TV Show Review: Monk - Season 3

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: A great series only gets better with the cast change

Cons: A couple over the top episodes in the first half.

The Bottom Line:

Slight bump with cast change

Yet I think it made show strong

So I didn't mind

A New Assistant but Still Plenty of Fun

This is the third season of addicting comedy/mystery show Monk. For those unfamiliar with the show, it stars Tony Shalhoub as a former San Francisco homicide detective who had to quite the force after his wife was murdered, a case that still remains open. His obsessive-compulsive tendencies, while not exactly under control, still make him a brilliant detective, so he often consults on some of the more puzzling cases the department runs up against. Many of the cases run into the "How Done It" variety as Monk knows who did it but must break the perfect alibi. Along the way, he often finds himself in a situation where he must face one of his many fears, which he does in the funniest way possible.

This set brings Adrian Monk back with sixteen new cases to solve. The season starts in New York as the regular cast follows up a clue about the death of Monk's wife Trudy. But soon they're back to San Francisco and dealing with killer monkeys, power failures, the mob, traffic, Vegas, and a new assistant.

Just over the halfway point, Bitty Schram, who played Monk's assistant Sharona, was asked to leave the show over a salary dispute. As with any cast change, this one has it's own share of controversy. I was afraid this would ruin my favorite series, but in the end I feel it made it stronger. New cast member Traylor Howard's Natalie is a strong character. In fact, her introduction episode is easily my favorite of this season. While she shares much with Sharona, she doesn't treat Monk with kid gloves but expects him to behave somewhat like an adult. Still, their relationship has sweetness to it that the Monk/Sharona dynamic never did. Even more importantly, it forced the writers to once again focus on good character interactions and stories. I feel the first half of the season was slipping into caricature and easy laughs. This is especially true in "Mr. Monk and the Panic Room." The cast change forced them to refocus their efforts; it proved to be a breath of fresh air that the show needed.

So what do you get with this set? The sixteen episodes are presented in wide screen and Dolby sound on four discs. Each disc also contains at least one mini extra segment. There are five this time around. Members of the cast and crew talk about favorite scenes; we finally get a profile of Monk as well as a profile of Natalie; Tony Shalhoub, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford talk about the back story of their characters (we learn nothing new about Monk, but we do about the other two); and the series creator talks a little bit about Monk's quirks. Most of these segments are only five minutes long, so we really don't learn much from them.

Monk - season 3 continues to entertain with funny lines and situations and puzzling mysteries. If you love light mysteries, this series is for you. I can't wait to see what Monk takes on next.

Season 3 Episodes:

1. Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan

2. Mr. Monk and the Panic Room

3. Mr. Monk and the Blackout

4. Mr. Monk Gets Fired

5. Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather

6. Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf

7. Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month

8. Mr. Monk and the Game Show

9. Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine

10. Mr. Monk and the Red Herring

11. Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra

12. Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever

13. Mr. Monk Gets Stuck in Traffic

14. Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas

15. Mr. Monk and the Election

16. Mr. Monk and the Kid