Mr. Monk and the Three Pies

John Turtorro steals the episode where he plays Ambrose, Monk's estranged brother. Here we are kept guessing until the very end, with a self-referential observation by Randy about Monk's summation not going as expected at the end. I wonder if Michael McKean's character in Better Call Saul was modelled on Ambrose by any chance? Here the central food is pies, yes pies!

I must admit, I fast forward Randy Newman's opening theme "It's a jungle out there". No respect to Randy of course, but I prefer the original theme by Jeff Beal which was performed in season 1.

John Turturo guest stars as, and wins an Emmy for playing, Monk's brother, Ambrose, in a powerful, masterful, and, ultimately, heart-breaking, bravura performance. Sure, there's the usual, somewhat silly mystery that needs to be solved, but the real meat of this episode is the tension that exists between the two brothers. Usually, when a character in a series "suddenly" has a new sibling, (The Cosby Show, I'm looking at you...) the reasoning for never being mentioned is silly. Not so here. The reason is simple, and very understandable. Ambrose's quirks make Monk look downright normal, and the secrets he's carrying are a heavy burden, indeed. My two favorite, stand-out scenes are when Sharona asks Ambrose what it is that Monk has, that he doesn't. And when Monk confronts him about the reason Adrian has denied his existence for the last several years. Bot scenes broke my heart. Watch this. He'll break your heart, too.

'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.

"Mr Monk and the Three Pies" has always stood out to me as one of the top 3 episodes of Season 2. It is also one of my all-time favourites of the show overall. Everything about it just works, it's hilarious, it's touching, it's heart warming and there is even a little bit of tension. "Mr Monk and the Three Pies" certainly does deserve credit for giving a wholly credible reason for introducing a relative that one didn't know about before, something that seems to elude a number of shows (am fond of 'Murder She Wrote', as an example, but Jessica Fletcher has so many relatives randomly popping up that it's difficult to keep track).

It is the tension and bonding between Adrian Monk and his brother Ambrose that makes "Mr Monk and the Three Pies" as wonderful as it is. Individually and together they have so many delightful character moments that make you laugh until your sides are sore and also until one is reduced to sobbing. Both of these have happened less frequently with me, although a fair reviewer and who likes a good laugh or to be touched (both of which have happened lots of time with me and still do, just not as much), but this episode is the best case for both of them in a long time. Anyway, the tension never falls into cliché or soap-opera, actually striking an emotional chord, and there are many touching moments too and plenty to get amused by both characters' numerous quirks and problems.

As has been 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. It is remarkable here that right from the first episode to when the show ended that one likes him straight away, even with his quirks and deficiencies that could easily have been overplayed, and also that he is better developed than most titular characters of other shows at this particular stage. Who can't help love Monk's brilliant mind too?

John Tuturro comes incredibly close to stealing the show from under Shalhoub, a bravura performance that tugs at the heart-strings and induces gales of laughter. Definitely in the top 10 best guest star performances on 'Monk'. Bitty Schram is suitably sharp and sympathetic and while Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford don't have as much to do they are amusing support. In the acting stakes it is Shalhoub and Tuturro's shows all the way.

The cast and the relationship of Adrian and Ambrose are not the only great things. 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 hilarious wry humour, lovable quirkiness and tender easy-to-relate-to drama is delicately done but extremely deft, of which some of the funniest writing of the whole show is in this episode. The character moments are such a joy with the principal cast are always.

As for the mystery, that is a lot of fun as well and very interesting, avoiding being too silly or being too conventional. Fairly unique in the motive and the lengths the murderer goes through to get what they want.

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.

Overall, a season and show highlight. 10/10 Bethany Cox

A man buys a string of tickets at a local fair in Tewkesbury where the prize is a cherry pie, but another person, an older woman, actually wins the raffle. The man follows her to her car and tries to steal the pie from her, but she resists. He ends up bludgeoning her to death by ramming her head against her steering wheel, then drives the car to an unknown location, taking the pie with him. This unknown location must have been inside of San Francisco, because Stottlemeyer and Disher are investigating and think the crime was a carjacking gone bad. While Monk looks over the crime scene, Sharona gets a call and says the caller claims to be Monk's brother, Ambrose, and needs to see Monk right away and that it is a matter of life and death.

Monk doesn't want to speak to his brother Ambrose because he never called or wrote him after Trudy's death, but he does eventually come around and go to Tewkesbury to see Ambrose. Ambrose still lives in the family home that Monk and Ambrose grew up in. Ambrose has agoraphobia and won't leave the house. But he thinks that something nefarious has happened to the wife. Ambrose says that, two nights ago, he heard next door neighbor van Ranken and his wife arguing, then what sounded like gunshots. Three hours later, van Ranken drove his truck away and was gone all night. The next morning, Ambrose called the house looking for the wife, and van Ranken said she had flown to Argentina. Suspiciously, he denied leaving the previous night, saying his truck has been parked in the same place all summer.

To humor Ambrose, Monk says he will look into the disappearance. But as he looks into things he begins to think something happened too. Also note that Van Rankin is the same guy who killed the old woman over a cherry pie, but Monk does not figure that out until later.

John Turturro is fabulous as Ambrose Monk. It's odd that Monk openly derides Ambrose for saying that he can't leave the house since Monk's disabilities look equally odd to anybody else. You'd think he'd have some empathy - these two have both been damaged by a bad childhood. Also, Ambrose sets the table for their dad who abandoned them in the 1960s and he has been saving all of the mail so their father can read it when he returns. Monk ridicules this too, saying that their father is never coming back and that he doesn't use his detective skills to go looking for him because he is afraid he might actually find him.

Oddly, cherry pies are at the center of a murder. We meet Ambrose, Adrian's brother, who is agoraphobic. He is estranged from Monk but he has a suspicion that the guy across the street has murdered his wife. What transpires are two people with serious psychological problems coming together.