Mr. Monk Rules the World

Monk has been or is being broadcast in 34 countries around the world!

If you have information on when, where or how Monk is being broadcast in any of these countries or if you know of a country to be added to the list, please drop me an email.

My french is a little rusty, but after a little web surfing I gather that reruns of Monk's fourth season are currently airing in France on the TV network TF1 and they are impatiently awaiting the fifth season. Tony Shalhoub recently gave an interview to a french entertainment website, Allocine.com.

Excerpt from Allocine.com
October 2006

Que pensez-vous du succès de "Monk" ?

C'est vraiment une série unique et marrante, un équilibre entre le drame et la comédie. Nous avons d'excellents scénaristes qui me permettent en plus d'ajouter un peu de ma personnalité. Et puis cette série n'est pas une usine à pondre des épisodes, on n'en fait que 16 ou 17 par an, ce qui permet d'avoir une qualité parfaite et de ne pas être crevé après le boulot. Ce rythme me donne également la chance de me consacrer à une carrière sur le grand écran.

My very "loose" translation:

What do you think about the success of "Monk"?

This is really a unique and funny series with a balance between the drama and the comedy. We have excellent scriptwriters who allow me to add a little of my own personality. And then this series is not a factory to produce episodes, we only do 16 or 17 per year. This allows a more perfect quality and not to be burnt out after the work. This rhythm gives me equally the luxury to devote myself to a career on the big screen.

For those who have a better understanding of french than me (which includes almost everyone) here's the Full Article.

Many fine Monk products can be found at Amazon - France including:

Monk, saison 1 - Coffret 4 DVD

Monk, saison 2 - Coffret 4 DVD

Monk, saison 3 - Coffret 4 DVD

Monk - The Premiere Episode

Mr. Monk Goes to the Fire House

Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii

Mr. Monk And the Blue Flu

Monk: The Official
Episode Guide

The books are all in english. The DVDs can be viewed with subtitles or dubbed in french/spanish.

Mr. Monk Goes to Hungary

I don't have much information on Monk in Hungary, but I do have this little video clip that's been dubbed in Hungarian:

This clip is huge (almost 10MB)
If you start the download be prepared to invest a little time.

Mr. Monk Goes to Germany

My german is not much better than my french, but it seems that the fourth season of Monk is also being broadcast in Germany on RTL Television four or five times a month.

Courtesy of our sister site in Germany we have an interview with the actor who dubs Lt. Disher's voice.

Interview with Klaus-Peter Grap [dubbing Jason Gray-Stanford in Germany] By Markus Tusche for www.monk-tv.de [February 2005] Translation by Jezebeljack Klaus-Peter Grap was born on Nov 22, 1958 in Berlin. Since 1997, Mr Grap has done radio and cabaret work, has acted on both stage and television and has worked as a writer and dubbing artist. Mr Grap has lent his voice to many characters, such as Dr. Luka Kovac from ER and Dr. Daniel Jackson from Stargate SG1. Now he is also known as the German voice of Lieutenant Randall Disher from the TV show Monk. We had the chance to ask Mr. Grap a few questions which predominantly dealt with his work as a dubbing artist and with his dubbing role of Lieutenant Randall Disher in particular. Monk-Tv: Mr Grap, thank you for granting us this little interview. How did you get the role of dubbing Jason Gray-Stanford who plays Lt. Disher in the TV show Monk? Klaus Peter Grap: I have been working as actor and dubbing artist since 1977. Together with Andreas Pollak who directed season one and with Hermes Synchron, I have been the German voice of Dr. Daniel Jackson from Stargate for 8 years. So, those people knew me well. Also, Jason and I have the same jug ears, so there was a physical hint as well. And in addition to that, I just love being the comedian, I love being funny. Monk-Tv: How would you describe your typical workday? Klaus Peter Grap: Well, you come to the studio a little before your appointment; you read through the contents of the script and have a look at your takes, if possible, so you know the direction which the character and scenes are developing towards. When it’s your turn, you go to the speaker's desk, read the German text, listen to and look at the original, and then you try to synchronize the German words to the lip movements of the original actors.

This is really difficult, because often the English texts are much shorter, yet the German version mustn’t sound hurried. The hardest of all are science fiction and hospital shows because they use a lot of technical terms which are difficult for us to pronounce, but which should sound natural. Also, the combination of English and German can be a problem. Examples would be: „Ihr Thunfischsandwich, Sergeant Smith!“ (Your tuna sandwich, Sergeant Smith!) or „Lady Rachel reitet gen Riverwholestedt, anstatt Richtung Richmond.“ (Lady Rachel is riding towards Riverwholestedt instead of towards Richmond.

Monk-Tv : Are you working together with the other dubbing artists of „Monk“ or do you record everything separately?

Klaus Peter Grap: That depends on the schedules; both are possible.

Monk-Tv : How long does it take to dub one episode?

Klaus Peter Grap: I'd say, about 1 ½ days.

Monk-Tv : Are you in contact with the other dubbing artists of „Monk“?

Klaus Peter Grap: We‘ve all known each other for years. I've already done theatre with Gauss [dubbing Capt. Stottlemeyer] 2 times.

Klaus Peter Grap: Well, you watch the scene and then you try to empathize with it. It's like acting.

Monk-Tv : Can you identify with the character of Lieutenant Disher?

Klaus Peter Grap: This part would have been perfect for me, too, and I would have been more than happy to play that part.

Monk: The Official
Episode Guide

Monk: The First Novel

Monk: The Second Novel

Monk: The Third Novel

Monk: The Fourth Novel

The Fifth Novel

Monk: Season One

Monk: Season Two

Monk: Season Three

Monk: Season Four

Monk: Season Five

Monk: The Obsessive
Compulsive Collection

Monk: The Premiere Episode

Monk: The Soundtrack

Tony Shalhoub's Directorial
Debut now on DVD

The Great New Wonderful

If you have a link you'd like to suggest which is even remotely Monk related, drop me an email at links@eviltwinltd.com.