It's a Jungle Out There

The little boy has a favorite show. Every day since Christmas, he has dug through the DVD collection we have, grabbing a random Monk disc and presenting it to me, repeating "Monk, Monk, Monk."

He loves the theme song - we assume it's because the song is performed by Randy Newman, who sang a lot of the Pixar Songs (You've got a friend in me, et al.). He actually sings along, which is rather cute, and today, when I put on Season Four, Disc Two, he actually hummed the Universal theme that plays at the beginning of the disc.

I like Monk - it's not too graphic, and the writing is clever. I think it combines crime/mystery with humor/comedy quite well, and I think Tony Shalhoub is one of the best actors on Television. Michael Richards was originally envisioned for the role, but he turned it down - I can't imagine a more fortuitous decision for a show. Richards would have been too physical, I think, to make the show work properly; Tony is much more subtle with his issues, and I think that plays out perfectly. If you don't watch this show, I recommend starting. It's worth it.