Monk - Season Two (2002)

Monk: Season Two finds the popular cable dramedy all the more satisfying and fun in its second year. Relationships between the series' core characters have (against all odds) actually deepened and sweetened, while the new whodunit storylines challenge obsessive-compulsive investigator hero Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) in fresh and novel ways. There are no big changes, but there is more compassion, even friendship, exchanged between Monk and his former boss, Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine), and grudging admiration for the difficult private sleuth from Stottlemeyer's second-in-command, Lieutenant Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford). As for Monk's crucial bond with his long-suffering assistant, Sharona (Bitty Schram), well, nothing comes easier than before. On the other hand, Sharona continues to draw Monk out of his self-obsession by giving him someone to care about.

Highlights include the strong season opener, "Mr. Monk Goes Back to School," starring Andrew McCarthy as a science teacher whom Monk instantly suspects of killing a colleague. (The latter's death was disguised as a suicide.) Monk's investigation leads him to take, with many pitfalls and funny moments, a post at the school as a substitute teacher. But the episode also demonstrates the series' increasing preference for mysteries that concern how a crime was committed rather than who did it. Also good is "Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico," in which Monk finds himself in a panic without bottled water while working alongside two south-of-the-border equivalents (in looks and personality) of Stottlemeyer and Disher. "Mr. Monk Meets the Playboy" stars Gary Cole as a girlie-mag publisher who blackmails the chivalrous Monk by acquiring, and threatening to print, old topless photos of Sharona. One of the season's best shows, "Mr. Monk and the Paperboy," finds the fastidious, orderly detective in a major freakout when his own home becomes a crime scene. Still a comic joy and still stimulating for mystery buffs, Monk: Season Two is highly recommended. Among appealing guest stars are Rachel Dratch, Glenne Headley, Tim Curry, and John Turturro as Monk's Mycroft-like brother. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

great buy

I have never had a problem with any purchases from amazon.com. Shipping is prompt and the products are alwya packaged well. September 30, 2008

Recommended for Monk lovers

I liked this particular series because you don't ofter find year 2 episodes on reruns. You may find most of these episodes are new to you unless you saw them the first time around. September 27, 2008

Delves deeper into the characters' lives and families

What I liked best about the second season of this show is how it digs much deeper into the private lives, history, pain, and relationships of the main characters. We learn that Monk has a brother, Ambrose, who has not left the family home in more than 30 years because he still believes, sadly, that their father will come home someday after abandoning them. We also learn that Monk had a lonely and difficult childhood, not surprisingly; that Sharona once had revealing photos taken of herself when desperate for money; that Stottlemyer has a difficult yet loving relationship with his wife.

The season finale brings us back to Dale the Whale, now played by Tim Curry instead of Adam Arkin, and a riveting prison story during which Monk learns that the car bomb was actually meant for his wife, Trudy, and not for him. He must take off to New York for further investigation.

This was a great cliffhanger for the third season of this series, which just keeps getting better.



May 27, 2008

I'm Monkish...are you?

I'm just a Monk fan. I got all 5 seasons and I wasn't dissapointed.
If you're a bit Monkish, you'll like seasons 1-5 and six when it's out on DVD! February 9, 2008

Terrific comedy & mystery series!

Our family had never seen this series on TV until introduced to it by another family with teens and tweens. We all simply love it! A nice mix of whodunit with comedy. Our favorite episode is "Mr. Monk Gets Married." We're still laughing! February 9, 2008

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