Mr. Monk and the Big Reward

Season 4, Episode 13, Aired

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9.5
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EPISODE RATING: Superb
446 votes
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Monk needs money and works to solve a jewel theft for the reward money, and becomes involved with rival investigators.
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Fan Episode Reviews (6)

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  • Positively atrocious.

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By smearedyam2, Sep 26, 2010
    So horrifying that we actually for the first time were unable to finish an episode. Full of plot holes, bad guest actors, uncomfortable dialogue. Totally disappointing... shame on them for even airing it. Now don't get us wrong, we think Monk is a great show, but this episode was such a stinker that the writers responsible should quit the business. We gave it 1 point out of overall respect for the show, but it doesn't even deserve that.
    We want our 37 minutes of wasted life back.
    (btw... requiring one hundred words for a review is unfair being that we have already suffered enough and wasted enough time with this episode... we just want the taste out of our mouths.)moreless

  • More like a Pilot within a Series

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By Cryanger, Jul 10, 2010
    A truely horrible episode that had me wishing it was over as quickly as possible. This is what is known as Pilot within a Series, when they take a successful series and shoehorn the characters into a situation that acts as a pilot to another series. In this case, the pilot would be for a series centered around the three inept detectives that decide to team-up to out smart Monk. The scene with them breaking into the museum office would be laughable if it were not so painful to watch -- the ease of their break-in only serves to belittle the actual crime. Add to that the criminal ease they three had to enter the depths of a police headquarters, the inane climax, and obvious punchline, the entire episode simply reeks of the worst pablum that Hollywood formula repeatedly pumps out as good programming. The least they could have done was have Disher become suspicious of the claustrophobia due to his experience Monk. Instead we get out-of-character Monk screaming in anger and Stottlemeyer strangely passive when trapped... A dismal episode entirely, one the writers and producers should be ashamed of foistering on the viewers.moreless

  • VERY DISAPPONTING and PAINFUL ENDING! I was enjoying the show, but then the ending just spoiled it all. How on earth could Monk have NOT received that reward seeing as HE was the one who solved the case, stating exactly where the diamond was located????moreless

    1.3
    "Abysmal"
    By cynthiarl7000, Dec 04, 2006
    UGH!! The ending of this Monk episode was the most painful I have ever seen. I got the DVD from the library and was ready not to even look at the remaining 3 episodes on the DVD. Painful, awful ending. Did the writers not think we\'d be smart enough to know what the ending SHOULD have been? The ending was so disappointing. I may still go ahead and look at the episodes remaining on the DVD in the hopes that I can leave THEM with the great feeling I USUALLY have after viewing a Monk episode. Hope springs eternal. UGH!!!!moreless

  • Off the track to say the least, but enjoyable to watch.

    9.1
    "Superb"
    By geoellis2, May 27, 2006
    This episode is out of character for the Monk series. Yet I found myself following the fast-moving storyline with interest. The three inept detectives were rather silly, but they managed to stay on Monk's trail throughout. There are similarities to 'Mr. Monk and the Other Detective', in both cases someone is interfering with Monk's investigations. Monk behaves rather strangely all the way through. One aspect that I found odd is that Monk doesn't care about being out of money. One would think he would obsess beyond belief over that situation, especially when he is not able to pay Natalie's wages. The actual crime and solution were clever, but overall, this is a departure from the usual type of plot.moreless

  • A fast-paced and exciting episode.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By mysteryfan427, Feb 08, 2006
    Another week, another great Monk episode. This one centers around the stolen Alexander Diamond, and Monk's competition in the case with a Scotland Yard investigator, a bounty hunter, and a technological know-it-all. It does a great job of spoofing films like It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and its remake, Rat Race.

    Monk's interaction with Gladys was hysterical, and I loved the notes he wrote to her! The scenes with Jenny Mandeville appeared random at first but they tie in nicely with the plot at the end. The mystery was also very good, and I didn't know where the diamond was. I thought Ted Levine did a good job playing a slightly depressed Stottlemeyer (after his wife divorced him) in some scenes, and overall this was an exciting, well-done episode.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (4)

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    • If you look closely at the "voice stress analyzer" that the nerdy detective shows to Monk, you can see that it's actually a PSP.

    • Trivia: The museum exhibit is called the Cromwell Collection, an odd name for a collection of artifacts containing items belonging to British royalty, including a diamond worn by Queen Elizabeth. Oliver Cromwell was a seventeenth-century Puritan who led the Parliamentary army against King Charles I in the Engilsh Civil War. As a Puritan, Cromwell opposed the extravagances and luxuries of the monarchy.

    • Why is the key in the lock inside the room? The door was unlocked when Monk opened it and burst into the room--without the key being turned. There was no reason for the key to be there except as no lock is simply unlocked by inserting a key--it must be turned so the teeth push against the pins.

    • In the opening scene, the museum guide says that the Alexander Diamond is insured by Lloyd's of London for twenty million dollars, but the closed captioning gives the figure as ten million dollars.

  • QUOTES (12)

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    • Natalie: (to Monk) If you had a time machine, you'd use it to go back to save fifty cents on a can of Lysol?

    • Natalie: I've got thirty-four dollars. Monk: Is that it? Yesterday was payday. Natalie: Yes, it was, but I didn't get paid. You know, your paydays are becoming sort of--theoretical.

    • Monk: (trying to decide which can to return) It's like Sophie's Choice except it's soup.

    • Natalie: Mr. Monk, it's a million dollars. You'll never have to worry for the rest of your life. Well, of course, you'll worry, but not about money.

    • Natalie: Say you'll do it. Just say "yes." Monk: Could you get off my counter? (Natalie slides off and gives him a pleading look) Okay. Fine. I'll do it. Natalie: (chanting) A million dollars, a million dollars...

    • Rufus: Excuse me, that's a handicapped spot. Dirk: It's okay. I'm psychotic.

    • Inspector St. Clare: May the best man win. Rufus: I intend to. Dirk: He said "man."

    • Monk: Ah, Natalie, they're not detectives, they're rent-a-cops. They're hired guns. They're mercenaries. In other words, they're us. This whole thing is about greed. Natalie: You know how you're always saying, "You'll thank me later"? You'll thank me later.

    • Natalie: (to Mr. Kwan) Does that ring a bell? Or a gong?

    • Rufus: Wow, that's a really deep trance. Inspector St. Clare: Couldn't be deeper. This man's dead.

    • Disher: Jenny, what did you do with the body? Jenny: I flushed it down the toilet. Disher: (pause) Was Tony a goldfish? Jenny: A hamster.

    • Stottlemeyer: Are they with you? Monk: Only in the strictest, most terrible sense of the word.

  • NOTES (4)

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    • International Air Dates: Greece: Sunday 1st October 2007 at 18.45 on Star

    • The alias Jenny Mandeville may refer to a production company associated with Monk, Mandeville Films.

    • Inspector St. Clare has the same last name as the mayoral candidate and his wife in the series pilot, "Mr. Monk and the Candidate."

    • Stottlemeyer says that the police commissioner has promised Monk sixteen homicides a year for the next two years. The line is a self-reflexive joke: In January 2006, USA Network picked up Monk for two more seasons, each with sixteen episodes.

  • ALLUSIONS (1)

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    • Monk: It's like Sophie's Choice, except it's soup. Sophie's Choice is a 1982 film about a concentration camp survivor, directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Meryl Streep. The film is based on the William Styron novel of the same title.

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