That prison guard is the worst shot ever. Shot off dozens of rounds at the house and in the prison yard without ever getting close to anything.
The half-brother story was fun.
The half-brother story was fun.
9 Reviews
Worst shot ever!
jwalsh3010 July 2022
Bickering brothers
ctomvelu-110 January 2009
A possible burglar turns out to be Monk's half-brother, Jack. Or maybe not. Jack is a film-flam artist and cannot seem to tell the truth about anything, which constantly infuriates Monk.He has escaped from prison and broken into Monk's home, as he is not only an escapee but accused of a murder committed during his escape.The real killer is given away early on, but the episode is still fun to watch as Jack and Adrian banter back and forth while trying to clear Jack's name. Steve Zahn as Jack might turn up again in the future, I suspect. Everyone else -- Leland, Disher and Natalie -- takes a back seat in this episode, which is not necessarily a good thing.
Entertaining but an Awful Stretch
Hitchcoc16 April 2020
A man escapes from prison and is thought to have murdered a woman. So, lo and behold, he shows up in Monk's apartment. A guy who looks nothing like him or has anything in common with him, announces he is Monk's half brother. He is a liar, a cheat, and and a thief. He has a good gift of gab and that's it. Monk, wanting to connect with family, is willing to give him miles of rope. I hope we've seen the last of this guy.
Yet another Monk family member ...
jwpeel-110 January 2009
A man escapes from prison and supposedly has killed a woman before he escaped the area. He then flees to Monk's apartment telling him he is his half-brother and needs Monk to clear his name. He even has a woman on speaker phone who claims to be his mother begging for Monk to save his brother. As Adrian puts up with his newly found half-brother's shenanigans (which include a lot of lying and even stealing) he gets deeper and deeper in a situation that threatens both his life and that of Natalie. Guest star Steve Zahn (Saving Silverman) makes this one a lot of fun and it has the bonus of a half decent storyline. Not a bad season opener at all.
But one thing I must say, this one could have been so much better for comic possibilities had it been done during the Sharona years. They really should bring her back.
But one thing I must say, this one could have been so much better for comic possibilities had it been done during the Sharona years. They really should bring her back.
Monk and Jack make this episode
TheLittleSongbird19 September 2017
'Monk' has always been one of my most watched shows when needing comfort, to relax after a hard day, a good laugh or a way to spend a lazy weekend.
Season 7 was a very mixed bag up to this point, "Mr Monk and the Genius" being one of its best while also having major disappointments like "Mr Monk Falls in Love" and especially "Mr Monk Takes a Punch". While in the better half of the season, "Mr Monk's Other Brother" (with yet another one of Monk's relatives popping up from nowhere having never been mentioned before, his father's and particularly Ambrose's introductions were at least justified and given reasons, this one was pretty random) does come up short somewhat still.
Am also one of those people who thinks Natalie, Disher and Stottlemeyer taking a back-seat was not a good thing. Natalie has her moments but Stottlemeyer in particular is wasted and he (being my personal favourite of the other three regulars) and Ted Levine, who still does his best, deserve much better than that.
The mystery also could have been a little better, it's engaging enough and it has its fun and suspenseful but is too obvious too early, could have featured more and the motive is insipid. Would have liked more dramatic and emotional moments too, the Ambrose and father episodes had a much better balance of comedy and pathos and while "Mr Monk's Other Brother" delivers on the comedy the emotional moments are missing.
However, the relationship between Monk and Jack makes "Mr Monk's Other Brother", it's charming and hilarious (basically just brilliantly done) with hugely entertaining and incredibly well written funny moments and back and forth. Tony Shalhoub does a wonderful job as always, he could have done with more tender moments which develops his acting range so well but his comic timing is just great. Steve Zahn gives one of the best guest supporting turns of Season 7 and of the latter seasons, simply terrific.
Traylor Howard, Jason Gray-Stanford and Ted Levine do well enough but deserved more to do. The supporting cast are above competent, but Shalhoub, Zahn and Monk and Jack's chemistry are the reasons to see the episode.
Writing is mostly very good, the tender easy-to-relate-to drama is lacking but the humour is hilarious and the quirks are never exploited or overdone even with Monk and Jack both having them.
Visually, the episode is slick and stylish as ever. The music is both understated and quirky. While there is a preference for the theme music for Season 1, Randy Newman's "It's a Jungle Out There" has grown on me overtime, found it annoying at first but appreciate its meaning and what it's trying to say much more now.
Overall, nice episode that is made by Shalhoub, Zahn and their chemistry together. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Season 7 was a very mixed bag up to this point, "Mr Monk and the Genius" being one of its best while also having major disappointments like "Mr Monk Falls in Love" and especially "Mr Monk Takes a Punch". While in the better half of the season, "Mr Monk's Other Brother" (with yet another one of Monk's relatives popping up from nowhere having never been mentioned before, his father's and particularly Ambrose's introductions were at least justified and given reasons, this one was pretty random) does come up short somewhat still.
Am also one of those people who thinks Natalie, Disher and Stottlemeyer taking a back-seat was not a good thing. Natalie has her moments but Stottlemeyer in particular is wasted and he (being my personal favourite of the other three regulars) and Ted Levine, who still does his best, deserve much better than that.
The mystery also could have been a little better, it's engaging enough and it has its fun and suspenseful but is too obvious too early, could have featured more and the motive is insipid. Would have liked more dramatic and emotional moments too, the Ambrose and father episodes had a much better balance of comedy and pathos and while "Mr Monk's Other Brother" delivers on the comedy the emotional moments are missing.
However, the relationship between Monk and Jack makes "Mr Monk's Other Brother", it's charming and hilarious (basically just brilliantly done) with hugely entertaining and incredibly well written funny moments and back and forth. Tony Shalhoub does a wonderful job as always, he could have done with more tender moments which develops his acting range so well but his comic timing is just great. Steve Zahn gives one of the best guest supporting turns of Season 7 and of the latter seasons, simply terrific.
Traylor Howard, Jason Gray-Stanford and Ted Levine do well enough but deserved more to do. The supporting cast are above competent, but Shalhoub, Zahn and Monk and Jack's chemistry are the reasons to see the episode.
Writing is mostly very good, the tender easy-to-relate-to drama is lacking but the humour is hilarious and the quirks are never exploited or overdone even with Monk and Jack both having them.
Visually, the episode is slick and stylish as ever. The music is both understated and quirky. While there is a preference for the theme music for Season 1, Randy Newman's "It's a Jungle Out There" has grown on me overtime, found it annoying at first but appreciate its meaning and what it's trying to say much more now.
Overall, nice episode that is made by Shalhoub, Zahn and their chemistry together. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Saved By The Good Lines !
elshikh49 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Oh, I love Monk. It's the old-fashioned viewer's dream in the bloody scary CSI-esquire 2000s. The thing about this show, and there are a lot of things by the way, is that writing is an assured treat every time. This time, I don't think so. So now he has "other brother"?! Actually, he should, since we're in the seventh season anyway!
Overall, the episode's base isn't bad, as Monk suddenly has a lying machine as a half-brother. Being chaotic was good too as Monk's opposite. Even the idea that the other brother suggested, of forming a team of himself and Monk as The Brothers Monk, drew my attention for a while; as ex-conman joins forces with ex-cop. And with these 2 characters, as lousy vs. genius brothers, it won't be (Switch)'s rip-off!
What bothered me was that many points were.. Hmmm, let's not say bad, only mediocre. Say how that half-brother told his girlfriend that he wanted her to act as his mother on the phone? How nobody, including the prison's administrators, didn't know the identity of the fugitive who happened to be in front of his chasers all the time?! (the hair and beard thing didn't satisfy me much). Going into the murdered woman's flat was done so easily I think. The killer's motive was totally insipid and consequently unconvincing. The killer forgot the watch, with his initials on it, then kills with his own silvery (!), well, usually the killers in Monk make one mistake not two! When the same guy lost it, shooting at the good guys at the end, that was absurd and hasty. Maybe the time of Monk and his brother's squabbles took much time, so the scriptwriter just had to shorten anything else in return. You can say the same about the absence of the rest of characters, since this time we didn't enjoy them as we used to.
(Tony Shalhoub) has become Monk long time ago. The moments whenever he opposes his brother's fibs with great seriousness were his best. The directing made a good shooting sequence as well. But what I enjoyed the most was the dialogue.
This episode has many many good lines; "You're allergic to the truth", "I'm a lovable rogue / Who says that about himself? / ..The lovable rogues!", "Since your mom died?/ Since my mom dyed.. her hair!". And the final line, that indicates another escape, concluded the episode cutely and smartly.
Fairly, it's the mediocre Monk fare. And I hope that "other brother" comes again, however in more interesting episode. Maybe we'll discover later that being Monk's brother is another lie itself!
Overall, the episode's base isn't bad, as Monk suddenly has a lying machine as a half-brother. Being chaotic was good too as Monk's opposite. Even the idea that the other brother suggested, of forming a team of himself and Monk as The Brothers Monk, drew my attention for a while; as ex-conman joins forces with ex-cop. And with these 2 characters, as lousy vs. genius brothers, it won't be (Switch)'s rip-off!
What bothered me was that many points were.. Hmmm, let's not say bad, only mediocre. Say how that half-brother told his girlfriend that he wanted her to act as his mother on the phone? How nobody, including the prison's administrators, didn't know the identity of the fugitive who happened to be in front of his chasers all the time?! (the hair and beard thing didn't satisfy me much). Going into the murdered woman's flat was done so easily I think. The killer's motive was totally insipid and consequently unconvincing. The killer forgot the watch, with his initials on it, then kills with his own silvery (!), well, usually the killers in Monk make one mistake not two! When the same guy lost it, shooting at the good guys at the end, that was absurd and hasty. Maybe the time of Monk and his brother's squabbles took much time, so the scriptwriter just had to shorten anything else in return. You can say the same about the absence of the rest of characters, since this time we didn't enjoy them as we used to.
(Tony Shalhoub) has become Monk long time ago. The moments whenever he opposes his brother's fibs with great seriousness were his best. The directing made a good shooting sequence as well. But what I enjoyed the most was the dialogue.
This episode has many many good lines; "You're allergic to the truth", "I'm a lovable rogue / Who says that about himself? / ..The lovable rogues!", "Since your mom died?/ Since my mom dyed.. her hair!". And the final line, that indicates another escape, concluded the episode cutely and smartly.
Fairly, it's the mediocre Monk fare. And I hope that "other brother" comes again, however in more interesting episode. Maybe we'll discover later that being Monk's brother is another lie itself!
Monk and the scofflaw brother
safenoe2 September 2020
Steve Zahn makes a guest appearance has Monk's other brother who is up to no good! Still, Monk's blood bonds are strong enough to help out the scofflaw in the family tree.
I've never warmed to Randy Newman's opening theme. I prefer Jeff Beal's composition.
I've never warmed to Randy Newman's opening theme. I prefer Jeff Beal's composition.
Watchable but.........
snitzell30 July 2022
What a shock to find out Monk's half-wit brother wasn't. Chris Garten from Tremors 2:Aftershock. Good lord there are 2 guys that irritating?? Well even Gilbert Gottfried had friends so at least they can fill the void he left.
the moron's half brother
sandcrab27731 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILER: Neither moron brother is funny...one of the few laughs i ever got from this show was when brooke adams was in the cast, now she was funny and should be used more often, like every episode...no surprise on titus welliver being the murderer...he can always be counted on the be the bad, evil guy...not even a stretch of the imagination can make me believe these morons are half brothers...all the quirks have become so mundane whenever they don't occur no one misses them
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