Mr. Monk Meets His Dad

Season 5, Episode 9, Aired

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Monk ends up going on a cross-country road trip with his long-missing dad, a truck driver.
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Fan Episode Reviews (12)

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  • Sentimental, low-key, well-written, endearing, very special

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By chipee, Jun 04, 2010
    Very happy to see this well-written, unusual episode. I hope this signals an upturn in the quality of the series. As usual, the crime-detective parts were weak, but fortunately they were a small part of the episode.

    What I liked are the strong sentimental aspects that, at the same time, were not heavy handed, showed gradual development and left some things unsaid/unexplained. They brought many aspects of the show together, were well integrated and actually quite realistic! Nice the way: father and son didn't reproach each-other and themselves severely much; showed how dad contributed to son's career with Sherlock Holmes stories; uncovered and solved mystery together; distributing cheap toys to disappointed kids was funny; learned more history of Adrian's background; bicycle references; and father's tolerance of son's fussinessmoreless

  • Sentimental, but mostly character development

    8.2
    "Great"
    By AvatarBlue, May 30, 2008
    Well I guess Ive managed to catch a bad example of this franchise. Dont get me wrong the point of the show is to see our beloved Monk overcome his issues and solve the case. Here that does happen, but its getting to samey. The plot resolves around Monk spending some time with his Dad who he hasnt seen and blames for so much. Now I honestly thought cliche scenes/gags coming up - and I was right. Yet its done quite well with a sentimental edge, something that just doesnt happen in Monk and it actual works well in that respect. You do feel good about it for Monk at the end. Locations are based around travel on the rig and the few locations taht they stop at, orphange, diner, etc. Dialogue is however, better than average and there is a personal touch to it which I felt a connection with Monks plight.

    There is one scene where Natalie and everyone is having a Christmas party which is just superb Monk, esp. when he asks to be picked up by Natalie's daughter who isnt even old enough to have a license! :D

    The case as in most .... episodes is inconsequential, and is just the device to allow Monk and his father to bond after so long. The culprit is caught leaving a sentimental scene between father and son to take us to the credits.

    If you watch Monk for the crime-solving give this one a miss, otherwise a good getting to know Monk episode.moreless

  • interesting

    10
    "Perfect"
    By ferriswheel01, Mar 17, 2008
    I really liked this episode. I thought it was one of those episodes that could potentially be the start of something very spectacular indeed. There are countless numbers of the amount of episodes Monks dad could be in. This means that we can find out more about Adrian Monk. I thought watching Monk learn how to ride a bike at the end of the episode was really sweet. The funniest part without a doubt was when Monk rang up Natalie to ask her to drive to Arizona to pick him up only she couldn't because she had been drinking so he asked Julie. Classic Monk.moreless

  • Good insight into Monk's family life. And opens quite a lot for future storylines.

    7.2
    "Good"
    By Clem4077, Dec 25, 2007
    In watching this episode again on Christmas day, I gotta say for the most part I do like it. I think Dan Hedaya was a good choice to play Monk's dad. He may not have been the ideal image of Monk's dad I have gotten from the bits and pieces learned about him throughout the series, but I can imagine him going through a change once he left his family, and being the character Hedaya plays. I can see them as dad and son, some good scenes together and I loved Jack teaching Adrian how to ride a bike at the end. Also, I wish there would be a story upcoming sometime where we get to see Monk's half-brother Jack Jr. It'd be fun to see how alike or different he is to Monk and Ambrose.

    My sole drawback with the episode was that I was disappointed they didn't return to the orphanage to make it right with the children and had given out real toys to them. Delivering the load of "toys" to the kids was the reason they were on the road to begin with (or so that was the job at first), and it would have been really sweet to see the effort made to give the children a good Christmas.moreless

  • Monk's father gets arrested while driving thru San Francisco. Monk ends up riding along with him while he performs a bizarre task for his boss. On the trip they work out past problems while Monk becomes suspicious of the trip his father has been sent on.moreless

    5.6
    "Mediocre"
    By cmbeck82, Jan 26, 2007
    The worst episode of Monk. It didn't feel like an episode, rather it was just a way for the producers to finally get his dad into an episode. I guess I appreciated that but it was far too bizarre to be an enjoyable show. The episode was poorly conceived.

    I like Dan Hedaya but his character was a bit too eccentric in this role. I didn't really buy his character from the way he was talked about by Ambrose in a past episode. Fine, he's a truck driver, but why exactly? How was he ever married to Adrian's mother the way she was portrayed in past flashbacks? The character didn't add up.

    The plot itself was scattered also. I can accept far-fetched plots to some extent but this crossed the line. Monk is one of my all-time favorite shows and I love every episode except for this one. The main reason being that I didn't get involved in the plot nearly enough.

    That being said, I did appreciate getting some information about his father even if it was ridiculous. The episode just felt like something that had to be done and now we can move on. Though, I thought it could have been done much better.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (7)

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    • In this episode Monk is furious that his Dad left and wanted nothing to do with him but back in "Mr Monk Goes Home Again" he was sad and anxious to meet him and also felt guilty that he "drove him away."

    • It's certainly possible that Monk's uncharacteristically impulsive road trip in a tractor trailer was due to his complicated reaction to being with his father again, but it's hard to believe that he would wear two different hats that have been worn by other people.

    • Adrian makes hand contact with his father (and one other person), but isn't seen going for one of his trademark wipes.

    • Trivia: If you continue doing the math, Jack Monk was 29 when he abandoned his family (advised by the fortune cookie), while Adrian was 8. This means Jack was about 21 when his first son was born.

    • Truck "runoffs" (more commonly called "runaway truck ramps") don't work the way we see it in the episode. They have several methods of stopping a truck, but all require hitting something. Generally, they first drive over a tall pile of gravel which greatly slows the speed and if this doesn't stop the truck, a barricade (similar to the one shown, but the truck never touches it) is at the end.

    • Trivia: Monk's age is revealed as 47.

    • Trivia: Monk's father was first mentioned in the episode "Mr. Monk and the Three Pies" which was also the first appearance of Monk's brother, Ambrose. He was mentioned again in "Mr. Monk Goes Home Again", but Adrian was forced to miss that meeting because he was out on a case.

  • QUOTES (11)

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    • Jack: And he sends me out on this wild goose chase! Son of a bitch, bastard! Excuse my language. Adrian: It's okay, I'm a trucker.

    • Randy: (shaking hands with Jack) Hello, I'm Randy Disher. I work with your son. Jack: Hello, Randy. Randy: This is an honor, and a pleasure, and a privilege. Jack: Why? Randy: I... I don't know. I just thought it was an honor, and a pleasure. I could be wrong.

    • Jack: Uh oh. Adrian: What do you mean, "uh-oh"? What does that mean? Jack: It can mean a variety of things, but in this case it means no brakes!

    • Jack: You called me Dad. Adrian: Well, looks like your boss is gonna get away with murder. Jack: You called me Dad.

    • Natalie: I can't get you, Mr. Monk, everyone here has been drinking except Julie! ...he wants to talk to you. Stottlemeyer: (stepping forward) No, Julie. Julie: Hi, Mr. Monk... no I can't... I can't... I can't pick you up Mr. Monk... I don't have a license. I'm sorry... Please stop crying.

    • Other Prisoner: What're you doing? Jack: I'm speed reading. Other Prisoner: What's the rush? Jack: I'm old.

    • Adrian: I can't travel without my toothbrush. Disher: You can always buy a toothbrush. Adrian: Or my pillow case, or my Trudy kit. Or my house. I can't travel without my house.

    • Adrian: How did you find me? Jack: I knew you'd walk in a straight line--you always did.

    • (getting supper with his long-lost father) Adrian It's touching. Jack: It is, it's great. After all these years. Adrian: No, I mean the food. It's touching.

    • (on the phone) Monk: Natalie! Natalie: Oh! It's Mr. Monk! It's Mr. Monk...(shushes the people in the room) Mr. Monk, I have been so worried about you. Where are you? How's it going? What's he like? Wait, I'm going to put you on speakerphone, hold on. Crowd in room: Merry Christmas, Monk! Stottlemeyer: Hey, Happy Holidays, Monk buddy. Monk: Natalie, this was a big mistake. I need to go home now. Please, Please I wanna come home. Please please please. Natalie: Mr. Monk, I am taking you off speaker phone.

    • Jack: So, how was your childhood? Monk: Oh! It was great, it was a laugh riot. You should have been there. Jack: You're right, I should have been there. But I'm here now. Monk: (sadly) I'm here too.

  • NOTES (3)

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    • International air date: Greece: Sunday 23rd December 2007 at 18.45 on Star Finland: Saturday, January 24th 2009 on YLE TV1 Slovakia: February 11, 2010 on Markiza

    • Dan Hedaya, who plays Monk's father in this episode, has worked with Tony Shalhoub prior to this in three films: Searching For Bobby Fischer (1993), A Life Less Ordinary (1997) and A Civil Action (1998).

    • This episode is labeled as a "Holiday Special" by USA.

  • ALLUSIONS (1)

    ADD ALLUSIONS

    • Val: I guess you are an international man of mystery. Referencing the 1997 movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery starring Mike Myers as a Swinging 60s spy resurrected in the modern era.

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