User Reviews

There is one person on here that is always leaving reviews for the show calling monk a moron and hi the show sucks. It's interesting that someone that hates the show that much goes out of his way to watch and comment on every episode what a sad moron!

Playing on a variation from a much earlier episode, HYPNOTIZED has Monk deciding to undergo hypnosis to rid him of his problems. The only problem is, the hypnotherapist Monk sees regresses the defective detective to about age 8. And Monk starts acting accordingly. He still manages to solve a murder case, however. Some of the silliness is OK. It's funny, for instance, when Monk shouts "You're a liar. Liar, liar, pants on fire!" at the wife of the man who was killed. There's also a very poignant moment where Monk swings on a park swing amid a bunch of kids, who are quickly rushed away by their alarmed parents. It doesn't help, of course, that Monk knocks one of the kids down in his rush to grab a swing. Monk does make a new friend: a bullfrog, which he keeps in a shoe box. So long for now, Mr. Monk. See you next season.

'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.

Up to this point of Season 7, the season was inconsistent, with a few good episodes especially "Mr Monk and the Genius" ("Mr Monk's 100th Case" and "Mr Monk Gets Lotto Fever" while with flaws were also enjoyable) and a couple of disappointing ones in "Mr Monk Falls in Love" and particularly "Mr Monk Takes a Punch". "Mr Monk Gets Hypnotised" is one of the better Season 7 episodes up to this point of the season.

While the mystery is fun and engaging, it is let down by again being too simple and being too obvious too early who the killer is, who, how and why could all be seen from a mile away (again taking away from the suspense). Disher has little to do and when he does appear he's too much of an idiot even for the "comic relief" role.

On the most part Monk is in character, even when made to act younger and more childish than he actually is. Thankfully he is never made to do anything embarrassing. There are a couple of parts where the personality he has here makes for writing that comes over as a bit too silly, especially when he outright accuses the wife without proof in an uncharacteristically immature way that may have fans squirming.

Character moments-wise, there are some delightful moments. Monk and Natalie have lovely chemistry together, having a sympathetic warmth and humorous edge. Likewise with Stottlemeyer, the character, Ted Levine's acting and his chemistry with Monk are some of my favourite things about 'Monk' and neither disappoint. The scene with the kids and the swing is both hilarious and poignant, and the bullfrog and Trudy-thinking elements have a good deal of pathos too.

The guest cast are very good. One of the best things about 'Monk' has always been the acting of Tony Shalhoub in the title role. It was essential for him to work and be the glue of the show, and Shalhoub not only is that but also at his very best he IS the show. Have always loved the balance of the humour, which is often hilarious, and pathos, which is sincere and touching, both of which on full display here more so than anything else yet seen with Season 7.

Nothing bad can be said about the solid supporting turns of down-to-earth and sympathetic Traylor Howard, amusing and loyal Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford doing what he can with his material (which doesn't stretch particularly much).

Writing has the usual wry humour, sympathetically treated quirks and tender easy-to-relate-drama. The hypnosis concept was done very intriguingly and meshed with the rest of the episode well.

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.

In conclusion, pretty good and entertaining if not one of 'Monk's' high points. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This episode is by far the worst episode that I have seen so far, and I love this show. But watching this is a chore. His act as a child is annoyingly unrealistic and as a teacher who is constantly around children of that age. Also Disher's constant smacking of the gum has been driving me crazy. Can't wait to finish this episode. (Ps this iteration of Monk- I rly want him to get punched in the face)

Monk's childish actions are beyond anything that would happen in the real world. I didn't enjoy this until the hypnosis wore off. The only thing missing here was Monk thinking he was a chicken and clucking. He is ridiculous enough in his normal being without making him into a laughingstock.

What is It about hypnotism and the media making everyone think it's so simple and easy. In reality it takes years of study and training, and most importantly, it's not exactly how It's presented in pop culture and other media. First off, the type of therapy Monk get's in this episode is Hypnotherapy, which is more or less a mind over body practice that a person can do on their own, but if they have a documented history of mental health issues or things like that then they do need to see a hypnotherapist. However the hypnotherist monk goes to see in this episode is more of a quack doctor, because while there documented cases of people over coming addictions, or even certain phobia's, the therapist uses hypnotic regression, which is unreliable and illegitimate science in the real world. Because he can't regress someone mentally to that of a child or into someone else for very long, in fact that famous dinner show hypnosis routine has actually caused a lot of problems for people who've under gone it in the long run because it creates false memories as well as creating long term trauma that actually can be damaging. Now there is some truth of using drugs and hypnotherapy to condition someone, but that too would have to take weeks, if not months to accomplish and it's quite possibly evil and criminal to do that to someone.

I'm glad that at least this episode recognizes that the science is bull and that Monk eventually snaps out of it on his own. Plus i knew that guy playing the hypnotist was an unreliable person, because he's played by Richard Schiff, who I knew as that guy from Jurassic Park II who got torn apart by two t-rex's.

But what saves this episode for me is Courtney Ford. Even if she's in something that totally sucks, it's still goanna be a lot of fun, because he makes it fun. Plus she makes a good villain in this.

Finally, an explanation for why the moron acts like a moron ... this is not acting but a reaction to why harold krenshaw makes the moron act like his true self, a child out of place in the normal world ... can communicate with a frog but not a human.... about to be smashed by the femme fatale, randy and the captain with natalie to put the woman away