Mr. Monk and the Airplane

"Mr. Monk and the Airplane"
Monk episode
Sharona speaks to Tim Daly
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 13
Directed by	Rob Thompson
Written by	David M. Stern
Production code	T-1111
Original air date	October 18, 2002
Guest stars
Brooke Adams as Leigh Harrison Tim Daly as Himself Garry Marshall as Warren Beach Carl Marotte as Stefan Chabrol Jennifer Dale as Barbara Chabrol Robin Duke as Aunt Minn
Season 1 episodes
July 2002 – October 2002 "Mr. Monk and the Candidate" (Part One) "Mr. Monk and the Candidate" (Part Two) "Mr. Monk and the Psychic" "Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale" "Mr. Monk Goes to the Carnival" "Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum" "Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger" "Mr. Monk and the Other Woman "Mr. Monk and the Marathon Man "Mr. Monk Takes a Vacation "Mr. Monk and the Earthquake" "Mr. Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger" "Mr. Monk and the Airplane"
Episode chronology
← Previous "Mr. Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger" Next → "Mr. Monk Goes Back to School"
Monk (season 1) List of Monk episodes

"Mr. Monk and the Airplane" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of Monk, and serves as the first season finale.

Jason Gray-Stanford listed the episode among his favorites.^[1]

Plot summary

Sharona leaves to fly to New Jersey to visit her aunt. Monk is forced to brave the skies, as he is unable to live without Sharona. While at San Francisco International Airport, Monk sees Barbara Chabrol stand on her toes to kiss her husband Stephen Chabrol.

Aboard the plane, an annoying extension cord salesman named Warren Beach (Garry Marshall) ("if it doesn't reach, call Warren Beach!") does little to assuage Monk's fears. Monk quickly becomes suspicious of Stephen Chabrol after he notices that Barbara Chabrol no longer needs to stand on her toes to kiss him, has "forgotten" that she ordered the vegetarian meal, knows nothing about air travel despite a frequent-flyer label, and claims to have "forgotten how to" speak French when an old family friend, Bernard, meets them onboard. More digging convinces Monk he is on to something. Monk quickly annoys everyone and a fellow passenger informs Chabrol of Monk's suspicions.

Meanwhile, Bernard turns up dead, supposedly due to a heart attack but Monk is not so sure. He steals Bernard's cup and, with a lighter Beach has, proceeds to burn away the wine. Unfortunately, the flight attendant, Leigh Harrison, catches him just as Monk finds a mysterious liquid at the bottom. She confiscates the lighter and throws the remainder down the sink.

Monk calls Disher and explains what he thinks happened.

Here's What Happened

Stephen Chabrol and his mistress murdered Barbara Chabrol and the mistress disguised herself as Barbara. The mistress did the job in a bathroom at the airport. Stephen Chabrol, being a pilot, then used his valid identification card and its virtually unlimited access to hide the body at a construction site at the airport. The construction workers poured concrete over the corpse, unwittingly destroying the evidence.

When Monk and Sharona's flight lands at Newark Liberty International Airport, Monk stalls Chabrol's connecting flight to Paris by wittingly saying that the captain of the Paris flight is drunk. This allows Disher and the construction crew to excavate and find the body. The Newark Police Department shows up, and Chabrol and his mistress are led away in handcuffs.

Production

Tim Daly stars as himself. He and Tony Shalhoub were in the NBC TV show Wings which aired from 1990-1997. Their fellow co-star, Steven Weber, later appeared in the season 5 episode "Mr. Monk Is On The Air."

Brooke Adams, the real-life wife of Tony Shalhoub, also stars in this episode as the flight attendant Leigh Harrison. Adams reprised her role in "Mr. Monk's 100th Case". Brooke Adams also plays Abigail Carlyle in the season 3 episode "Mr. Monk and the Kid," Sheriff Margie Butterfield in the season 5 episode "Mr. Monk Visits a Farm", and Edith Capriani in the season 8 episode "Mr. Monk and the Badge".

References

1. ^ "Monk Cast Favorites Marathon". USA Network. http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/community/castfavorites/index.html. Retrieved 2007-01-01. 

External links

• USA Network page for "Mr. Monk and the Airplane"