Monk finale

If I were in Tony Shalhoub's shoes right now and I was facing the end of a long-running show that helped make me a star, I would spend just about everyday sitting in a corner in the fetal position, rocking back and forth and mumbling to myself.

But that's not Tony. The Monk star had a nice, candid chat with the folks from Sling about Monk's past impact on television and the future of his career, which includes a few films and some interesting choices for producing. As for another Monk reunion, well, Tony says "never say never."

A few more questions about the Monk finale before it disappears into TV immortality. Just some niggling thoughts that weren't really addressed in the two-part wrap up.

1. Why did Joey Kazarinski choose to kill Monk with poison?
Joey was a killer for hire. He used a bomb to kill Trudy, but shot Dr. Nash. They never said how Wendy Stroud was killed, just that she was buried under the sundial at the judge's house. So, when the judge offered Joey another payday -- killing Monk -- why didn't Joey choose a direct approach and shoot Adrian? Or he could have blown up Monk's apartment. There were any number of ways to kill him, but poisoning the wipes was perhaps the most complicated. And a ricin derivative? How did he manage to acquire that? If it had been arsenic or something, that could have been bought at a hardware store. They never really explained the poison or the reason for that method of murder.

(S08E15) If you were thinking that the penultimate episode of Monk, the next to last show, would be a gag fest filled with sight gags and spit takes, you were wrong. I can't remember a more serious Monk episode in eight seasons. Also, for those of you who have wondered about Monk's mourning of Trudy, here was a show that would address the issue head on. For that and other matters of life or death, read on and remember, this is only part one of the two part finale so spoilers will be shared... after the jump.