TV: Monk

This week's season premiere of Monk has given me some hope that all is not yet lost. I'm not thrilled that Monk's assistant Sharona, played by Bitty Schram, has been written out of the show; she was a great character, and a large part of why the show worked so well. And word is that Schram's departure from the show was not on the most amicable of terms. (It's always a shame when I hear about behind the scenes conflict on shows I like; it can make the characters on-screen less likeable. This goes all the way back to when I was a kid, and read about strife amongst the child stars on Diff'rent Strokes. They're not really a big happy family?? It broke my widdle heart.)

But I've always liked Traylor Howard, who is replacing her. I liked her on Boston Common, I liked her on Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place -- yes, dammit, I sincerely liked that show! -- and I liked her on Bram & Alice. Wait, no I didn't. That show was wretched. But I like her, is the point. And judging from her first appearance, she'll do just fine. She's a little flat in places, and her character is a little too jaded -- she kills a guy in this episode, stabs him right in the heart with a pair of scissors, a fairly traumatic experience, I would think, and she seems to have shaken it off by the second commercial break -- but I think she'll fit right in to Monk's little world.

And Monk, the character, appears to be back on track. Too often last season, the writers had Monk acting less like a genius detective riddled with phobias and compulsions, and more like a blithering idiot. The show is much more enjoyable, and believable, when Monk is allowed to be competent and smart, despite being handicapped by his mental tics. That's where Tony Shalhoub is at his best, I think -- playing smart.

Good start for the new season -- or, to be technical, the second half of the third season. I hate when shows split up the season like that. South Park does the same thing. A normal TV season does not have a five month break between episodes!