I love this show and glad to see the new season starts tonight…although I guess technically it is the second half of the season that started awhile back. Whatever - new episodes start tonight.
We’ll see how Monk goes about getting his new assistant now that Sharona has been fired (or moved away, according to the story line).
I bet the kid who played Sharona’s son was royally pissed when she got fired for asking for more money. “Gee, thanks lady. You’re fired, so guess who else gets the boot!”
Just set up the VCR to tape the Monk-a-thon (we also want to catch SciFi Friday). We missed the end of last season, but caught previews re Monk looking for a replacement. Sharona is really gone?! Egad! We were hoping that it was just a teaser trailer to get us involved in the premier. I’ll catch how it is explained in the context of the show later on – but can you clue us in as to what happened behind the scenes?
Monk without Sharona?! :eek:
Only what I read in the Hollywood trade mags…Bitty Schram who played Sharona figured with the success of the show, how could they possibly turn down her request for more money? Guess she decided to play hardball and, well, things didn’t quite go as she expected. I heard this made negotiations with the rest of the cast a lot easier.
From all reports, the new assistant will look similar, but have a few quirks of her own…and I believe I read the new assistant is a bartender?! Will have to see if that rumor is true…
Hmm… from MSNBC
Seems the door’s not fully closed, nor a replacement fully found. Maybe she’ll be back?
If not, can I suggest bringing Niecy Nash/ Varla Davis back?
Rhythm
I already miss her. I’ll check out the revamped show, but I feel no remorse in saying I’ll be keeping it on a very short leash.
I don’t even really want to watch it, now that Sharona’s gone. It just won’t feel right…that story line and Monk and Sharona’s interaction had some emotion and a past. Can’t fool myself enough into going for the new asst. Greed ruins another show again! I swear I’m going to boycott Monk if Sharona doesn’t find her way back.
These comments provide an interesting dilemma for TV show producers. When a character becomes that important/popular, how SHOULD fan reactions like these enter into hardball negotiations? Was Bitty Schram’s thought that she could push anyone around she wanted for more money actually sensible, in this light?
Bitty Schram was talented and well-suited for the part, but I’m skeptical if she’s so genuinely irreplacable. Let’s face it–the show’s called Monk. The dynamic between the two was very good, but the lynchpin to the show is Shaloub, and I enjoy his scenes with Levine as much (if not more so) than with the dearly departed.
And I believe Traylor Howard is scheduled to be her “permanent” replacement.
Actually it wasn’t just Bitty Schramm. You’ll notice that both Stottlemeyer and Disher were mysteriously absent in a couple of episodes near the end of last season. As I understand it, the three supporting players decided to stand together in asking for more money. The producers responded by writing each of them out of episodes.
TV is hardball.
I also couldn’t imagine how Monk (Adrian, not the show) would survive without Sharona, but I’ve gotta say, looks like both he and the show will survive rather well.
This of course, is just my opinion. I could be wrong 
All true. I think the show was in a bit of a decline…maybe the change will give it a boost. Probably not (I think it’s the Monk character that’s about played out), but it’s worth a shot.
I got halfway through the episode and had to turn it off. I thought it was awful. 
I didn’t mind it. It didn’t take me as long to figure out the plot, but I still considered it good entertainment. When I saw him reading the instructions on the fire extinguisher, I knew he was going to try and pace it off. That was rather amusing. 
I went into it with very negative expectations. I absolutely loved Sharona. I remember Traylor Howard from that excerable flop of a sitcom called Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. And her name is “Traylor.” Trailer? I guess it’s not her fault, but it gave me another, admittedly petty, reason to dread her joining the cast.
But I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed the new character and the episode. Since the new assistant is not a nurse and not as sympathetic to Monk’s mental issues as Sharona, there’s great potential there for Monk to be forced to change and/or try some new things. Also, the fact that they both lost a spouse will add a new dimension to their relationship.
Plus, her name is Teeger. My favorite family friends are Teegers. Teegers are cool.
I’m obviously in the minority, but I never liked Sharona. I found her more annoying than intriguing, more plain than interesting, and more closed off than emotionally compelling.
I like the new assistant much, much more. I like the fact that she too has suffered the loss of a spouse and I’m hoping that will start Monk on the way to somehow getting back to normal. This first episode clearly went for more comedy, but I was fine with that. A nice introduction.
I have high hopes for this season.
I thought they did a good job of introducing the new assistant. The mystery itself was only so-so, but it was pretty secondary. There were some nice moments between Monk and Natalie. I also liked when Monk’s therapist told him that his new assistant was out there somewhere, and Monk answered, “God help her.”
I am in your boat with this Hamlet and I might remind the Sharona fans that when we had the first thread about the show a few years back when Monk started, the consensus was that Sharona and her kid were a couple of the weaknesses of the show.
I think Howard will do a good job. Saying that, however, I felt a little cheated the plot Friday was a bit obvious. Usually there is a bit more subtleness in the crime and figuring it out.
TV
I was pretty turned off by the whole thing. Maybe I was being oversensitive, but the fact that the producers had Sharona
move back to Jersey and re-marry her jerk of an ex-husband
combined with the new assistant’s extreme resemblance to Sharona in attitude, looks, and family circumstance, seemed almost to smack of contempt. “Not only will we completely sell out that bitch’s character, we’ll serve you up a near carbon copy. Enjoy, suckers!” The new assistant had some good lines here and there, but that scene with the science teacher was almost unwatchably bad, and I found that even by the episode’s end I didn’t like the character very much. Monk has now become a “I’ll watch it if I happen to be sitting down at the TV and nothing else is on” show for me. Too bad.
Can those who watched last night settle a disagreement for me? (I’ll use spoiler boxes for those who haven’t seen it yet.) When Monk is wrapping up the case, he says first that
the moon rock was never missed, because the security guard put a double in its place and no one was the wiser.
I was positive, however, that right after that, Monk said
that the security guard couldn’t get the moon rock out because “they were searching everybody, even the staff.” Why would they be searcing? No one knew the rock was missing!
Am I misreading something?
(And was anyone else sure that Monk was going to adopt that parrot?)
That’s where I turned it off.
It was a very poorly written show, and I hope they get their act together.
Nonsuch is right about the moon rock. That’s one thing. There’s no explanation for why they’re searching everybody. No one knows the rock is missing. That’s one stupid writing mistake.
Another one is: Monk notices the dry aquarium net stuck in the couch cushions and comes to the conclusion that the guy wanted to steal the fish. C’mon. Monk knows perfectly well that if the guy wanted to steal the fish, he’d have some means of transporting the fish in water, so it wouldn’t die. What’s he going to do, drive home with the fish net in one hand and a slowly-dying fish flopping around in it?
The next thing is: Traylor Howard’s character knows perfectly well that it’s not a valuable fish, because she replaces it every year with a knockoff for 99 cents. Yet they still waste time traipsing off to the fish store to find out if it’s a valuable fish.
Another thing: They follow the museum guy around the museum and worry about losing him. Hello! The man works there! You know where to find him, for God’s sake.
Really abysmal writing.
