The Last Monk

For those of you who weren't aware, USA aired its last episode of Monk last Friday night. I won't tell you what happened (yet) but I do want to talk a little bit about TV and shows in general.

First important fact: I don't watch TV. Growing up, I can remember watching the first couple seasons of Survivor, the Super Bowl, and the Olympics. I guess I spent more time doing other things and never just sat down to watch TV.

Second Important Fact: I tend to have a very pessimistic view of TV in general. I know people that spend lots of time watching TV, and I just think that all of that time could have been much better spent doing anything else that would have been remotely productive. On top of that, I believe so much of what is on television today is total garbage and not even worth watching. I just think the value of TV has rotted away to almost nothing.

This trend has continued today. The only thing I watch with any degree of regularity is Monday Night Football (and that's only like every other week). Then I started dating my GF about two years ago. They were crazy about this show called Monk, and I ended up enjoying it a lot too.

Monk is clever. He is charming. He is simple yet brilliant, kind and honest. I will not go over his entire story, just the show in general. I enjoy solving the mysteries before Monk does (I'm pretty good at it too). The trick to Monk is that everything that happens in the first 10 minutes is super important.

MAJOR MAJOR SPOILER!! DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF YOU DON'T WANT THE END OF THE STORY RUINED! I AM VERY VERY SERIOUS!

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I guessed the end right. I told my GF before the last episode that Trudy was killed because of an affair with the judge, that there was a child, and that the poison was in Monk's wipes (or maybe mouthwash).

Despite having a great idea of how the series would end, the finale exceeded all of my expectations. Monk found his stepdaughter and he is now able to find a little bit of Trudy in his life. His OCD has relaxed and has allowed him to live a semi-normal life, without sacrificing his gift for solving crimes. Randy Disher, my favorite character, was promoted and got together with Sharona (definitely didn't expect that).


END OF THE SPOILER!

Monk was truly a great television series. It was simultaneously witty, inspiring, serious, and clever. It stayed clean and family friendly. It had an original plot line and good acting.

Thanks, Mr. Monk, for showing me that there were some good things on television. Thanks for making me life and cry and enjoy every minute of your show. Thanks for keeping me guessing, then telling me what happened.

Picture comes from infobarrel.com