(S07E14) "Rodderick Brody changed my life, maybe as much as Trudy." -- Monk

If I didn't know better, I would have taken this episode of Monk as the drinking game edition because if you took a drink every time someone mentioned the word "swirlie," you were seriously hammered halfway through the show. If that was what you were up to, good for you because you probably didn't care that the last act of the show was a ridiculous plot switch that spoiled an otherwise very good episode. More on the ill-advised plot development after the jump.

By and large, though, there was a lot of good stuff here. The flashback to little Adrian in seventh grade was superb, right down to his tweed jacket and beige shirt and black slacks. A lot of Monk's psychological damage occurred in that junior high school bathroom thanks to the bully in question, Rodderick Brody.

A strange thing happened between the 1968 and 1969 Saturday morning schedules -- the superheroes disappeared. After three straight seasons of Space Ghosts, Birdmans, Super Presidents, and Herculoids only The New Adventures of Superman remained. And, that show was pushed back into the 1:00 PM slot, practically eliminating it from the viewing times of children who, after four straight hours of cartoons, needed generous doses of sunlight.

To fill all of the vacant spaces left by the departed heroes and villains, the networks added twelve new series to their respective schedules. Most had one thing in common: comedy, an ingredient that had been absent from the schedule for a number of years. Needless to say, it returned with full force during this season. Another comeback was made by live-action programs that featured a mix of humans and not-so-human characters. In addition, one show premiered that was based on a popular series of toys, while two more premiered that featured the newest trend of animated musical groups brought on by last season's premiere of The Archie Show. Amist all of that came a program featuring a talking, mystery-solving dog and his slightly toasted friend.

So, if you have your Hot Wheels parked around your feet, let's go back to 1969.