Still dumb!

What has happened to the show Monk? It's still awful! It used to be a mystery with comedy that came from the characters, but now it's just a stupid situational comedy. There's no mystery--I can easily solve it within the first few minutes. Maybe since Tony Shalhoub won an Emmy, he's on auto-pilot now. Where is there to go but down from his high perch?

I'm not obsessed about it enough to join a message board and talk about it with others, but I did send an email to the network to ask them if they fired the previous writers. This reminds me of when the horrendous Enterprise debuted. I gave up on that T&A series after a few shows--the producers went for the LCD by abandoning intelligence for cheap thrills and stupid characters, with at least one bad actor/slut thrown in with a smattering of semi-decent ones.

Hello, Hollywood, there's still intelligent life out here!


jau said...

I completely agree with you! It's weird. It used to be delightful - quirky and a little complex. Now it's nasty and unpleasant. It may have begun with the OCD people getting hyper that Monk wasn't "sick" enough, but maybe you're right about the writers.

Jon Konrath said...

I think it's funny how most die-hard ST fans can't make fun of Enterprise without also totally making fun of the opening song. I didn't think the song was that horrible - I mean, I wouldn't put it on a mix tape and drive across the country only listening to it - but some people on the internet have acted as if Diane Warren personally got them fired from their jobs and then put sugar in their gas tanks.

I think I watched 3 or 4 episodes of Enterprise. It wasn't horrible, but it either seemed under-budget or under-written, and the only thing it had going for it was that it was in a timeslot where no other shows I liked were also on, so it was convenient to watch while eating dinner. TNG was great, and I became very addicted in reruns, but it was much more captivating.

I watched one episode of Monk about two years ago and thought it was entertaining, but I saw it in a hotel and I didn't have USA at home. Now I have it, and I watched about 5 minutes of one, and it did nothing.

Anonymous said...

aup: I don't know if it's nasty, but it's shallow and simple. The website has all the bells and whistles that the show lacks.

Jon: The opening song was startling cuz it sounded like a muzak-rock song that would be sung in a faded club off the main drag somewhere. In previous series, the music was more majestic and/or orchestral. Enterprise wasn't underwritten but over-crapized.