Monk - Episode Summaries

List of Monk episodes, brief synopsis and links to full episode summaries. Monk TV show transcripts are also available. I'll be adding more full episode summaries. Be sure to check back.

Monk Episode Summaries

Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5| Season 6 Monk Episode Summaries

1.1 Mr. Monk and the Candidate
Summary of the very first Monk episode where a political candidate was almost assassinated, and Captain Stottlemeyer enlists the help of Adrian Monk. Mr. Monk was a top-notch homicide detective until his wife’s murder left him traumatized and unbalanced. His unusual behavior has caused him to lose his badge. Now, with the help of his nurse Sharona Fleming, he works as a private consultant for the San Francisco police while he battles his obsessive-compulsive disorder.

1.2 Mr. Monk and the Psychic
Monk volunteers to help find the missing wife of former San Francisco Police Commissioner Harry Ashcombe. However, psychic Dolly Flint beats them to the punch and claims to have found the body through a psychic trance. Monk remains skeptic and suspects that the death is not an accident.

1.3 Mr. Monk meets Dale the Whale
San Francisco judge Catherine Lavinio is found murdered in her house moments after her frantic 911 call. The police's prime suspect is an 800-lb tycoon, Dale Biederbeck aka Dale the Whale. All clues point to Biederbeck, but the police could not nail the guy due to his airtight alibi. He has not left his bedroom in eleven years. In fact, he could not even fit through the bedroom door. The police enlists the help of Monk, who had a bitter history with Biederbeck. Convinced that they have the right man on their hands, Monk figures out how Biederbeck committed the murder.

1.4 Mr. Monk Goes to the Carnival
A choleric cop currently under investigation for police brutality is framed for the murder of an informant. Convinced of his former partner's innocence, Captain Stottlemeyer asks Monk to help him clear detective Adam Kirk's name. The murder took place in a carnival's Ferris wheel and Monk's fear of heights hinders his investigation. Overcoming his phobia and solving the case might just win him his badge back.

1.5 Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum
Monk is sent to an asylum for observation after being found trespassing in his late wife's former home. Soon, he becomes intrigued of a murder that took place four years ago. A fellow patient, who still believes in Santa Claus, attests seeing Santa by the chimney the night before. When Monk sees a piece of torn red cloth on the roof, he finds himself believing his fellow inmate. He finds a connection between the Santa sightings and the cold case. However, he ends up questioning his own sanity.

1.6 Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger
Billionaire Sidney Teal was believed to have been going through a midlife crisis. One of his stunts was mugging a couple outside a movie theater. Unfortunately, he picks the wrong couple to mess with and gets shot in self-defense. Monk immediately senses foul play starting with the pair of kneepads Sidney wore during the mugging to the chauffeur's testimony that the stunt is uncharacteristic of his boss.

1.7 Mr. Monk and the Other Woman
Lawrence Grayson becomes the police's prime suspect for the murder of his lawyer Lou Pratt. This they deduced after finding burnt residues of his file in Pratt's office. Moreover, he is known to have threatened his lawyer after losing the case against his neighbor building a garage near his house. Monk cannot believe that a petty case would lead to murder. Even so, he pursues this trail due to the woman involved. The woman is Monica Waters, Grayson's neighbor who built the garage. Monk becomes smitten with Monica, but soon suspects her after Grayson's dead body turns up in her garage.

1.8 Mr. Monk and the Marathon Man
A young woman is thrown off a 21st-story balcony. The police's prime suspect is her lover, Trevor McDowell. However, he has a perfect alibi. McDowell was running in the marathon at the time of the murder. This fact is backed up by the microchip used to track the runners. Records show that he never left the race, which makes it impossible for him to commit the murder. Given this, Captain Stottlemeyer believes that McDowell must have had an accomplice. Unfortunately, the only possible accomplice is fellow runner Tonday Mowwaka who is Monk's boyhood hero.

1.9 Mr. Monk Takes a Vacation
Sharona, Benjy and Monk goes on vacation in a beach resort. Their time off is disrupted when Benjy witnesses a murder. However, they find the crime scene spotless. There is no dead body, blood or anything out of place. But this in itself is evidence, enough to convince Monk to believe Benjy's testimony. They set off on a wild goose chase for the corpse that turns up and then gone the next minute.

1.10 Mr. Monk and the Earthquake
The philanthropist Henry Rutherford dies in an earthquake that rocked San Francisco and deemed Sharona temporarily homeless. Sharona with Monk in tow, decides to visit Henry's widow to offer her condolences. After seeing the scene of the accident, Monk suspects murder and Sharona's new male friend might be involved, which also puts her in great danger.

1.11 Mr. Monk Meets the Red Headed Stranger
Country music singer Willie Nelson whose album Red Headed Stranger made him a star is suspected of killing his embezzling road manager. Willie Nelson quickly becomes the prime suspect after being found hovering over the victim's dead body and a damning testimony from a blind eyewitness. In disbelief that his wife's favorite singer is a murderer, Monk struggles to get to the bottom of the case.

1.12 Mr. Monk and the Airplane
Sharona is flying to New Jersey to spend a week with her aunt. Monk, unable to survive a whole week without his nurse is left with no choice, but to face his fear of airplanes and join Sharona. With his phobia heightened, his anxiety annoys most of the passengers and crew members. He irritates them even more when he claims that a passenger had just killed his wife and that the woman he is with is an impostor. No one believes the neurotic Adrian, but he might just redeem himself when a friend of the dead wife approaches the impostor who does not seem to recognize him. Monk is utterly convinced with his speculation when the wife's friend turns up dead.

Season 2 | Season 1 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5| Season 6 Monk Episode Summaries

2.1 Mr. Monk Goes Back to School
A high school principal enlists the help of Adrian Monk to investigate the apparent suicide of one of her English teachers. Monk goes undercover as a substitute teacher, confirms the principal's suspicion of foul play and finds a murderer in the person of the Science teacher. However, his prime suspect has a perfect alibi. He was proctoring the SATs at the time of the incident. Convinced of the Science teacher's guilt, Monk figures out how the man committed the crime.

2.2 Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico
Monk and Sharona are sent to Mexico to investigate the mysterious death of the son of the mayor's close friend. According to the coroner, the young man whose parachute malfunctioned did not die from the fall, but rather from drowning. It is up to Adrian to discover how a man could drown in mid-air.

2.3 Mr. Monk Goes to the Ballgame
A GPS leads a CEO and his wife to the hands of a killer. After making some observations, Monk deduces that the wife is the real target of the attack. Her death is connected with her lover, Scott Gregorio, a baseball star only days away from breaking a record. It seems that the murder was committed to dishearten the baseball star, in the hopes of disheartening the athlete and making it difficult for him to hit the record breaking homerun. With only a fuzzy photo as aid, the police hunts for the killer, but it is Monk's exceptional memory that would lead them straight to their guy.

2.4 Mr. Monk Goes to the Circus
2.5 Mr. Monk and the Very, Very Old Man
2.6 Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater
2.7 Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect
2.8 Mr. Monk Meets the Playboy
2.9 Mr. Monk and the 12th Man
2.10 Mr. Monk and the Paperboy

2.11 Mr. Monk and the Three Pies
This is the summary of the Monk episode where Adrian is reunited with his estranged brother Ambrose. Ambrose suspects his neighbor of killing his wife. Their investigation leads them to three pies that the late wife baked and sent to be raffled off to charity. Moreover, they establish a connection with this supposed murder and a carjacking case that Captain Stottlemeyer has been investigating.

2.12 Mr. Monk and the TV Star
2.13 Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny
2.14 Mr. Monk and the Captain's Wife
2.15 Mr. Monk Gets Married
2.16 Mr. Monk Goes to Jail

Season 3 | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 4 | Season 5| Season 6 Monk Episode Summaries

3.1 Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan
3.2 Mr. Monk and the Panic Room
3.3 Mr. Monk and the Blackout
3.4 Mr. Monk Gets Fired
3.5 Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather
3.6 Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf
3.7 Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month
3.8 Mr. Monk and the Game Show
3.9 Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine
3.10 Mr. Monk and the Red Herring
3.11 Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra
3.12 Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever
3.13 Mr. Monk Gets Stuck in Traffic

3.14 Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas
In this episode summary, a drunken Stottlemeyer uncovers a murder and summons Monk to Las Vegas. The following morning, gone is the Captain’s intoxication and so is his memory. They retrace his steps in the hopes of remembering what made him conclude that Vegas casino owner Daniel Thorn murdered his wife when the police reports her death as an accident. Their personal investigation proved to be fruitful as they discover how Thorn committed the murder. However, without incriminating evidence the police could not reopen the case. The answer lies with Stottlemeyer - will he ever remember what he saw?

3.15 Mr. Monk and the Election
3.16 Mr. Monk and the Kid

Season 4 | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 5| Season 6 Monk Episode Summaries

4.1 Mr. Monk and the Other Detective
4.2 Mr. Monk Goes Home Again
4.3 Mr. Monk Stays in Bed
4.4 Mr. Monk Goes to the Office
4.5 Mr. Monk Gets Drunk
4.6 Mr. Monk and Mrs. Monk
4.7 Mr. Monk Goes to a Wedding
4.8 Mr. Monk and Little Monk
4.9 Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa
4.10 Mr. Monk Goes to a Fashion Show
4.11 Mr. Monk Bumps His Head
4.12 Mr. Monk and the Captain's Marriage
4.13 Mr. Monk and the Big Reward
4.14 Mr. Monk and the Astronaut
4.15 Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist
4.16 Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty

Season 5 | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4| Season 6 Monk Episode Summaries

5.1 Mr. Monk and the Actor
5.2 Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike
5.3 Mr. Monk and the Big Game
5.4 Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing
5.5 Mr. Monk, Private Eye
5.6 Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion
5.7 Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink
5.8 Mr. Monk Goes to a Rock Concert
5.9 Mr. Monk Meets His Dad
5.10 Mr. Monk and the Leper
5.11 Mr. Monk Makes a Friend
5.12 Mr. Monk Is at Your Service
5.13 Mr. Monk Is on the Air
5.14 Mr. Monk Visits a Farm
5.15 Mr. Monk and the Really, Really Dead Guy
5.16 Mr. Monk Goes to the Hospital

Season 6 | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4| Season 5 Monk Episode Summaries

6.1 Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan
6.2 Mr. Monk and the Rapper
6.3 Mr. Monk and the Naked Man
6.4 Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend
6.5 Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees
6.6 Mr. Monk and the Buried Treasure
6.7 Mr. Monk and the Daredevil
6.8 Mr. Monk and the Wrong Man
6.9 Mr. Monk is Up All Night
6.10 Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa Claus