Product Description

A quirky obsessive-compulsive detective with unconventional investigative methods solves some of San Francisco's most puzzling and unusual cases.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 15-JUN-2004
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1549 in DVD
• Brand: SHALHOUB,TONY
• Released on: 2004-06-15
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 563 minutes

Amazon.com
The ranks of fictional genius gumshoes were joined by former San Francisco detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) in the summer of 2002, and he is indeed a welcome addition. Cable channel USA Network introduced Monk, a bright comedy-drama series about an obsessive-compulsive sleuth drummed out of police work following the murder of his wife and a subsequent spike in his overwhelming neuroses. Once a rising star in the homicide department, the twitchy savant is still valuable to Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine), who reluctantly calls on Monk to solve difficult, high-profile murders of judges, billionaires, police informants, and famous attorneys. Monk's talent for finding clues and seeing the big picture in criminal investigations makes him a force to reckon with, but his many phobias (germs, heights, asymmetry, and much, much else) aggravate Stottlemeyer and make Monk completely dependent on a long-suffering assistant, Sharona (Bitty Schram), a single mom who functions as Dr. Watson to Monk's Sherlock Holmes.

Each of the 12 episodes included in Monk: The Complete First Season is a delightful mix of clever whodunit puzzler, neurotic schtick, and deepening relationships. Among the latter, the bond between Monk and Sharona is most touching, as the platonic friends, sometimes aghast at how involved they are in each other's lives, surprise themselves with the breadth of their trust and commitment. In "Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum," Monk is forced into a stay at a mental hospital, where a murderer has convinced him he's crazy; it's Sharona who makes her boss realize he's not. In "Mr. Monk and the Earthquake," it's Monk who rushes to Sharona's aid when he deduces that a lying friend is about to kill her. In almost every episode, Monk is confronted with a phobic limitation he must overcome in order to save the day. The question is whether he will heal enough, one day, to re-join his old squad. For the sake of Monk's winning formula and fans, one has to hope such good news never comes to pass. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Great TV Detective Series
This is a wonderful series. Monk to me is just like Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, but turned modern. Poirot was once a policeman, like Monk, before he became a private detective. Poirot has a lot of the same quirks as Monk, or I should say Monk has a lot of the same quirks as Poirot. The Monk stories are interesting though not nearly as complex as Agatha Christie's writings. Another thing I like about this series is that it is only mildly violent with no adults-only scenes, so we can watch this as a family. We are enjoying having this first season as part of our dvd collection.

Why did I wait so long?
Here's a great cast, an interesting concept, and a treatment of OCDs that is not exploitative or cruel. And yet I waited this long to watch the first season! Go figure.
Tony Shalhoub is note-perfect as the title character, whom you can't help but feel sorry for since the murder of his beloved wife. This trauma apparently exacerbated the already existent OCDs, requiring his assistant, played by the wonderful Bitty Schram, to accompany him almost everywhere.
Ted Levine does a fine job as well, playing Monk's police chief. He is often taken aback by the troubled detective's behavior but also knows that nobody can solve a case better than Monk can.
I have just started the second season, and it looks very promising as well.

Detective with a flair
I love the tv series and wanted to DVD so I can watch it again and again. No one beats Monk for detective work with a flair. Love the DVD.