For eight seasons, USA Network's comedy-drama crime procedural series Monk was one of the most unique shows on television. Critically acclaimed and beloved by fans and critics alike, the series starred Tony Shalhoub as former detective Adrian Monk, a man with many fears, phobias, and compulsions who continued to work as a consultant to the police on cases, despite suffering a nervous breakdown years before.
Over the course of the series, many mysteries were unraveled and solved, including the central mystery of the murder of Monk's late wife, Trudy. Along the way, the series produced some truly memorable episodes. Here's how the ten best of them stack up, according to their IMDb ranking.
Mr. Monk And The Three Pies - 8.7
Some of the best episodes of Monk not only feature a compelling investigation, but also introduce key players in Adrian Monk's story. The second season mystery "Mr. Monk and the Three Pies" is one of those very episodes.
The central murder mystery revolving around a pie contest at a small town fair is thoroughly engaging. But the real highlight of the episode is the introduction of Adrian's brother, Ambrose, an agoraphobe who hasn't left his home for over 30 years, as played brilliantly by John Turturro.
Mr. Monk Is On The Run: Part 2 - 8.7
Another common theme found in most of Monk's best episodes is the recurring thread of putting him in situations that are both entirely out of his control, and even more so out of his comfort zone. The sixth season finale, "Mr. Monk Is on the Run: Part 2," perfectly encapsulates that in particularly dramatic fashion.
After being framed for murder, Monk is forced to take drastic measures, faking his own death and going to live on the lam in Nevada. In the end, the plot is revealed to have been orchestrated by Dale "The Whale" Biederbeck, one of the series' earliest and most memorable villains.
Mr. Monk And The Dog - 8.7
Given Monk's many peculiarities, phobias, and paranoias, it's always a welcome and heartwarming surprise when an episode finds him forming a meaningful connection with someone totally unexpected. One of the sweetest examples of this comes in the eighth season episode, "Mr. Monk and the Dog."
A murder victim's dog, an adorable fluffy friend named Shelby, winds up in Monk's custody while they are still working to locate the victim. An adorable odd couple like dynamic develops between Monk and Shelby, culminating in a heartwarming ending when Monk actually takes the big step of petting Shelby without a glove.
Mr. Monk And The Garbage Strike - 8.8
Adrian Monk is a germophobe, so it goes without saying that a city wide garbage strike across all of San Francisco would cause him to go more than a little batty. The hilarious classic "Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike" more than delivers on that premise, with Monk going to such bizarre extremes as mailing boxes of garbage to his therapist, trying to clean the city all on his own, and blaming rock star Alice Cooper for murder.
His hysteria gets so bad that Captain Stottlemeyer is forced to locate a "clean room" for Monk to be able to center himself and think clearly - and cleanly - once again, which leads to him finally being able to solve the episode's central crime.
Mr. Monk Is On The Run: Part 1 - 8.8
The season six finale, "Mr. Monk Is on the Run: Part 2," may provide satisfying closure to some of the series' biggest villains and mysteries. But it's the first half of this two parter, "Mr. Monk Is on the Run: Part 1," that sets up some of the series' biggest shocks of them all.
The reappearance of a mysterious six fingered man, who may have been involved in the murder of Monk's wife Trudy, results in Monk being framed for the man's murder. But it's the episode's shocking conclusion, in which Stottlemeyer is seemingly forced to kill Monk, that makes this episode truly unforgivable.
Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty - 8.9
Being one of the best detectives all around, even if he's no longer explicitly a member of the police force, Adrian Monk is clearly a stickler for the details. It makes him a valuable asset in many situations, but undoubtedly a major annoyance in many others. Just ask the other jurors he served alongside in the fourth season finale "Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty."
The episode's central mystery is pretty simple for Monk, as it finds one of the jurors themselves being the criminal in the end. But the hilarity that ensues by putting Monk in close quarters with a group of people who have no time for him makes this episode stand out as a classic.
Mr. Monk And The Kid - 9.0
If you thought "Mr. Monk and the Dog" was as cute as an unexpected pairing could get in the world of Monk, then clearly you've forgotten about the all time great episode, "Mr. Monk and the Kid." After adorable two year old Tommy finds a severed finger in a park, he becomes a key witness in a mystery, and winds up in Monk's care.
Over the course of the episode, the usually restrained Monk falls in love with the little boy, and comes close to wanting to adopt the little boy as his own. But in the end, he realizes he is not ready for such a responsibility in his current emotional state, and much to his own heartbreak, he is forced to let the little boy go.
Mr. Monk Is Up All Night - 9.0
Mr. Monk isn't always the picture of perfect mental health, given all that he has been through. The series takes advantage of that fact on plenty occasions, but it does so in greatly successful and moving fashion in the sixth season episode "Mr. Monk Is Up All Night." After witnessing what he believes to have been a murder, only to find that no crime was ever committed, Monk is determined to get to the bottom of what happened.
In the end, a crime is actually committed as a result of the con job Monk witnessed, allowing Monk to solve two mysteries at once. But the episode's most meaningful moment comes when Monk connects with a mystery woman he felt he knew, only to learn that she had received his late wife Trudy's eyes in a transplant.
Mr. Monk And The End: Part 1 - 9.2
After eight long seasons, Monk finally came to an end in 2009 with a two part finale that offered long sought answers and heartbreaking and heartwarming moments alike. In the first half of the finale, "Mr. Monk and the End: Part 1," Monk finds himself poisoned with only two or three days left to live.
The cause of the assassination attempt is revealed to connect directly back, at long last, to the person responsible for Trudy's murder: the corrupt Judge Ethan Rickover. When the attempts by the police to secure a cure for Monk's poisoning fail, Monk seems to resign himself to dying, and the episode ends with him watching a message Trudy left for him years ago.
Mr. Monk And The End: Part 2 - 9.4
The second part of the series finale, "Mr. Monk and the End: Part 2," picks up right where part one left off, with Trudy revealing (via videotape) that she'd had an affair in the past with Judge Rickover. The affair had resulted in her pregnancy, and the birth of a child that could have threatened Rickover's career trajectory.
In the end, Rickover confesses to the crime and kills himself, allowing Monk the ability to finally move on. He connects with the daughter Trudy never knew and begins to live a happier life as he deserves, now free of some (but not all) of his quirks and phobias.