Goofs

The show intro shows Monk pouring boiling water on a toothbrush. The toothbrush is a normal toothbrush with a rectangular head. He then immediately brushes his teeth with a oval shaped multicolored toothbrush.

Continuity between episodes:

• The mayor in Mr. Monk and the Very, Very Old Man (2003)(#2.5) (Jim Jansen) is not the same mayor in Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike (2006)(#5.2) (Chi McBride). Although there could have been an election between episodes.
• In Mr. Monk Goes to the Ballgame (2003)(#2.3) Monk tells Dr Kroger that Trudy fell in love with him when he was a detective, but in Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion (2006)(#5.6) Trudy fell in love with him in collage.

In the city of San Francisco, there is no police rank of 'Detective'. The title is 'Inspector'.

Neither Sharona nor Natalie could possibly afford the houses they are shown living in given either woman's meager salary in San Francisco's notoriously high real estate market.

In most law enforcement agencies, Captains and Lieutenants are primarily management jobs. They work behind a desk and rarely are involved in any type of investigations other than in a supervisory capacity. Captain Stottlemeyer and Lt. Disher would not have been at every crime scene conducting investigations as that role is for Detectives/Inspectors.

Monk often undertakes actions which would result in evidence and investigation being compromised. Since he is no longer a police officer, these actions could result in cases being dropped or overturned upon appeal. There is no way that the San Francisco District Attorney would allow Monk to perform the actions that he does.

We see Monk constantly ask Captain Stottlemeyer and/or Lieutenant Disher to put out APBs (All Points Bulletins) or BOLOs (Be On the Look Out) to bring suspects and witnesses in. When found the San Francisco Police brings them to the station for Monk and the detectives to interview even though it's pretty clear they didn't want to come. If there is no probable cause for an arrest or an active arrest warrant, the police can't make you go anywhere against your will. Once in a while, a wealthy or educated person will assert this and ask a lawyer to be present but this is rare.

Despite many people asking or noticing that there is something wrong with Monk with his OCD, neither he, Sharona or Natalie ever try to explain that Monk has a psychological issue which is why he acts so strange even if it leads to misunderstanding while on a case.

People with medical, mental, or other issues often do not want their condition to be highlighted, especially to people they don't know. Very few people, if any, would voluntarily discuss such issues.

In the intro, Monk walks out the door, then returns to adjust the position of an umbrella. Monk's O.C.D. would not have allowed him to hang it incorrectly in the first place.

However, this was clearly just for dramatic effect, to establish the nature of his character.

Several times in the series a key location is said to be on Vinton St. There is no Vinton St. in San Francisco. There is a Vinton Ct. but it is a small alley with two doors with only two addresses. However, inventing addresses is commonplace in fiction (from 221B Baker Street onward) and deliberate (to avoid inconveniencing residents of real addresses).

Monk drinks bottled water, which isn't as pure as everyone thinks. It has about 200 ppm (parts per million) of trace components (compared to about 400 ppm for tap water). Monk of all people would know that. This isn't really a goof. Monk drinks water that is pure as he can get. Bottled water is filtered and purified to remove any harmful materials. So is tap water, but usually not a scrupulously as with bottled water.

In the opening credits, Monk takes a suit from between two dress uniforms in his wardrobe and slides one uniform up. Given his compulsion, he would have hung the uniforms and suits separately. However, this was done clearly just for dramatic effect, which makes it an "Unacceptable Goof" per IMDb Guidelines.

The newspaper clippings in Monk's scrapbook (seen throughout the series) which have headlines about Trudy's murder are, in fact, articles describing the state of the economy.

It is quite obvious to anyone who knows the real San Francisco Bay Area that the series was not filmed there. There are numerous references to extreme temperatures (when the Bay Area is famous for its year-round mild temps) as well as large rolling hills with nothing on them (SF is very densely populated with little left untouched).

Boxes on shelves above the couch in Monk's apartment are often placed in different distances from each other. Monk, with his urges, wouldn't miss it and would arrange it correctly.