Monk.

I don't know why on earth it took me so long to discover Monk. :) I love mysteries and detective stories: Sherlock, Agatha Christie novels, the show Pushing Daisies, etc. The TV show Monk is like a strange mix of all of those things.

In case you don't know, it's about a detective named Adrian Monk. After his wife was killed by a car bomb several years earlier, Monk has developed a lot of phobias and obsessive compulsive behavior. According to most episodes, he was like that as a child to some extent, but it seems that the death of his wife made his OCD much worse. He lost his position with the police department after his breakdown, but now years later, he works as a consultant detective, helping the police solve murders (and he sometimes takes private cases).

It sounds like a rather dry, depressing show. But Monk is the complete opposite of that. :) I've loved this show since the day I watched the very first episode. Before Monk, it had been forever since I found a TV show made me laugh until my guts hurt. I remember in one of the first few episodes, when Monk is at a children's storytime, and there's a kid there who is snotty and sneezy and ends up picking his nose. Monk's reaction was priceless, and I laughed so hard that I immediately went downstairs and told my parents they had to watch this show. Now they love it, too. {I often try to force my favorite shows on them. They haven't taken to Doctor Who yet, even after watching Blink. I have shown them the amazingness of BBC, though, mostly due to Lark Rise to Candleford.}

Monk is basically an OCD Sherlock. He's a genius and he sees clues that nobody else does. He even has a Watson-ish sidekick. :) But the show also reminds me a tiny bit of Pushing Daisies. I loved the murder mysteries and quirkiness and colors and set designs of that show, but I didn't love all of the language and inappropriate content. I guess the humor in Monk and the bizarre murder cases are what remind me of Pushing Daisies.

Most of the show's humor comes from Monk's many quirks. And while he is hilarious at times, the writers make you feel so much sympathy for him that the humor is never mean-spirited. Monk has a huge list of phobias (yes, he actually has a list). He's afraid of germs and heights and dentists and milk. He's claustrophobic and hates shaking hands. He touches desk lamps and light posts and things as he passes. He cannot leave a crooked pillow sitting on the couch- he has to straighten it. He thrives on order and neatness and things always being the same.

The thing is...I can totally relate to Monk. Just being honest here. :) I don't like change. I will leave certain things sitting around for too long, but in other cases if things are out of place, I can't focus on anything until I put them back where they belong. I love a routine and I don't do spur-of-the-moment. I like to be organized. I wash my face and brush my teeth the exact same way every day (it's not like I try to...I just do). My bookshelves are alphabetized and the clothes in my closet are grouped by color. When I go to my babysitting job, I always check my brown paper bag four or five times to make sure I didn't forget my lunch. When I fix a glass of water at home, I always put three ice cubes in it. Okay...I think that's enough sharing for now. :)

{It's not like I refuse to drink my water if it *gasp* has more than three ice cubes. It's just that I, of course, have a reason for the ice cube thing. I drink a lot of water...it's nearly all I drink. And I hate it when you have a big glass of water that really only has a tiny bit of water in it because the glass is full of ice. And then when you go to drink the two sips of water that are actually in your glass, all of the ice comes rushing at your face. And then you have water dribbled down your shirt and feel like you're two years old instead of twenty-two. Of course, I can rationalize such things. But then I realize that Monk can rationalize his oddities, too. :) }

Anyway, I get it, in a small way. (Or not so small? Don't tell me if you think I'm a complete nut.) So when I'm laughing at Monk, I'm also laughing at myself and my weird habits.

Monk isn't the only great character in this show...I love all the characters. I liked Sharona a lot, so of course it wasn't easy to adjust to Natalie (it's like the Doctor getting a new companion! :). But she has grown on me a lot and I like her just as much as Sharona now. I like Captain Stottlemeyer and his friendship with Monk. And I love Lieutenant Randy Disher. He is so clueless and unaware of everything, but he tries so hard. He cracks me up. :) He's sort of like Barney Fife, I guess...maybe that's why I like him so much. And even though he's not in many episodes, I love Monk's agoraphobic brother Ambrose!

Even though I love mysteries, even murder mysteries, I do not like gruesome stuff. I've never been into those crime scene investigation shows, and before watching Monk I was worried it would be like those. But it's not. Sure, the murders that Monk solves are not pleasant, but most of the violence happens off-screen and there aren't really graphic, bloody close-ups. There's occasionally some mild language, but otherwise this show is incredibly clean by modern standards.

So, yeah. I love this show so much. And I'm only in the fifth season so far (there are eight). I love the plot and the characters and even the theme song (I have it stuck in my head all the time). The episodes are so addicting, even though they follow the same format: Murder occurs. Police begin investigating. Monk shows up and something about the case connects to one of his fears, but he's brilliant and solves the case anyway. He then explains to everyone: "Here's what happened."

Some of my favorite episodes so far are: Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum, Mr. Monk and the Airplane, Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater, Mr. Monk Goes to Jail, Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine, Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever, Mr. Monk and the Kid (Oh my goodness! Probably my favorite episode! The 911 call when he changes the diaper was hilarious and the ending was so heartbreaking), Mr. Monk Bumps His Head, and Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist.

 

Have you watched Monk? What's your favorite episode? (Please, no spoilers from seasons 5-8 just yet!) What are some of your slightly OCD habits?