I was bored the other night, looking for something to watch, and I found Monk on demand for free. I thought – hey – I loved this show once upon a time.
I used to watch it with my parents when I was younger.
(Fun Fact about me! I used to think things like vampires, demons, and other magical evil creatures were real and would get me. So I never liked those shows when I was little. I used to think CSI, NCIS, and so on were better because humans couldn’t be that evil, right? I have since learned otherwise.)
I used to watch Monk when I was little here and then.
So I thought, hey, let’s start from the beginning!
What the hell did I just watch?
Seriously?
I watched the first two episodes which are technically one episode, because they follow the same plot.
Now, don’t take what I have said negatively.
These episodes were not bad. The story was not boring and I was thoroughly entertained.
But it was so much different than when I was younger!
When I was little I remember Monk’s oddities and problems to be funny, which the show plays for laughs. But now… I don’t find it funny. At all.
In fact, I found the other characters intolerable by comparison.
No one considered Monk. At all.
They don’t consider how hard life has become for him.
I watched an episode of Pitbulls and Parolees, where Tia was called to a prison where they allow prisoners to train dogs. It helps everyone involved. But there was one dog who was having a hard time and only liked his trainer.
Tia was called in as an expert.
She realized the dog suffers from severe anxiety. He’s only happy and calm tucked away in a small room without noise, with his trainer. Anything and anyone else triggers him.
She’s not sure what happened. She’s not sure why. But the dog won’t have a life like this.
Tia – who is not one for suggesting animals be put down lightly, suggested it may be best in his case. Because the dog won’t have a happy life. He’s going to be stressed at every turn, making his entire life impossibly hard.
He won’t be able to live comfortably.
This is a dog! Mind you!
They made every accommodation the could for that dog.
But no one will bend for Monk.
It’s cruel. And it’s not funny.
It’s not his fault when he couldn’t stop the bad guy. He was panicking.
I understand the show is from a different era, but it hurt to see Monk’s handicap dismissed so easily. They were all for being nice to a guy in a wheelchair, assuming he couldn’t be the bad guy because his legs didn’t work.
But for Monk with a mental handicap, nothing.
No compassion whatsoever.
Instead, he’s mocked. Called the ‘Defective Detective.’
His peers respect his ability to see around corners, but not him as a person.
Even Sharona is cruel.
Is she his nurse? Shouldn’t she have more compassion?
As a kid, I thought Sharona was an assistant he hired to help him day to day. Not a nurse watching out for him.
It places their relationship in a whole new dynamic.
Because before I thought it was just a job and he was more difficult than she expected when answering the ad. As a nurse, you sign up for difficulties, and unexpected patients. You should have some patience and if you cannot handle someone like Monk, leave and let someone who can help him.
Because it’s not about your adventures. It’s about him.
She doesn’t like what Monk puts her through, but stays for her own reasons.
So much so, I was shocked when she used her favor to help Monk. But I appreciated that she does care for him. Even if it stresses her out.
Like when she remined him, he missed one when counting.
As for his Captain and Lieutenant (who I really don’t like) there attitudes really bugged me.
The Captain clearly has been around him a long time. Why do you question what his brain is capable of?
He may be handicapped, but he clearly still understands how crimes work, and the world around him. He just wishes everything was neat and in order. All the time.
Why are you fighting him at every turn? He was a detective. Clearly he rose through the ranks with skill. He was asked for by the mayor, personally. He seems to be a legend with everyone.
Why are you fighting him? Why?
I hate stories that have characters insist that one person does not have a skill they clearly possess. Like why? It’s not interesting.
It makes them look stupid. Unless they’ve just met.
However, these two have a history. So, why?
As for Lieutenant Butthead, um, you’re mean.
It’s not funny to call Monk the ‘Defective Detective’ or to be smug when he had let the bad guy go because he couldn’t pull himself together. You’re a bully, sir.
I especially did not like what he said to the Captain in the garage about Monk having a parlor trick.
A parlor trick can be learned.
A gift or ability to view the world a certain are not.
Monk has a gift.
He and the Captian do not share the same ones.
If he had said, he can do that yes. It’s impressive how he sees the world yes. But Monk isn’t a leader like you are. That’s your gift. It would have come off less like putting Monk down.
I’m not a fan of putting people down to build others up. Ever.
Overall, I liked the plot and how Monk solved the cases. How he put things together. The show is interesting because Monk is interesting.
But the way the shows frames it, didn’t age well.
It made it really hard to want to watch more like I planned because I’m not interested in Monk being the butt of every joke.
He has a serious issue. One I think the world should take more seriously even though you can’t see it like a wheelchair. Which we also don’t take seriously enough, but that’s another issue.
What do you guys think? Does it get better? Am I just disappointed because I’m not a kid anymore? Because the rose-colored glasses slipped off?
Tell me your thoughts!
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