DVD Review: Monk

MONK, the critically acclaimed original series starring Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG award winner Tony Shalhoub premieres its seventh season on USA Network on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 9/8c. MONK remains one of the highest-rated original scripted series in basic cable history.

Review:
MONK revolves around Adrian Monk, (Shalhoub) who is a brilliant detective for the San Francisco police force. One downside, Monk is plagued with an obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it’s this disorder that costs him his position as a legendary homicide detective. The unsolved and tragic murder of his wife has lead Monk to develop an abnormal fear of germs, crowds, heights, and basically everything else. This not only presents a challenge in living everyday life, but also in solving the murder of his wife.

This season we will see Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated character actor Hector Elizondo as Dr. Neven Bell who will be Monk’s much-needed therapist. Additional guest stars that you can look forward to seeing this season include: David Strathairn (“The Bourne Ultimatum,” “Good Night and Good Luck”), Emmy winner Brad Garrett (“Everybody Love Raymond,” “Til Death”), Academy Award and Emmy-nominated Robert Loggia (“The Sopranos”), James Lesure, (“Vegas,” “Studio 60”), Casper Van Dien (“Starship Troopers,” “Titans”), William Atherton (“Desperate Housewives,” “The Practice”) and Malcolm Barrett (“The Ghost Whisperer,” “PSYCH”).

As we kick off season seven, Monk is fed up with a noisy neighbor and decides to move into a new house, where – in addition to the usual pitfalls of home ownership that introduces him to empathetic handyman (Brad Garrett) – he encounters a murder; after the untimely death of his beloved Dr. Kroger, Monk reluctantly tries out a new therapist (Elizondo); when a television lottery hostess is murdered, Natalie takes her place and becomes a local celebrity, while Monk pursues the killer; a famous boxer’s (James Lesure) life is threatened so Monk takes the case and finds himself in the middle of a big championship fight… well, actually, in the corner with his manager (Robert Loggia); Monk finds himself on a submarine… five hundred feet underwater… enough said; Monk meets his match in a brilliant chess master (David Strathairn) who is suspected of having murdered his wife; Monk develops a crush on a model who is accused of murder and despite the overwhelming evidence – including her confession – he is determined to prove her innocence; after Monk seeks a new form of therapy (hypnosis), he finds himself reverting to his 9-year old personality; and then Monk solves his 100th case while being profiled by a news magazine show.

Bottom-line, this is a brilliantly written series and is without question worth checking out.

Review by Emma Loggins

Grade: A
Official site: http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/
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