Monk (season 5)

Monk season 5
DVD Cover of Monk Season Five
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	16
Broadcast
Original channel	USA Network (USA)
Original run	July 7, 2006 – March 2, 2007
Home video release
DVD release date	June 26, 2007 (Region 1)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 4 Next → Season 6

The fifth season of Monk originally aired in the United States on USA Network from July 7, 2006 to March 2, 2007. 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 June 26, 2007.

Crew

Andy Breckman continued his tenure as show runner. Executive producers for the season included Breckman, David Hoberman, series star Tony Shalhoub, and writer Tom Scharpling. NBC Universal Television Studio was the primary production company backing the show. Randy Newman's theme (It's a Jungle out There) was continued to be used, while Jeff Beal's original instrumental theme could be heard in some episodes. Directors for the season included Randall Zisk, Jerry Levine, and Andrei Belgrader. Writers for the season included Andy Breckman, David Breckman, Jonathan Collier, Hy Conrad, Daniel Dratch, Lee Goldberg, Dylan Morgan, William Rabkin, Josh Siegal, Joe Toplyn, and Tom Scharpling.

Cast

Jarrad Paul in his penultimate performance as Kevin Dorfman.

Main article: List of Monk characters

See also: List of Monk cast members

All four main characters returned for the fifth 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 lovable but oblivious Lieutenant Randy Disher.

The astronomical number of guest stars grew even higher for the fifth season. Stanley Kamel returned as Monk's psychiatrist, Dr. Charles Kroger. Emmy Clarke portrayed Julie Teeger, Natalie's daughter, in a third season. Melora Hardin continued to portray Trudy Monk, Monk's deceased wife (whose murder is the series' main story arc), while Lindy Newton played a younger version of the character. Tim Bagley returned to play Harold Krenshaw, Monk's main rival, after a one-season absence. The character of Monk's annoying upstairs neighbor, Kevin Dorfman, was brought back, portrayed by Jarrad Paul. Cody McMains starred, for the first time, as Dr. Kroger's son, Troy Kroger. Michael Cavanaugh and Holland Taylor returned for the final time as Natalie's ultra-rich parents, Bob and Peggy Davenport, and Sharon Lawrence made her debut on the series as Stottlemeyer's girlfriend, Linda Fusco. Additionally, several non-recurring guest stars made appearances, including Brooke Adams, Joshua Alba, Sean Astin, Catherine Bach, Graham Beckel, Paul Blackthorne, Stephen Bogardus, Ivar Brogger, Sarah Brown, Dan Butler, Ricardo Chavira, Gordon Clapp, Alex Cohen, Alice Cooper, David DeLuise, Charles Durning, Art Evans, Tom Everett, Kevin Farley, Tamara Feldman, John Furey, Deborah Geffner, Greg Grunberg, Dan Hedaya, Brad Hunt, Jamie Kaler, Brian Kerwin, Jennifer Lawrence, James Logan, Chi McBride, Brian McNamara, Jacob Miller, Silas Weir Mitchell, Sandra Nelson, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jim Piddock, Andy Richter, Bryce Robinson, Kiernan Shipka, Peter James Smith, Cynthia Stevenson, Heather Tom, Stanley Tucci (in an Emmy award-winning performance), Reginald VelJohnson, Steven Weber, Frederick Weller, Peter Weller, Chris Williams, Danny Woodburn, and Odette Yustman.

Episodes

See also: List of Monk episodes

Series #	Season #	Title	Written by	Directed by	Original air date
62	1	"Mr. Monk and the Actor"	Hy Conrad and Joe Toplyn	Randall Zisk	July 7, 2006 (2006-07-07)
A famous actor (Stanley Tucci) preparing to play Monk in a film gets a little too close to one of Monk's real-life murder investigations.
63	2	"Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike"	Andy Breckman and Daniel Gaeta	Jerry Levine	July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14)
When a union boss's death threatens to prolong a city-wide garbage strike in San Francisco, it's up to Monk to help end the strike by determining whether the boss' death was suicide or murder. Along the way, Monk accuses the mayor (Chi McBride) and even Alice Cooper of murder.
64	3	"Mr. Monk and the Big Game"	Jack Bernstein	Chris Long	July 21, 2006 (2006-07-21)
Julie and her teammates hire Monk to look into the suspicious death of their basketball coach, a death in which they believe there may have been foul play.
65	4	"Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing"	Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin	Stephen Surjik	July 28, 2006 (2006-07-28)
Monk tries to solve the murder of a firefighter after losing his eyesight, and finds that it has connections to the fire that the rest of the ladder company had been responding to.
66	5	"Mr. Monk, Private Eye"	Tom Scharpling and Daniel Gaeta	Peter Weller	August 4, 2006 (2006-08-04)
Natalie convinces Monk to go into business as a private eye, and he is hired by a woman (Sharon Lawrence) who hires him to investigate a seemingly innocuous fender bender that leads him to a doctor (Fred Weller) who may be involved in much more that meets the eye.
67	6	"Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion"	Daniel Dratch	David Grossman	August 11, 2006 (2006-08-11)
Monk attends his college reunion and uncovers a complex murder plot against one of his former classmates (Cynthia Stevenson) that starts with the murder of a longtime nurse.
68	7	"Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink"	Hy Conrad	Andrei Belgrader	August 18, 2006 (2006-08-18)
When Dr. Kroger retires after his cleaning lady is killed, it's up to Monk to solve the case and get Kroger back to work.
69	8	"Mr. Monk Goes to a Rock Concert"	Blair Singer	Randall Zisk	August 25, 2006 (2006-08-25)
Monk and Natalie go to a rock concert to look for Captain Stottlemeyer's son (Jon Kyle Hansen) and find themselves investigating the murder of one of the roadies.
70	9	"Mr. Monk Meets His Dad"	Tom Scharpling and Dan Dratch	Jerry Levine	November 17, 2006 (2006-11-17)
When Monk's truck driving father (Dan Hedaya) rolls into town at Christmas time, Monk joins him on the road, where they stumble across a very peculiar mystery.
71	10	"Mr. Monk and the Leper"	Charles Evered	Randall Zisk	December 22, 2006 (2006-12-22)
A missing billionaire suffering from leprosy comes out of hiding to hire Monk, who soon finds himself in the midst of a shadowy murder plot worthy of a classic Hollywood film noir. The investigation leads Monk and Natalie to the man's wife (Sarah Brown), who originally has a difficult time believing their story. The episode was broadcast in black & white as well as in color.
72	11	"Mr. Monk Makes a Friend"	Andy Breckman and Daniel Gaeta	Randall Zisk	January 19, 2007 (2007-01-19)
A fun-loving everyman (Andy Richter) bumps into Monk, and the two become fast friends. For the first time in his life, Monk appears to have a buddy. But is his new friend up to something?
73	12	"Mr. Monk Is At Your Service"	Rob LaZebnik	Anton Cropper	January 26, 2007 (2007-01-26)
When Natalie suspects foul play in the deaths of her parent's (Michael Cavanaugh and Holland Taylor) wealthy neighbors, Monk goes undercover as a butler to the deceased's son (Sean Astin) to investigate.
74	13	"Mr. Monk Is On the Air"	Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan	Mike Listo	February 2, 2007 (2007-02-02)
Monk is accompanied by Kevin Dorfman (Jarrad Paul) once again as he goes toe-to-toe with a popular radio shock jock (Steven Weber) whom he suspects of killing his wife. There's only one problem: at the time of death, he had an airtight alibi–he was on the air.
75	14	"Mr. Monk Visits a Farm"	David Breckman	Andrei Belgrader	February 9, 2007 (2007-02-09)
When Lt. Disher inherits a farm from his uncle, he decides to quit the police force and start a new life in the country. But Disher soon suspects that his uncle was murdered, so Monk joins him on the farm to investigate. Along the way Monk must woo the local sheriff (Brooke Adams) and go undercover as a farmhand to investigate Disher's new neighbor (Ricardo Chavira).
76	15	"Mr. Monk and the Really, Really Dead Guy"	Joe Toplyn	Anthony R. Palmieri	February 23, 2007 (2007-02-23)
When the mysterious Six Way Killer strikes in San Francisco, Monk must match his detective skills against the flashy forensic technology of a federal agent as they both pursue the murderer.
77	16	"Mr. Monk Goes to the Hospital"	Jonathan Collier	Wendey Stanzler	March 2, 2007 (2007-03-02)
Monk goes to the emergency room for a bloody nose, but when a doctor in the hospital turns up dead, Monk joins the murder investigation, and soon his own life is in grave danger.

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Monk (TV series)

Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)
• Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series (Stanley Tucci for playing "David Ruskin" in "Mr. Monk and the Actor", won)

Golden Globe Awards

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

Screen Actors Guild

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

Trivia

• Traylor Howard was pregnant for most of the production of season 5, which explains why Natalie is usually hidden behind various objects, such as boxes and tables. However, Howard's pregnancy worked out rather well for a scene in the episode "Mr. Monk Is At Your Service" where Natalie pretends to be pregnant to Paul Buchanan, although she later confides to Monk that it's just a pillow.
• The DVD release of this season contained both the black & white and color versions of the episode "Mr. Monk and the Leper".
• The DVD release of this season also included the Pilot episode of the USA Network show Psych.