Why is this here?
My wife and I are "Monk Addicts", having been introduced to the series by two of her sisters, who were fans from the beginning. In fact, as one of the "Monk" promos on USA Network suggests, our deepest fear IS that we will never see another original episode. Fourtunately, there is little chance of that, based on the ratings.

Series Premise:
Adrian Monk (played by Tony Shalhoub) is a former San Francisco Police detective on long-term psychiatric leave from the department. He is a brilliant detective, and solves cases that mystify everyone else (just like every other detective series). But Monk is different, because a big part of his ability to solve cases is a result of his obsessive-compulsive disorder, which makes him a rather strange person and often causes people who first meet him to dismiss him as someone not to be taken seriously, or even as a lunatic. But of course Monk is anything but a lunatic, and any criminal who doesn't take him seriously is making the biggest mistake of his or her life.

Monk is on Psychiatric Leave because his obsessive compulsive symptoms were aggravated by car-bombing murder of his wife which occurred years before the series starts. Monk is still pursuing the reasons for his wife's murder and in the meantime does investigations under contract to the SFPD. He has a dream that he will someday find out the full truth about his wife's murder and the reasons behind it.

One of the most important things to remember about this series is that, as with Columbo, James Bond, and Star Trek, if you don't appreciate the humor, you are missing the point.

But the most important thing to remember is that people with serious handicaps, mental or physical, often rise above their problems and lead honorable and praiseworthy lives and sometimes even achieve greatness. In that "Monk" is reality.

Series Episodes:
The episodes below are just an informal list which I only occasionally update. The original purpose of putting it here was to keep track of which episodes we have taped. We tape them and mail the tapes to Rosann's sisters, who can't see "Monk" on TV anymore because "Monk" now only airs on USA Network, a cable network, and no longer airs on broadcast network ABC.

There is a good page about "Monk" on the TV Tome Site and also a much better Episode List there, which is kept up-to-date and has a lot more information.

Instant Gratification:
You can order Monk Episodes on DVD. The links for amazon.com are below for your convenience, but you can buy them just about anywhere. I don't have any commercial arrangement with Amazon, and I don't get any money or anything else when you use these links.
    Monk, Season 1
    Monk, Season 2
    Monk, Season 3 To be released 2005 July 5.

• SEASON 1:
  1.     Mr. Monk and the Candidate (1) Series Pilot.
  2.     Mr. Monk and the Candidate (2) Series Pilot.
  3.     Mr. Monk and the Psychic
  4.     Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale
  5. +  Mr. Monk Goes to the Carnival
  6.     Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum
  7.     Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger
  8.     Mr. Monk and the Other Woman
  9. +  Mr. Monk and the Marathon Man
  10.     Mr. Monk Takes a Vacation
  11.     Mr. Monk and the Earthquake
  12. +  Mr. Monk Meets the Red-Headed Stranger
  13. +  Mr. Monk and the Airplane

• SEASON 2:
  14. +  Mr. Monk Goes Back to School
  15. +  Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico
  16.     Mr. Monk Goes to the Ballgame
  17.     Mr. Monk Goes to the Circus
  18.     Mr. Monk and the Very, Very Old Man
  19.     Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater
  20.     Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect
  21.     Mr. Monk Meets the Playboy
  22.     Mr. Monk and the 12th Man
  23.     Mr. Monk and the Paperboy
  24. +  Mr. Monk and the Three Pies
  25.     Mr. Monk and the TV Star
  26.     Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny
  27.     Mr. Monk and the Captain's Wife
  28.     Mr. Monk Gets Married
  29.     Mr. Monk Goes to Jail

• SEASON 3:
  30. +  Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan
  31. +  Mr. Monk and the Panic Room
  32. +  Mr. Monk and the Blackout
  33. +  Mr. Monk Gets Fired
  34. +  Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather
  35. +  Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf
  36. +  Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month
  37. +  Mr. Monk and the Game Show
  38. +  Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine
  39. +  Mr. Monk and the Red Herring
  40. +  Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra
  41. +  Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever
  42. +  Mr. Monk Gets Stuck in Traffic
  43. +  Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas
  44. +  Mr. Monk and the Election
  45. +  Mr. Monk and the Kid