Charlie Goose

Good thing I remembered.
No Bitty Schram.
No Benji.
We'll see how well Traylor Howard does as Monk's new assistant.

Chew

First episode got a C+ from EW this week.

movieking

From some reviews that I have read on the web, Howard fits in pretty good as the new assistant. Anyone know how Sharona's departure is explained? It is explained in the first episode, but I am not sure how yet.

Charlie Goose

djbrown

USAToday gives in 3 out of 4 stars.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/televis...k-review_x.htm

movieking

Thanks for the info, Charlie Goose

Iron_Giant

3 out 4 stars from me.

I love Sharona and will miss her, but the new gal seems to add a little more muturity to the role. I am not sure if that is going to be good or bad at this time, Sharona's humor really cracked me up at times.

I can see Natalie Teeger growing to respect Monk, not just looking down on him because of his problems. Monk saving the life of the fish seemed to touch Natatle, maybe they could grow to have feelings for each other after they find who killed Trudy.

MrX

I thought it was pretty good. Natalie seems like she could be an interesting fit with Monk and her daughter doesn't appear to be as annoying as Benji was...yet.

wendersfan

I really liked the episode. The scene with the bird was incredibly sweet.

wearetheborg

The characters were fine, but the mystery sucked. Is there anyone who didnt realise what had happened when the girl told monk what the kit contained??
I like the new assistant - shez hot.

Deftones

I already like Traylor Howard as Natalie more than I like Bitty Schram as Sharona. I too think the case was pretty stupid, but I think they needed that to setup Natalie getting hired by Monk.

Patman

Not a bad intro, and Natalie is one fierce woman, she did not play the helpless victim while being attacked by the robber. The daughter is just old enough to get most of the adult situations and still provide enough embarrassment for the adults.

Looking forward to the next phase for Monk's life.

Balah

I enjoyed it as well, though I did have a problem with the "Sharona moved to NJ and got re-married" explanation. All we have heard since the show started is what a scumbag that guy was, and now she is going back to him? No matter what problems went on behind the scenes, it would have been nice to see a send off that was more consistent with her character.

movieking

I already like Howard more than Sharona, mostly because I really did not like Sharona at all. I for one am glad that she is gone. She never quit fit the show for my liking.

It was a sad story about the bird. I was expecting Monk to take it, but it would have been out of character for him.

An extremely easy mystery this week, but you gotta like Natalie's first appearance having her kill someone.

DRG

Yeah, I thought the same thing. Hell, even have her meet a great new guy and marry him a month later... that would make more sense.

Still, I enjoy the new dynamic. I was worried when they first announced this because they referred to the character as a "single mom" and a bartender, which made me think they were going to go with another tough-talking single mom with Sharona. Creating a clone character would've been terrible, so I'm happy to see she has a very distinct personality. This should bring a fresh dynamic to the show. Where Sharona just seemed to complain about Monk's quirks ("OH come on, Adrian, it's just a _______"), Natalie seems to actually try to help him through it. I'll miss the mouthy interplay between Sharona and Disher, but this should increase the longevity of the show.

treszoks

I didn't realize Sharona wasn't going to be back until the new episode. I tried to find out why and it appears that USA let her go to pursue a new direction with the show, maybe because she was asking for more money due to the show's success?

movieking

It was never confirmed, but the rumor was she was holding out for more money (it was rumored for the rest of the supporting cast as well, but after seeing Sharona go, I guess they realized they were all expendable).

No idea for sure.

Chew

Natalie is pretty good, but she's no Sharona. That's good or bad, depending on how you saw her.

Charlie Goose

Well, Natalie is certainly cuter than Sharona. Heck, Captain Buffalo Bill is cuter than Sharona. Although the write-out of Sharona was a bit clunky and out of character, I liked the introduction of his new assistant.

cdollaz

Sharona was damn ugly, so anything is better than having to look at that horrible makeup and nasty-ass hair every week.

Timber

Maybe it's just me but Sharona gave me the hot. She was the reason that I started watching the show.

kvrdave

Wow. Just watched this. Didn't realize that Sharona was out. So I started out mad. Then I realized who the new assistant would be and by the end of the show I was good with it. I think she will be fine and I won't miss Sharona.

But the mystery was terrible.


But, it will be better and I am happy to see Monk back on and new.

Groucho

Finally watched this. Not a great episode, about on par with last season (which was okay but not as good as when the show first began).

I didn't really buy Monk wanting Natalie as his new assistant. It just seemed "out of the blue," even though I knew it was coming. As others have said, this was a very weak "mystery" as well.

It does appear that we'll have to sit through a few shows where they took a script intended for Sharona and just did a "Replace All" to change it to Natalie. Case in point:

However, after that if they give Natalie her own character and plotline, I think the show can survive. But they need better mysteries!

costanza187

I think the show is starting to slip a little, even I figured out what was going to happen.