Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa

Infobox Television episode
Series = Monk
Title =Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa
Season=6
Episode=10
Airdate=December 7, 2007
Writer=Dan Schofield
Production= T-1410
Director=Randall Zisk
Guests=Larry Miller
Prev =Mr. Monk Is Up All Night
Next = Mr. Monk Joins a Cult
Episode list = List of "Monk" episodes"Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of the TV series "Monk". It is the 87th episode of the series and third annual Christmas special, and was first broadcast in the United States on the USA Network on December 7, 2007, during a hiatus in the middle of the season. Larry Miller guest stars in the episode, returning as lawyer Garrett Price who previously appeared in the episode "Mr. Monk Gets Stuck in Traffic".

The episode focuses on Adrian Monk attempting to clear his own name after he was witnessed shooting a man dressed as Santa Claus who was throwing toys from the rooftop of a building into the traffic below.

According to Nielsen Ratings, the episode was viewed by over 4.5 million viewers on the original night of broadcast in the United States. [ [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2007/12/11/top-cable-dec-3-9-mnf-and-the-family-channel/2100 "Top Cable Dec 3-9, MNF and the Family Channel"] , TVbytheNumbers.com, December 11, 2007]

Plot

The episode begins with Monk complaining to Natalie and Julie about how he hates Christmas. Suddenly, Monk sees a crowd and hundreds of teddy bears raining down from the building above. He quickly loses control of his anger and runs up the stairs of the building to confront the person throwing toys from the roof. This person is a man dressed as Santa Claus. Monk confronts the man dressed as Santa (because his actions are illegal). The scene cuts to a shot of Natalie and Julie. A gunshot rings out, which prompts Natalie and Julie to run upstairs after Monk. They find him standing over Santa, who is nursing a bullet wound in the shoulder, with a gun in his hand.

Monk claims that when he confronted the Santa impersonator, a gun fell from the man's pocket. When Monk questioned him about the weapon, he "freaked out" and then attacked Monk with a metal pipe. Monk claimed that he acted in self-defense. Needless to say, his side of the story seems unbelievable.

To clear his name, Monk appears on a television "news" show and tries to clear his name. The interview doesn't go very well. Monk announces to the children watching that the man he shot wasn't Santa Claus, because Santa Claus doesn't really exist. The reporter interviewing Monk then revealed that she had received an anonymous phone call. This call stated that Monk buried something in his backyard the evening after the shooting. The item he supposedly buried was a piece of ivory, which had broken of the handle of the weapon used to shoot Santa.

Monk is left to try and convince the police, as well as the city of San Francisco, that he is innocent of wrongdoing. Meanwhile "Santa" and his buddies are trying to steal the "Star of Bethlehem" from the museum.

Critical reception

IGN was "excited to see the show return" for a Christmas special but was disappointed in the underutilization of Larry Miller's character, and the lack of any further clues to the mystery surrounding the death of Adrian Monk's wife, Trudy, despite several mentions of the event during the episode. [ [http://tv.ign.com/articles/840/840510p1.html "Monk: 'Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa' Review"] , IGN, December 10, 2007]

Michael Storey of the "Arkansas Democrat-Gazette" called the episode "a hoot and well worth your time." [ [http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Style/209808/ "TV Column: Monk faces grim Christmas after he shoots Santa Claus"] , "Arkansas Democrat-Gazette", December 6, 2007]

Ted Cox of the Chicago-area "Daily Herald" said that the episode was "not even as good as last year's Christmas special," ("Mr. Monk Meets His Dad"), and also laments mention of Trudy's unsolved murder without the "element of lost love" that "made the early 'Monks' great". [ [http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=90186 "Christmas fruitcakes: 'Monk', 'Psych' deliver top-notch holiday specials"] , "Daily Herald", December 7, 2007]

Kelly West of Cinemablend.com didn't think the episode had enough of the "touchy-feely stuff" expected in a holiday-themed episode and that it wasn't "really all that different from any other episode in terms of the story", but felt it was "full of laughs and definitely worth watching, if only to see Monk throw down with Santa." [ [http://www.cinemablend.com/television/TV-Review-Monk-Mr-Monk-And-The-Man-Who-Shot-Santa-7554.html "Monk - 'Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa'"] , CinemaBlend.com, December 1, 2007]

Trivia

*When Captain Stottlemeyer and Randy Disher are looking at the "Star of Bethlehem" after it has been recovered, Randy is wearing the same Christmas sweater that he received from his Aunt as seen in the episode Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa.

References

External links

* [http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/theshow/episodeguide/episodes/s6_shotsanta/index.html "Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa"] on the USA Network website
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* [http://www.buddytv.com/articles/monk/monk-returns-tonight-for-a-hol-14521.aspx "'Monk' Returns Tonight for a Holiday-Themed Episode"] , BuddyTV, December 7, 2007