Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Monk: The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 20, 2024

Kino has released the eighth, and final, season of the immensely watchable and award-winning TV show 'Monk' to the Blu-ray format. As with previous seasons, this release is sourced from a new 4K video restoration and also includes 2.0 lossless audio and a few supplements. And, as always, it looks and sounds terrific. While the show works very well as a standalone experience with almost any given episode, viewers will be rewarded by starting at the beginning and are encouraged to check out seasons One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Seven before watching season eight.

This is a rather routine season for Monk apart from a few episodes: the return of Sharona (which does have a payoff beyond the standalone episode in which she appears), a major character arc turn for Stottlemeyer (and potentially Natalie, which is more hinted at than resolved), and of course for Monk. Season eight does see the central question of the series -- who killed Trudy, and why -- explored in great depth in the final two-part episode and resolved quite nicely, maybe not so much in who did it or why, but what the ultimate end result turns out to be for Monk. The finale is a fitting farewell for the show and the character, offering both narrative resonance and emotional satisfaction. Otherwise, the rest of the episodes are fairly standard in terms of their dynamics (and of course those highlight episodes hit the usual Monk episode qualities and characteristics quite nicely as well). There's not a terrible episode in the bunch (and there were only a few terrible episodes through the entire run) and "Mr. Monk Goes to Group Therapy" is probably my favorite from the entire series run. Overall, season eight stands as one of the best seasons in a show that never had any serious downturn.

The following episodes comprise season eight:

Disc One:

• Mr. Monk's Favorite Show: When Monk’s favorite TV star, a former childhood actress, is nearly murdered by a car bomb. Monk is recruited to serve as her personal bodyguard. As Monk’s fandom shines through, he slowly comes to realize that she isn’t who he thinks she is, especially once he reads her new, and very explicit, tell-all book. Can there be a connection between her dirty past and dangerous present?
• Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man: A Nigerian woman is murdered outside of a convenience store. Her husband mourns on the street below Monk’s apartment at the site of the killing. When Monk learns of their commonality in deceased spouses, he invites the man into his home, building a bond and driving Monk into a singular focus to solve the case at any cost.
• Mr. Monk and the UFO: While stranded in a small, sleepy town, Monk finds himself caught up in investigating the appearance of a UFO and, eventually, a murder. Connection? Probably. Oh, and local UFO enthusiasts come to believe that Monk himself is an extraterrestrial.
• Mr. Monk Is Someone Else: The FBI calls Monk in to brief him on a high-profile hitman who was recently killed in a freak traffic accident…and who looked exactly like Mr. Monk. Monk is charged with heading to Los Angeles and to go undercover as this vicious hitman with a controlling personality that is completely opposite the humble and submissive obsessive-compulsive detective. What could possibly go wrong?

Disc Two:

• Mr. Monk Takes the Stand: While doing his “thing” in explaining the details of a crime, Monk and company are interrupted when a hotshot defense attorney who has never lost a case sweeps away the implicated criminal. Now, Monk finds himself forced to court and up against the best defender in California, trying to prove a case that makes the criminal guilty in theory, but hardly in reality.
• Mr. Monk and the Critic: Natalie is none too pleased when a theater critic trashes Julie’s performance in a community theater production. Her irritation leads to problems, frustration, and outright anger with him that may land her in trouble with the law. Meanwhile, Monk begins to suspect that the critic may be involved in a murder, even though he was at the theater at the time of death.
• Mr. Monk and the Voodoo Curse: A series of deaths are tied to eerily prescient voodoo dolls delivered to the victims days before their deaths. Things take a turn for the surreal when Natalie receives a decapitated doll, seemingly putting her in the crosshairs. Can Monk solve the case before Natalie loses her head over it?
• Mr. Monk Goes to Group Therapy: In drought-stricken San Francisco, Monk receives a letter from his HMO that he’s reached his limit on one-on-one therapy sessions. His only option is to join a therapy group instead. But when members of that group start turning up dead, Adrian – who has made his desire to meet with Dr. Bell alone very clear – becomes a suspect in the killings.

Disc Three:

• Happy Birthday, Mr. Monk: A janitor is brutally murdered in a trash compactor. Monk investigates while also forced to relive childhood trauma as his 50th birthday quickly approaches, and he suspects a surprise party around every corner. Meanwhile, he falls in love with a self-cleaning vacuum cleaner.
• Mr. Monk and Sharona: Sharona is back in town after her uncle is killed – accidentally, it seems – by tripping on a loose stone on a pathway at a ritzy country club. Sharona wants to collect the cash to send her son to college, but Monk suspects foul play. Sharona is not too happy that her easy payday turns into a murder investigation, and her irritability can only complicate her relationship with Monk’s “new” assistant Natalie.
• Mr. Monk and the Dog: When a woman goes missing (read: when a woman is murdered), she leaves her dog behind. Natalie convinces Monk to take the dog in, despite all of his hangups, proclivities, and peculiarities, and he actually winds up bonding with the animal, all the while attempting to peg a killer and finding proof of the murder in the most unlikely of places.
• Mr. Monk Goes Camping: While waiting to hear if he has been reinstated to the force, Disher recruits Monk to accompany him on a camping trip that is sponsored by the force and just might help his chances of reinstatement. Meanwhile, a pair of armed robbers and murderers trail the campers in hopes of collecting incriminating evidence that Monk is certain to find and connect to the crime.

Disc Four:

• Mr. Monk Is the Best Man: Monk is recruited to serve as Stottlemeyer’s best man for his wedding, leading to a disastrous bachelor party. More pressing, however, is a gruesome murder that might just be tied in some way to the upcoming ceremony.
• Mr. Monk and the Badge: Monk is reinstated as a full-fledged detective but quickly finds himself working a troubling case involving a high-profile murderer, the man who pegged him as the killer, and subsequently received a hefty reward for his work. Something dirty is going on, and Monk is going to crack the case, even if it costs him everything all over again.
• Mr. Monk and the End (Parts One and Two): Monk is poisoned and faces certain death, leading him to a significant breakthrough in the most important case of his life.

Monk: The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Monk has looked spectacular on Blu-ray from day one, and Kino Lorber has ensured that the series looks good all the way now to the final season and episode. The studio's 1080p presentation for this eighth and final season is consistent with the quality of the previous seven seasons, meaning that season eight offers a wonderfully filmic presentation and rich, superior color grading. The image maintains a steady, organic grain structure, and it's beautiful to behold. The result is an untampered image, one with wonderful textural clarity and razor-sharp detail. Faces and clothes -- especially Monk's textured suit jackets -- are highlights in every shot, scene, and sequence. City textures, interiors in Monk's apartment and the police department, and other areas likewise showcase excellent detail and stability. Colors are terrific. Bold natural golf course greens during "Mr. Monk and Sharona" stand as one of the best the season has to offer. Clothing colors, flesh tones, and pops of color around various frames reveal consistent depth and accuracy. Black levels are near perfect, as are whites. There are no discernible print issues at play, and the encode appears to be flawless. This is another jewel of a Monk release from Kino Lorber.

Monk: The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kino Lorber has released Monk's eighth season to Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack, the same configuration that has carried the series' audio needs across its Blu-ray lifespan. The presentation is of the same high quality as previous seasons. Even without additional channels, there's a sense of satisfying fullness at work. The track offers wide front side presence, and while there are certainly times that the bigger soundstage a 5.1 track would have provided is missing, the track rarely feels inadequate as it is configured. Clarity is good, musical spread is solid, and dialogue images perfectly well to the center while holding to lifelike clarity excellence. Likewise, while the absence of a subwoofer channel is regrettable, the track never really feels shortchanged. Listeners will enjoy solid depth to a car bomb in the opening minutes of the season, for example. There is good punch and depth to gunfire in the season's third episode, too, and additionally nice weight to music even in the subwoofer-less 2.0 configuration. Lastly, while the 2.0 track can't offer the sort of surround expression and immersion that a 5.1 track would offer, listeners will enjoy some nice ambient din and background environmental fill at a dance club in episode four. Overall, this is a very good presentation from Kino Lorber.

Monk: The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Monk: The Complete Eighth Season features bonus content on all four discs. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does ship with a non-embossed slipcover.

Disc One:

• Interview with Tony Shalhoub (480i, 4x3, 4:03): The actor answers a few questions concerning his work on the show. Questions appear on screen ahead of his answers.
• Interview with Traylor Howard (480i, 4x3, 4:37): Howard talks up some favorite moments and anecdotes from her work on the show.

Disc Two:

• Interview with Jason Gray-Stanford (480i, 4x3, 3:52): The actor answers a few questions concerning his work on the show. Questions appear on screen ahead of his answers.
• Interview with Andy Breckman (480i, 4x3, 4:37): The show runner discusses the season and the series.

Disc Three:

• Set Tours: The Making of the Final Season with Co-Producer Doug Nabors (480i, 1.78:1, 18:19): Looking around some of the locations during the season shoot.
• Mr. Monk Says Goodbye: Featurette with Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Jason-Gray Sanford and the Makers of Monk (480i, 1.78:1, 10:00): A look into the final day of shooting for Monk, including the cast reminiscing about their time on the show.

Disc Four:

• Video Commentary for Mr. Monk and the End with Series Star Tony Shalhoub, Creator/Episode Writer Andy Breckman, and Episode Director Randall Zisk (480i, 1:26:08): The three sit down to comment on the double length episode. Their video commentary is juxtaposed against the episode. The screens are small and most of the 1.78:1 frame is filled with black and white "police line" tape at the top and a black (and very slightly reflective) bottom.

Monk: The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's been a really fun ride to be reviewing Monk almost nonstop over the past few months. It was just last November when season one released, and here is September and the series has finally wrapped. The show hasn't grown stale in the least, even with what has amounted to a "binge" reviewing of the show every few weeks. It's smart, funny, really well acted, and the writers are almost always on top of their game. Here's hoping Kino (or somebody) releases the TV films in the near future. I can handle more Monk! As with previous seasons, season eight looks and sounds excellent, and the supplements are few but largely satisfying. Very highly recommended: this season and the entire series!