Mr. Monk and the 12th Man

I love monk. The series is awesome and entertaining. My wife got Mr all of the episodes for Christmas.we are noto season 2 and stumble onto this gem. The interview with Ian is perfectly timed and acted. I have been laughing and giggling about it for 2 days now. Bravo. I would love to find out the guys name who plays ian. I recognise his face but can't place the name. He was terrific. One of those scenes that I will always laugh at, lime the boards in the face of Chevy Chase in Christmas vacation or the golf scene by w.c. fields. Truly classic.

SFPD thinks they have a serial killer on their hands when eleven people of completely different walks of life are killed by different methods. Even Monk is stumped by all of this, until he realizes that such diversity in a group of people is usually found in a jury. It checks out that these folks were on a jury. It was a civil case against a homeowner, and the jury found against him and for the plaintiff. But the insurance company paid the claim so it's not like the homeowner would have reason to hold a grudge. The surviving twelfth juror looks like a suspect - he had a human finger in his freezer! But Monk doesn't think that he's "the guy" because he had no motive to turn against his fellow jurors. What goes on here? Watch and find out.

In a subplot, Sharona is dating Kenny, the deputy mayor, who is considered a possible candidate for mayor the following year. Everybody is playing up to her because of this association, hoping to get in good with the deputy mayor. Disher, though, is just jealous and shows resentment. It turns out though that Kenny is not exactly the answer to her maiden's prayer.

On the humorous side, Monk frustrates his dry cleaner, Mrs. Ling, with his crazy demands and exacting standards, making her no longer want Monk as a customer.

'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 12th Man" very nearly was one of my favourites of Season 2. It is a great episode that does so much right and has a huge amount to enjoy, but comes up slightly short of being a classic. The Ian "the man with the pipe stuck in his head" Agnew scene did go on a little too long and didn't add as much to the case as it could have done, not everyone is going to find it tasteful either.

The murderer's motive for the killings is also pretty over-the-top, even for 'Monk', and is difficult to get your head round at first. Otherwise, everything else was great, which makes it a little frustrating that it had all the ingredients of being one of the season's and show's best episodes but doesn't quite make it.

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?

He is very well supported by a sharp and no-nonsense but also sympathetic Bitty Schram, whose Sharona makes for a worthy and entertaining partner for Monk's sleuthing and somebody with a maternal side. There is always a debate at who's better between Sharona and Natalie, personally like both in their own way and consider them both attractive though as of now leaning towards Natalie as the better acted and more attentive of the two. The two are so enjoyable together and the best detective duo of any show in recent years from personal opinion.

Ted Levine has some very funny moments here, with Monk and with Disher, his monkland line sums up Monk and what Stottlemeyer thinks of him to a tee. Jason Gray-Stanford brings out Disher's quirks and goofiness really well, in the way that's endearing rather than annoying, Disher's jealousy with Sharona's chemistry with Kenny is well played and balances with everything else in the episode well. Kenny comes over as very likable and the chemistry with Sharona believable.

It's not just the cast 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 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.

Kenny is not the only good supporting character. The best is actually Mrs Ling, played with pitch-perfect comic timing by Lauren Tom, whose arguments with Monk over dry cleaning being a comic highlight. Wish that Kroger had more to do though.

The mystery is good, with some wonderfully bizarre murders and a clever ending. It was also really enjoyable to see how Monk came to the conclusions of who was responsible and why. You just have to suspend some disbelief over the motive, and the killer has a distinctive voice that makes them obvious quickly.

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.

In summary, great and almost a classic. 9/10 Bethany Cox

The usual comedy and mystery. Natalie was definitely better than sharona but this one is one of her best eps. Well worth watching.

I'm a huge fan of Monk (a bit of a latecomer, having only started with season 1 recently). This is a bit of a problematic episode and I felt bad for Lauren Tom, an acclaimed American actress who was forced to adopt a stereotypical Chinese accent as Mrs Ling, who is the dry-cleaner nemesis of Monk. Thankfully there was no stereotypical kebab owner with an exaggerated Arab accent I guess for Monk (who himself is Arab-American) to contend with.

There's much mystery in this, as we wonder who is the 12th Man. It's not to do with cricket, but something more legal. Jerry Levine, who guest stars as the deputy mayor and Sharona's love interest, is also one of the directors of Monk. I don't think Jerry is related to Ted.