I recently started watching this show. I am in the 4th season. I am trying to like Natalie's character, but I can't. Sharona was so much better. The chemistry between sharona and monk was so much better. Sharona was funny. Natalie is annoying. Sharona and Monk were like family. The show really fell off after that. Even the storylines of some of the episodes are really bad. I am struggling to watch this show now. Does it get better?

a pride event? a gay or lesbian couple? did I miss the one character that one time?

PS: Harold Crinshaw doesn't count

Hi, I am on the 2nd Natalie episode after Bitty Schram left.

I HATE Natalie. I find her rude and obnoxious and I miss Sharona's connection to Adrian.
I absolutely loved Sharona - I connect to her so much because her character and her storyline remind me so much of my own mother. I also love her actress as we are both Jewish! and I don't know I just love finding out when my favourite actors & actresses are Jewish.

Does Natalie have redeeming qualities as a character? Her and Monk aren't bonded yet but they also just don't work as well together as actors in my opinion (from just watching 2 episodes).

Will it get better 🙏🏽 I'm so annoyed right now

Like obviously Monk is a challenging case for anyone. But if someone was paying me that much money to try to help them I would at least try to hide my disdain a little more?? the desert island scene, while funny, also really pissed me off. Like, Monk's not a child surely he can pick up on that.......idk I am only starting s5 and while I overall like this show its understanding/portrayal of good therapy is pretty warped imo.

I liked Sharona more❤️

Some AI answers seems to suggest so but I struggle to find the original sources.

I did start noticing things which were not even or clean.

I think both do great! But Sharona represents the hard working class while Teeger in fact never has to worry about money in like forever since her dad makes bizillions. Just wanted to get it out there :D Flaming 🔥❤️

So I just reached the episode where Sharona left and this Natalie girl seems to be the new person. This is my first time watching the series for background. My initial impression was I liked her, but as the episode went on I started to dislike her. She was disrespectful towards Monk and his blatantly obvious disabilities/mental issues, found out her daughter couldn't submit her project and she tried to lie about it for her, then tries to force Monk to lying for her as well saying he is a man should be good at lying since men lie (despite her hypocrisy in lying moments before then), gets offended by Monk not liking the miracle of birth tour citing how sexuality is normal and acceptable yet was angry at him when he exposed her birth control pills in front of her daughter; who is roughly the same age as all those kids on that tour.

Does she get better as time goes on and she will grow on you? Or is Sharona just way better? I tried looking up why they changed and I guess it was because they didn't pay her actress enough? That's super lame, they should have just paid her more cause I really liked Sharona.

I don't have a problem with having to move on to newer supporting characters as House MD does that quite a bit, but I'm hoping that Natalie does get better cause this first episode really hasn't helped my impression of her

AN EARLY SEASON EPISODE SPOILERS BELOW!!!

Not like, "Ugh I'm not a fan anymore!!! 🚮 It's too problematic!!! Why did I ever consider this one of my favorite shows of all time?!" way, to be clear. It's just...extremely disappointing.

The episode (I forget which season, but it's a Sharona episode) where the grandma is kidnapped because that couple wants the antique chair. They get roped into that case because the granddaughter promises Adrian that she can help get him reinstated as a cop. It turns out that her law professor recommends that he use the Americans with Disabilities Act to get his job back.

Adrian can't go through with it and Stottlemeyer congratulates him for not taking the "easy" way out. I absolutely understand Adrian struggling with that entire gestures wildly As a multiply disabled person myself, I get it.

But that Stottlemeyer line/sentiment makes me so angry every time. Ableist discrimination (interpersonal and systemic) is VERY real and the law exists for a reason.

Whatever one thinks about Adrian's "readiness" at the time of this episode, downplaying what the ADA allows us to do (if we have the knowledge and resources, lolsob), dismissing using the laws meant to protect us as "the easy way out" just plays into the status quo narrative about discrimination and those of us who experience it - whether because of disability, race, religion, whatever.

And, when it's done without any kind of critique within the work (something that makes it clear to the audience that this is a fucked up opinion, even if it's true to his character), that's super harmful. A lot of fellow creatives hate to hear it, but these things - what we do - have real world impact, even if we don't intend them to.

I still love the show and it's still one of my favorite shows of all time, but - hearkening back to my post about things you'd change - I really would've loved either a better response from Stottlemeyer regarding something that was clearly hard for Adrian to deal with OR for someone (not Adrian) to check him on his bullshit.

And, again, this is not the topic I mentioned wanting to talk about inspired by that other post, lol. I'll get to it eventually. 🤣🤣🤣

Elon Bezos killed Griffin because..... he turned down a job offer? And we're supposed to believe that this is the very first time this guy killed someone, when he murdered over such an idiotic reason. And then on top of that, when he's trying to bribe Monk, he leaves his fucking laptop with the evidence out on the table where Monk can easily grab it when he gets distracted by the fireworks he almost certainly arranged for and set the time them to go off himself? And we're supposed to believe this guy was smart enough to become a billionaire????

Monk has never been a show with great writing (I've always said the characters were much bigger and better than their show)but this is without question the worst writing ever associated with Monk

Loved seeing the grandpa gang back together again, but not like this... They've had, what, 15 years to come up with something and THIS is what they came up with?.

... while putting a highlight on him having OCD? It feels so wreid because he meet litteraly every diagnostic criteria of Autism in such a purposely exaturated way. He has many quirks that are not easly explained by his OCD:

• not reading social cues and being overally socially oblivious,

• being accidentaly rude because he couldng "read the air",

• sensory hipersensitivity in MANY MANY areas,

• incredible attention to details,

• fear of change and unelasticality,

• abnormal posture and gestures,

• being absolutely consumed by a special interests, flashlight attention

He also has photographic memory which is not an autistic trait itself, but almost every person who has it is also autistic

Not even mentioning that OCD is strongly corelated with Autism

Just confirm it already, creators 😭

I know there have been threads about this in the past, but I started bingeing on old episodes after the TV Movie came out, and I find myself skipping through all of Sharona’s screen time.

It’s as if the writers managed to fit every working class single mum stereotype into one character. I guess that’s a testament to what a good caricature that character was.

Can someone explain to me why Sharona is always so desperatly thirsty and has absolutely zero appreciation for men? All it takes is for a cute man to give her a little attention - bang, she's smitten and wraps herself around his finger like an idiot. Monk immediately exposes the guys as losers, but she just never learns from it. Whyyyy woman?

1. The series ended on a very positive note, but they ruined it by portraying Monk as a suicidal old man who ultimately went back to square one. All that character progress down the drain. I mean, they dedicated an entire episode of the eighth season to Monk overcoming his claustrophobia (Mr. Monk Goes to Group Therapy) and I personally think it was a major character development because the guy was buried alive at one point!

2. The plot twist was absolutely flimsy. I knew from the start that the measuring tape had been replaced or tampered with, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. What else could it have possibly been? They even showed Trudy Jr.’s fiancé (I’ve forgotten her name) measuring it himself—twice, I might add. They practically spelled it out!

3. I have no idea how they managed to convict Eden (a.k.a. Bezos) on the basis of tampered measuring tape. Anyone could have done it, and even a law student could’ve shredded that case in court—let alone a ‘gazillionaire’ who probably has an entire law firm on his payroll.

4. I didn’t care much for Trudy Jr., much less her fiancé. It would’ve been a bit more impactful if the bride had been Natalie’s daughter or if the victim had been Stottlemier’s kid or something. Something personal. I mean, I felt for Kevin Dorfman as a character—who they just killed off mid-season in some random episode like it was nothing!

5. Eden/Bezos tried to bribe Monk with $1Bn?!

6. How in the world did Randy Disher manage to become sheriff? Seriously, that must be a poke at bureaucracy! The guy didn’t even deserve to be a lieutenant, though I understand they needed a token dumb guy in the cast to drive some of the jokes. Still...

Overall, all they did was beat a dead horse. Personally, the series ran out of steam at around season six, but they kept milking it. Now, it’s still nowhere near as bad as The Big Bang Theory or The Walking Dead, and the ending was surprisingly good—but they just had to ruin it with this movie reunion thing!

I really really want to like Natalie, and I try to, but Sharona just has more character & street smarts. Sharona is a hotter, too, and is more fashionable. And her east coast accent is lovely.

Sharona is fiery and confrontational, whereas Natalie is kind of naive in a worrying way. As if working for Monk isn’t worrying enough?

Does anyone else share similar thoughts? I just finished s6 btw.. in case that matters.

At the very least, if it's natural curls, why not straighten it out?

(More of a plot hole than something I want. I can't ACTUALLY imagine him looking any other way)

I mean why kill a roadie over a song? You can just say he stole your material and mailed it to himself. Keep him tied up for years in court.

Let alone the painstaking way he went around doing it. It would have been easier to just kill him, put him in a car and drive him somewhere secluded where he wouldn't be found for days or even months if you're careful enough... By which time concert has rolled on and it becomes a "who hit him on the head" case. Providing you got rid of the clothes you did it in and the shoes.

(Season 5. 8)

Hi everyone! Welcome to r/Monk. We are trying to limit the posting of frequently discussed topics, so this thread is the place for general chit-chat about Monk. There will be a new post every month.

Please do not make new posts about topics such as the following. (Instead, discuss here!)

• "I just started watching Monk," or just finished the series, or just watched the movie, etc.

• Ranking and favorite episodes, characters, quotes, etc.

• Natalie vs. Sharona

Since he asked if Natalie’s hot 🤷‍♂️