The Best Episodes of Monk
Last Updated: Jan 29, 2019
An ex-cop suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder solves crimes with various (and usually exasperated) sidekicks. The 'defective detective' may have an abundance of phobias (heights, crowds, and even milk), but also razor-sharp deductive skills, which he uses to help the San Francisco police with especially baffling cases.
#1 - Mr. Monk and the End (2)
Season 8 - Episode 16
After listening to Trudy's last message, Monk finally discovers who killed his wife. Racing against time before he dies of poison, he must make a fateful decision.
8.82
#2 - Mr. Monk Is on the Run (2)
Season 6 - Episode 16
Stottlemeyer must keep up the pretense that Monk is dead, while Adrian tries to determine who framed him for murder.
8.24
#3 - Mr. Monk and the End (1)
Season 8 - Episode 15
Monk is called to a murder at the location where he first heard of his wife's murder, and while Monk figures out who the assassin is, he doesn't know that the one who ordered the hit is also responsible for the death of Trudy. Knowing that Monk will eventually put all the pieces together, he orders Monk's death, and when all hope seems lost, Monk discovers something which could finally end his 12-year nightmare.
8.22
#4 - Mr. Monk and the Airplane
Season 1 - Episode 13
Monk braves the unfriendly skies–and finds murder in the air. No one believes him except for Randy, who provides aid back in San Francisco. While in the air, Monk must deal with his fear of flight, a flight attendant (Brooke Adams), a zealous extension cord salesman (Garry Marshall), and Tim Daly.
8.12
#5 - Mr. Monk's 100th Case
Season 7 - Episode 7
As Monk and his friends watch a TV news magazine piece on the solution of his hundredth case, he realizes that one of the victims was murdered by a different killer.
8.09
#6 - Mr. Monk and the Three Pies
Season 2 - Episode 11
During the investigation into a carjacking over a cherry pie, Adrian is called by his estranged agoraphobic brother Ambrose (John Turturro), who is convinced that his next-door neighbor murdered his wife. Adrian must rebuild his relationship with Ambrose while investigating the neighbor at the same time.
8.08
#7 - Mr. Monk and the Badge
Season 8 - Episode 14
Upon being reinstated, Monk is put in charge of tracking down a serial killer.
8.08
#8 - Mr. Monk Is on the Run (1)
Season 6 - Episode 15
Monk is arrested for murder, and finds that he has to go on the lam to clear himself.
8.06
#9 - Mr. Monk Meets the Candidate (2)
Season 1 - Episode 2
Adrian Monk, a former San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) detective, comes out of forced retirement to investigate the murder of a politician's bodyguard and learns that there is more at play than meets the eye, especially after discovering secrets involving the candidate's wife (Gail O'Grady) and campaign manager (Ben Bass).
8.03
#10 - Mr. Monk Buys a House
Season 7 - Episode 1
Monk finds himself forced to move into what he hopes will be his dream house... which is anything but.
8.02
#11 - Mr. Monk and the Kid
Season 3 - Episode 16
After twenty-two-month-old Tommy Graser finds a severed finger and gives it to a policeman, Monk walks through the park with Tommy trying to retrace the child's steps. He finds no body or other incriminating evidence, but he does discover a surprising affection for the placid and intelligent toddler, who constantly repeats Monk's name and quietly submits to having his hands wiped when he touches "nature". A lab technician identifies the finger as that of a twenty-five-year-old man, and Monk deduces from a callus that the young man played the violin. After visiting the home of Daniel Carlyle, a musician who fits this description, Monk concludes that Daniel's mother and her other son, Jason, killed Daniel and that Jason is masquerading as his brother. Meanwhile, little Tommy is temporarily removed from the custody of his foster parents, and Monk surprises everyone, including himself, by volunteering to care for him for two weeks until his new adoptive parents can take him. With Tommy in...
8.00
#12 - Mr. Monk Meets the Candidate (1)
Season 1 - Episode 1
Adrian Monk, a former San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) detective, comes out of forced retirement to investigate the murder of a politician's bodyguard and learns that there is more at play than meets the eye, especially after discovering secrets involving the candidate's wife (Gail O'Grady) and campaign manager (Ben Bass).
7.99
#13 - Happy Birthday, Mr. Monk
Season 8 - Episode 9
Natalie tries to throw a surprise party for her surprise-hating boss, who is busy trying to solve the murder of a maintenance man.
7.99
#14 - Mr. Monk Is the Best Man
Season 8 - Episode 13
Monk must determine who is trying to ruin a friend's wedding.
7.96
#15 - Mr. Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger
Season 1 - Episode 12
Country superstar Willie Nelson is arrested for murder, but Monk thinks he is innocent.
7.96
#16 - Mr. Monk Is Underwater
Season 7 - Episode 5
A friend of Natalie's ex-husband seemingly commits suicide aboard a locked cabin on a submarine. Monk agrees to investigate, despite his phobia about being on--and beneath--the water.
7.96
#17 - Mr. Monk Goes to the Bank
Season 6 - Episode 12
One of Monk's treasured possessions is stolen from a safety deposit box, and he'll go to any length to solve the case.
7.94
#18 - Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico
Season 2 - Episode 2
When a skydiver on vacation in San Macros, Mexico jumps out of an airplane, his chute malfunctions and he dies on impact in the desert. But the coroner finds water in the skydiver's lungs, saying that the boy drowned in midair. Monk is brought to Mexico, where the phrase "don't drink the water" takes on a whole new meaning.
7.93
#19 - Mr. Monk and the Earthquake
Season 1 - Episode 11
When a San Francisco philanthropist dies mysteriously in a minor earthquake, Monk suspects foul play, and Sharona's life is soon in danger.
7.92
#20 - Mr. Monk Is Up All Night
Season 6 - Episode 9
Mr. Monk takes a walk when he can't sleep, but ends up running into a murder.
7.91
#21 - Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect
Season 2 - Episode 7
Monk suspects a guy of murdering his sister with a mail bomb. The only problem: his primary suspect is in a coma. Meanwhile, Sharona is visited by her ex-husband Trevor (Frank John Hughes).
7.91
#22 - Mr. Monk and the Astronaut
Season 4 - Episode 14
When Captain Stottlemeyer suspects that a suicide is really a murder, Monk confirms his suspicions by discovering that the victim, Joanne Raphelson, was too short to have used the stool she supposedly stood on to hang herself. But the next clue, the remains of an olive, a cherry, and a cocktail onion on a stirring stick, leads Monk to suspect that the murder was committed by an astronaut, Steve Wagner. A little research reveals a motive – Joanne was about to publish a book revealing that Wagner had abused her five years earlier. Now all Monk has to do is to prove that Wagner could commit the murder when he was in outer space.
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#23 - Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger
Season 1 - Episode 7
A billionaire computer mogul is shot dead while mugging a couple outside a movie theater, and a uniformed officer later is seen fleeing the scene. While the press hound the police about the identity of "Fraidy Cop", Monk investigates what at first appears to be a midlife crisis gone horribly wrong–until he finds out that the two cases are connected.
7.90
#24 - Mr. Monk Is at Your Service
Season 5 - Episode 12
When Natalie suspects foul play in the deaths of her parents' wealthy neighbors, Monk goes undercover as a butler to investigate.
7.90
#25 - Mr. Monk Fights City Hall
Season 7 - Episode 16
Monk becomes involved in the disappearance of a city official that could have ramifications concerning Trudy's murder.
7.89