OK, I have to admit that I was a little uneasy watching David Carradine's performance last night. Maybe it's the fact that he died just last week, but watching him in a wheelchair, unable to move and just staring into space, that was a little strange.

I also have to say I'm not a fan of this show's hero. What's up with that evil smile at inappropriate moments and his overall weird demeanor? Is he always like that?

(S07E11) "Come back here. I command you." -- Monk to Natalie

Exactly what is the relationship between Adrian Monk and Natalie Teeger? Boss/employee? Colleagues? Friends? Family? For a nice change of pace, this episode was less about whodunit and why and more, about how Monk and Natalie make whatever it is between them work. It was also a strange show in terms of physical humor, sort of in the A Fish Called Wanda tradition, where pain equals laughs. For me, a little of that goes a long way.

However, the more important business was Monk and Natalie. She really proved her loyalty, integrity and grit. In an odd way, I think we saw qualities in her that Sharona wouldn't have displayed. I think she would have smacked Monk during this adventure, but more on that and the trip to the hospital and a very good guest turn by Bradley Whitford after the jump.

Reality is not reality like in TV reality series. Reality, in fact, is usually too true and very often sad. With that in mind, David Edwards, the young man who was the inspiration for the character Jason Street on NBC's Friday Night Lights, has died. Just 20 years old, David was injured by playing high school football for San Antonio Madison in November 2003. He was a defensive back, and while going after a pass, he collided with an Austin Westlake receiver. Edwards' neck was broken and the injury resulted in his becoming paralyzed.

For some reason, ideas in Hollywood come in pairs. Two asteroid movies. Two volcano movies. Two "backstage at SNL" shows. Here's another interesting two-fer I spotted when reading the latest casting reports. Both Fox and NBC have comedies in the works that will feature wheelchair-bound leads. Playing Chicken, Fox's pilot, will star Broadway baby Norbert Leo Butz as a "loudmouthed conservative" who is forced to move in with his lefty brother after an accident leaves him disabled. NBC's comedy I'm With Stupid focuses on two guys living in an assisted living facility. Christopher Thornton (pictured), who co-stars with Kevin Daniels in I'm With Stupid, was paralyzed from the waist down after a rock-climbing accident in 1992.