This Friday night, USA premieres its new night of quirky characters. Monk moves into the 9 pm slot, vacating its usual 10 pm start in favor of the debuting series, Psych. They make a good pair. On one hand you have an obsessive/compulsive detective who is very good at what he does, and on the other, you get a smart aleck who has very keen powers of observation. He also has an ability to spin any given situation, and can convince the police he is psychic. Sounds like a good one-two punch to me.
Monk never seems to lose steam, it just keeps going and going, delivering some great television. This season doesn't look like it's going to change that trend. Even after one of the original leads, Bitty Schram, left the show and Traylor Howard joined the cast, the show never skipped a beat. That is quite a feat, too, considering how popular Schram was. But I am sure you aren't here for that.
I have to walk a fine line here, as I don't want to give away what happens in "Mr. Monk and the Actor," but at the same time, I need to entice you to want to watch an episode that is well worth your time. The basic thrust of the episode has a movie producer who wants to make a big screen Monk adventure. The actor cast to play Monk is played by Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada).
It may be a touch of stunt casting, but they couldn't have chosen a better actor to show method acting gone awry. The interaction between Shalhoub and Tucci is fantastic, especially in a touching conversation later in the episode. Don't fret, there is a murder mystery to solve as well, focusing on another guest star, Greg Grunberg (Alias).
The entire episode is a lot of fun. The comedic interation between Shalhoub and Tucci is magical. Watching Tucci try to mimic Monk's mannerisms, while Monk tries to downplay his germophobia is great. Howard's Natalie is always there to lend a hand, at times being more observant than our defective detective. Not to be left out, Stottlemeyer and Disher (Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford) are always ready for a quip. This was a good start to a new season, so don't forget to give it shot. Oh yeah, there is one more cameo: Peter Weller is cast in the in-episode movie as Stottlemeyer.
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