Monk: Season Four - Region 1 DVD

Tony Shalhoub, a two-time Emmy-winner for his nuanced performances as Monk, was nominated for his third Emmy for this season. One of his finest hours is "Mr. Monk and Mrs. Monk," in which it appears that his beloved late wife, Trudy, is not only still alive, but a suspect in a murder. This season also develops Monk's relationship with his new personal assistant, Natalie (Trayler Howard). In "Mr. Monk Gets Drunk," it's all about trust when Natalie initially doesn't believe Monk's implausible tale of a disappeared wine-country-inn guest Monk claims to have met the night before. Genius is pain, John Lennon once said, and this applies to Monk. His neurotic tendencies alienate him from the mainstream. In "Office," he so wants to be accepted that he writes conversational cue cards, and the solving of the crime doesn't compensate for him being a cubicle laughingstock. But as the series progresses, Monk is getting better, so much so, that Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) informs him that he is being put under contract retainer for "16 homicides a year." With a sly nod to the series' renewal, Stottlemeyer tells him they best take things "one year at a time." --Donald Liebenson