Mr. Monk Goes to the Carnival

A policeman goes to a carnival to meet an informant who is going to give him some crucial information. The informant says that he will only tell him what he knows on the ferris wheel, supposedly so that they will be far from anybody who could hear what's being said. On the ground the ferris wheel operator hears the informant yelling for help. When the pair reach the ground, the operator stops the ride, and the cop gets off. But the informant is dead of a stab wound to the chest. The cop says he didn't hurt the guy. Stottlemeyer, being a long time friend of the accused cop, asks Monk to find out what really happened. Complications ensue.

At the same time, Monk is facing a hearing for reinstatement to the SFPD. Stottlemeyer's opinion is key to the outcome. The irony can't be lost on Monk that the same guy who is key to him getting his badge back is asking him to help get the badge back of a cop who may not be guilty of this particular crime but does have definite anger management problems.

Stottlemeyer brings his friend, Detective Adam Kirk, to meet the informer John Gitomer in the Carnival to learn where a load of drugs will be delivered. Gitome insists to go to the Ferris wheel with Kirk and, out of the blue, start to scream that Kirk wants to kill him. The operator Kitty Malone stops the Ferris wheel, Kirk leaves the seat and Gitomer is found dead, stabbed in the chest. Monk is waiting to be released by the board to be detective again, and Stottlemeyer asks him to secretly investigate what happened in the Ferris wheel since Internal Affairs is investigating Kirk, who is a crucial witness against the criminal Leonard Stokes. Soon Monk resolves the case but Stottlemeyer's evaluation is not he is expecting.

"Mr. Monk Goes to the Carnival" is another well resolved case by Monk. The story is mysterious, and Monk's sense of observation easily resolves the case. The DVD released in Brazil by Universal has a ridiculous and shameful translation for Ferris wheel ("roda gigante" in Portuguese, translated as "roda Ferris"). My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Sr. Monk Vai ao Parque de Diversões" ("Mr. Monk Goes to the Carnival")

The first four episodes (if you count the opening 2-parter as two episodes) of Monk were okay but nothing special. The first three episodes relied more on gimmickry, in particular Monk's weirdnesses, than on intrigue or substance.

The fourth episode - Dale the Whale - had a reasonable amount of mystery and it appeared that the style was starting to be replaced with substance. However, the solution to the mystery was fairly obvious so it wasn't exactly riveting viewing.

This, the fifth episode, is where things at last start to come together. Less superficial weirdness and a genuine head-scratcher for a mystery. Not perfect but it does bode well for subsequent episodes.

Monk finds himself in the horrors of the carnival. Lots of people. Food handled by everyone. Clowns. On and on. There are two plot developments. One involves the stabbing of a young man on a Ferris wheel which is blamed on a volatile cop. The other is Monk's efforts to be reinstated on the police force. There is a third, involving counting jelly beans.