'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 Goes to the Dentist" is one of the best Season 4 episodes. Monk could have had a little more to do here in what is essentially a Disher-centric episode (what he has is delightful though) and Disher's band song is awful. Other than that, there is really very little to complain about with "Mr Monk Goes to the Dentist".
The mystery is one of the best in terms of the mystery of the season. It is an episode of three parts in a way, the armoured car case, the dentist case and Disher's emotional subplot, neither element making the story disjointed and are individually very well done and tied up with no questions asked. Really liked the allusions to 'Marathon Man' and the climax is not drawn out at all and is instead pretty tense.
Loved that Disher is more developed than usual and really steps up when it comes to the mystery solving (a near-impossible case of him solving the case before Monk). His subplot is written beautifully and finally gives Jason Gray-Stanford some real meat other than the comic relief (that he did well admittedly) of the previous episodes which Gray-Stanford gives his all too.
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.
Jon Favreau excels in an atypically "creepy" role, for a man known more for comedy and superhero films (as well as the excellent 2016 live-action re-imagining of 'The Jungle Book'). Brooke Langton is deceptively sweet and sensual before becoming the dentist assistant from hell.
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. 9/10 Bethany Cox
