I don’t watch the series regularly, even though I’ve liked all the episodes that I have seen. What I’m wondering is: have they made any references to Silence of the Lambs with Captain Stottlemeyer? They seem to be embracing the comedy side of the series, so it wouldn’t be all that out of place.
I’m thinking something like the Captain is asking about a suspect and says, “Was she a great big fat person?” Or Monk & the Captain are buying skin care products in a grocery store, the Captain gets frustrated and yells, “Just put the lotion in the fucking basket!” I dunno, maybe that would be too obvious. But if there are any spec script writers out there, feel free to use the idea – it’s golden.
It’s a pretty good series, and I hope it lasts, even if it’s so obviously not filmed in San Francisco. (A scene in one episode I saw took place ostensibly at the Bay Bridge tollbooth, and it was laughably off. It was like a two-or-three laned road, lined with trees, and they had crossing arms.)
They did what seems to me to be a visual Silence of the Lambs reference last year, and it now appears in the opening credits. Stottlemeyer is standing in the doorway between a dining room and a kitchen while Monk is looking in an empty aqaurium in the dining room. It looks a lot like the scene in Silence where Jame Gumb is going through his business cards while Agent Starling notices the death heads moth. Haven’t noticed any others, though.
No doubt. They are usually good for one throwaway legitimate San Francisco location per episode, while the rest of the episode is quite obviously shot in LA. Two weeks ago, during the road trip through the city, you could see Pacific Bell Park in the background as they were waiting for the 3rd St. drawbridge. The shot was so distant that it probably was just an intern driving the car. They also use Treasure Island a lot for pretty scenery shots…the impound lot in this past weeks episode was on Treasure Island.
There was a show in the first season with guest-star Tim Daly playing himself. Sharona gushed how much she liked him, but Monk had no idea who he was. She said, "He was in the show ‘Wings!’ to which he dead-panned, “I never saw that.”