User Reviews

The developer vs the environmentalist...which is worse? When the environmentalist is killed by the developer, I didn't know if that was supposed to be a "hoorah" moment or not. Were we supposed to cheer? It felt good watching it, no doubt. I think everyone would agree with that. But now the developer is the bad guy. I'm not saying the developer is NOT the bad guy, only that this crime isn't what makes him bad.

Also, there was a traffic jam and some other stuff. Probably some endangered bug went extinct or something. They also showed a crazy, insane driver manage to keep her truck driving job by threatening to kill Monk for complaining about her crazy, insane driving. So the lesson learned is crazy insane drivers should be allowed to be crazy and insane and threaten to kill people.

They also showed how highway patrol officers are useless nutjobs that have no investigative skill and shouldn't be allowed near the scene of any incident, because they will invariably become part of the problem instead of the solution.

But the plot was good and the characters were interesting.

As this chapter opens, two men are seen at a construction site. The one in charge is arguing with an environmental man that wants to stop the construction because there is an endangered species that is only seen where the big development will be erected. As things get out of hand, the owner grabs a piece of wood and proceeds to beat the troublemaker, killing him. The problem is how to dispose of his car, and the body. The solution is to put it in one of the trucks that are used to carry earth for making cement. The thing is how to make it look as though the environmental man had an accident and he dumps the car in a desolate part of the highway. As it happens, a massive pileup occurs.

Monk was invited to accompany Natalie and Julie to a school event. They are enjoying the ride, but unfortunately, they are behind the accident and are forced to stop because the highway is blocked and they can't go anywhere. Being trapped, Monk decides to investigate. As he gets to the front, he realizes the car that had the accident looks suspicious.

As Monk is trying to get into things, a lawyer, who has also come forward, becomes friendly. As it turns out this man is an ambulance chaser and begins to hand out his cards to drum up possible business. The owner of the construction site decides to go back because he realizes he took the dead man's telephone thinking it was his own. He own cell is in the dead man's car. This man decides to get rid of an EMS worker to try to rescue his cell phone, but he arouses something in Monk who figures he is responsible for the crime.

Directed by Jerry Levine and written by Joe Toplyn and Tom Scharpling, this is another good episode of this series. Larry Miller, an excellent character actor is the guest star. Tony Schaloub, Traylor Holland and Emily Clarke do a fine job as well.

The setup is not bad but things get kind of silly at the end, and this episode also contains annoying side characters such as a shyster and a homicidal truck driver.

The environmentalist is threatening to sue a developer over construction of a mall on a site, the only place where an endangered species occur. So the developer offs the environmentalist, puts him in the seat of his car, which he puts in his dump truck and drives off intending to dump the car onto the highway to make it look like a road accident.

But he passes Adrian Monk and his assistant, Natalie, who is driving; in the backseat is the assistant's daughter, Julie, who has to pee really badly (another annoying subplot, which nevertheless becomes relevant to the plot later).

The car is dumped as planned and it causes a pileup. Monk goes to examine the accident and notices several things that are off, including that he never noticed the car passing him (having OCD, Monk is able to notice every detail in his surroundings). He tries to raise these concerns to the state police sergeant but is gruffly ignored.

Meanwhile, the murderer has noticed that his phone is the wrong one; in an extraordinary coincidence, it is the same exact model as the one owned by the man he murdered. So he goes back to the scene of the crime to try to get the phone back, which he does by. Killing a paramedic and taking his uniform. But he is ordered by the police sergeant to see to Natalie first to treat a sore wrist she sustained when she braked hard to avoid a collision with the pileup. Monk notices things wrong about this man too including, most importantly, that the man's phone rings, yet he doesn't answer it. Monk also sees that the call is coming from "E. G. G".

Monk takes Natalie's daughter to try and find a potty, which he does when he finds the tour bus of the band Korn (who were popular around 2004 when this episode aired). While Julie is in the bathroom, Monk learns from members of Korn that the murdered man was an eco-activist who was a member of the Environmental Guerrilla Group, which Monk quickly realizes is what 'E. G. G' stands for.

He attempts to tell the cops again but is not only ignored but handcuffed to the inside of a cop car. But he somehow convinces Natalie to investigate the perp's dump truck. However, the perp proceeds to drive off with Natalie still in the truck. Monk tells the police but they continue to ignore him.

The sergeant finally notices the corpse of the slain paramedic and believes Monk's story. He pursues the perp, with Monk in the passenger seat. The perp notices Natalie in his truck and tries to dump her. But Monk, armed with the cop's gun, manages to shoot the fuel line of the truck, causing it to stop. The cop then arrests the perp. The end.

Okay, so if the nutty part isn't already evident, I'll highlight it. The cop pursues the perp but never puts on his siren. Nor does he ever radio for backup. Somehow it makes more sense to this policeman to let a civilian use his gun to shoot the fuel line of the truck.

Meanwhile, the perp is aware he's being pursued by a cop but doesn't seem to care. And he is attempting to murder somebody in broad daylight, on a busy highway, and in full view of the cop. He also sees Monk in the passenger seat, which probably means Monk has convinced the cop; also that the body of the paramedic is found. The cop must know the license plate as well as the name emblazoned on the side of the truck. What is the murderer's plan at this point? Where is he planning to go? He's not some shady underling; he's the owner of a construction company. So where can he possibly hide? The behavior of the criminal possibly makes even less sense than that of the cop.

Just kind of a lame resolution to an episode that was not great in the first place (imho). Plus there are the aforementioned annoying side characters like the shyster and the truck driver who threatens to kill Monk because he reported her dangerous driving; somehow she knows this because her supervisor played the recording of Monk's call back to her (which I'd bet is not something that actually happens in real life). Also, I guess this woman should just be allowed to drive like a maniac? Neither of these characters or subplots add anything meaningful to the episode. Then the there's the subplot about Julie needing to pee, which does lead to the revelation about what EGG stands for but, meh. How about finding a bush? Finally, there's a truly awful Korn song that plays when Monk is in the tour bus to add to the general discontentment.

This episode also misses the presence of Stottlemeyer and Disher.