Monk: Happy Birthday, Mr. Monk

By Jill DuVall on October 19th, 2009

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On this week’s episode of Monk, Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) celebrates his 50th birthday, thanks to his persistent assistant, Natalie (Traylor Howard), who won’t take “no” for an answer. Guest star Virginia Madsen joins the cast as reporter T.K. Jensen, the new love interest of Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine), as well as John Carroll Lynch as Kurt Pressman, later identified as a cold-blooded killer.

Building manager Paul Wellman (Gregory Thompson) discovers the dead body of maintenance worker Bradley Foster, trapped inside of a huge trash compactor. Patent attorney Richard Meckler, who works the night shift with Foster, seems the likely culprit since he was supposedly the only other person inside of the building when Foster was murdered. The story takes an unexpected turn when Meckler falls dead with a heart attack at the unveiling of his client, Kurt Pressman’s, new self cleaning vacuum. The focus then turns to Pressman, and after some unconventional investigating by Monk, it’s discovered that Pressman killed Meckler by poisoning him.

Monk’s assistant, Natalie, and his coworkers attempt to set Monk up with a surprise birthday party. Monk becomes suspicious and figures out what Natalie is up to. He refuses to attend the party and tells Natalie that he doesn’t want to celebrate his birthday. Natalie assures Monk that she will find a way to give him a party whether he likes it or not. Natalie is soon caught a second time trying to surprise Monk. He finally reveals to Natalie that on his 10th birthday, his mother gave him a surprise party, and his idol, Cowboy Hank, was the guest of honor. When Cowboy Hank left, so did the rest of the guests, leaving Monk to celebrate his birthday alone. More determined than ever, Natalie schemes to give Monk the best birthday party he has ever had.

Natalie and Monk soon discover that they are being followed by someone in a black SUV. Stottlemeyer calls to inform Monk that there is a $20,000 contract out on his life. Bullets start flying as the pair try to outrun the SUV. Natalie pulls the car over and the pair run and jump into a close by dumpster. The driver of the SUV finds Natalie and Monk inside of the dumpster and lures them into a building. Upon entering the building, Stottlemeyer, and a room full of others, shout “Surprise!” After several failed attempts, Natalie finally got him. Monk didn’t suspect a thing, and for an added surprise, Cowboy Hank is among the guests at the party. In the end, Monk admits that it was the best party he ever had.

I enjoyed this episode of Monk very much. Unlike many of the previous episodes, it seemed a lot more action-packed with some extra unexpected twists. I am curious if Captain Stottlemeyer will continue to pursue a relationship with reporter T.K. Jensen, and if so, how will that play into the final episodes of the show? With only seven episodes remaining, it will be interesting to see what the writers have prepared for the show’s finale.