Monk: Mr. Monk Bumps His Head

I suppose every show at one point or another has to do the obligatory "amnesia" episode. Monk took that cliche on last night as Monk is clocked on the noggin by a truck driver who lures him to a truck stop with false information about the murder of Monk's wife. The driver then tosses Monk onto another truck and Monk finds himself alone in a small town with no memory of who he is or where he came from. What does remain, however, is his keen eye for detail and obsessive compulsion. Confused by his own quirks, Monk decides his penchant for putting things in a certain order must be some kind of "religious thing."

Convienently, at least for the plot of this episode, a woman goes missing in the small town and Monk begins to unravel all the clues, though he has no idea why it is he knows so much about detective work. After only being in town for a few hours he's shanghaied by a lonely and eccentric local named Cora (played by Roseanne's Laurie Metcalf) who convinces Monk (well, sort of) that he's actually her husband, a roofer named Jerry. In the funniest scene of the episode, the two try to consumate their false relationship but Monk begins to remember Trudy, his deceased wife, claiming he thinks he might be having an affair with her. Cora responds with, "Whatever, no relationship is perfect" before trying to kiss Monk again.

Monk has always followed a pretty basic plot formula, which might spell disaster for other shows, but its humor and drive comes from how well Tony Shalhoub's embodies the character of Adrian Monk. It's a perfect example of a "character-driven" show, and it's why, despite the occasional paint-by-numbers plotlines, it's such an enjoyable show to watch.