Best Episode of "Monk" ever. Very well written, complicated plot line. The story is set in San Francisco in the wee hours and the action takes place in a funky bar, a train station, an alley way, a cab stand, a closed and gated little coin shop,the utility room of a very ordinary little restaurant, in a newspaper delivery truck, and along the dark streets of a city closed up for the night. More plot-driven than the typical "Monk," with less emphasis on the main characters quirks though the quirks exist in relationship to the action. There is a definite film noir feel to it and has the archly drawn characters that the genre is famous for.
11 Reviews
Best Episode Ever Trudy's Eyes Made Me Cry
sadiegalway3 December 2020
Following a chance meeting with a woman whom he's certain he has met before, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is unable to sleep. After several slumberless hours, Monk decides to go for a nocturnal walk...only to see the same woman again. Shortly thereafter, Monk witnesses a murder during a botched drug deal, but when he is unable to prove that anything actually went down, it is assumed that he is imagining things because of sleep deprivation. Things get curiouser and curiouser when the so-called murder victim turns up alive. Thus, Monk finds himself in mental overload as he not only tries to solve a murder that may have not been a murder, but also figure out the identity (and significance) of that ubiquitous "mystery woman".
One of the best Monk episodes - Monk at night
safenoe15 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This episode has one of the highest imdb reviews for any Monk episode - 9 as at May 15, 2020. Definitely this episode deserves a 10, as it captures the mood of the night with Monk caught up in an elaborate scam that had me guessing until the end. The ending was incredibly moving for sure, with reference to the beloved Trudy Monk. One touch of humor was Disher's Captain America pyjamas!
Thank you
WinZIP64bit18 January 2021
Thank you to you all who participated in this masterpiece either by writing, acting, directing, including you guys who set up cables for the lights, or those who prepared snacks for the team to eat, or those who checked the air pressures of the tires of the vehicles that were used in the shots and it doesn't mind if you hadn't checked the air pressures at all. To everyone whoever took part, big or small. Great teamwork. Great output. You made me cry. Thank you all. Thank you.
Nocturnal Monk
TheLittleSongbird7 September 2017
'Monk' has always been one of my most watched shows when needing comfort, to relax after a hard day, a good laugh or a way to spend a lazy weekend.
Found "Mr Monk is Up All Night" an exceptional episode. One of the best episodes of Season 6, of the latter seasons and of the show, also the best one in a while. It is a very different 'Monk' episode, being more plot and mystery driven than most 'Monk' episodes lately and focusing less (while still not being devoid of them) on the character moments, the humour and the quirks. It was like it was returning to its original roots while also doing something different. The good news is that the mystery is one of the show's best in a long time, with a film noir feel and instead of being really obvious and taking a back-seat to the character moments, the mystery of the woman and the crime are real brain-teasers with an ending that is wonderfully unexpected.
The characterisation is still great. They did a fine job making us wonder whether Monk's lack of sleep/insomnia was making him see things or whether he was indeed telling the truth and that the criminals were being incredibly clever (the latter is what we expect throughout but are not sure). The four regulars are true to how they were originally written, even Disher is not the stupid, childish idiot he tended to be lately. One may need to suspend disbelief at how Monk keeps missing the mystery woman and Stottlemeyer getting drunk (very out of character), but these things do not bring the episode down in any way.
One of the best things about 'Monk' has always been the acting of Tony Shalhoub in the title role. It was essential for him to work and be the glue of the show, and Shalhoub not only is that but also at his very best he IS the show. Have always loved the balance of the humour, which is often hilarious, and pathos, which is sincere and touching.
Jason Gray-Stanford, Ted Levine and Traylor Howard are on typically good form, particularly Levine whose Stottlemeyer plays a large role in the mystery being solved.
Writing is tight and thought-provoking with some knowing humour and poignancy. Monk's situation is done in a sympathetic albeit suspenseful way, and doesn't feel overdone or trivialised.
The music is both understated and quirky. While there is a preference for the theme music for Season 1, Randy Newman's "It's a Jungle Out There" has grown on me overtime, found it annoying at first but appreciate its meaning and what it's trying to say much more now. The episode as always look slick and unusually (a good thing) film-noir in style (almost as much as "Mr Monk and the Leper").
In summation, exceptional and one of the best in a while. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Found "Mr Monk is Up All Night" an exceptional episode. One of the best episodes of Season 6, of the latter seasons and of the show, also the best one in a while. It is a very different 'Monk' episode, being more plot and mystery driven than most 'Monk' episodes lately and focusing less (while still not being devoid of them) on the character moments, the humour and the quirks. It was like it was returning to its original roots while also doing something different. The good news is that the mystery is one of the show's best in a long time, with a film noir feel and instead of being really obvious and taking a back-seat to the character moments, the mystery of the woman and the crime are real brain-teasers with an ending that is wonderfully unexpected.
The characterisation is still great. They did a fine job making us wonder whether Monk's lack of sleep/insomnia was making him see things or whether he was indeed telling the truth and that the criminals were being incredibly clever (the latter is what we expect throughout but are not sure). The four regulars are true to how they were originally written, even Disher is not the stupid, childish idiot he tended to be lately. One may need to suspend disbelief at how Monk keeps missing the mystery woman and Stottlemeyer getting drunk (very out of character), but these things do not bring the episode down in any way.
One of the best things about 'Monk' has always been the acting of Tony Shalhoub in the title role. It was essential for him to work and be the glue of the show, and Shalhoub not only is that but also at his very best he IS the show. Have always loved the balance of the humour, which is often hilarious, and pathos, which is sincere and touching.
Jason Gray-Stanford, Ted Levine and Traylor Howard are on typically good form, particularly Levine whose Stottlemeyer plays a large role in the mystery being solved.
Writing is tight and thought-provoking with some knowing humour and poignancy. Monk's situation is done in a sympathetic albeit suspenseful way, and doesn't feel overdone or trivialised.
The music is both understated and quirky. While there is a preference for the theme music for Season 1, Randy Newman's "It's a Jungle Out There" has grown on me overtime, found it annoying at first but appreciate its meaning and what it's trying to say much more now. The episode as always look slick and unusually (a good thing) film-noir in style (almost as much as "Mr Monk and the Leper").
In summation, exceptional and one of the best in a while. 10/10 Bethany Cox
The Best
Hitchcoc10 April 2020
When Monk witnesses a shooting, he does everything he can to bring the bad guys to justice, but the evidence isn't there. This all takes place as Monk takes a walk, suffering from insomnia. There are so many factors and there are so many wonderful twists and turns, I have decided it is the bet episode I have personally seen. It also has a touching conclusion. There is a great subplot with Randy wearing Captain America pajamas. Stottlemeyer has some great lines.
A touching and sentimental episode in fond remembrance...
Somesweetkid26 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I found this episode especially meaningful but only after the resolution at the end which explained why Monk was inexplicably affected by the woman he bumped into at the episode's opening. Not only did I watch it late Christmas evening (which is already an especially sentimental time of year for me) but my younger brother had passed away just nine days prior. Both my mother and father are also deceased, as well as my only other sibling, so suffering the loss of my sole remaining brother so recently was almost too much to bear.
The entire episode held me in suspense until Monk saw the date tattooed on Maria's arm marking the day Trudy was killed. Prior to this, I didn't know whether the woman Monk was seeking was going to be killed or whether she was going to be involved in or cause a crime to be committed.
In addition, the two bar sequences with the con man, first with Monk and then with the Captain and Disher, along with the fake crime Monk witnessed, left me feeling uneasy until the end. I kept assuming that the woman was somehow connected.
However, the touching ending made up for my unease and brought on the tears. I could feel Monk's sense of loss, yet love and sentimentality, looking into Maria's eyes, knowing that her corneas were Trudy's. A special episode indeed. Miss ya, "little brutha." I'm gonna watch "Raising Arizona" in fond remembrance of the laughs we shared and the lines you could quote in their entirety, especially "if round is funny." I wonder if there is driving in Heaven. RIP and God bless you.
The entire episode held me in suspense until Monk saw the date tattooed on Maria's arm marking the day Trudy was killed. Prior to this, I didn't know whether the woman Monk was seeking was going to be killed or whether she was going to be involved in or cause a crime to be committed.
In addition, the two bar sequences with the con man, first with Monk and then with the Captain and Disher, along with the fake crime Monk witnessed, left me feeling uneasy until the end. I kept assuming that the woman was somehow connected.
However, the touching ending made up for my unease and brought on the tears. I could feel Monk's sense of loss, yet love and sentimentality, looking into Maria's eyes, knowing that her corneas were Trudy's. A special episode indeed. Miss ya, "little brutha." I'm gonna watch "Raising Arizona" in fond remembrance of the laughs we shared and the lines you could quote in their entirety, especially "if round is funny." I wonder if there is driving in Heaven. RIP and God bless you.
Brilliant Episode
leboutaine30 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Really good, witty, light-hearted episode.
Classic Monk at its best.
And to the reviewer who said Trudy's corneas wouldn't be viable for donation because of the explosion... Pretty sure at this point we've already been told she was alive after the explosion and spoke to a paramedic for a while before dying.
Doesn't specify about her face, but good chance her eyes weren't ruined.
mr moron gets it correct
sandcrab27718 September 2020
Captain stottlemeyer beliitles monk this whole episode yet he claims to be his best friend ... i'd hate to be his enemy ... life in the city after the lights go out is too scary for words ... this episode more than others elucidates why monk doesn't need disher, stottlemeyer or teeger to solve crimes ... there is no such thing as a police emergency ... its all about the coins
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