Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever
- Episode aired Aug 1, 2008
- TV-PG
- 43m
Adrian finds himself short an assistant when Natalie is hired to replace the local lotto girl after she's murdered.Adrian finds himself short an assistant when Natalie is hired to replace the local lotto girl after she's murdered.Adrian finds himself short an assistant when Natalie is hired to replace the local lotto girl after she's murdered.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe advertising with Natalie's picture on the city bus was real and not CGI. The technique is known as "Vehicle Wrap" where the signs are printed on large vinyl sheets and then applied to the vehicle. Including the removal of the old sheets, an ad can be designed, printed and applied in just a few days.
- GoofsThe calendar on Dr. Bell's desk that Monk picks up and reads as a "91" shows the date as Friday, July 16th. The most recent year July 16th fell on a Friday was in 2004, but the show is said to take place in the immediate present.
- Quotes
[Natalie has drawn the very numbers that Stottlemeyer has on his lottery ticket. After he finds that they all match, he cannot help but burst out laughing in triumph]
Captain Leland Stottlemeyer: Oh my dear lord! All day I had this feeling!
Adrian Monk: Congratulations! So are you quitting?
Captain Leland Stottlemeyer: What, are you kidding? I quit thirty seconds ago when the "54" ball popped out of the drum!
[Still laughing uncontrollably, he grabs the wall picture of a boat and kisses it]
Captain Leland Stottlemeyer: Come here, you great, beautiful, no-longer-hypothetical boat!
[Still laughing]
Captain Leland Stottlemeyer: Randy! Do you still have those student loans?
Lt. Randall Disher: Yeah I've got eight more years!
Captain Leland Stottlemeyer: Not anymore!
Lt. Randall Disher: No way!
- ConnectionsReferences Alvin & the Chipmunks (1983)
Liked, but not loved, the season opener "Mr Monk Buys a House" and loved, apart from a couple of problems, "Mr Monk and the Genius". Really liked this episode even though it's not one of my favourites. My major misgiving was with Monk, he is a great character and he has some fun moments (like in Malcolm O'Dwyer's apartment in a very funny exchange between him and Stottlemeyer) but he comes over as out of character. Really disliked his treatment of Natalie here, his jealousy and rudeness (like calling her a bimbo and mocking her) was so unlike him and not justified because there was no reason for it.
For my liking too, the killer was revealed a little too early after such a clever and brain-teasing first half. The motives and how various characters are linked to the crime are not obvious and cleverly done, how it's all deduced and summed up is neatly satisfying.
'Monk' rarely leaves the viewer short changed however when it comes to character moments. "Mr Monk Gets Lotto Fever" delivers on this front. Really liked Natalie getting the spotlight and coming into her own (her first show ad-libbing was priceless, one of my favourite Natalie moments), Stottlemeyer has some comedy gold moments like in the apartment and relating to the lottery and Disher also has some cracking lines such as "I guess her number came up".
When it comes to the mystery itself, it is very clever and with some nice twists and unexpected moments. Let down only by the too early reveal of the killer.
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, while other episodes have done that much better when Monk was in character Shalhoub still does wonderfully with what he's given.
As Natalie, Traylor Howard gets to show more range and has the sassiness down pat as well as the charm and one actually feels sorry for her. Jason Gray-Stanford makes the most of his great lines, and while a goofball he's an endearing not an annoying idiot. Ted Levine shows how good his comedic chops are.
Writing has the usual wry humour, sympathetically treated quirks and tender easy-to-relate-drama.
Visually, the episode is slick and stylish as ever. 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.
Summing up, very good though how Monk is written didn't connect with me. 8/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Sep 12, 2017
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- Runtime43 minutes
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