Monk (season 4)

Monk season 4
DVD cover of Monk Season Four
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	16
Broadcast
Original channel	USA Network (USA)
Original run	July 8, 2005 – March 17, 2006
Home video release
DVD release date	June 27, 2006 (Region 1)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 3 Next → Season 5

The fourth season of Monk originally aired in the United States on USA Network from July 8, 2005 to March 17, 2006. 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 27, 2006.

Crew

Andy Breckman continued his tenure as show runner. Executive producers for the season included Breckman, David Hoberman, and series star Tony Shalhoub. 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, Hy Conrad, Daniel Dratch, Joe Toplyn, and Tom Scharpling.

During the airing of this season, writer Lee Goldberg published his first Monk mystery novel, Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse.

Cast

Main article: List of Monk characters

See also: List of Monk cast members

All four remaining cast members from the end of the third season returned for the fourth. This included Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, the OCD "defective detective," Traylor Howard as Natalie Teeger, his assistant, Ted Levine as Captain Leland Stottlemeyer of the SFPD Robbery and Homicide Division, and Jason Gray-Stanford as Lieutenant Randy Disher.

The character of Dr. Charles Kroger, Monk's ever-needed psychiatrist, was reprised by Stanley Kamel in five episodes, a number surpassed only by Emmy Clarke as Julie Teeger, Natalie's daughter, who appeared in seven. Melora Hardin continued to play Trudy Monk, Monk's deceased wife, and John Turturro returned as Ambrose Monk, Monk's agoraphobic brother, after a one-season absence. Jarrad Paul portrayed Monk's annoying upstairs neighbor, Kevin Dorfman. Michael Cavanaugh and Holland Taylor made their first appearance as Bob and Peggy Davenport (Natalie's ultra-rich parents), and Glenne Headly (Karen Stottlemeyer) made her exit from the series, after her character divorced the captain. Additional prominent guest stars included David Ackert, Jason Alexander, Ryan Alosio, Rob Benedict, Paul Ben-Victor, Brianna Brown, Jamie Brown, Bob Clendenin, Misha Collins, Michael Dempsey, Jeffrey Donovan, Van Epperson, Jon Favreau, Bonita Friedericy, Carlos Gomez, Jennifer Hall, Rachael Harris, Wings Hauser, Steve Heinze, Dana Ivey, Nicole Randall Johnson, Nicky Katt, Kevin Kilner, Eric Allan Kramer, Clyde Kusatsu, Brooke Langton, Meredith Scott Lynn, Tyler Mane, Benito Martinez, Eddie McClintock, Malcolm McDowell, Laurie Metcalf (in an Emmy award-nominated performance), Charles Napier, Derrick O'Connor, Jim Parrack, Harve Presnell, David Pressman, DJ Qualls, Kimi Reichenberg, Daniel Roebuck, Grant Rosenmeyer, Michael Shalhoub, Fred Stoller, Rossif Sutherland, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Alan Wilder, Ashley Williams, and Ariel Winter.

Episodes

See also: List of Monk episodes

Series #	Season #	Title	Written by	Directed by	Original air date
46	1	"Mr. Monk and the Other Detective"	Hy Conrad	Eric Laneuville	July 8, 2005 (2005-07-08)
When a fellow detective (Jason Alexander) shows up at a crime scene knowing all the answers, has Monk finally met his match, or is the man cheating?
47	2	"Mr. Monk Goes Home Again"	Tom Scharpling	Randall Zisk	July 15, 2005 (2005-07-15)
Monk solves the Halloween murder of an armored car driver while he and Ambrose (John Turturro) wait for their long-lost father to return home.
48	3	"Mr. Monk Stays in Bed"	Hy Conrad	Philip Casnoff	July 22, 2005 (2005-07-22)
Natalie puts herself in jeopardy to pursue the murder of a pizza delivery boy when Monk is sick in bed with the flu, while Stottlemeyer and Disher pursue the disappearance of a judge.
49	4	"Mr. Monk Goes to the Office"	Nell Scovell	Jerry Levine	July 29, 2005 (2005-07-29)
When a parking garage attendant is killed and a financial analyst’s hand is broken in a mysterious attack, Monk must go undercover in the firm to solve the baffling crime, and finds that he might be dealing with an insider trading scam.
50	5	"Mr. Monk Gets Drunk"	Daniel Dratch	Andrei Belgrader	August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05)
Monk's annual honeymoon anniversary getaway in wine country turns into a crime-filled weekend as Monk and Natalie try to uncover the disappearance of a man (Daniel Roebuck) who apparently does not exist. When Monk is approached by a man (Paul Ben-Victor) who claims to be the victim's brother, he must determine what exactly is going on.
51	6	"Mr. Monk and Mrs. Monk"	David Breckman	Randall Zisk	August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12)
Monk must get to the truth when it appears that his late wife Trudy (Melora Hardin) is still alive–and a killer.
52	7	"Mr. Monk Goes to a Wedding"	Liz Sagal	Anthony R. Palmieri	August 19, 2005 (2005-08-19)
Monk must prevent a killer from spoiling the party at the wedding of Natalie's brother (Rob Benedict), while Natalie tries to reconcile with her parents (Michael Cavanaugh and Holland Taylor).
53	8	"Mr. Monk and Little Monk"	Joe Toplyn	Robert Singer	August 26, 2005 (2005-08-26)
When Monk's childhood crush comes to him with a mysterious murder, Monk tries to win her heart by solving the case. In flashbacks, young Monk (Grant Rosenmeyer) helps the girl with a problem.
54	9	"Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa"	David Breckman	Jerry Levine	December 2, 2005 (2005-12-02)
When a detective dies at the police department Christmas party after drinking from a poisoned bottle of port intended for Captain Stottlemeyer, can Monk find the killer?
55	10	"Mr. Monk Goes to a Fashion Show"	Jonathan Collier	Randall Zisk	January 13, 2006 (2006-01-13)
Monk enters the world of high fashion when he believes that an immigrant accused of murdering a model is innocent. Was the culprit a fashion designer (Malcolm McDowell)? a fellow model (Mini Andén)? or was it really the young boy?
56	11	"Mr. Monk Bumps His Head"	Andy Breckman	Stephen Surjik	January 20, 2006 (2006-01-20)
When Monk wakes up in a Wyoming town with amnesia and is taken in by a woman (Laurie Metcalf) who claims to be his wife, can he solve a local murder mystery and find his way home?
57	12	"Mr. Monk and the Captain's Marriage"	Jack Bernstein	Philip Casnoff	January 27, 2006 (2006-01-27)
Monk tries to solve the junkyard murder of a small-time drug dealer while helping Captain Stottlemeyer deal with issues relating to Karen (Glenne Headly).
58	13	"Mr. Monk and the Big Reward"	Tom Scharpling and Daniel Dratch	Randall Zisk	February 3, 2006 (2006-02-03)
Monk races three other detective bounty hunters (DJ Qualls, Derrick O'Connor, and Tyler Mane) to find a stolen diamond and claim a million dollar reward.
59	14	"Mr. Monk and the Astronaut"	David Breckman and Joe Toplyn	Randall Zisk	March 3, 2006 (2006-03-03)
Monk suspects a famous astronaut (Jeffrey Donovan) of murdering his girlfriend despite his airtight alibi: the astronaut was in outer space at the time of the murder.
60	15	"Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist"	David Breckman and Tom Scharpling	Jefery Levy	March 10, 2006 (2006-03-10)
When no one believes Lieutenant Disher's claim that his dentist (Jon Favreau) and his assistant (Brooke Langton) murdered a man in the office during his operation, he leaves the force.
61	16	"Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty"	Peter Wolk	Andrei Belgrader	March 17, 2006 (2006-03-17)
Monk sits on the jury of a minor robbery trial and gets drawn into a larger mystery.

Awards and nominations

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

Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, won)
• Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series (Laurie Metcalf for playing "Cora" in "Mr. Monk Bumps His Head", nominated)