July 28th 2009
I
was invited to participate in a
press conference call with Tony
Shalhoub, thanks to Inside
Pulse, New
Media Strategies and Electric
Artists. The latter two comprise
part of USA
Network's publicity machine.
They had all the press outlets,
some traditional print organizations
but mostly online press, dial in.
Each caller was told they could
ask only one question and they had
to punch in a code to do so. I punched
in, but apparenly it's a lot like
Jeopardy
and you have to be a lot quicker
on the buzzer than I was. They never
got around to letting me ask my
question, which was asked anyways,
(regarding future Monk
movies) or my back up question,
which was also asked, (regarding
Tony's future plans) or my back
up back up question, about Tony's
episode submission for his Emmy
nomination, which nobody asked.
So we still don't know. [Update:
Now we know. It's Mr. Monk and the
Miracle."]
This
is the edited version of the transcript,
which I noticed some sites have
posted verbatim. I've chosen to
remove most of the "You know"s,
"Kind of"s, "Um"s,
"Uh"s and false starts
on Tony's part, because I think
that you know, ummm... uh, I think
he'd kind of appreciate it. Not
that Tony's difficult to understand
at all, but we all have speech patterns
which don't read that well on the
page. (Especially when you're asked
to talk for an hour straight and
you don't know what you're going
to be asked.) I also cut out most
of the media's chatter and left
the bare bones questions.
Tony
did seem completely at ease. No
surprise, since he's done this many
times before. He was gracious, patient
and excited about the final season.
Many of the questions were the same
old chestnuts he usually gets in
interviews: "How much are you
really like Monk"? etc., but
he's always ready with an entertaining
and honest answer.
|
I
was wondering, what’s the
lasting impression you want audience
members to take from watching your
show and watching you? – Jamie
Steinberg with Starry
Constellation I
think if I had to choose one thing
I would say that I would want people
to take away the idea that sometimes
people’s problems or neuroses
are really the things that are kind
of a blessing in disguise. Even
though sometimes there’s pain
associated with these things, sometimes
in the face of adversity with obstacles
to overcome people can really kind
of soar and find their higher selves.
I think that’s what we’ve
tried to do on this show. We’ve
portrayed this character as someone
who turns his liabilities into assets
for his life. I hope that when we
get to the end, I don’t know
this for sure, but I hope that when
we get to the end of season eight
that we’ll have seen some
real healing for Monk. I believe
in that now. I believe that there
is healing and that there is change
and that all those things are really
key to all of our lives.
Okay,
I’ll try to make this quick.
I wonder if you’ve had any
input into the new changes of Monk
because it seems from the ads that
he’s sort of looser and more
comedic and do you have a preference
for comedy or drama or horror? –
Jennifer Iaccino of Media
Blvd
|
I
don’t really have a preference
to be honest. In fact my preference,
my only preference, is to have a
lot of variety and diversity in
the material that I work on. I’ve
been so fortunate throughout my
career. When I was doing theater,
more theater than anything else,
and when I was doing films, I got
a chance to do a broad range of
things. A lot of my choices that
I made were about that very thing.
Every project that I had an opportunity
to do, or chose to do, I wanted
it to be different from the last
thing I did. I think that’s
why I have a diverse kind of résumé.
It’s what I set out to do
as an actor originally.
|
|
You
talked about the character and what
he means, but in terms of the pantheon
of great television series what
sort of legacy do you think this
show will leave and what do you
sort of take away from it in that
regard? – Joshua Maloney
with Niagara
Frontier
I
think one of the things that will
be remembered about this show, I
hope it will be remembered, is that
at a time when there was a lot of
television, -- especially with the
onslaught of cable and in a period
where television is kind of redefining
itself – there were precious
few shows on the air that were suitable
for a wider audience: like a younger
audience, people in their 30s and
elderly people in their 70s and
80s. But here was a show that all
those different demographics could
tune into and appreciate on their
own level. I think there isn’t
a lot of shows like that. There
haven’t been a lot of shows
like that in the last decade. I
hope that that’s something
people will focus on and remember
for a long time: that it’s
still possible to do interesting
stories and good comedy without
having it have to be all exclusively
adult themed kinds of things or
super violent or with language that
some people might feel is inappropriate
for younger audiences. This show
was kind of able to stand out and
do that.
|
Tony Shalhoub
in Wings |
Hi,
Tony. My first interview with you
was way back in Wings
and I think you’re one of
the good ones. I’ve always
been happy for you: how well you’ve
done for yourself and the good work
that you’ve done. One time
when I interviewed you, you mentioned
that you’re the only one at
your home who knows absolutely the
only right way how to load the dishwasher
which struck me as a kind of Monk
thing to say. – David
Martindale with Hearst
Newspapers
I’m
not the only one in my home; I’m
the only one in my community, I
think. In my entire neighborhood,
I’m pretty sure.
|
My question is
have you found the longer that
you’ve played Monk the differences
between you, Tony and the character
have eroded? Which is to say have
you become more like him and he
more like you over the years?
– David Martindale with
Hearst
Newspapers
I would
say yes, absolutely. I resisted
it for a long time. I’ve wrestled
with it. I fought with it. I was
in denial about it and all of that,
but inevitably I feel like I’ve
been infected in some way by this
character. Minor tendencies that
I’ve had in my life prior
to Monk, have just kind
of ballooned and it’s inevitable.
I’ve given up trying to resist
it. I’m hoping that when Monk
is over I’ll have some period
of recovery, but I’m not holding
my breath.
How is the final
season structured? You know the
season premiere seems like the
standard great hilarious episode,
but when do we kind of get into
the wrapping of things up? –
Jim Halterman with The
Futon Critic
What
the writers have in mind is to
do is our normal stand alone episodes
for the first I would say eleven,
because we’re doing 16 as
usual. So the first eleven I would
say are going to be stand alone
and the last five will be kind
of connected. They’ll have
a connective tissue and we’ll
start to get into the wrap up:
not just of Monk, but of some
of the other characters as well.
Then what they want to do is the
final two episodes, number 15
and 16, will be just one story,
a two parter. It will air in two
segments. The episode, that two
parter, will involve the wrap
up of Trudy’s murder, you
know, the solving of Trudy’s
murder.
|
What
was the deciding factor to make
this season the final season? –
Sarah Fulgham with Totallyher.com
I
think there were a lot of things
at play there. I mean, long conversations
that I had with Andy
Breckman, one of the co-creators
and the main writer. We’d
been talking all along about how
many seasons to do, how many episodes
that he had in him as a writer.
He at one point said that he didn’t
think he had more than six seasons
and then he got a gigantic second
wind and we did the seventh. We
weren’t sure when we were
doing the seventh if the network
was going to go with us on the eighth,
but a long story short, we all kind
of agreed that the eighth season
would be it for all of us.
|
|
I
think we’ll have 124 episodes
by the end of the eighth season.
I think we’re all ready to
resolve the story line and move
on to other things. We certainly
don’t want to go too long
and have the quality start to wane
and just limp to the finish line.
We want to go out while we still
feel we’re doing great work,
delivering strong episodes. We want
to go out on a high.
How
many of the old faces from past
episodes are we going to see as
a way of saying goodbye this last
season? – BethAnn Henderson
with NiceGirlsTV.com
I’m
sure you’ve probably read,
because there’s been a lot
of publicity, about Sharona coming
back. Bitty
Schram is going to come back
for an episode, I believe it’s
episode #12, which we’ll start
shooting in September. They want
to bring that character back and
kind of wrap it up and give that
a good send off. A lot of people
really missed that character and
the dynamic between Monk and Sharona.
So we’re all looking forward
to that.
Of
course, we’ll see Harold Krenshaw
comes back: one of my favorites.
He’s the other OCD patient
who’s always kind of in competition
with Monk, played so brilliantly
by Tim
Bagley. He’s going to
return for at least a couple of
episodes. That’s it. Of course
Dr. Bell [Hector
Elizondo], the psychiatrist,
will be in a number of episodes.
People have asked if we’re
going to see Ambrose. I don’t
really think that’s in the
cards, simply because John
[Turturro] is so busy. It’s
difficult to schedule him. If I
had my way we’d do kind of
what Seinfeld
did and bring back almost every
guest star there was on the show,
but ours is going to go in a different
direction.
I
have to tell you I’m from
Wisconsin and you’re one of
my Mother’s favorite actor’s.
– Christine
Nyholm with the Examiner.com
I’m
in Wisconsin as we speak. I’m
at a family reunion in Door County.
It’s so beautiful here.
Oh,
it’s fantastic there. My question
is, being from Wisconsin, how did
you make your way from Wisconsin
to Hollywood? And do your mid-western
roots impact your acting at all?
And how? – Christine
Nyholm with the Examiner.com
How?
Boy, I think so, I think they do.
I went to college on the East Coast
in Portland, Maine. I went to graduate
school at the Yale Drama School,
worked in the theater in Cambridge,
Massachusetts for years and then
went to New York and then to Los
Angeles. That was kind of the road
map of it, but I always come back
to Wisconsin every year. I have
family here, of course. I don’t
know. This place was kind of a fantastic
place to grow up and kind of keeps
me grounded and keeps me somewhat
humble. Just to kind of return to
it, I think it keeps me balanced.
I still have great friends here
and I feel like it’s home.
|
 |
Have
you Tony learned anything from
your years with the character
of Adrian Monk and do you think
Adrian has learned anything
from Tony? –
Laura Tucker with Small
Screen Monthly
I
think I have learned something
from Adrian. I think I’ve
learned sometimes hyper focusing
on things is actually a good
thing to do. Not all the time,
and I wouldn’t want to
get as fixated and obsessed
as Adrian, but sometimes I’ve
found that it’s real helpful
to look at things in my own
life with the same sort of relentlessness
that Monk does. Just turning
something over and over and
over and trying to see it from
all angles and not being to
quick to judge something or
label something. So in that
sense I feel like I’ve
gained a little real life wisdom.
|
What
has Monk gotten from me? Boy, I
don’t know. That’s a
really good question. I feel like
Monk has maybe become a little more,
because I was playing the role,
maybe Monk has become a little more
open to others and embraces, to
the degree that he can, embraces
other people’s points of view.
I feel like I’ve been that
kind of a person in my life. Open-minded.
How
involved were you with the development
of the character of Monk and are
there any clues that point to the
potential killer for Trudy, besides
the garage? – Joe Hummel
of Pop
Culture Madness
I
wasn’t really there when this
character was created. The script
was around for a number of years
before it came to me. Although I
do feel I’ve had some significant
input. When I came to the project
the script and the character was
somewhat different and I had long
conversations with Andy Breckman
about kind of morphing the character
more towards what I wanted to do,
more to my strengths. The original
script that I read was a little
more slapstick-y and I wanted to
emphasize the darker aspects of
this character, more of the pain.
So that was a conversation a lot
of the producers had in the beginning.
I think Andy did such a great job
of morphing what he had originally
written to fit me and what I wanted
to do.
|
As
far as the other clues: I don’t
want to give away too much before
these episodes air, because I think
it will be a lot more interesting
for people to discover things as
we go along.
I
was just wondering if in your own
life you found some of Monk’s
compulsions entering your life in
small ways and if so kind of what
they were. – Lauren Becker
with Shooting
Star Magazine
|
|
You
know, they take so many different
forms and kind of crop up at the
oddest times really. Sometimes I
feel like there are moments when
I feel like I’m just nothing
like the character, but then something
will happen and I’ll just
realize that I’m rearranging
something on a table at a restaurant,
which in that particular moment
seems like it’s absolutely
essential that the sugar packets
are facing one way and then everything
else has to stop until this particular
task is completed. Then I realize,
you know, what the hell am I doing?
I’m channeling the character
again. So it would take me about
an hour and a half to describe all
of the things that occur, but trust
me, it just kind of comes over me
in waves. I have to really, really
check myself and try and pull myself
out of these things.
|
 |
It was a big loss for you on the
show this year with the loss of
Stanley
Kamel as Dr. Kroger. We know
kind of how Monk is dealing with
the loss of the character, but
can you tell us a little bit about
how you’re dealing with
the loss of Stanley? – Gino
Sassani with Upcomingdiscs.com
|
It’s
been really tricky and we all speak
of him and it’s almost as
if he has never left us, because
his name comes up and stories and
anecdotes come up about him all
the time on the set. And you know
he’s missed, but we try and
sort of keep him alive and keep
him in our midst. He was there from
the very, very beginning, from the
pilot episode. I have to say those
scenes, those Dr. Kroger scenes
in the pilot, were so important
just in terms of my process, my
discovery of who Monk was. I think
those scenes in particular were
the most informative and the richest.
They really, really helped me to
define the parameters of my character.
So I kind of carried that with me
through all these seasons. Then
now when I’m in these sessions,
these scenes with Hector Elizondo
who plays Dr. Bell, I can’t
even go into these scenes without.…
I sort of do this internal toast,
as it were to Stanley Kamel, because
he was the original doctor and I
like to think that he’s kind
of there in those sessions with
me. He is missed.
As
you’ve already discussed you’ve
had a lot of guest stars on the
show. I was wondering if you had
a favorite you’ve worked with
over the years and then a favorite
you’ve worked with so far
this year? –Travis Tidmore
with the Cinemaniac
It’s
so hard for me to pick a favorite
because there were so many great
ones and I got the chance to bring
friends of mine on the show, people
that I’ve worked with in the
past, like Stanley
Tucci and John Turturro and
people that I’ve always wanted
to work with like Laurie
Metcalf. But I have to say that
of all the seasons and of all of
the guest stars the most thrilling
for me was the last season working
with Gena
Rowlands on “Mr.
Monk and the Lady Next Door”.
She was such a tremendous influence
on me when I was a student and studying
acting. I was a devotee of John
Cassavetes movies and the movies
she did even separate from him.
|
|
So
I was the one who when we were casting
that particular episode, “The
Lady Next Door”, there were
a number of names on the list and
I pitched her name. I was stunned
and thrilled to find out that she
wanted to do it. Then working those
eight days with her was so….
I felt really, when we finished
that episode, I felt like I could
retire. I had done everything I
needed to do now. She was so gracious
and so good and of course she’s
been nominated for an Emmy for that
episode too. So I hopefully will
see her at the Emmy’s in September. |
Tony Shalhoub &
Gena Rowlands in "Mr. Monk
and the Lady Next Door" |
I
think the character of Monk has
been portrayed very respectful.
What was the process you went into
in the research to try and make
sure you didn’t go over the
top and play it maybe possibly offensive?
–Josh Bozeman with TheBlueSite.com
The process, and it’s a process
I have used in approaching other
characters, knowing it’s a
comedy, I try to find out what are
the more serious aspects of the
character. Conversely, when I do
a serious role I try and find out
what’s funny about the character.
The beauty of this particular character
is that I have the opportunity to
do both comedy and drama in one
series and one character. I guess
to answer your question, it’s
really, when you’re doing
the comedic moments, digging out
what’s really, really at stake
and what is the most important and
most serious thing to the character
which I believes informs the comedy.
Then, conversely, when moments are
really dark and poignant I try to
infuse those with an unexpected
and sometimes inappropriate, or
seemingly inappropriate, comedic
flash, a little spark of something
absurd or comedic. That’s
been my approach.
I
know you talked about your favorite
guest stars, but I was wondering
if you had a particular favorite
episode of Monk? –Sandy
Lo with Star
Shine Magazine
This
is so difficult because I have so
many that are just so near and dear
to me. I kind of will reframe the
question in the answer I think.
I will say the ones that I think
we did where we’ve done the
best — those episodes where
we did 100% of what we set out to
do or 100% of how we imagined the
show should be in a perfect world
when we’re doing our jobs,
just the best — those episodes
would be, I would say, the first
John Turturro episode where we meet
the character of Ambrose. That was
called “Mr.
Monk and the Three Pies”.
Another favorite of mine was “Mr.
Monk Takes His Medicine”
because it was a chance for me to
do this character almost as a different
character, see a different part
of him emerge.
We
did an episode that we just shot
in the first part of season eight,
which will be airing in about a
month. It’s called “Mr.
Monk is Someone Else.” It’s
basically a doppelganger episode,
where Monk assumes the character
of this man who looks just like
him, but the character happens to
be a professional hit man for the
mafia. So this character dies and
Monk is asked to take this guy on
and become him. So those opportunities
to kind of transform within the
character are really, really challenging
and satisfying.
Trudy’s
murder has been one of the most
successful narrative arcs in television
history, rivaling even Mulder’s
sister Samantha on the X-Files.
So do you think it should be solved
or left for the audience as more
of a MacGuffin?
–Sarah Lafferty with Starpulse.com
I
really think it should be solved.
I know there are people who say
that maybe it shouldn’t, because
that would mean that there would
be a life for this character beyond
the series and that possibly the
solving of Trudy’s murder
would cure him in some way or take
down his OCD symptoms and then the
character really wouldn’t
be the character that we’ve
come to recognize, but I really
feel that we’ve worked this
storyline so delicately and for
so long that I think we owe it to,
not just to the audience and to
ourselves, but to the character
of Monk and to the character of
Trudy that we’ve created.
I think we should solve it.
|
Tony Shalhoub &
Stanley Tucci
in Big Night |
What's the most memorable moment you’ve
had from filming Monk?
–Jessica Mahn with FanBolt.com
The
most memorable moment? [long pause]
I can’t remember my most memorable.
No, I think I would have to say
the most memorable moment would
be when I was doing the episode
with Stanley Tucci, “Mr.
Monk and the Actor”.
|
He
and I were — you know, having
been reunited from working together
a number of times — he and
I, in the climax of the episode
where I take the gun away from him
and we’re kind of sitting
on the floor leaning up against
this counter our arms over each
others shoulders, because it was
reminiscent of a moment in Big Night,
which was such a gigantic turning
point for me in terms of film and
my career. So that moment in Monk
kind of reminded me of that moment
in the movie. It was pretty emotional.
It was a pretty emotional time.
Just
because USA is bringing the series
to an end, because of their choice
and collectively yours as we’ve
heard, that doesn’t mean another
network down the line in a couple
of years or so wouldn’t pick
it up. Following on, of course,
from the reveal of who the killer
was, now is this something that
you’ve thought about that
maybe you would contemplate a return
to the character down the line in
a couple or three years perhaps?
–Russell Trunk with ExculsiveMagazine.com
|
You know
I’ve given that a lot of
thought. I feel like I’m
ready to put this character to
rest, but by the same token, I
never say never. Circumstances
could change and I could change
my mind. Certainly I’ve
been known to change my mind.
I just think time will tell. I
would never ever rule something
like that out. I don’t know
if that answers your question.
That was kind
of my question, too. Do you ever
foresee maybe doing specials in
the future? –Earl Dittman
with Wireless Magazine
|
Tony Shalhoub
with Lisa Rinna
on the TV Guide Network
|
I assume
you’re talking about like
a TV movie or something with the
character, the way Columbo
did. I don’t really see
that being so likely, just because
I think I’m going to be
busy with other things. Maybe
I’m deluding myself.
I
just watched the season premier,
and this question is sort of specific
to that. Have you ever run across
any people who are as passionate
about Adrian Monk as Adrian was
about Christine Rapp? –Jay
Jacobs with Pop
Entertainment
|
Tony Shalhoub w/Eliabeth
Perkins (Christine Rapp) and Rena
Sofer
in Mr. Monk's Favorite Show |
Yes.
I have to say that I have, actually.
It’s kind of a disturbing
notion, but that’s kind of
been part of what’s been interesting
about this character is that being
an obsessive character, I find that
there are obsessive fans. There
are people who know way too much
about the details of the character
and way too much about various moments
in different episodes, things that
I, frankly, have long forgotten:
small, small details. I suppose
that’s good on the one hand. |
I just hope that those people keep
a nice, healthy distance in the
future: a nice, healthy, respectful
distance. |
Your
fans want to know what’s up
next for you after you’re
done with Monk. Are you
going to take a nice long vacation
or will we get the pleasure of seeing
you more on the big screen? –Rosa
Cordero with Accidental
Sexiness.com
Well,
I don’t want to take too long
a vacation, although I do think
I need a break. Whenever I take
too long a break or don’t
work a while, all my demons start
to resurface, and I go a little
nuts. I did work on an independent
feature this past winter, which
I hope will be coming out soon called
Feed
the Fish, a movie that I acted
in, but also co-produced, and a
really nice indie.
So we’re looking for distribution
to sell this picture. So people
should look for that.
Beyond
that, I want to really, really take
some time for myself to decide which
direction to go next. I might do
some theater for a year before I
do any more television. I think
I need a break from hour long episodic
for a while.
I
have a question about the character
and how much freedom you have to
kind of riff on the OCD? It seems
like there are moments in different
episodes that are just complete
adlib where you’re just playing
that personality trait more for
the comedic effect. How much freedom
do you have to just kind of take
an idea and run with it? –Tom
Parsons with Blogcritics
I have an enormous amount of freedom.
In terms of dialog, I try to stay
really close to the script. We all
do, but we do have a writer with
us on the set every moment and we’re
always pitching ideas to this writer/producer
and seeing what we can get away
with. As far as physical behavior
and things that I discover that
may not be in the script, but we
discover in whatever environment
we’re in, whether it’s
somewhere outdoors or somewhere
in an office or wherever the setting
may be. I’ve been able to
kind of just find things and work
with them. That’s what’s
really been so exciting. Believe
me, playing an OCD character with
some of those tendencies myself,
there’s an endless, endless
array of stuff to become preoccupied
with out there in the world, whether
it’s intentioned by the script
or completely unintentional.
To
be honest, most of my questions
I was hoping to ask you have been
asked, so on a lighter note, knowing
you’re a Packer
fan, and me being from Green Bay,
Wisconsin myself, I was hoping to
actually maybe get your feelings
on the possibility of Brett
Favre playing for the Vikings.
Does that upset you, like it upsets
most of us? –Adam Krause
with Static
Mutimedia
It
doesn’t really upset me. I
think if someone like him, who is
so passionate about his work and
just cannot give it up, thinks he
can give it up, and then discovers
that it’s impossible to give
it up, I think in some ways I would
be like him. I would retire and
then come out of retirement 17 times.
But I think what’s really
a little bit unsettling to me is
this idea of being at Lambeau
Field on that day when the Packers
are playing the Vikings, and he
trots out through the tunnel wearing
the wrong uniform. I don’t
really have any desire to be at
that game. It’ll be all I
can do to be watching it on television
with my remote getting ready to
just flick it off really quickly.
I’ve lost a little sleep over
that, but hey, the guy is just trying
to make a buck, you know.
This
is a bit of a follow-up on a previous
question. A number of seasons ago,
it looked like Monk could actually
solve Trudy’s murder. Has
it always been the plan to wait
until the final season to possibly
solve it, or were there ideas along
the way to solve it, and then continue
on in a different plot angle? –Kendra
White with Side
Reel
No,
I think from as far back as I can
recall, it was always part of Andy
Breckman’s agenda to save
the wrap-up until the end. I think
the biggest reason being that it
keeps Monk in a bit of a fog, and
it keeps him on his heels, this
unresolved…. this one case
that he just cannot figure out,
and that he’s just too close
to, to figure out. And so I think
it was always part of his plan.
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You
played so many varied characters
over the years, and I’m
looking forward to many more.
Do you have any interest to do
more work behind the scenes? –Roger
Newcomb with We
Love Soaps
Yes,
actually, because I’ve been
a producer on Monk from
the very start, and that’s
been such a great education for
me, I have a couple things in
mind that I want to produce that
aren’t necessarily vehicles
for me.
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I think it’s time for me to branch
out into producing. And then I would
also like to do some directing.
I’ve done a little of that
in the past, but it’s something
I’d like to do more of. But,
of course, I would never consider
giving up acting. I still want to
keep that alive. But because of
the experience that I’ve gained
and the contacts that I’ve
made now, I think producing is definitely
in my future.
I
wonder maybe if you could tell us
what so far has made a career in
this industry rewarding for you?
–Steve Eeramo with Sci
Fi and TV Talk
Well,
a number of things: having the opportunity
to work in all three different mediums:
theater, film, and television. Having
the opportunity to work with people
that I really respect, and having,
most importantly, which was my original
objective from way, way, way back
was to have longevity in the industry.
It was never really one of my goals
to gain a tremendous amount of celebrity
or make a tremendous amount of money
necessarily, but it was very important
to me when I set out that I would
be able to do it for a long period
of time and not burn out too quickly
or not paint myself into a corner
necessarily by doing one thing,
which is another reason why I think
it’s a healthy and a perfect
time to bring Monk to an
end because there are other things
that I really want to do.
The
die hard fans don’t really
need to be convinced to tune in
to the new season, but for those
who maybe know the show, but are
not quite addicted yet, apart from
like the obvious things, is there
anything you can give us about maybe
why we really need to tune in to
the new season? –Mark
Eastman with RUScreening.com
I
think people will be really gratified
and startled maybe to see that the
quality remains really, really high,
that the stories are interesting,
that we do a bit of what we’ve
tried to do every season, which
is kind of break our own rules and
do some unexpected things. We always
have interesting guest stars. We
try to bring in people to do things
that they may not be necessarily
known for. We try to do our guest
casting so that it isn’t completely
on the nose. For
example, we have Jay
Mohr coming in an upcoming episode
that we shot recently. He plays
a sort of super lawyer, a kind of
Johnny Cochran super lawyer who’s
never lost a case. And it’s
really an interesting turn by Jay
Mohr. I think we keep it kind of
just off center enough to make it
interesting. I hope we do.
How
do you figure the season will find
him in terms of the OCD, solving
the case with Trudy will that give
him a little more control, or will
he spin further out because there
won’t be that big goal? –Sheldon
Wiebe with Eclipse
Magazine
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No,
I think it will actually help him,
and it will give him some kind of
peace and in that peace, his OCD
symptoms will begin to significantly
drop away. When that happens, I
think he’ll be able to move
forward in his life. He won’t
feel so paralyzed. He won’t
have such an aversion to being with
other people. He might even, who
knows, — I don’t know
because the writers haven’t
revealed this to me — but
he might even be able to find love
and romance in his life again. All
those things, I think, remain on
the table and are good possibilities. |
Thanks
again Tony. For all participants
transcripts of today’s session
will be distributed within 48 hours.
So please look for those. Additionally
as part of the final season USA
will present the first live action
original web series on USA Network.com
called Little Monk which
is a spin-off of the critically
acclaimed series. Little Monk
will premier during an all new episode
of Monk on Friday, August
21st with a two minute sneak peak.
Viewers can then go online for the
conclusion along with additional
webisodes to run weekly. We’ll
also send out information about
that along with today’s transcript
which you’ll receive shortly
and, of course, remember to tune
in to the season premier of Monk
on Friday August 7th at 9/8 central
on USA Network. Thanks again everybody
for participating and enjoy the
rest of your day. – Chrissy
Fehskens, our host |
  
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