Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty

You can imagine on jury duty, driving the other 11 jurors (and the judge ) nuts. Well, of course, that is the case here. It's also predictable in that he would be the only one to vote "not guilty," and, being the good Liberal-slanted show it is, would be proved correct getting an innocent black man off to boot!! This reminded me a bit of "12 Angry Men," except it's 11 angry people at Monk, and you can't blame them.

Most of the things in here, including the jokes and the dramatic ending, are pretty predictable yet despite that, it was still fun to watch. It isn't however, one of the more cerebral episodes and a little more than far-fetched....but that's Monk. To the writers' credit, the surprise among the jurors was good (one of them was rotten, and it wasn't Adrian).

Monk's ticks are more infuriating than ever in this episode, usually the writing uses these OCD habits to further the plot but now they're just unnecessary acting tropes.

Monk's OCD is off the wall. He ends up being the odd man in the jury room, a parody on 12 Angry Men. It is wonderful to watch him invade the psyches of the other eleven jurors. He really shows his analytical skills and only stubbornness keeps him from being immediately successful. I loved his fixation on the crooked Venetian blinds.

I've really enjoyed watching Monk so far, but if this had been among the first of the series I would've gone no further. First, every show on TV just has to have a 12 Angry Men episode, which has become so overdone that's it's pretty much a cliche now. Normally, Monk does well turning familiar tropes on their heads, but it doesn't work here.

The other thing is how Monk's condition is portrayed. The series always plays his OCD and phobias for laughs, and usually it works because we're always reminded that ultimately what Monk is dealing with every day is no joke and no one is more aware of it than Monk himself. But in this episode, the writers skirt around all this by making it seem like it's all an affectation - something he chooses to get attention. Even Natalie tells the judge that Monk is "persnickety" instead being a real advocate for him.

The bottom line is that this episode is so far from being grounded in any kind of reality that it ends up being more annoying than anything else. There is just no way a man like Monk, with his mental health challenges, his career, and his connections to the people involved in the case would ever be chosen to sit on a jury. I recommend skipping this one and rewatching the finale from season 3 instead.

'Monk' has always been one of my most watched shows when needing comfort, to relax after a hard day, a good laugh or a way to spend a lazy weekend.

Season 4 to me was a reasonably solid season, most of them being decent-very good and some were great and there was one particularly special one ("Mr Monk Goes Home Again"). From personal opinion, the only average or less one of the season was "Mr Monk and the Big Reward", which didn't really feel like 'Monk'. "Mr Monk Gets Jury Duty" is a great season finale and one of the season's better episodes, almost a classic. Sure a few aspects are not that hard to figure out, like Monk being against the other jurors in the deliberating, and a couple of others don't quite add up like with the gun.

"Mr Monk Gets Jury Duty's" biggest disappointment is how it uses Disher and Stottlemeyer. After two previous Season 4 episodes, "Mr Monk and the Captain's Marriage" for Stottlemeyer and "Mr Monk Goes to the Dentist" for Disher, did wonderfully in making them more interesting and bringing different sides to them (also giving Jason Gray-Stanford and Ted Levine opportunities to stretch their acting chops as the characters), it was a pity that they were reduced to little screen time and stock cop stereotypes (somewhat).

However, the mystery is a lot of fun and is intriguing. Even more so are the scenes within the courtroom and with the jurors, written in a way reminiscent of the classic '12 Angry Men'. How the jurors deliberated on the evidence and seeing how frustrated they get at Monk makes the episode one of the most entertaining of Season 4. The final solution was a surprise to me, suspected aspects of it admittedly (i.e. one of the jurors not being what they seemed) but didn't expect to be proved right.

As said many times, one of the best things about 'Monk' has always been the acting of Tony Shalhoub in the title role. It was essential for him to work and be the glue of the show, and Shalhoub not only is that but also at his very best he IS the show. Have always loved the balance of the humour, which is often hilarious, and pathos, which is sincere and touching.

Natalie is down to earth, sympathetic and sassy, also being sensitive to Monk's needs and quirks which Traylor Howard does well bringing out. Ted Levine is suitably amusing and gruff and Jason Gray-Stanford doesn't make the comic relief annoying thankfully. The jurors, judge and Escobar are also acted very well and compellingly written.

It's not just the cast or story though. Another star is the writing, which is also essential to whether the show would be successful or not and succeed it does here. The mix of wry humour, lovable quirkiness and tender easy-to-relate-to drama is delicately done, particularly the last one. The quirks are sympathetically done and never exploited or overdone.

Visually, the episode is shot in a slick and stylish way, and the music is both understated and quirky. While there is a preference for the theme music for Season 1, Randy Newman's "It's a Jungle Out There" has grown on me overtime, found it annoying at first but appreciate its meaning and what it's trying to say much more now. Oh and a good job is done with the different opening credits sequence to accommodate the changes made.

Overall, great episode despite a couple of misgivings, a very worthy finale to a solid season. 9/10 Bethany Cox