Monk (season 7)

The seventh season of Monk was originally broadcast in the United States on USA Network from July 18, 2008, to February 20, 2009. It consisted of 16 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised their roles as the main characters. A DVD of the season was released on July 21, 2009.

Monk
Season 7
DVD cover
Starring	Tony Shalhoub Traylor Howard Ted Levine Jason Gray-Stanford
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	16
Release
Original network	USA Network
Original release	July 18, 2008 – February 20, 2009
Season chronology

Crew

Andy Breckman continued his tenure as show runner. Executive producers for the season included Breckman, David Hoberman, series star Tony Shalhoub, writer Tom Scharpling and Rob Thompson. Universal Media Studios was the primary production company backing the show. Randy Newman's theme ("It's a Jungle Out There") continued to be used, while Jeff Beal's original instrumental theme could be heard in some episodes. Directors for the season included Randall Zisk, David Hoberman, Michael W. Watkins, David Breckman and Andrei Belgrader. Writers for the season included Andy Breckman, Hy Conrad, Daniel Dratch, Tom Gammill, Dylan Morgan, Max Pross, Salvatore Savo, Josh Siegal, Joe Toplyn, Tom Scharpling and Peter Wolk.

Cast

Héctor Elizondo made his debut this season as Dr. Neven Bell after the death of Stanley Kamel

All four main characters returned for the seventh season. Tony Shalhoub returned as former homicide detective Adrian Monk, with Traylor Howard returning as Monk's faithful assistant, Natalie Teeger. Ted Levine returned as the SFPD captain, Leland Stottlemeyer, and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised his role as the oblivious but lovable Lieutenant Randy Disher.

Héctor Elizondo joined the show as Dr. Neven Bell, Monk's new psychiatrist. Elizondo was cast after the death of the actor Stanley Kamel.[1] Emmy Clarke returned as Julie Teeger, Natalie's daughter, and Tim Bagley reprised his role as Harold Krenshaw, Monk's number-one rival. Melora Hardin continued to portray Trudy Monk, Monk's beloved deceased wife. Casper Van Dien made his first appearance as Lt. Steven Albright, a new love interest for Natalie who was a comrade of Natalie's late husband, Mitch, in the Navy. Jarrad Paul made his final appearance as Monk's annoying upstairs neighbor, Kevin Dorfman. The season saw the return of various villains and acquaintances from the past in the 100th episode, including John Turturro as Ambrose Monk (Monk's brother), Sarah Silverman as Marci Maven (Monk's number-one fan), Tim Bagley as Harold Krenshaw, Brooke Adams as Leigh Harrison (a flight attendant who was driven to drinking by Monk in "Mr. Monk and the Airplane"), and villains played by Ricardo Chavira, Angela Kinsey, David Koechner, Howie Mandel, and Andy Richter. Other guest stars for the season included Pamela Adlon, Kristina Anapau, Jill Arrington, William Atherton, Sam Ayers, Michael Badalucco, Malcolm Barrett, Geoffrey Blake, Julie Bowen, Jack Carter, Jude Ciccolella, Tim Conlon, Bob Costas, Henry Czerny, Ethan Erickson, Noah Emmerich, Courtney Ford, Brad Garrett, Marcus Giamatti, Eileen Grubba, Ernie Grunwald, Mike Hagerty, Anne Marie Howard, Joe Hursley, Gregory Jbara, Kathryn Joosten, Sung Kang, Tom Kiesche, James Lesure, Peyton List, Robert Loggia, Scott MacDonald, Michael Mantell, Eric McCormack, Dina Meyer, Sandra Mitchell, Steve Monroe, Tom Nagel, Joanna Pacuła, Evan Peters, Greg Pitts, Jon Polito, Kali Rocha, Gena Rowlands (in an Emmy award-nominated performance), Douglas Sarine, Richard Schiff, Richard Steinmetz, David Strathairn, Steve Valentine, Marc Vann, Tracey Walter, Audrey Wasilewski, Titus Welliver, Bradley Whitford, Ruth Williamson, Jacqueline Wright and Steve Zahn.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
94	1	"Mr. Monk Buys a House"	Randall Zisk	Andy Breckman	July 18, 2008	5.64[2]
Dr. Kroger's unexpected death has mourning Monk overly sensitive to his piano-practising neighbour, to the point of buying a new house . . . and discovering his handyman Jake (Brad Garrett) isn't as honest as his nickname, when Jake begins dismantling the insides and Monk discovers the hard way it's a literal money pit. Note: This is the first episode with Dr. Neven Bell (Héctor Elizondo).
95	2	"Mr. Monk and the Genius"	Michael W. Watkins	Joe Toplyn	July 25, 2008	5.06[3]
Monk matches wits with a brilliant chess master (David Strathairn) who he knows murdered his wife.
96	3	"Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever"	Michael Zinberg	Hy Conrad	August 1, 2008	4.60[4]
Natalie's unexpected celebrity when she replaces a murdered TV lottery hostess unnerves Monk---until he has to clear her and Stottlemeyer of accusations they rigged the counting machine.
97	4	"Mr. Monk Takes a Punch"	Barnet Kellman	Salvatore Savo	August 8, 2008	3.62[5]
Monk gets into the ring when a heavyweight boxer (James Lesure) narrowly escapes a professional hit days before a title shot and hires him to protect him and a sad secret---in return for helping Monk prepare for a mandatory police associate physical.
98	5	"Mr. Monk Is Underwater"	Paris Barclay	Jack Bernstein	August 15, 2008	4.65[6]
Monk and Natalie are asked by one of Mitch's old friends (Casper Van Dien) to investigate the suspicious death of a second-in-command who apparently shot himself in a locked room on a Navy submarine prior to a surprise drill. But Monk is terrified when they end up stuck on the submarine in the middle of a new exercise, all the while hallucinating that Dr. Bell is with them. He also becomes suspicious of the submarine's commander (William Atherton), but can't prove a thing.
99	6	"Mr. Monk Falls in Love"	Arlene Sanford	Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan	August 22, 2008	4.57[7]
Monk falls for an immigration counselor (Joanna Pacuła) subsequently accused of murdering a taxi driver who proved to be a warlord known as the "Butcher of Zemenia" in her homeland, but uncovering the truth has fateful consequences for his budding romance despite her innocence.
100	7	"Mr. Monk's 100th Case"	Randall Zisk	Tom Scharpling	September 5, 2008	4.99[8]
The TV news magazine InFocus profiles Monk as he pursues a serial killer for his one-hundredth case. But after viewing the documentary, Monk begins to suspect that a second killer may have been responsible for the fourth and last murder. The profile (led by Eric McCormack) includes interviews with many of Monk's companions (including John Turturro, Sarah Silverman, Brooke Adams, Tim Bagley, and Kathryn Joosten) and enemies (including Howie Mandel, Andy Richter, David Koechner, Angela Kinsey and Ricardo Chavira).
101	8	"Mr. Monk Gets Hypnotized"	Michael W. Watkins	Tom Gammill and Max Pross	September 12, 2008	5.02[9]
When an actress (Dina Meyer) disappears in the middle of a messy divorce, apparently abducted by her husband, Monk's companions will not be able to get any help from him, because Monk has paid a secret visit to a hypnotist (Richard Schiff) suggested by Harold Krenshaw (Tim Bagley) and is acting like a six-year-old. But when the actress turns up alive after killing her husband in what looks like self-defense, Monk's naiveté might be what is needed to find out what really happened in her disappearance.
102	9	"Mr. Monk and the Miracle"	Andrei Belgrader	Peter Wolk	November 28, 2008	4.39[10]
Three homeless men hire a reluctant Monk to prove their friend was murdered and stuffed in an old refrigerator, while a reputed "miracle fountain" promising to cure the sick or injured---including a surprised Stottlemeyer when he drinks from it---may also hold a clue to the murder.
103	10	"Mr. Monk's Other Brother"	David Hoberman	David Breckman	January 9, 2009	5.24[11]
Monk is shocked when his delinquent half-brother, Jack Jr. (Steve Zahn) escapes from prison and breaks into his apartment---and manipulates him into proving a frameup for the murder of a prison library worker.
104	11	"Mr. Monk on Wheels"	Anton Cropper	Nell Scovell	January 16, 2009	4.94[12]
When Natalie accidentally helps a thief steal the bicycle of a biotech CEO (Bradley Whitford), she ropes Monk into solving a crime right out of Encyclopedia Brown. But when tracking down the thief, Monk is shot in the leg. Confined to a wheelchair, he makes Natalie's life a living hell.
105	12	"Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door"	Tawnia McKiernan	Hy Conrad and Joe Toplyn	January 23, 2009	4.96[13]
During a robbery at a museum of oddities, a thief kills a security guard by skewering him on a swordfish display, then steals an egg-eating robot. During the investigation, Monk befriends a warm older woman (Gena Rowlands), but he has trouble believing the friendship comes without a catch, especially after her neighbor (Marcus Giamatti) becomes the primary suspect in the robbery of a jewelry store in which a manager is shot and killed.
106	13	"Mr. Monk Makes the Playoffs"	Randall Zisk	Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan	January 30, 2009	5.39[14]
Press box tickets to join Bob Costas himself for a big football playoff game lead to Monk and Stottlemeyer investigating the death of an apparent fan (Steve Monroe) in a tailgate party accident that proves more than it seems when a backup quarterback's game playbook turns up stolen.
107	14	"Mr. Monk and the Bully"	David Breckman	Joe Ventura	February 6, 2009	5.67[15]
Monk and Natalie uncover a deeper---and fatal---mystery when Monk's childhood nemesis (Noah Emmerich) hires them to prove his wife's (Julie Bowen) infidelity.
108	15	"Mr. Monk and the Magician"	Randall Zisk	Andy Breckman	February 13, 2009	5.11[16]
When Monk's upstairs neighbor Kevin Dorfman (Jarrad Paul) is strangled and killed on the night of his debut as a magician, Monk suspects Kevin's mentor (Steve Valentine), who is discovered to be a drug trafficker. Except the mentor in question happens to have called from Reno, Nevada right before the murder, and he can't have been in two places at once.
109	16	"Mr. Monk Fights City Hall"	Chuck Parker	Tom Scharpling, Josh Siegal, and Dylan Morgan	February 20, 2009	5.54[17]
When the parking garage where Monk's wife was killed is set for demolition, Monk intervenes but soon finds himself investigating the disappearance of a city official key to preserving the garage.

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)
• Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series (Gena Rowlands for playing "Marge Johnson" in "Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door", nominated)

Golden Globe Awards

• Best Actor - Musical or Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)

Screen Actors Guild

• Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)

References

1. "TV".
2. "USA Takes Week with Unprecedented Five Originals on the Air". The Futon Critic. July 23, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
3. Seidman, Robert (July 29, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Cable TV Top 20: The Closer, Nascar and Miley Cyrus". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
4. Seidman, Robert (August 5, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Cable TV Top 20: The Closer Still Dominates Summer Cable". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
5. Seidman, Robert (August 12, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Cable TV Top 20: The Closer Crushes Competition...Again". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
6. Seidman, Robert (August 19, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Cable TV Top 20: The Closer, NASCAR, WWE RAW and Monk Take Top Honors". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
7. Seidman, Robert (August 27, 2008). "Cable TV Top 20: The Closer, Cheetah Girls and Law & Order: CI". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on October 6, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
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11. Seidman, Robert (January 13, 2009). "Monk, WWE RAW, Secret Life and iCarly lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
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