarpacci cabbied Wings’ Nantucket one-plane sitcom — brothers, a cello, Cheers-adjacent salt air — then wiped down crime scenes in his head as Monk’s Adrian, USA’s gentle-procedural mascot. Must-See depth-chart…
- Bitty Schram as Sharona Fleming
Bitty Schram’s Sharona Fleming drove Monk between panics — Tony Shalhoub wiping down the crime scene in his head, USA’s gentle-procedural mascot, feel-good mystery, tics treated as method not a running gag at the detective’s expense. TV…
- Traylor Howard as Natalie Teeger
Traylor Howard’s Natalie Teeger steadied Monk as the assistant who treated Tony Shalhoub’s panics as a workday — USA’s gentle-procedural mascot, feel-good mystery, tics as method not a running gag at the detective’s expense. Grief he…
- Jason Gray-Stanford as Randy Disher
Jason Gray-Stanford’s Randy Disher bungled toward competence on Monk — USA’s gentle procedural, Tony Shalhoub wiping the crime scene in his head, tics treated as method. Feel-good mystery with a lieutenant as the room’s extra flinch. TV…
- Ted Levine as Leland Stottlemeyer
Ted Levine growled Monk as Leland Stottlemeyer — the captain who has to live with a detective wiping down crime scenes in his head, USA's gentle-procedural mascot, grief that cannot close. Feel-good mystery with a badge that still…
- Stanley Kamel as Charles Kroger
Stanley Kamel steadied Monk as Charles Kroger — the psychiatrist across from Tony Shalhoub's wiping, panicking detective, grief that cannot close, tics treated as method. USA's gentle-procedural mascot needed a listener. TV Flash files…