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Monk: Mr. Monk and the Actor (2006)
Mr. Monk and the method actor
A man is getting sexually playful with somebody he just met after they go to her place when he realizes she is filming them. He realizes this is a setup - he's married. They fight for the camera and the woman is killed in the scuffle. He leaves. Later the police are investigating the scene and Stottlemeyer is asked if this is possibly a serial killer. He says no - that this was a crime of passion and the man will probably never cross the line again. Immediately we see the killer breaking into a pawn shop. He takes a watch, but the proprieter appears with a gun. There is a struggle, the gun goes off and the pawn shop proprietor is killed.
In parallel, a movie is being made about the killer astronaut case of last season and actor David Ruskin is playing Monk. But Ruskin is a method actor and wants to follow Monk around to really get inside his head. Natalie warns Monk about this guy as he played an alcoholic in a previous movie and had to go into rehab afterwards. The thing is, Ruskin doesn't drink! Complications ensue.
This was a great episode with lots of humor and pathos. On the humorous side, Randy is really excited to hear he is a character in the film too. He is not so happy to find out during rehearsals that Randy Discher is played by a beautiful woman who is having an affair with Stottlemeyer!
Monk: Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty (2006)
Eleven angry men, and the object of their anger - Monk
A dangerous South American drug lord is captured by Stottlemeyer and Discher. But the feds drop by after the arrest and claim jurisdiction, setting the appointed date for the transfer to federal custody. The drug lord vows he will escape.
In a separate story, Monk gets called and selected for jury duty in a stabbing case. The judge just thinks all of his weird proclivities are an elaborate attempt to get out of jury service. The case seems straightforward and goes to the jury quickly. On the first ballot there are eleven guilty verdicts and one not-guilty vote - Monk's. He spends all of that day and part of the next convincing the jury of the man's innocence. At the same time, he just looks out the window and sees things that lead him to believe there is a body in the dumpster nearby. He's right.
Do all of these things join forces at any point - the drug dealer, the jury deliberations, and the body in the dumpster? Watch and find out.
It is ridiculous to think that Monk would end up on the jury of any criminal case given his profile as a great detective, but then this is a comedy show with the plot points just held together by a mystery, so just go with it. The real point is that Monk can work with a team - even a team of total strangers - if circumstances force him to do so. He is not a lone wolf by necessity.
Monk: Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist (2006)
A Discher centric episode
There is an elaborate robbery of an armored truck that involves kidnapping the entire truck, drivers and all. Later, the truck, the bodies of the drivers, and even part of the money is recovered.
Separately, Randy goes to the dentist with a terrible toothache. The dentist says one of his molars will have to come out, and he puts him under. But while Randy is out, he thinks he sees a man come into the examining room, argue with the dentist and his assistant, and then get killed by them. Plus he notices he was out for two hours, not the thirty minutes that the dentist initially said that he would be out.
When Randy tells Stottlemeyer about this, he's just told that he was hallucinating because of being out. He gets teased by the other cops, loses his temper, and quits the force, saying he is tired of being considered a big joke. He is just now noticing this? Complications ensue, not the least of which is Monk wanting to help Randy, but being very handicapped by the fact that he is afraid of dentists.
This was largely a Discher-centric episode, so there was less Monk than usual. Discher has been the comic relief in this series from the beginning as he always has goofy theories of the crime. And one would wonder - Why would a couple of law-abiding dental professionals suddenly turn homicidal? But, after all, this is Monk where we have already had, in a past episode, a group of Hispanic maids involved in advanced financial crimes seemingly far past their educational level.
Monk: Mr. Monk Bumps His Head (2006)
Mr. Monk in misery
Monk meets a man who says he has information about Trudy's death. When Monk smells a scam, the man hits Monk on the head, takes the money anyway along with Monk's wallet, and throws Monk into the back of a truck which then departs, with the driver knowing nothing about what happened. Monk wakes up when the rig arrives in Wyoming. The driver just thinks Monk is some bum and gives him five dollars to buy a meal. Monk doesn't know he's Monk. He has amnesia, and without his wallet has no way to know who he is.
In this same Wyoming town, a middle-aged woman (Laurie Metcalf) is living Eleanor RIgby's life - nobody even noticed she was gone on a cruise for three months, and people try to have as short a conversation as possible with her. And then she spots Monk, hears about his amnesia, and sees his wedding ring. She convinces him that he is her husband and that they met on the cruise. Monk still remembers to be polite and kind, but he doesn't find her attractive, finds her house to be a mess, and is being forced to do chores such as roof repair that messes with his phobias. He may have amnesia, but those phobias are a part of him and are still there.
And then a waitress in the town disappears suddenly while leaving all her possessions behind, including a beloved pet, and Monk's detective instincts surface even though he doesn't remember being one. Back in San Francisco, Monk's friends and associates are working to find out what happened to him.
I felt sorry for Metcalf's character. She was overbearing, rude, and manipulative, but she was also alone in the world and thought she could grab a little happiness for herself as she was drowning in her loneliness.
Monk: Mr. Monk and Little Monk (2005)
Two mysteries for the price of one
A couple of men break into a house and vandalize a painting and take nothing with them. Because the housekeeper wakes up and catches them, they get into a scuffle and the housekeeper is accidentally killed.
The woman who owns the house wasn't home that night, but comes to Monk to solve the case. It turns out to be Sherry Judd, somebody Monk had a crush on in junior high. He somewhat returns to age 13 in her presence, which is amusing. Stottlemeyer thinks that maybe Sherry herself may have done it for the insurance money for the painting. Monk says no, because Sherry got a very large settlement when she divorced her husband which includes 20 thousand dollars a month in alimony. Monk is acting like he is still interested in this girl from his past but, alas, the painting restoration guy she takes the vandalized portrait to is also somebody she knew in junior high and they are hitting it off all over again. Meanwhile, in an amusing flashback, there is a mini mystery as Monk is shown as he was in junior high when he saved Sherry from being falsely accused of stealing some school funds.
Monk: Mr. Monk Goes to a Wedding (2005)
A homecoming for Natalie
There is a big wedding event going on at a posh resort. At one of the spa buildings of the resort, a man is blackmailing somebody who is at the wedding. But the joke is on him as he is murdered and dragged into one of the mudbaths in the spa building. Nobody should find the body for awhile.
Back in San Francisco Natalie is looking for somebody to accompany her to her brother's wedding - it was that wedding rehearsal event where the murder just occurred. She settles on Discher with the understanding that this is not a date, just a friend helping her out since she doesn't like facing her family alone. It turns out Natalie's family is very rich, and they also never accepted Mitch, her late husband, as part of the family. So there is tension between them.
Once at the resort, while Discher is out in the parking lot getting their bags, somebody intentionally runs down Discher with their car, breaking several bones. This brings Stottlemeyer and Monk up to the resort to try and figure why somebody would do this. Shortly thereafter the body is found in the spa, and so now this is a murder case.
This was not one of Monk's better mysteries, but it was interesting meeting Natalie's rich family. And there is nothing better than a wedding with Monk going around trying to make everything even and matching.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Big Reward (2006)
Mr. Monk and his own version of the lone gunmen
It's been spare financial times for Monk and Natalie lately, and Natalie is starting to complain, saying that Monk solves too many murders for the police "on the house", without asking for compensation. She wants him to strike a more aggressive pose when it comes to getting paid. The sordid topic of coin makes Monk feel very uneasy, but Stottlemeyer says he will look into putting the pair on retainer, so they have some guaranteed income.
Meanwhile, a valuable diamond is stolen from a museum, and a reward of one million dollars is offered for its return. When Natalie sees the posting for this reward she is sure that Monk can do it, and that they will never need to worry about money again. She starts going around saying "ka-ching" which annoys Monk.
Separately, there are three other detectives trying to find the jewel. One is an older British fellow, one is a huge "moose" of a guy, a third is a rather nerdy fellow with lots of high tech devices. They decide to join forces and reminded me a bit of the X-Files' "lone gunmen". At first I was afraid they were going to be the spotlight of the episode and that this was some kind of pilot show for the three of them, but that didn't turn out to be true. They are just three quirky guests on this one episode.
Does Monk solve the case? Of course he does! Does he end up with the reward? Of course not, but I think you'll be OK with who does get it. Anyways, Monk couldn't end up a millionaire or else this show would turn into Season Nine of Roseanne. If you don't know what I mean by that, don't ask.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Astronaut (2006)
What is true bravery?
An astronaut, Steve Wagner, is talking to his old lover about her upcoming tell-all book about celebrities with which she had affairs. She wants him to see the latest draft of the chapter that involves him because she doesn't want him surprised by the book and it's revelations. They are having a drink and talking when she falls over unconscious. He has drugged her beverage, and then says things that indicate he is going to kill her, because he can't let the truth come out.
Days later, the cleaning woman finds the woman hanging from a noose, apparently a suicide. However, Monk finds things that indicate it could be murder. Wagner becomes a suspect, but according to the coroner's estimate of time of death, he was in space at the time. If he is guilty, how did he do it?
This has got to be Monk's wildest murder case. The actual murder plot involves so many gambles that it's not a brave plan - It's a stupid one where everything just happened to go right! - almost. Disher's ludicrous theory that involves escape pods in the space shuttle actually sounds more credible.
There's a side plot involving a battle of wits between Monk and the astronaut. Wagner can tell Monk is a guy who is frightened of everything, and he uses that to try to make Monk lose focus and doubt his own courage.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Captain's Marriage (2006)
A Stottlemeyer centric episode
Two men are arguing in a junk yard. They then begin to fight. One man tasers the other and then beats him to death. But then the assailant realizes a homeless man has seen everything and chases the homeless man. But the homeless man gets away, flags down a patrol car, and then disappears. The audience never sees the assailant's face. It turns out the victim was set to testify against a crime boss, so immediate suspicion settles on him, but he has an airtight alibi. Complications ensue.
At the crime scene, a patrol officer taunts Captain Stottlemeyer about him having an affair with Stottlemeyer's wife. The captain hits him and is relieved of supervising other officers until he completes an anger management class. Also, Karen, the captain's wife, denies this accusation. But she has been acting cool and distant towards the captain and Monk and Natalie follow her one day and see she meets with some strange man. Even more complications ensue.
I will say outright that Stottlemeyer's wife leaves her husband at the end of the episode and doesn't give him a good reason for her leaving. Glenne Headly has always given a good performance as the captain's wife. She's a person who is "California dreamin". She's loopy and can't see why buying groceries should come ahead of her making another one of her documentaries that nobody watches, yet the captain loves her and it seemed that she loved him back.
Maybe Ms. Headly didn't want to do this role anymore and the writers needed a reason to write her out of the show. Maybe the writers wanted Stottlemeyer single so they could make some plot lines out of that. It's just unusual to see a marriage written into a script as maybe a bit rocky and mismatched but loving, and then see the entire thing blow up after four seasons. It definitely did render the intended emotional punch though.
Monk: Mr. Monk and Mrs. Monk (2005)
Is Trudy Monk alive?
Monk is starting to make progress in therapy. He says that for the first time since Trudy's death he is starting to feel happiness. His therapist/doctor agrees and says he is going to recommend him for reinstatement to his job with the San Francisco police force.
Natalie is in a diner after having run a few errands for Monk, one of which included getting a photo of Trudy framed. As she sits there, in walks a woman who is the spitting image of Trudy. Of course, the woman who looks like Trudy has no idea who Natalie is. The Trudy look alike goes to a booth and meets a man there Natalie slides into the empty booth behind the woman. The conversation between the older man and the Trudy look-alike makes it sound like this is Trudy, including her saying that she faked her own death to protect her husband and can therefore not tell him she is really alive.
So Natalie is torn between telling Monk his wife might be alive and leaving things be since Monk truly is better. And he is better - In the kitchen making potato salad with a neighbor who is touching and tasting the food without Monk freaking out. How will this play out? Watch and find out.
This episode was intriguing in its premise, because if this really is Trudy Monk, then everything that Monk has believed about his wife and shared with the viewers is a lie.
Monk: Mr. Monk Gets Drunk (2005)
Murder on the Monk Express
A man emerges from his shower in a hotel room only to find another man sitting in a chair. The man in the shower has stolen three million dollars from the mob and this guy is an enforcer, here to reclaim the money. He tells the guy that his partner has all of the money, and that he is in California wine country, but is not sure of his exact location. The enforcer then kills the thief and goes looking for his moneyed partner.
Meanwhile, Natalie and Monk have arrived at the same wine country inn that Monk and Trudy went to on their anniversary - Just one of many rituals Monk follows in remembrance of his wife. Natalie heads upstairs to soak in a tub and Monk is having dinner when this rather loud fellow plops down at the same table and starts talking his ear off. He introduces himself as Larry Zwibell. Then he goes to play cards with the other guests as Monk trudges off to bed.
The next morning Monk has a hangover and goes to Zwibell's room to ask for the hangover cure that he said he had. But Zwibell isn't there, and the man who has his room says he never heard of him. In fact, none of the guests say they've ever heard of the guy, as well as the owner of the inn who says that the last person to sign in was Monk. Plus it is soon discovered that Larry Zwibell painted the picture in the lobby. Is Monk having a psychotic break or all of the guests conspiring against him? Watch and find out
Natalie wants to believe Monk, but she knows his past, plus the name of the invisible guest is the same as the guy who signed a painting in the hotel lobby. Hmmm
This case has a very Agathie Christie feel to it, and thus my title.
Monk: Mr. Monk Goes to the Office (2005)
Mr. Monk goes native
A man is loitering in a parking garage and gets the interest of the security guard. When the guard says he is going to call the police if the man doesn't leave, the man shoots and kills the guard. The man then waits for a fellow with a suit and a briefcase to approach his car. He then puts the businessman's right hand in his car door, shuts it, and breaks it. The man then leaves the scene without having stolen anything.
Monk is on the case, and it turns out the businessman with the broken hand is Warren Kemp, a top financial analyst at Pross Investments. When Monk has trouble figuring out what happened and who is responsible, Kemp invites Monk to join the firm. He'll tell the rest of the company that Monk is an investment analyst so that Monk can investigate the company from the inside as "one of the gang".
The problem is, Monk goes native. For the first time in a long time - maybe since he was with the police force before Trudy died - he has a "gang". They eat together, laugh together, bowl together. And then Monk has to choose between "the gang" and one of his obsessions, and the obsessions win. Complications ensue. How will this all turn out? Watch and find out.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Other Detective (2005)
Mr. Monk has a rival
A jewelry store is robbed by its own manager because some villains are holding his dog hostage and threaten to kill the dog if the manager does not deliver the jewels. The exchange of the jewels and the dog goes bad when a security guard shows up and a shooting breaks out. The guard and the manager are killed. When the police arrive, Monk is trying to get the lay of the crime scene when Marty Eels, a second rate private detective appears and figures out clues and angles that Monk can't. Monk immediately believes that Marty is somehow "cheating", but he can't deny his uncanny ability to decipher clues on this case. At first the cops and Monk think that he must have been in on the heist, but he has an alibi and is deemed as cleared of suspicion. What goes on here? Watch and find out.
Jason Alexander excels in the role of Marty, and that's because Marty is very much a slimy little weasel in the same vein as his iconic character on Seinfeld, George Costanza. It's amusing to see Monk feel despondent at possibly having been dethroned by such a character and thinking that there is any such thing as "cheating" when it comes to crime detection.
Monk: Mr. Monk Goes Home Again (2005)
The brothers Monk
A short nondescript man follows a security guard out of a grocery store to his vehicle, asks for a light, and then shoots and kills him. He then leaves the scene, having taken nothing.
Separately, Monk gets a call from his agoraphobic brother Ambrose informing him that their father, who deserted the family in1972, has informed Ambrose he will be returning home on Halloween at eight PM. Monk and Natalie show up at Ambrose's house on the specified evening. Of course, Monk believes that his dad won't show, but he mainly wants to be there to support Ambrose when dad does not appear. While they are there, a presumed trick-or-treater attacks Ambrose and rifles through his candy and then leaves, having taken nothing. What goes on here? Watch and find out.
John Turturro returns to his role of Monk's brother Ambrose who has odd compulsions of his own. For example he has been saving all of his father's mail since 1972, sure that he will return home at some point in time - And demand all of his newspapers since Watergate???
Ambrose finds himself very attracted to Natalie and asks her out on a date - well actually IN on a date - and she turns him down not because he is a person as emotionally paralyzed as her boss, but because she works for his brother and claims it could complicate both relationships. Or at least that's what she says. Natalie is kind as well as tough.
And how would Ambrose KNOW he's attracted to Natalie? She's the only young woman to enter the home in decades. Ambrose's home is practically a desert island and Ambrose has zero experience with women. But I digress.
These episodes that take me back to Monk's past, before the tragedy and his breakdown, are among the most interesting in my opinion.
Monk: Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas (2005)
Mr. Monk and the mogul
A Las Vegas mogul is going to a benefit and realizes he doesn't have his tickets. His wife says she will return to their penthouse suite and get them. Her very long scarf gets caught in the elevator door and strangles her while her husband (James Brolin as Daniel Thorn) and a crowd around the elevator look on helplessly.
Days later, Monk gets a call from a drunk Stottlemeyer saying that he knows how Thorn committed the murder and that "they don't match". This makes no sense to Monk, who is on the next plane to Las Vegas where some of the officers are having a bachelor party. The problem is, Stottlemeyer remembers very little of the previous evening and remembers nothing about solving the murder. A serious side issue is that Disher has gotten addicted to gambling in the short time he has been in Vegas and has lost 35 thousand dollars. Complications ensue.
Natalie reveals a little bit more about herself when she says that she was once addicted to gambling and that she fears that Monk, with all of his compulsions, would easily become addicted too. This puts him in conflict with Stottlemeyer who wants him to win back Disher's money with his great memory and observation talents, and Natalie who is only interested in Monk's best interest.
A funny scene is when Stottlemeyer finds a woman who remembers what he said the previous night which may be about the murder, but won't reveal what that was until he sings karaoke for her, which he does.
Twisters (2024)
How does Oklahoma have any infrastructure when THIS keeps happening every other day?
This movie is the platonic ideal of a summer blockbuster. Maybe I just say that because I've watched the original Twister on cable several hundred times, but this movie captures the tone and charm of old school Amblin movies better than pretty much anything else in the last 20 years. This movie is shot and edited like it could have come out in the late 90s and that just hits a real nostalgia spot for me. Others might think that makes the movie a little too familiar and predictable, and that's an entirely fair opinion. Same could be said for Top Gun Maverick, but everyone loved it. When you're on a roller coaster, you can see all the twists and turns ahead of time, but that doesn't matter when you're there for the ride.
Also what a crazy two weeks for movies that feature exactly one scene with Kiernan Shipka.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Red Herring (2005)
Another woman disappears from Monk's life
In the opening scene, Monk is talking to his doctor about how he's coping until Sharona comes back. The doctor points out to Monk that Sharona has sold her home, remarried her ex-husband, and moved back to New Jersey. In other words, she's not coming back, and that he needs to move on and find another assistant.
Meanwhile, a woman fights with a home intruder, ultimately killing him with a pair of scissors she finds in their struggle. Great shades of "Dial M for Murder". A different man two days before gained entry to the house saying he was with a utility company but seemed to be interested in her daughter's fish tank. The woman chased him away without a struggle. The police suggest bringing Monk in on this difficult case, but say that she'll need to go to him and personally ask him since he is having a hard time coping since Sharona left.
Monk does agree to come on the case, and he thinks that somebody is after either the fish in the tank or something in the tank with the fish. The fish is extraordinary, as it is a six year old fish when that breed is only supposed to live one or two years. Complications ensue.
A really funny scene occurs when Monk is asked by the woman to pretend to be an expert on fish and tell her daughter's science teacher that it is possible for the fish to be six years old. But the science teacher asks probing questions like - Where did Monk study? What was his degree in? What books has he written? , etc. And in the age of the internet his answers fall apart quickly. Plus Monk is just a really bad liar.
The client, Natalie Teeger becomes Monk's new assistant. This change out in personnel was necessary since Bitty Schram left the show over a salary she considered insufficient given the show's success and her part in making that success.
Monk: Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine (2004)
Mr. Monk becomes truly annoying
Monk is feeling especially despondent, and so his doctor brings up the topic of medication. Monk is against psych meds, but agrees to take home a bottle of a week's worth of pills with him in case he decides to try them. When he is frozen with inaction as a suspect flees he decides to take the pills. Freed from his fears, an alter ego emerges - "The Monk". This person is not afraid of crowds or food that others have touched, but he is also extremely irritating. And it also seems that since Monk no longer sees every detail, that he has lost his crime solving abilities too. How will this all work out? Watch and find out.
This isn't how psych meds work, but it is great fun to see Monk's alter ego confounding his colleagues. There is also a touching scene where Monk feels he is able to contact the spirit of his wife by smelling a pillow of hers that he has kept sealed and stashed away all of these years.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month (2004)
Mr. Monk reevaluates a preconceived notion
A woman is killed by somebody who gets in at the department store they work at as early as the woman did, lures her out to the loading dock, and then dumps a bunch of TVs on her, killing her. The police, not knowing the set-up, just think it's an accident, but the store's head of security believes it was murder based on some letters written to discredit the dead employee that all seem to be from the same person.
Monk is on the case, and normally you'd think he'd be glad to have somebody on the inside who also thinks foul play is involved. The problem is that the head of store security is a disgraced cop. He was accused of stealing drugs from the evidence room and dismissed from the force. The perp walked because of the lack of evidence and later shot and killed two cops.
To catch the killer, Monk goes undercover as an employee of the store, and it's fun to see Monk trying to work with the rowdy public in a rowdy public place. On the bright side, because Monk sees everything, he is very helpful to shoppers who want to know where something is in the store.
Working with the disgraced cop, Monk begins to wonder if the guy is truly guilty and does a mini-investigation on this four year old case. What does he find out? Watch and find out.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf (2004)
Sharona under stress
Sharona starts seeing the figure of a man with a knife stuck into the side of his head and another knife stuck in his chest. She only sees him when she's alone - in a parking garage, in a public ladies room, when she's pumping gas into her car late at night.
And she's been losing things too - her keys, the remote control, her checkbook. She thinks she's maybe cracking up because her father cracked up when she was a teenager, forcing her mother to sell the family hardware store to pay bills. She fears she could become ill and cause a similar trauma to Benjy, and she wonders if being in close to Adrian Monk's weirdness could have brought this condition on. So what goes on here? Watch and find out.
In the meantime, Sharona is taking some needed time off and Monk is forced to cope alone. For fans of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer show from the 90s, you will get a treat with an appearance of the actress who played Anya in a small role.
Monk: Mr. Monk Gets Fired (2004)
Monk faces a loss of identity
Karen Stottlemeyer has picked an inopportune time to make a documentary about her husband's job. The precinct is currently working an arson at a wig store where the owner was killed, but the commissioner wants them to refocus on the solving of the "torso murder" where the dismembered body of a woman was found. Monk is brought in on this latter case, and the commissioner, who hates Monk, takes a clerical error that he made as an opportunity to fire him and pull his private license, denying Monk a way to make a living in any way that he has done so in his adult past. So Sharona is back working at the hospital as an R. N. and Monk is lost.
This episode really brings up how people are often their work and when they lose that it's like a loss of identity as well as income, even if you are not an OCD person.
Wings: Love Overboard (1996)
Roy and Antonio strut their stuff
The funniest thing about this episode is the side plot, not the main plot. In the main plot Casey confronts her husband about what he's stolen from her.
In a side plot, Roy asks Antonio if he'd like to make some extra money being an escort for older ladies on a cruise ship that is docking nearby. The problem is that being a dance partner is part of the duties of an escort and Antonio cannot dance. Roy promises to teach Antonio how to dance that night, after everybody leaves. I can't imagine an entire airport of any kind being abandoned at night, especially in my post 9-11 world, but I digress.
What entails is about the funniest five minutes of TV I've seen in a long time as Roy and Antonio trip the light fantastic. It looks like they and the crew probably had a great time filming it as well as there are additional shots of them dancing in the end credits.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Blackout (2004)
Mr. Monk tries to get back into the dating game
A blackout occurs for a short period of time one night when Monk is at Sharona's house - he reacts with the uncertainty as you'd expect. It turns out the blackout was a result of sabotage, but no significant crime occurred during that time. A message is left at the scene of the crime, and Monk recognizes the writing style as that of a domestic terrorist who died ten years ago. Complications ensue.
I didn't find the investigation part of the episode that interesting, but what is funny is Monk being attracted to a pretty publicist who works for the power company. More importantly she is very attracted to him. Encouraged by Sharona, he asks her out for a date that goes disastrously. Especially funny is when he initially calls her and has laid out on his desk in front of him several stacks of notecards with the answer to what he considers every possible question she might ask him.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Panic Room (2004)
Mr. Monk gets lazy...
...and is ultimately bested in criminology instincts by Sharona.
A wealthy man's alarm system goes off so he takes his pet chimpanzee and gets into his ironclad panic room and waits for the police to arrive. They do arrive minutes later, find some broken glass at an external door, but no intruder or signs that there has been one. The police knock on the door to the panic room, get no response, and so they break into it with a blow torch. The wealthy man is on the floor, dead from a bullet wound, and his pet chimpanzee is swinging a gun around, the apparent killer.
Monk, usually inquisitive about every aspect of a crime scene, shrugs his shoulders and says case closed. He just accepts the obvious theory that the chimp did it. Sharona questions the prevailing theory mainly because she feels empathy for the chimp and doesn't want him to be euthanized which the law requires for any animal that kills a human. Complications ensue.
Monk is a comedy with the murder mystery there just to hold the comedy together, so I can overlook the great big plot holes here and just enjoy the episode for its funny spots. There's a great scene where Stottlemeyer asks for an unloaded gun so he can take the chimp into the interrogation room and prove that the chimp is capable of firing a weapon. Unfortunately, after Stottlemeyer is locked in the room, Disher realizes he gave him a loaded gun by accident. There's also a great bit of business where the chimp is loose in Monk's house, taking the place apart. As a result he has a dissociative episode and puts a for sale sign up in the yard - he is renting by the way - saying "I can't live here anymore".
Glad Rag Doll (1929)
An early effort by director Michael Curtiz in America
Thus it is impossible to rate. The sound discs are lost as well, so there is no way to judge the pacing and the plot of the film. Often Richard Barrios' book "Song in the Dark" offers some insight on these early sound productions, but in this case there is no mention of the film.
That's too bad because this film was an early effort by director Michael Curtiz and starred Dolores Costello, who disappeared from film not so much because of lack of interest, but because she dropped out of acting for awhile to raise a family. We don't have much of a record of Costello's voice in these early talking films, although she did many of them, because they are all lost save "Noah's Ark", which also happens to be a Michael Curtiz film.
The most information that can be gleaned is from the New York Times film review that survives which calls it "an amateurish audible film comedy" and the author of the article puzzles over the title. Probably because Warner Brothers of that era named films to draw in audiences more than to indicate the nature of the plot. Apparently Costello plays a stage actress who becomes the object of affection of the member of a wealthy family - the Fairchilds. The head of the family, perhaps an older brother?, is willing to pay off the actress rather than see his brother marry her, although the feeling of affection is not reciprocated by the actress. Somehow, the actress winds up at a Fairchild garden party where the dances of the day are performed by the attendees. And apparently one of the matrons of the Fairchilds turns out to be a kleptomaniac. To what end I have no idea.
This sounds something like the plot of Golddiggers of Broadway, although that film was released just one month before this one. Lots of stills survive, and they all look like slices of roaring twenties life, so that makes the totality of the loss doubly tragic.