First of all, being drunk for Monk doesn't make it any more enjoyable. In fact, I quickly became restless with a show that seemed to have lost touch with the principles it was founded upon. Namely, that this was a comedy first and foremost that had some dramatic undertones. Unfortunately the finale forgot this, and delivered an overly dramatic story devoid of laughs. Part of this was unavoidable, since we were dealing with the death of Monk's beloved wife, which was partially the impetus for the character we have grown accustomed to watching.
At the same time, though, it seems out of character for Monk to be after blood. Even with emotional choices in the past his thought process has remained grounded and well reasoned, which makes his rash decision making process in the finale seem like a foreign persona.
The only consistent laughs in the episode, and throughout the tenure of the show actually, are delivered by Randy.
Jason Gray-Stanford's character Randy was the modern equivalent of Barney Fife from the Andy Griffith show. He stole every scene as the bumbling cop with good intentions and a proclivity for bonehead mistakes. As someone who tuned out of Monk after about four seasons, Randy was the only draw for me at the end of my run with the show. The character of Randy illuminated my main problem with the show, which was that it couldn't accept it's identity. The show always struggled with the dramatic part of its dramedy label. In that sense it really paved the way for BURN NOTICE, IN PLAIN SIGHT and the other horde of USA shows.
I don't think I'm being too hard here. If MONK had been intended as light fare, then fine. Judge it that way and scale back the critical eye. But it wasn't a light romp. It wanted to be more, and it should be judged based on its success. You don't merely get applause for a big swing. You need to make contact and show results. Monk really lost its mojo as the show went on, only occasionally rekindling the spark with Monk's brother and a few other episodes.
In terms of the pay off regarding Trudy's death it was all very unsatisfying. I won't get in to details, but essentially Trudy had a secret past that Monk didn't know about. She was killed for that past. It all seemed very convoluted, and akin to jamming a round peg into a square hole. This was not a well thought out conclusion years in the making.
The overall experience of the finale was not one I'd like to repeat. The mystery was at first too ridiculous to believe, but quickly devolved into a very formulaic resolution. Monk deserved a better farewell.
This show was groundbreaking in many regards, such as the fact it was one of the first major hits for a cable network. In terms of developing a genre, I think it's biggest legacy comes in terms of the oddball character driven story.
It might not have been the first show revolving around a strange chracter, but it represented the first in an evolving trend of show. There are the obvious USA rip offs, but the effect is prevalent elsewhere. DEXTER, CALIFORNIACATION and HOUSE are shows driven by a main character with some interesting angle. I should be careful not to say these shows evolved directly out of Monk, but it would be fair to say that he really set the tone for the offbeat character lead.
Yet while I applaud the Monk character, I'm a little distressed with all the emmy nominations Tony Shallhoub got for this role. He even won the award three times. REALLY? THREE TIMES!! Seems ridiculous to me.
The nice thing about the end was the montage and final scenes that were aired with a song from Randy Newman. Newman is the writer of the show's opening theme, which is an appropriately delightful jingle that accompanies a long credits by today's standards. I always enjoyed the opening and to this day can still remember how fond I was of it when it first debuted.
WEll that's it for Monk. If I have more thoughts I'll add them in some format that defies easy comprehension. I'm thinking specifically about Sharona, who inspires a wide range of emotions, which includes rage.
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