or at least multiple?

do you have to watch episodes in order? i just bought season 3 (good deal) but have not seen seasons 1 or 2. can i watch 3 without being confused? is each episode basically independant of others (as opposed to say, 24, which you need to watch them in order by season and episode).

I've watched the first 2 and the first few eps of 3 and from what I recall (it's been awhile) the are pretty much stand alone. There might be the odd reference to something that has happened in a previous eps but you can generally roll w/ it and keep up w/ what's going on.

everything is pretty much stand-alone. my wife and i recently discovered the show and are pretty pleased and amused with it.

Thanks for the info. My TiVo picked up Monk last weekend and I was bored on Saturday and decided to watch it. I'm glad I did. I've now setup a season pass and was able to record the marathon yesterday during the superbowl.

Now that I've seen a few, I think a DVD purchase is an easy choice.

They pretty much stand alone. There's the ongoing arch of Monk trying to find his wife's killer, but even those episodes can stand by themselves.

The only real recurring arc is the backstory of Monk's wife and how she died. That pops up occasionally, where Monk finds more clues about her death and who might have been responsible.

Started watching in Season 2, bought Season 1 when it came out on DVD - thought S1 is the best. The Airplane still cracks me up, Monk has lots of problems flying, Monks face to the kid talking to him was perfect.

"Pete and Repeat were in a boat..."