tppbfan@aol.com
01-12-2005, 08:24 AM
LONG LEAD: "Monk" (Jan. 21 on USA). As Monkophiles have no doubt
heard, TV's most germ-free detective has a new girl Friday helping
him solve cases. The producers used their falling-out with former
co-star Bitty Schram to shake up the show's sexual chemistry,
although I'm not sure anyone actually tunes in to an old-fashioned
detective series for the sexual chemistry. Traylor Howard, who was the
non-male in the sitcom "Two Guys and a Girl," plays Natalie, a
widow with child who crosses paths with Adrian Monk when she hires him
to figure out why men keep breaking into her home. Natalie doesn't
wear the off-putting Jersey-girl wear that was favored by Sharona,
Monk's previous assistant, and she's not really looking for a job
helping solve crimes. Yet despite her exasperation at Monk's
shelf-straightening nuttiness, she not only forgives him but seems to
admire him ... and as she agrees to the job, there's clearly a hint
of more to come. I found myself preferring Natalie to Sharona, but I
wondered if I was reading too much into her relationship with Monk.
"Without a Trace" has shown that you can mix a whodunit with
who's-doing-who. Will "Monk" follow in its footsteps (using an
antibacterial spray on the footsteps first, of course)?
Monk fans may be bitter, but Bitty Schram's Sharona has returned to New
Jersey and she ain't coming back. If y'all are ready to move on, read
on for some scoop on what's coming up when Tony Shalhoub's
germaphobic-sleuthing saga returns January 21...
As previously reported, Traylor Howard (Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza
Place) joins Monk's world as Natalie, the widowed single mom who's
replacing Sharona as his new assistant. "Initially, there's a real
difficulty for Monk wrapping his brain around bringing a new person
into his world," Shalhoub says, "but he knows that he really needs it."
What difficulties does the sidekick swap entail exactly? "Monk has
certain obvious gaps in his brilliance, and he sometimes loses sight of
the fact that [Natalie] isn't familiar with everything she needs to
know about him," he says. "So he has certain expectations of what she
needs to do for him. It's interesting because she's strange and
familiar at the same time. Familiar because of what her job is and
strange because he doesn't know who she is."
Neither will most Monk fans. "Of course there is some concern,"
Shalhoub admits. "It's going to be an adjustment, especially for people
who were on board right from the pilot episode. A certain Monk world
was created... but now that we have two-and-a-half seasons under our
belt, it's really healthy for the show to change it up a bit, to give
the audience a new relationship to explore. So I'm hopeful people will
just adjust and we'll move on."
Among the upcoming highlights: Monk "temporarily adopts" a toddler in
one episode. In another, Shalhoub previews, "Monk goes to Las Vegas and
we discover there that Natalie had a history with a gambling problem
there and a lot of back story gets revealed."
Might we spy some romance betwixt Monk and Nat? After all, she's
pretty, he's needy, they're both widowed.... "I would not rule it out,
but it's not something we want to rush into," Shalhoub chuckles. "I
sound like a typical American male - I can't commit! But I think the
door is certainly open for that."
But cable continues to view midseason as a time to launch shows and
start new cycles of some of its most popular series - like Monk,
starring Emmy Award winner Tony Shalhoub as the defective detective.
Monk returns Jan. 21 with Traylor Howard replacing Bitty Schram as
Monk's assistant. (She's no Sharona, but she's a good enough fit that
by the end of the first episode, the world order of this delightful
series is re-established.)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.season03jan03,1,1669483.story?coll=bal-features-headlines&ctrack=1&cset=true
"Monk" (10 p.m. Jan. 21, USA): Sharona, the companion/nurse who kept
Adrian Monk semi-sane, is gone for the second half of the third season.
(Actress Bitty Schram left in a contract dispute with producers.) Hang
in there Monk fans -- the neurotic detective's new sidekick has
possibilities. She is a single mom and cocktail waitress (Traylor
Howard) who gives Monk some tough love help -- very different than
Sharona's exasperation.
http://www.cincypost.com/2005/01/04/tv010405.html
heard, TV's most germ-free detective has a new girl Friday helping
him solve cases. The producers used their falling-out with former
co-star Bitty Schram to shake up the show's sexual chemistry,
although I'm not sure anyone actually tunes in to an old-fashioned
detective series for the sexual chemistry. Traylor Howard, who was the
non-male in the sitcom "Two Guys and a Girl," plays Natalie, a
widow with child who crosses paths with Adrian Monk when she hires him
to figure out why men keep breaking into her home. Natalie doesn't
wear the off-putting Jersey-girl wear that was favored by Sharona,
Monk's previous assistant, and she's not really looking for a job
helping solve crimes. Yet despite her exasperation at Monk's
shelf-straightening nuttiness, she not only forgives him but seems to
admire him ... and as she agrees to the job, there's clearly a hint
of more to come. I found myself preferring Natalie to Sharona, but I
wondered if I was reading too much into her relationship with Monk.
"Without a Trace" has shown that you can mix a whodunit with
who's-doing-who. Will "Monk" follow in its footsteps (using an
antibacterial spray on the footsteps first, of course)?
Monk fans may be bitter, but Bitty Schram's Sharona has returned to New
Jersey and she ain't coming back. If y'all are ready to move on, read
on for some scoop on what's coming up when Tony Shalhoub's
germaphobic-sleuthing saga returns January 21...
As previously reported, Traylor Howard (Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza
Place) joins Monk's world as Natalie, the widowed single mom who's
replacing Sharona as his new assistant. "Initially, there's a real
difficulty for Monk wrapping his brain around bringing a new person
into his world," Shalhoub says, "but he knows that he really needs it."
What difficulties does the sidekick swap entail exactly? "Monk has
certain obvious gaps in his brilliance, and he sometimes loses sight of
the fact that [Natalie] isn't familiar with everything she needs to
know about him," he says. "So he has certain expectations of what she
needs to do for him. It's interesting because she's strange and
familiar at the same time. Familiar because of what her job is and
strange because he doesn't know who she is."
Neither will most Monk fans. "Of course there is some concern,"
Shalhoub admits. "It's going to be an adjustment, especially for people
who were on board right from the pilot episode. A certain Monk world
was created... but now that we have two-and-a-half seasons under our
belt, it's really healthy for the show to change it up a bit, to give
the audience a new relationship to explore. So I'm hopeful people will
just adjust and we'll move on."
Among the upcoming highlights: Monk "temporarily adopts" a toddler in
one episode. In another, Shalhoub previews, "Monk goes to Las Vegas and
we discover there that Natalie had a history with a gambling problem
there and a lot of back story gets revealed."
Might we spy some romance betwixt Monk and Nat? After all, she's
pretty, he's needy, they're both widowed.... "I would not rule it out,
but it's not something we want to rush into," Shalhoub chuckles. "I
sound like a typical American male - I can't commit! But I think the
door is certainly open for that."
But cable continues to view midseason as a time to launch shows and
start new cycles of some of its most popular series - like Monk,
starring Emmy Award winner Tony Shalhoub as the defective detective.
Monk returns Jan. 21 with Traylor Howard replacing Bitty Schram as
Monk's assistant. (She's no Sharona, but she's a good enough fit that
by the end of the first episode, the world order of this delightful
series is re-established.)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.season03jan03,1,1669483.story?coll=bal-features-headlines&ctrack=1&cset=true
"Monk" (10 p.m. Jan. 21, USA): Sharona, the companion/nurse who kept
Adrian Monk semi-sane, is gone for the second half of the third season.
(Actress Bitty Schram left in a contract dispute with producers.) Hang
in there Monk fans -- the neurotic detective's new sidekick has
possibilities. She is a single mom and cocktail waitress (Traylor
Howard) who gives Monk some tough love help -- very different than
Sharona's exasperation.
http://www.cincypost.com/2005/01/04/tv010405.html