# What happened to Shirona? (She's back this week) \[edited title for merged thread\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 10, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224 "2009-02-10T15:55:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/1 "2009-02-10T15:55:57Z")
I’m only now getting around to watching “Monk” – in a rather haphazard manner. In the last episode I saw, Shirona was gone and he had a different woman assistant. Is Shirona gone for good? I hope not. ☹ Was there an in-show explanation for the change? Was there some real-life reason for the change? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/2 "2009-02-10T16:10:21Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > I’m only now getting around to watching “Monk” – in a rather haphazard manner. > In the last episode I saw, Shirona was gone and he had a different woman assistant. Is Shirona gone for good? I hope not. ☹ > > Was there an in-show explanation for the change? > > Was there some real-life reason for the change? Yes, she’s gone for good, and has been for several years. In the story, she reconciled with her ex and moved back with him; in real life (whatever that is), my understanding is that she was a casualty of a pay dispute. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/3 "2009-02-10T16:53:31Z")
I just looked up her IMDB record – I wanted to see the rousingly successful resume she’s put together since walking away from _Monk_ – when something struck me that I never realized before: She’s the one whose tears inspired the “There’s no crying in baseball” line! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/4 "2009-02-10T17:03:25Z")
Sharona is currently being held in Captain Stottlemeyer’s basement, or rather in an 18-foot-deep pit dug in the center of the basement. Naked and weeping, she is forced to rub her body with an expensive foreign emolient or be pelted with water from a hose, again and again. However she’s a plucky gal and even as we speak is trying to lure the captain’s little dog into her clutches so she can use it to bargain for her life and freedom. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/5 "2009-02-10T17:10:13Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Yes, she’s gone for good, and has been for several years. > > In the story, she reconciled with her ex and moved back with him; in real life (whatever that is), my understanding is that she was a casualty of a pay dispute. I always felt sorry for her “kid.” If he wasn’t part of her decision to hold out for higher pay, he got royally screwed out of a job. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Sharona is currently being held in Captain Stottlemeyer’s basement, or rather in an 18-foot-deep pit dug in the center of the basement. Naked and weeping, she is forced to rub her body with an expensive foreign emolient or be pelted with water from a hose, again and again. However she’s a plucky gal and even as we speak is trying to lure the captain’s little dog into her clutches so she can use it to bargain for her life and freedom. Wouldn’t that be “it puts the wipe on its hands…” or something to that effect? 😃 I haven’t watched the show much past the Shirona years… never took to the new girl, and found the situation wayyyy to contrived (even for Monk) in the single mom with a young kid taking over just where Shirona left off. Did they ever get around to addressing that? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/6 "2009-02-10T17:24:43Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I always felt sorry for her “kid.” If he wasn’t part of her decision to hold out for higher pay, he got royally screwed out of a job. > > Wouldn’t that be “it puts the wipe on its hands…” or something to that effect? 😃 > I haven’t watched the show much past the Shirona years… never took to the new girl, and found the situation wayyyy to contrived (even for Monk) in the single mom with a young kid taking over just where Shirona left off. Did they ever get around to addressing that? I think they simply didn’t show the gap. I mean, why would they? It’s not like he had any cases. You think Stottlemeyer bothered to call him when he was solo? Natalie, and Sharona before her, are not sidekicks in the Watson mode, whom the detective likes to have around so he has someone to talk to but doesn’t really need. Monk cannot operate alone. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/7 "2009-02-10T18:09:07Z")
What, no “she just never got [the Knack](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knack) of things” jokes yet? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/8 "2009-02-10T18:22:13Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I haven’t watched the show much past the Shirona years… never took to the new girl, and found the situation wayyyy to contrived (even for Monk) in the single mom with a young kid taking over just where Shirona left off. Did they ever get around to addressing that? Well, Sharona’s son was about ten years old or so and Natalie’s daughter Julie is about 16 or 17, so it’s not completely parallel. And I thought there was an episode that showed the process he went through to find another assistant. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/9 "2009-02-10T18:41:25Z")
There are actually many more episodes with Natalie than Sharona. For me, there was a period of transition from one assistant to the other, but Natalie feels natural nowadays. The show itself has gone downhill somewhat as it appears that they are running out of new ideas for the main character. Next season will be the last and let’s hope they resolve the open plot elements in the series. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/10 "2009-02-10T18:56:36Z")
Plus… IT’S [TRAYLOR friggin’ HOWARD](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=traylor+howard&gbv=2)! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/11 "2009-02-10T19:08:28Z")
Hmmm, [Sharona](http://gfx.filmweb.pl/ph/52/31/95231/113055.1.jpg) or [Natalie](http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h168/catahecasa/Sonstiges/TH99e.jpg)? Isn’t that kinda a “Ginger or Mary Anne?” or a “Bailey or Jennifer?” type of question? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/12 "2009-02-10T19:54:12Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Sharona is currently being held in Captain Stottlemeyer’s basement, or rather in an 18-foot-deep pit dug in the center of the basement. Naked and weeping, she is forced to rub her body with an expensive foreign emolient or be pelted with water from a hose, again and again. However she’s a plucky gal and even as we speak is trying to lure\*\*\* the captain’s little dog \*\*\*into her clutches so she can use it to bargain for her life and freedom. Now, now, he does have a name! But I don’t think Leland cares about Randy all that much. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/13 "2009-02-10T21:52:16Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Sharona is currently being held in Captain Stottlemeyer’s basement, or rather in an 18-foot-deep pit dug in the center of the basement. Naked and weeping, she is forced to rub her body with an expensive foreign emolient or be pelted with water from a hose, again and again. However she’s a plucky gal and even as we speak is trying to lure the captain’s little dog into her clutches so she can use it to bargain for her life and freedom. No, that’s what happened to Dr. Hahn from _Grey’s Anatomy_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/14 "2009-02-10T21:54:51Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > No, that’s what happened to Dr. Hahn from _Grey’s Anatomy_. 😉 Ye Gods! I knew she looked familiar! I just wasn’t willing to actually watch Grey’s for long enough to make a connection. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/15 "2009-02-10T23:01:40Z")
Ah. Too bad, I guess I’ll have to learn to like Natalie. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/16 "2009-02-10T23:10:33Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Natalie, and Sharona before her, are not sidekicks in the Watson mode, whom the detective likes to have around so he has someone to talk to but doesn’t really need. Monk cannot operate alone. One difference, though, which has never been commented on in the show or elsewhere AFAIK: Sharona was a nurse, implying Monk **needs** a trained nurse in his condition; Natalie apparently is not. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/17 "2009-02-10T23:11:48Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Hmmm, [Sharona](http://gfx.filmweb.pl/ph/52/31/95231/113055.1.jpg) or [Natalie](http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h168/catahecasa/Sonstiges/TH99e.jpg)? Isn’t that kinda a “Ginger or Mary Anne?” or a “Bailey or Jennifer?” type of question? Nah . . . they’re both Mary Annes/Baileys. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/18 "2009-02-11T03:20:13Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > One difference, though, which has never been commented on in the show or elsewhere AFAIK: Sharona was a nurse, implying Monk **needs** a trained nurse in his condition; Natalie apparently is not. Monk needed a trained nurse after his breakdown after Trudy was killed. I always figured that Sharona was assigned to him and eventually decided that working for Monk was better than working as a nurse. ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/19 "2009-02-11T03:27:56Z")
I think it’s fantastic that Natalie can have such a great house on her small salary. And live in San Francisco. My husband says, when I ask him if we can please live there, that yes we can, for about two years. Then we’d be street people. Maybe her family (of a toothpaste dynasty) gives her money to live on. Or maybe she has money from the government because her husband was in the military. I mainly want to know why she wears high heels every day–running around SF in them. How does she do that? ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224/20 "2009-02-11T05:08:07Z")
Shirona does re-appear in one of the tie in novels. MR MONK and the TWO ASSISTANTS. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-shirona-shes-back-this-week-edited-title-for-merged-thread/485224.md?page=2)