User reviews

Monk is a classic. Tony Shalhoub is incredible as a former detective with obsessive compulsive disorder. It's such an original show that will keep you laughing and entertained throughout its entire run. I didn't start watching it until it was almost off the air but heard such good things about it that I finally thought I'd gave it a chance. So glad I did because it quickly became one of my favorite comedy/detective shows I've ever seen! It is the perfect blend of comedy and mystery. Even though Tony Shalhoub won a ton of awards for his work as Monk, including numerous Emmy & Golden Globe awards, he still is such an underrated actor who was just perfect in this as Monk! I miss this great show so much and still try to watch it whenever I see it's on.

I absolutely loved Monk and still miss it. The series is about Monk, who develops obsessive-compulsive disorder after his wife is murdered. He ends up losing his job as detective with the San Francisco Police Department but still works with them as a consultant with the help of his assistant. He is the best detective alive but his condition always gets in the way. This show will make you laugh, smile and feel every other emotion a good show makes you feel. Tony Shalhoub deserved every single award he won (and he won a lot) for his role as Adrian Monk. I binged the entire series as fast as I could. I actually binged it a second time during Covid and enjoyed it just as much as when I watched it the first time. This is must watch!

Ah Mr. Monk, how I miss this show, there's nothing quite like it. It caught my interest right from the beginning even though I was slightly annoyed by Monk. Sharona made up for it though, she was pretty and fun and I loved the friendly chemistry between them. I remember thinking, if she leaves the show I will stop watching it. Then came Natalie and guess what, love at first appearance! Not only is she incredibly cute and adorable, the character she played was perfect and the relationship with Monk even better! Whoever did that is a genius.

There were times when Monk did things that I thought were just mean, rude and unacceptable regardless of his condition. But you can't stay mad at him because he's kind and a crime solving machine. Unlike some crime series where I feel like I have to over work my brain to keep up with the convoluted plot, when all I want is to switch off all the thinking, this is a refreshing series that is smart and yet natural and easy to follow. And there are plenty of funny moments, captivating drama, and characters that grow on you like the captain and the detective. The series ended properly, which I always find comforting. So glad I managed to watch it all on Prime. Thank you to everyone involved in creating this masterpiece.

Tony Shalhoub is a genius in inhabiting the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of this character. I myself am an obsessive-compulsive, and he gets the experience of suffering from this disease exactly. I watch this show regularly. It's therapeutic (partly because I get all the OCD jokes and get to laugh at myself) - and HILARIOUS, even if you don't know anything about OCD! Shalhoub completely deserves the Best Actor Emmy and SAG Awards he's won for this role. Shalhoub's sweet, anxious genius, Adrian Monk, is dead-on. And Bitty Schram as his nurse is also hilarious and so marvelous! I highly recommend you watch this show!

Thank you Tony Shalhoub, Bitty Schram, and everyone else involved in this show!

This show was great. The murders are sometimes quirky but that's the way I like it....keeps it family friendly. Characters are very loveable.

The ending to the series was just perfect and I was sad it was over.

Monk deserves a 10 and that's just the way he'd like it...his favorite number.

Many sleuths of literature, film or television have idiosyncrasies or handicaps to overcome. It's a common theme that many of them use their personal foibles as an occupational aid. Adrian Monk (Tony Shaloub) is one such character. As a P. I. he has a reputation as a wunderkind, super sleuth, savant, and deductive virtuoso. Despite his OCD, his panoply of phobias, and a lingering emotional wound from the loss of his wife, Trudy, Monk is called in when the police can't solve a murder. He uses his debilitating attention to details to view a crime scene or piece together clues as no one else can. And it is all done in humor.

"Monk" is one of the best comedies of all time. The main character is enchantingly lovable and humorously quirky. Tony Shaloub's performance is perfection. Because Monk has difficulties interfacing with the world, he has an assistant to act as a liaison/aide. That role is occupied by Traylor Howard (as Natalie) or Bitty Schram (as Sharona), depending upon the season you are watching. Both actresses are delightful.

Monk assists the SFPD via Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and his main aide Randall (Jason Gray-Stanford). These characters become part of the Monk "family" and fan club as the series progresses.

Fans of whodunits will appreciate the solutions which Monk unveils. The writing does not sacrifice worthwhile sleuthing for comedy.

On a personal note, "Monk" was one of my sister's favorite shows. We lost her to MS a few years back, but whenever I watch an episode of "Monk", it reminds me of our shared appreciation for a series that has such a kind and gentle core.

If you are a fan of Tony Shaloub, be sure to view the film "Big Night" (1996).

Adrian Monk was a police detective but his world fell apart when his wife was murdered. He is now extremely obsessive compulsive and paranoid to the point that it has cost him his job on the police force. However, he still has a great knack for solving crimes and serves as a consultant to the San Francisco Police Department.

A mildly entertaining detective series. Rather than concentrating on good old-fashioned intrigue and figuring out who did it relies heavily on the antics and weirdnesses of its central character, Monk. These things are meant to lighten the mood but are sometimes more annoying than entertaining. Moreover, they're a sleight of hand trick, meant to distract you from the fact that the murder plot is generally quite thin.

Viewed in small doses though, maybe one episode a week like it originally was broadcast, it's okay. The weirdnesses are bearable and it can be quite funny.

However, watching the episodes back-to-back highlights how reliant on the OCD schtick the series is and how formulaic it is in that regard. Also, one should only be exposed to Sharona saying "Adrian!" so many times a day, the most annoying use of "Adrian" since Rocky.

This show is amazing and I recommend it to anyone. This was the show that my whole family sat down every night after dinner to watch. Everyone who I recommended this show to, said they loved it and it was great. From car bombs to sky diving murders this show is spectacular and is amazing 10/10 recomend.

Monk is by far one of the best detective shows I've seen. It uses a pretty standard template for each episode where we as viewers are handed parts of the puzzle early on and for the remainder of the show watch Adrian Monk investigate the murder. In the end you'll probably have the solution right before Monk does and you can feel as clever about yourself as he does.

It's really brilliant in fact and the wonderful acting of Tony Shalhoub on top of that is just frosting on this wonderful cake.

Tony Shalhoub's character Adrian Monk is a former cop who has turned private investigator after his wife's death. He's also suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder and believes cleanliness to be more than a virtue. Those little quirks plays out altogether coherently. In other show the characters are pushed around by explosions or threatened by gunshots. Monk gets intimidated by a messy room or are scared half to death having climb through a dusty window. It's really extremely fun to see Monk in action, how is a very different sort of anti-hero.

However as the show progressed things started getting predictable. I don't believe they got sloppy writing it. But as Monk is suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder his behavior and reactions does tend to repeat itself. And some episodes left so many obvious clues that we had solved the riddle during the first 15 minutes.

Still, Monk is something different. It's refreshing and it's fun. Definitely worth viewing.

I have fallen in love with this show by way of the cable reruns. It's wonderful in every way. The concept of the show is brilliant; a detective show in which the detective, although brilliant, is neither suave, brave, not debonair. He is truly a psychologically damaged person. And although his foibles and phobias are often played for laughs, the fact of his being destroyed by his wife's death is always a serious element of the show. The supporting players are excellent, particularly Ted Levine as Cpt. Stottlemeyer. The character of Randy is a bit gratuitously annoying but you can't have everything. The scriptwriting is some of the best around, with many subtle witticisms and some great cultural parody. And it is never straight out comedy; the tragic nature of Monk's mental affliction is always present, and the endings always have a gentle touch. The crime mysteries themselves are most often not the point of the show. They are merely the McGuffin - in Hitchcocks's phrase - on which to hang a drama about character relationships. Just a great, great show.

Monk is an easy watch, throw on in the background and if you miss a minute not hard to catch up. Acting is good enough with Monk the main culprit slipping level every so often. Monk is a who's who of known actors, every episode has someone recognisable.

You can tell who the murderer is within the first 5 mins , its usually an actress/actor you recognise from other shows of the time but the story is interesting enough to see how it all unfolds.

Seasons 1 and 2 are the stand outs, from 3 onwards it gets daft with Monk becoming more OCD, verging on comedy but still watchable. Would I watch it over again, yes it's a good background TV, very much online with the 70,80 detective shows with the twist of Monk.

First two seasons were good with an OCD equilibrated Monk who is supported with a great character performed by Bitty Schram as Sharona; after season 2, when Bitty left and Traylor Howard got in, I felt she (Traylor) doesn't add much to the show, and Monk's OCD turns more and more annoying with every episode. It was really irritating to see the same great characters from season 1 and 2, sans Bitty, to transform into silly characters just to maintain Monk on the path of becoming the hero every single episode. In general the episodes scripts' are good and interesting; I just think the writers exacerbated the main character OCD to the point where he is unbearable and kills the interest on the show, or at least that's what happened to me.

This is written in direct protest of a user comment on this site which called this remarkable series "drivel," "awful," and other things that made me think the jerk was accidentally watching "Law and Order."

This is one of the best shows on TV. I say that because it shares one common trait with every show I have ever loved: Heart. Behind the ominous tinge of death, the cynical barkings of Captain Stottlemeyer, the Barney Fife-esque antics of Randy Disher, the equal parts maternal nagging and New Jersey attitude of Charona Flemming and the fact that it's basically a show about poking fun at one guy's mental problems is love. We LOVE Adrien Monk. We join him in mourning his wife's death, and we live and die with each step he takes toward being reinstated.

This is more than a cop show. This is more than a detective show. This is more than a comedy. This is more than a drama. Given the slightest amount of cosmic justice, this show will go down in history alongside "Sports Night," "Freaks and Geeks," and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (I apologize for nothing) as a show that did not give in to the horrors of professional television, but rose above them to produce pure art.

As for the last guy's comment that Monk should've been reinstated a long time ago...you want to give Adrien a gun and set him loose in your neighborhood? Fine by me, and sleep tight.

This show was ( still is ) absolutely amazing. Funny, sad, intelligent. Every supporting character is charming in his/hers own way. Essential. Perfect in their roles . And Monk..The only thing i can say is that Tony Shalhoub is a genius. Monk made me laugh , weep and cheer for him so many times I lost a count. I am sceptic to the bone but his love for Trudy made me believe that emotions so pure exist after all. At least on TV. Thank God for Amazon Prime cause im not ready to say good bye to this gem yet🙈

Due to the lack of good TV shows coming out (or so it seems) I started to rewatch older shows...like all of them. King of queens, Seinfeld you name it. One show I could never get my head around was Monk, until now. Once I started with episode 1, it just felt right. It's easy, funny and if not careful you will start to reminisce and go back to times when SFO was on your bucket list to either visit or live. I don't know what it means to operate under those medical conditions but Tony plays it brilliantly and it's fun to watch. What makes it unique (I think) is putting his conditioning to solve crime in a fun and easy but also heart warming way. Almost every episode has one laugh out loud scene like him being surrounded by sniffing and sneezing kids...enough said. You will enjoy it and feel good.

Three things made this a "must watch" series": The concept, the writing, and Tony Shalhoub as the title character. The writing in later years was not consistently as good as the early years, but still well above the norm when compared to just about any other series.

Monk is a very entertaining detective series, that is excellent if you want some chuckles for 45 minutes. Tony Shalhoub is fantastic in the lead, giving the character a sense of charm and humour. Monk suffers from OCD. However, because of this, Monk's actions are priceless, as he is obsessed with everything. There was even one episode, when he was at a school, and he wrote his name very neatly on the blackboard, and rubbed it off again, after he was unsatisfied with how it looked. Bitty Schram is lovely as Sharona, and Traylor Howard was a very worthy replacement in the later series as Natalie. Ted Levine is amusing as Stottlemeyer,(I loved the episode with the chimpanzee and Levine jumping up and down in the interview room) there was one episode, when he was exasperated when Monk was convinced that a man who is "conveniently" in a coma sent bombs to two people, Levine's reactions were priceless. Jason Gray-Stanford has his moments as Lieutenant Randall Disher. There have also been some great guest stars, one of my many favourites was Tim Curry as Dale "the Whale" Biederbeck in the episode Mr Monk Goes To Jail, as well as John Tuturro as Monk's estranged brother Ambrose. I am not hugely keen on Randy Newman, so I don't know what to think of the title song. Other than that, I really like Monk. 9/10 Bethany Cox.

Tony Shaloub is legendary! I've seen all of Monk twice this will be the 3rd time maybe 4th I love it all so much! The quirkiness is magnificent especially to me since I have ASD. Music in it is perfection so is the acting throughout. All the crime cases consistently stay interesting at least for the bulk of it. I'm glad I got back into this show and would definitely recommend it.

In all the shows I've ever watched, there has never been a titular character as distasteful as Adrian Monk. He is wholly odious, loathsome, and wildly selfish, to the detriment of everyone around him. He is constantly weak, scared, and behaves like a petulant child, his only redeeming trait being his Sherlock-like ability to solve crimes, which is largely what keeps the show interesting, The writers do a great job on the mechanics of the cases and most of the episodes are compelling because of it.

The secondary characters are fascinating, well fleshed out, and likable. Frank Levine's portrayal of Captain Leland Stottlemeyer is perhaps the best written and acted character in the show, and is easy to root for.

I've watched through the first five seasons thus far, so the show is definitely worth a peek. Just know that you may hate Tony Shalhoub for a while after watching.

A lot of TV Shows have become popular with the main character having disability. Look at the old-fashioned Ironside, wheelchair-bound. The new Psych, with Shaun Spencer a fraudulent Psychic . Just two examples of this genre. A third is the extremely popular Monk. A Police Officer, who had a nervous breakdown after his wives murder, is also a sufferer of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), which helps him solve his cases, as he obsess over every element and goes over every crime scene excessively. He notices unimportant details because of it and uses that to solve his case. The show does have an element of believability in that it would be more believable that someone obsessed about everything would solve difficult crimes, not an average joe. Humour is also a main point, as it's very tongue-in-cheek, and it's the character interactions between Monk and his "co-workers" that make you interested. A very good show, and worth watching.

Monk has OCD, depression, paranoia. He wife whom he loved with his life got murdered. He has got photographic memory, SELECTIVE superhuman deductive skills. Due to the facts, he gets special attention, that makes sense. But gives him the right to treat other humans like toilet paper sans the OCD part? He is borderline misogynistic with Sharona & Natalie. He has got superior memory but fails to pay them on time. Plus he does not respect others boundary but expects everyone to abide by his ones. He literally torments his therapist. I don't know why the writers never felt the necessity of changing these traits.